Media and Communication Ph.D. Dissertations
Title
The Virtual Hand: Exploring the Societal Effects of Video Game Industry Business Models
Date of Award
2011
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
Media and Communication
First Advisor
Oliver Boyd-Barrett (Committee Chair)
Second Advisor
Radhika Gajjala (Committee Member)
Third Advisor
Sung-Yeon Park (Committee Member)
Fourth Advisor
Savilla Banister (Committee Member)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was threefold. The first goal was to investigate the evolution of business models within the video game industry with a specific focus on the console segment within the United States and including Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony as the three largest console manufacturers. The second goal was to examine the connections between these business models and practices of planned obsolescence. The third goal was to determine the connections between the business models in use and any associated externalities. Externalities of particular interest included effects related to violence, gender, race, military connections, and the environment. Political economy served as both theory and method. Results showed that past business models have heavily relied on a cycle of production and consumption that contributes to a culture of overconsumption and regularly produces and reproduces both positive and negative externalities that are not accounted for as a cost of doing business despite the effects borne by society.
Recommended Citation
Cruea, Mark, "The Virtual Hand: Exploring the Societal Effects of Video Game Industry Business Models" (2011). Media and Communication Ph.D. Dissertations. 8.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/media_comm_diss/8