Minecraft - Exam Q

Explain the significance of economic factors in the gaming industry. Use Minecraft to support your answer. (15 marks)

Economic factors are significant in the gaming industry, influencing the success of games due to the ownership, technologies and audiences.

Ownership affects a product's production, distribution and circulation. For example, when Minecraft was owned by Mojang (before 2014), it was produced with Java script to have two modes and it had the visuals of pixels for cheaper production. It relied on word of mouth and ultimately youtubers who contributed greatly. It attracted coders across platforms with the programming used. However, post 2014, when it was bought by Microsoft for $2.5B, various packs were added, allowing more detailed animation and features. They were able to synergise with the likes of Lego to further reach their audience. Along with pre-installed versions on Xbox. The ownership of the game changed the functioning areas of the game as a whole depending on the reputation, budget etc. With Microsoft already a leader in the gaming industry and tech market, they had an ability to dominate the market further with the buying of Minecraft. 

New technologies mean producers can target audiences differently in low economic contexts compared to them in a high economic contexts. The development of games with new technologies allows them to be more flexible with any changes in the market or demand. For instance, Microsoft partnered with Oculus to develop a VR compatible version of the game. This meant that the introduction of this new technology allowed a wider reach of audiences to be targeted, now to the existing consumers of Oculus products. Alternatively, the original versions were adapted for cross media convergence. This new tech at the time allowed multiple players across different platforms to play simultaneously. Both of these methods, are advanced for their time and and equally targeting the correct audience according to the demand in technology present.

Audiences interact differently depending on economic context. When looking at Minecraft, the original audience of coders and programmers interacted with the game and brand through word of mouth and acting as 'prosumers'. For example, Minecraft youtubers took the world by storm in releasing videos of them playing, tutorials, reviews etc. It became a huge part of the game's awareness as it was all done for free. However, in today's world, Microsoft have invested more into advertising along the lines of synergising and developing additional content like a film. The sought out audience can be reached more easily according to the investment in marketing. Gamers will interact on social media across Facebook, Twitter etc. They can now leave opinions on the current versions directly for the producers to see. With the audience being a mass global one, any real problems can be sorted with this feedback. Interactions like this depend on the current economic factors of the time.

Overall, economic factors are very significant in the gaming industry as it covers wide areas of the operations within producing a game. From considering the ownership and it's overall influence, Microsoft have allowed Minecraft to advance greatly, adapting with new technologies over time. And continuing with being flexible to the demand of audiences and their need for updates and feedback on platforms like social media.