Gaming Sector

According to Gartner, video game spending is expected to eclipse $115 billion by 2015, up from $67 billion in 2010. This sector is currently undergoing a radical transformation as mobile and web application gaming are becoming greater forces while the traditional console manufacturers are trying to fight this new threat. Developer costs for creating new games for consoles are skyrocketing to meet the performance expectations of players and many of these developers cannot break-even with games they publish. Furthermore, Gamestop and other retail stores are cashing in on used game sales while the console game developers and manufacturers and not receiving a dime from the secondary market. This is the current situation in the sector and should make for exciting times in the next 5 years. Our group is excited to analyze how this sector will play out in the next five years!

Here is our first analysis of the stack network in the gaming sector:

Publisher/Content/R&D: EA, Activision/Blizzard, Ubisoft, Zynga, Nintendo, Microsoft, Valve, Take Two

Hardware: Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Apple, HTC, LG, PC

Distributor: Apple (App Store), GameStop, EA, Brick & Mortar (Best Buy, etc.), Valve, OnLive, Qwikster, Gamefly

OS/Platform: Facebook, Apple (iOS), Google (Android), Microsoft (Xbox), Adobe (Flash), Sony (PS3), Nintendo (Wii/Wii U/3DS)

Social: Facebook, Microsoft (Xbox Live), Sony (Playstation Network)

Here are the companies we selected to research:

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