The great video game shake-up: how Google, Apple and more are changing the industry
- From streaming games to new subscription services to – gasp – not paying for new costumes and other extras, it’s all change in video game land
- New entrants like Google, with its Stadia, and Apple, with Apple Arcade, are introducing new ideas and business models not seen before
The video game industry is entering new frontiers.
In the past, you plonked down US$60 for a copy of Grand Theft Auto or Madden NFL and played it out – after that you could trade it in or let it gather dust. Now, you increasingly have the choice of subscribing to games, playing for free or possibly just streaming them over the internet to your phone or TV.
Welcome to a new world of experimentation in an industry that hasn’t been seriously shaken up since Nintendo launched its first home gaming console in the 1980s or when mobile gaming surged in popularity a decade ago.
“We’re in an environment where people want content and media when they want it, how they want it,” says Scott Kessler, an analyst at research firm CFRA. “You can play a great video game with a console or on a computer or with a mobile device and you might not have to pay anything. That’s a dramatic departure from even a few years ago.”
Of course, people will still buy and use traditional video games and consoles for years to come. But as games have become more accessible online and on mobile, it is becoming harder to convince people to spend a chunk of money upfront, says Joost van Dreunen, co-founder of research company SuperData.
