2 Background
2.1 Industry
The online games market - whilst known by the industry as in its infancy [4] - should surpass $15 Billion this year and sales of virtual goods likely to exceed $1 Billion [1]. This very profitable young market can be debated as the future of gaming [2]. With the cost of Broadband technology going down and online services offering a larger amount of micro-transactions and subscription based games – not to mention virtual goods – it would be hard to resist by any gamer.
For example it was reported within 5 days of MODERN WARFARE 2 (MW2) being released it had made $550 million in revenue and an online player base of 8 million, an “army” bigger than real world countries [5]. Not to mention the “Behemoth “of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs) WORLD OF WARCRAFT(WOW), the insanely popular title by Blizzard has a staggering 12 million active subscribers[6], considering each subscription costs the consumer $14.99 a month[8], huge amounts of money can be made in this increasingly popular market.
However with such a vibrant and ever growing market the cost of developing an online game is getting higher, especially Persistent Worlds (PV). Morgan (2009) details that if a game is inept at attracting a sufficient player base it would be unprofitable, thus a wasted business venture [9]. To avoid this outcome an online game must be budgeted and planned accordingly, this is mainly due to how expensive it is to develop an online game [4]. Mulligan et al (2003) further states that development costs averagely run over $7 million and $10–$12 million projects are more common for PWs, plus additional promotion costs are typically around $3-5 million.
Morgan (2009) reinforces the few that init...
... middle of paper ...
...," Decision and Control, 2004. CDC. 43rd
[12] Christoph Neumann, Nicolas Prigent, Matteo Varvello, and Kyoungwon Suh (2007) Challenges in peer-to-peer gaming. SIGCOMM Comput. Commun. Rev. 37, 1 (January 2007), 79-82.
[13] Sony online entertainment: Star wars Galaxies Support http://www.soe.com/support/supportTopics.vm?category=PC&id=007
[14] Blizzard: World of Warcraft Support http://eu.blizzard.com/support/index.xml?locale=en_GB&gameId=11
[15] Eve Online Support http://support.eveonline.com/Pages/KB/default.aspx
[16] Brendan Drain (2008) EVE Evolved: EVE Online’s server model http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/eve-evolved-eve-onlines-server-model/ (05/04/2011)
[17] Tudor Stefanescu (2006) EVE Online Readies the Largest Supercomputer in the Gaming Industry
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/05/liberty_university_federal_money
The last few years has seen an explosion in the use of the Internet as a means for exchanging, free of charge, digital media by way of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing technologies. Initially, the practice was primarily limited to the swapping of music, in the form of MP3 files. The pervasiveness of broadband, the advent of newer file types, and the creation of more sophisticated technologies has subsequently made possible the exchange of other types as well – including movies, television shows and software. Again, for free.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks have had a staggering growth in the past few years. Since Napster, dozens of P2P networks have been created in its imitation. Due to the growing accessibility of broadband, which increases the speed of downloads, P2P networks generate nearly 1.8 billion downloads per month. Popularity and acceptance is still continually growing.
I began my research looking into the game with the highest popularity in the world, with over ten million daily players
Video games have been around since 1958, and ever since then video games have developed more. With video games becoming a bigger industry, there have been more people purchasing and buying more and more video games. For examples, up to 2001, “roughly 79 percent of America's youth played video games, many of them for at least eight hours a week” (Layton). Furthermore, in 2008, “97% of 12-17 year olds in the US played video games” (“Video Games”). With a growing industry, there has been more competition between video game companies. The companies that make these video games try to make a huge profit by appealing to people’s likes. In 2008, “10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence” (“Video Games”)
Call of Duty, also known as “Cod” has, as many know it as, has become one of todays most popular video games. So popular, that Cod has raked in more money than the highest grossing movie in America. However, despite it’s popularity, Cod is killing the gaming industry. Many may be puzzled why a game so popular could possibly be ruining the gaming industry, but it is. Cod is affecting the gaming industry through it’s popularity and influence.
center with the pool tables and a line of arcades in front of me. At least nine to twelve players are gathered around 2 gaming arcade machines in front of me. The two main popular ones that are of interest would be the Street Fighter 3rd Strike and the Marvel vs Capcom 2 machines. The gamers are heavily immerse in watching the players and cheering them on. I am observing four players playing on two separate machines. The two players who are on MVC2 are wearing both hooded jackets and baggy jeans with tennis shoes. It seems they were here for quite a while. Backpacks are off to the side of the machines or lying around randomly near them on the ground and some half eaten snacks can be seen on the tables nearby. A quick glance around allowed me to take in the surroundings. There are three pool table games in session occupied by two to four players per table. Three girls are having a drink to the table directly adjacent from my stool across the room. My location is near enough from the arcade machines to allow me to easily view the players and note all of what is going on and far enough to remain hidden and unsuspected of recording the scene. I am recording with my Nokia N95 with Carl Zeiss optics 5 mega pixel lens with creative sounds voice amp. I am wearing a zip up hooded jacket and some baggy cargo pants with a pair of vans allowing me to easily blend in as a normal spectator. Soon after, there are at least six to seven guys spectators for the four players. And also noted at ten minute intervals, the losers rotates out with one of the players lining up to be the new challenger of the victorious. The guys seem to be much louder and animate on the MVC2 ...
Have you ever wondered how much money these guys make? Well let’s take Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. It took about 200 million dollars to produce and they sold 500 million dollars’ worth of copies. Take 500 million and subtract 200 million, 500 subtracted by 200 and that equals 300, and you get a profit of 300 million dollars! They made a lot of money and because of that they created a lot of other games.
Video games can be seen in both a positive and negative light. Video gaming has become a popular activity for people of all ages, yet many fear the aftermath they can ensue. Many children and adolescents expend large amounts of time playing them. Video gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry – bringing in more money than movies and DVDs. In fact, the PlayStation 2 was the first video game system to integrate DVD mechanics. It was originally intended to exist as a CD add-on to complement the Super Nintendo, but due to licensing difficulties Sony chose to develop the PlayStation as its own distinctive system. Video games have become very sophisticated. Some games connect to the internet, which can allow children and adolescents to play online with unknown adults and peers. The
The following paper analyzes the initial release of Microsoft's XBOX 360 gaming system release into the United States and the changes that occurred with the supply, demand and pricing of the product in the months following its release. The social science of economics tells us that supply, demand and price are closely related to one another and have a significant on how much of a particular good is purchased and the rate at which it is purchased by consumers. The XBOX 360 phenomenon is a solid example of the impact that changes in supply, demand and price have on the marketplace and the rate at which goods are purchased.
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.
Peer-to-peer is a communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session. Other models with which it might be contrasted include the client/server model and the master/slave model. In some cases, peer-to-peer communications is implemented by giving each communication node both server and client capabilities. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server.
Video Games are a rapidly growing industry; developers have increased along with it. Companies that put their full time and energy into the development and marketing of their games originally held dominion over the video game industry. However, this isn’t true today. Today, video games can be made by a couple of people in a basement of a house. This doesn’t mean that the quality of the game is any less impressive, which can happen obviously, all this means is that making and developing video games is more accessible to the open public and not just to large companies and corporations. Which, in and of itself, is a remarkable achievement. People can now make a game that they would want to see and play, and not have to wait for a company to hopefully make it, or something like it.
People suspect the growth of this competitive scene is due to the gambling aspect of gaming. In 1994, the Kiplinger Washington Letter stated, “Gambling will be the fastest growing industry of the Nineties.” This statement is very true and applies to competitive gaming as well. As soon as you enter the world of competitive gaming, it's nearly impossible to leave. The industry of competitive video gaming has been up and coming, but now it is at it's peek. The world around us is changing every day, similar to the world of competitive sports, but the world of competitive gaming is here to stay.
Video games have been around about 50 years and they contribute a big part of the U.S. economy. People interact with video games every day throughout different ways, such as cell phone devices, computers, consoles or whatever which has a screen on it. In fact, it has always affected people’s lives. However, not so many people understand the benefits of video games. With video games, people can not only relieve themselves from stress and suffering, but it also improves people’s social experiences while they are exchanging and absorbing knowledge with other people; more than that, people can learn many other things from video games which can help them to achieve great things in lives.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) is a substitute network design to the conventional client-server architecture. P2P networks utilize a decentralised model in which each system, act as a peer, and serve as a client with its own layer of server functionality. A companion plays the role of a client and a server in the meantime. That is, the node can send calls to other nodes, and at the same time respond to approaching calls from other companions in the system. It is different from the traditional client-server model where a client can just send requests to a server and then wait for the server’s response.