Understanding Games and the Industry that Produces Them: A Review of the Edited Volume The Video Game Industry

Abstract

Published as part of Routledge Studies in Innovation, Organization and Technology (RIOT!), The Video Game Industry, edited by Peter Zackariasson and Timothy L. Wilson, provides a predominantly technological and economic perspective on the video game industry in North America and Europe. As the title of this book review suggests, the aim of this volume was to “understand video games and the industry that produces them”. To achieve this aim, the volume was broken into four parts: “The Nature of the Industry” as a distinct industry bordering the software and cultural industries; “Geographical Comparisons” between North America and European video game industries; the technological, ecological, and societal “Effects of the Industry;” and “The Future” of the industry in the years to come. The Video Game Industry provides a must-read overview for scholars researching the video game industry, covering topics that range from the industry as a subculture to the ecological impact of the industry to the localized development of regional industries. However, the edited volume does exclude some important topics, such as the Japanese industry, gender and misogyny within the industry, and the contributions of non-triple-A forms of game making, for scholars researching those fields.