Size VS Insight: Creativity Obstacles in the Gaming World

Written by A. Karlan

The recent Global Games Market Report published by NewZoo, it was forecast that 2020’s global games market will generate revenues of $159.3 billion: a healthy year-on-year growth of +9.3%. This is hardly surprising considering the massive increase in time spent on digital devices due to COVID-19 shutdowns and social distancing. The gaming sector, and especially in the field of mobile gaming, was among the few to see zero lost revenue through an especially trying year. Simply put: gaming is booming. However, a few pitfalls loom on the horizon for big name developers which, if not addressed, could threaten to suck some of the world’s largest gaming companies down a competitive black hole.

AAA developers, an informal title given to mid-size and major developers with large production budgets, have fallen into a well of trying to pump blockbuster style, 60-hour experiences crafted on obscene budgets. Former PlayStation Exec, Shawn Layden, asserts that a return to tighter and shorter games is in order if the industry wants to survive into the future.”The problem with that model is it’s just not sustainable,” Layden said at Gamelab Live, via Games Industry. 

Layden’s assessment is on the money, as the quest to outdo rival studios has resulted in games with bloated budgets and incredibly long development periods.  In fact, AAA game development costs now average more than 20 times what they cost in the late 80s, accounting for inflation.  Publishers may push the narrative that smaller games are unable to put up competitive sales figures, yet the indie market constantly proves that wrong.

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 Meanwhile, PlayStation manufacturer Sony is reportedly doubling the number of PlayStation 5 consoles in production to 10 million in an attempt to scale and meet recent demand trends before the highly-anticipated hardware goes on sale this holiday season. The announcement of this 50% increase in production of PS5s is more than an opportunity for developers for more sales; it also signals a new level of demand for software that takes advantage of the platform. The larger the audience is, the greater the demand for content and opportunity for subsequent bandwagon trends to emerge. These conditions lead AAA further down the competitive rabbit hole of shock-and-awe visuals and will lead to future disadvantageous compromises. This forced competition is ushering in an age of beautiful, but creatively blocked games that will ultimately send gamers to alternative gaming platforms for a truly satisfying experience not just visually, but mentally and mechanically too. Big budget gaming has dominated the industry in the 21st century, but as indie game companies continue to reinvent simple premises and artistic executions, AAA may soon have to reckon with the idea that they have lost the soul of what makes a game truly engaging.

A Developer’s Dilemma: A New Star of the Show?

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Written by A. Karlan

As explored in Consumer Connections, gaming is experiencing an unprecedented boom in this newfound age of social distance: one that shows no signs of stopping. In fact, new research from Nielsen found that 82% of global consumers played video games and watched video game content during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, a 15% increase in gamers worldwide. People are playing, watching and blogging about games like never before, so now is a uniquely opportune time to take advantage of gaming platforms.  You may personally have enjoyed playing, but now, you have the chance to create something that is not merely entertaining, but an effective marketing tool.  Forging through new territory can pose an intimidating journey, but we encourage more gamers and partners to join our ranks of development, turbulent as it may be. 

Make no mistake, creating a game generates tons of questions to be answered before production or full development can even begin. First and foremost of those is “What is the premise of my game?” and “Who is my main character?” As with any premise, real or fictional, the appreciation of a character depends largely on the audience’s ability to make a connection with them. You may recognize the theme of personal consumer connectivity as it appears often in my musings; this is directly because our company fully believes that same connectivity is the key that will drive e-commerce and digital culture throughout the next decade. 

So in regard to character and plot creation, we say, shoot close to the heart. Who do people gravitate to in their real lives? What societal messages are people resonating with? Amongst hundreds of potential ways to answer this question, we recognize that above all, people’s hearts are tied the tightest to the ones they call family and friends, regardless of what species they may be.  People love their pets. That’s actually an understatement; People are obsessed with their pets.  On the surface that is an unremarkable statement, one I myself might not have paused at only a year ago, but we have uncovered just how deep the level of connection to our pets has grown in recent times.

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In early March, as Americans began to accept the reality that their 2020 was going to be drastically different than the year they had imagined, 32,985 adoptable pets were welcomed into new homes during PetSmart Charities' first National Adoption Weekend event of the year, making it the most successful National Adoption Weekend since the event was initiated by PetSmart Charities and PetSmart over 25 years ago.  This shows us two things: first, that demand for pet companionship is continuing to rise, likely boosted by people’s realization that their opportunities for social interaction were likely to be limited. Secondly, since these adoptions, new pet parents and their communities have night and day dedicated hundreds of thousands of social media posts raving about their cute little fur ball, cementing the concept that pet owners both new and old are crazy for their pets. This niche has grown so much in recent years that a new dating app, Tabby, is being released this fall, strictly for cat lovers.  It may seem bizarrely niche, but the serious existence of such a site reveals the level to which the contemporary pet owner holds their companion in regard.

We are clearly not the only developers with an eye on pet owners’ heartstrings as other companies have begun developing pet-centric gaming. French developers, Blue Twelve Studio, are working on a PS5 launch title simply called “Stray”.  As you’ve likely guessed, it stars a cat. As this and countless other examples demonstrate,  the power of pets for their emotional outlet can be utilized as a  key foundation for building connections in advertising or marketing design.

How Chewy and Amazon Are Poised to Shake Up Pet Retailing Yet Again

Could Amazon’s purchase of PillPack presage an expansion into pet medications?

Nearly two decades later, the U.S. pet industry has yet to top Nestlé’s $10.4 billion acquisition of Ralston Purina. But the past few years of the twenty-teens saw five billion-dollar-plus acquisitions that together totaled almost $30 billion:

• In January 2017, Mars acquired leading U.S. veterinary hospital operator VCA for approximately $9.1 billion.

• In April 2017, PetSmart purchased Chewy.com for $3.3 billion.

• In February 2018, General Mills paid $8 billion for Blue Buffalo.

• In April 2018, J.M. Smucker shelled out $1.9 billion for Ainsworth/Rachael Ray.

• In August 2019, Elanco purchased Bayer’s Animal Health business unit for $7.6 billion.

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