gAmE pUbliSHerS... thE moNoPoliZaTiOn... anD deButS...

After I 'revisit' the VGA 2009 Awards, there is also one thing that struck me (again... while watching the program... guess its better than having an idea while I'm in the toilet... ><"). Even though I try as I might not to do so much of the in-focus thingy... but after you've finished reading this post... you'll get pretty much what kind of console that I'm into... not that I'm biased or anything... but I just love it.

A Place To Make Your Debut

As we have noticed... there has been a lot of independent game designers coming up with outstanding game concepts and gameplay. Take 'Flower' for example. Basically when I first played this game... it makes no sense at all (well... flying flower petals everywhere... but as you play the game... you'll fall in love with this game... pretty good for relaxing after a day of hard work and stress in the office... ^^). However, such a good game would never have made it to the big console players without any backup from the big brothers in game publishing. It might just end up in the shelves of another game store waiting to collect dust.

The same goes for the games that are making big bucks in the gaming industry today. Without big players like Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Sega... blah blah blah... some games might just make their first debut and never to resurface again. For instance... The Sims... it started out with just a small company. With the runaway success of the game... the company is now a subsidiary company of Electronics Arts... the game came with endless expansions... and eventually... The Sims won numerous awards and also the best selling PC game in history.

Monopolization of the Industry

As a base argument of this... we'll have to refer to some economics theory (although I'm not that good in economics... but I'll try to explain it in a simple way)... and for this, we'll have to use Electronics Arts again as an example (even though there has been some post talking about it... but I'm not doing an in depth of Electronics Arts).

With Electronics Arts acquisition of so many small game companies (which they used to be independent)... we can say that Electronics Arts has monopolized the gaming industry. Take a look at the VGA 2009 awards... how many categories Electronics Arts is being nominated in? For starters... take a look at the nominees for the 'Best Music Game'... you'll get the idea... ^^ However, it is safe to say that the monopolization isn't just happening with Electronics Arts acquiring one company one after another... there are a few as well...

However, it is also safe to say that not all game publishers are eager to take over the whole industry to themselves... for example... Nintendo. They are still as strong as ever... well, considering the fact that they are the very people which has influenced the gaming world as it is. Until then... I'm signing off now and see you guys in the next post.

Peace Out ~~