Video games in the Internet age

The new video game economy: players' strategies and market forecasts up to 2005.

• The video game market: key indicators and forecasts for 2000-2005,

for Europe, the United States and Japan.

• Console wars: Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Sega.

• Game editing:

- the value added chain, from development to licence use;

- the top 10 editors (Acclaim Entertainment, Activision, Electronic Arts, Hasbro

Interactive, Infogrames, Konami, Mattel, THQ, Ubi Soft): key data, editorial policy,

and PC/console/ Internet strategies.

• Stakes:

- toward a universal console?

- the impact of technologies and high-speed networks;

- gaming's new economy: on-line gaming, gaming portals and on-line distribution;

- piracy.

Video games are set to undergo a significant evolution during 2000 and 2001 due

to the convergence of several phenomena:

• The introduction of a new generation of Web connectable consoles

As powerful, if not more so, than the latest computers, these consoles are likely

to be responsible for bringing the Net into users’ living rooms.

Thanks to an integrated hard drive, they make it possible to download not only

games but also music and films, hence making a significant contribution to the

development of residential demand for high-speed access.

By combining a game console with a DVD player, these consoles are the first examples

of new, multi-function consumer terminals.

• The development of on-line games

We are currently witnessing the proliferation of gaming portals which offer new

services: advertising, downloads and e-commerce. AOL’s gaming site, for instance,

has always been among the ISP’s 3 most popular sites.

Of equal note is the fact that on-line games are also one of the new services

being offered on mobile terminals.

• Operator concentration

Market globalisation, along with the ever-increasing costs required for both the

development of new games and the deployment of strategies on the Web, constitute

catalysts for the creation of global scale conglomerates.

In addition to placing this sector at the heart of the convergence, the evolution

taking place in the video games industry is also having an impact on all IT and

media players:

telecoms players: the first mobile consoles connected to Internet are contributing

to the development of mobile Internet (UMTS) and are increasing broadband transmission

requirements.

IT and consumer electronics players: video games are creating a new market born

of convergence.

Microsoft, for example, has chosen to become a consumer electronics manufacturer

and to produce the X-Box, in partnership with Thomson Multimedia.

media players: gaming channels are beginning to appear on interactive TV, and

dedicated sites are being developed.