1. Impact of Digitization
and Convergence
VI D E O G A MING

2. Have you heard of :
• Magic the Gathering
• PlayStation Vita
• Facebook
How about:
• Internet
• Handheld
• Multiplayer

3. • Those are the names in video gaming industry that gather popularity
thanks to implementation of digitalization and convergence

4. • Let’s start with basic concepts

5. Digitization
Digitization is a process of converting analog information into digital
format

6. Digitization
• Manovich (2002) describes ‘when new media objects are created on
computers (through the process of digitization), they originate in
numerical form’ and ‘old media objects can be input into the computer
to become digitized’

7. • Few examples of games possible thanks to digitization from analog
form

8. Digitization made possible
“Magic the Gathering”
From Analog
To Digital

9. Digitization made possible
“Risk”
From Analog
To Digital

10. • Thanks to implementation of digitization, video gaming became an
environment that is enriched with variety of board and dice games as
well as games based on books and comics

11. • Let’s talk about technology

12. Convergence
• Technological process of bringing together multiple different elements
and features of other technologies within the same device

13. Convergence
• Jenkins (2001) “we are entering an era where media will be
everywhere, and we all will use all kinds of media in relation to one
another”

14. Convergence
• Ip (2008) suggest that ‘digital convergence entails the fusion of any
combination of technologies to allow more services and/or products to
become available to consumers via a wider range of digital devices

15. Features of many
different
technologies
converged in one
• Wi-Fi
• OLED touchscreen
• Internet connection
• Motion sensor
• Camera
• Multiplayer
• GPS
• And many more

16. Why those things matter so much for video
gaming?
• In 2012 consumers spend on games 20.77 Billion dollars
• In US average household has at least one gaming device
• In Australia alone retail game sales reached 1.14 billion dollars
• Video game industry is worth 76 billion dollars

17. • Video gaming is the fastest growing and the biggest entertainment
industry in the world

18. • References
• Ip, B. (2008). Technological, content, and Market Convergence in the Games
Industry. Games and Culture, 3(2), 199-224.
• Jenkins, H. (2004). The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence. International
Journal of Cultural Studies, 7(1), 33 -43.
• Jenkins, H., Li, X., Krauskopf, A. & Green, J. (2009). If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead:
Creating Value in a Spreadable Marketplace, Convergence Culture Consortium,
retrieved from http://www.convergenceculture.org/web...
• Manovich, L. (2002). The Language of New Media. P. 28, 2001. The MIT Press. P.
28

19. • Sources of statistics:
• www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf?
• http://au.playstation.com/psvitasystem/
• http://www.igea.net/2014/02/retail-sales-of-video-games-hold-steady-anddigital-sales-exceed-expectations/
• http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02073/Video-Game.html

20. • Credits for media used:
• Cabeza2000 (2004) Game Options and Map Setup.[Screenshot].
Retrieved from http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/riskii/screenshots/gameShotId,62794/
• Dyer, Jonathan (2008). Magic: the Gathering. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallydyer/2854809948/sizes/m/in/phot
ostream/
• Read, Derek (2013). Risk Night [Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouverizer/9204203578/sizes/m/in/p
hotolist-f2kX49-PFAAR-PFA22-PELD1-bgMxar-b77jwX-ZTHPde7RN8-4y4jDW-4y4i6b-4xZ74n-4xZ3bK/

21. • Credits for media used: (cont.)
• Teamxbox (2011) Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers.
[Screenshot]. Retrieved from
http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/99458/Magic-TheGathering-Duels-of-the-Planeswalkers-2012/
• TheVitaLounge (2013) PlayStation Vita Outsells Wii U in Japan
Despite Mario Bump. [Screenshot]. Retrieved from
http://thevitalounge.net/playstation-vita-outsells-wii-u-in-japandespite-mario-bump/

22. Created by Wiktor Mertyn for Web207
RWMC Curtin University 2014
• This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
3.0 Australia (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/deed.en