Monopolies in games

[emeraldrafael]

So I'm working on my next college paper (this one's not due till the 17th.) and i need a specific example of either game monopolies (think like if WoW was the ONLY MMORPG out there), or monopolies in games (fictional ones that are monitored and have action taken against them to show they are monopolies for the player's in game money (if a place is the only market in the game and charages extreme rates).

Yes... I realize this is most likely a hopeless question, but meh. So... any examples?

Also, do you think any games have a monoply on the market now, have hte potential for them? Besides EA really.

 

[Veylon]

How is anyone supposed to make or keep a monopoly in a market where some guy with a computer can crank out 600,000 sales all on his lonesome?

Certainly, companies have used monopolistic strategies: Nintendo used to require that all games released for the NES were put on cartridges manufactured by Nintendo itself. So Nintendo used it's control of it's console to extract extra money from publishers.

 

[Omikron009]

Monopolies in games? You know, there's a game all about them. It's called Monopoly.

 

[Avaholic03]

Certainly, companies have used monopolistic strategies: Nintendo used to require that all games released for the NES were put on cartridges manufactured by Nintendo itself. So Nintendo used it's control of it's console to extract extra money from publishers.

Wow, 1 post into the thread, and already ninja'd what I was going to say. Impressive. And I do believe that's the best example.

 

[Mr Scott]

I think Infinity Ward has the monopoly of FPS games now.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Call of Duty has a pretty big monopoly. Of course there are others out there, but with the kind of financial backing and advertising money of Activision I think it's tough for others to compete.

You could talk about the trend of everyone trying to give you a longer, more binding experience. Trying to tie you to your game with subscriptions, that seems like a way of starting a monopoly. Giving you continous DLC so you keep coming back. 1 game can last over 1000 hours nowadays if managed correctly which reduces overall games sold for customers.

Anyway, as the others have said, I can't think of a concrete one other than Nintendo back in the day.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Also, do you think any games have a monoply on the market now, have hte potential for them? Besides EA really.

More and more games these days are being designed in such a way that you need a Steam account to activate and play the game (Civ V, I'm looking at you!). Steam doesn't have a monopoly on PC gaming just yet, but it's certainly not through lack of trying.

 

[veloper]

EA sports has a monopoly on licenced games. There's nothing else really.

 

[emeraldrafael]

gamestop, EA isnt even close to one its not even the largest company, activision is bigger. but Gamestop is a monopoly

Gamestop's not really a monopoly. Actually, its not even a game producing company like EA and Activision are so what they are doing in the comparison, I'm not sure. Walmart, Target, Radio Shack (sometimes), all sell games. So it doesnt hold a monopoly, especially with walmart there in the mix and its low pricing.

And EA is a monopoly. How many game companies can produce sports games (with licensed players for name use) that are serious sports games besides EA sports.

 

[Zaik]

I'm not sure if this was what you were looking for or not, but in Borderlands one guy runs all the weapon vending machines on the whole planet, and another runs all the medical supply machines on the whole planet.

As for the consequences of their obvious monopolies, I dunno, it actually seems like they're getting the raw end of the deal the whole time, since you rarely buy anything from them, but constantly sell them junk guns and other stuff. Perhaps the other denizens of the planet buy all the crap you sell them, I really don't know.

 

[twistedheat15]

Best I can think of monopolys inside video games would be MMO's where groups using third party tools dominate rare monsters/equipment. FF11 was full of this.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Technically, all video games could be classified as products that fall into the realm of "Natural Monopolies" because they are Excludable + Non-Rival goods (in economic terms).

You may not think of video games as being sold by only one firm (due to consumers only being consciously aware of the distribution model), but think about it: Each title can logically only come from one Publisher. Or more specifically, one developer. Remember that most of whom are owned by the Publishers.

In fact, most (if not all) digital products/software fall into this category, which is why companies fight so fiercely to protect their copyrights (to keep them excludable; piracy directly undermines this).

 

[spartan1077]

Aperture Science?

Seriously though: Monopoly...C'mon the name says it all!

 

[Judgement101]

So I'm working on my next college paper (this one's not due till the 17th.) and i need a specific example of either game monopolies (think like if WoW was the ONLY MMORPG out there), or monopolies in games (fictional ones that are monitored and have action taken against them to show they are monopolies for the player's in game money (if a place is the only market in the game and charages extreme rates).

Yes... I realize this is most likely a hopeless question, but meh. So... any examples?

Also, do you think any games have a monoply on the market now, have hte potential for them? Besides EA really.

Well there is Microsoft (see I don't spell it with a $ and neither should you!) which makes money on almost every computer sold in America, and most games too.

 

[Tron-tonian]

And EA is a monopoly. How many game companies can produce sports games (with licensed players for name use) that are serious sports games besides EA sports.

EA has Madden, which is NFL. That's it. 2k also does NBA and NHL games and (I think) has the sole rights to MLB.

This does not, however, stop other companies from producing baseball or football games (Nintendo does Backyard Sports, for instance.)

Likewise, Gamestop doesn't have a monopoly on game sales. They are a market dominator, sure, but most dept. stores sell games too. There is also digital distribution. Gamestop can't really leverage their power - publishers will just go elsewhere, and sink Gamestop.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Snip

I siad gamestop didnt have a monopoly. That was the other person.