Research Post #1 - Funding

On Funding
The video game market may seem only accessible to a few people, but has developed substantially over the years. Even if one glimpses simple profit stats of the video game industry and compared them to the film industry, there is no comparison. According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the companies that do all the ratings for film (such as G, PG, PG-13, etc.), the global box office for all released films was $35.9 billion dollars in the year 2013 (MPAA, Inc., 2013). While this is a huge amount of money, the video game industry made $70.4 billion dollars according to the Global Games Market Report of 2013 (Newzoo Corporation, 2013), more than thirty billion dollars more than the film industry. Even though video games may cater to much more niche demographics, there truly is an abundance of funding.

Curtly, funding of the video game industry comes from sales. As with most industries that rely in sales, such as the film industry, advertisements, exposure, and publicity are crucial to the release of video games and video game systems (such as those of Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo). However, not all of the publicity is done via conventional advertisements. Online forums and popular internet video/YouTube sensations carry a lot of influence. When considering the top factors influencing decisions to purchase video games, word of mouth is the third most popular factor after price and interesting premise (ESA, 2015). The result is a culture that not only is willing to purchase the physical games, but a culture that can be profited off of by selling console systems, console accessories, extra in-game content, extra in-game currency, early pre-release orders, special edition copies, and endless merchandising. Not only is there a lot to be sold, but there a lot of willing purchasers. In fact, that very culture consists of approximately 155 million Americans who play video games (ESA, 2015). However, it should be noted that this does not include the many other gamers across the planet (especially Britain, Australia, China, and South Korea). Furthermore, that statistic doesn't even take into consideration the developing mobile market. While many are resistant to buying game consoles, the ownership of smartphones has become so typical that mobile games have increased in popularity. This is also contributed to the convenience of online mobile game marketplaces such as the App Store and Google Play). The video game industry has become more accessible to the general public and increased in size, making for a large increase in funding. 

Entertainment Software Association. "The 2015 Essential Facts About The Computer And Video Game Industry". 1st ed. Washington DC: ESA Entertainment Software Association, 2015. Print. http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ESA-Essential-Facts-2015.pdf

Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. "Theatrical Market Statistics - 2013". Motion Picture Association of America. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Newzoo. "2013 Global Games Market Report". Newzoo Insights. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.