Updating Business Models: Innovation through Online Games

In less than 40 years, software games developed from scratch into an industry producing billions of profits and today, its revenues and investments give the video games industry a relevant position among other mainstream media industries. The growth of the video games software market is expected to be primarily driven by online and wireless game software, while hardware would proportionally decline in terms of revenues, changing hence the rules of the game. It is forecasted that especially the online space will substitute on the long run the currently available boxed product. The present paper is based on a comprehensive survey of the video games software industry with a focus on the EU competitiveness, and concentrates on one aspect of this research. The investigated research question is how and to what extent on line games transformed the structure of the video games industry with connectivity becoming permanent, products converting into (online) services, and the progressive integration of media services and technologies. By the same token looks at how online games themselves pave the way for experimenting and exploring innovative business models.JRC.J.3-Information Societ