Industry

• The global videogame industry has been growing since the early days of Atari Home Entertainment in the 1980s. In recent years, the diversity of game genres and platforms on which they can be played has meant an explosion in the gaming industry
• In 2014 it was calculated there were 1.8 billion gamers in the world - 25% of the global population. This challenges the stereotype of gamers as young geeky men. In 2018 in the USA 28% of gamers were under 18, but 23% were over 50. There was 66/44% male/female gender split
• The range of genres- from first-person shooters to puzzles and learning tools - has varied the demographic for gamers. The variety of platforms - not just home consoles, but on tablets and smartphones - that high quality, complex and engaging games can be accessed has also led to the growth of the industry
• Gaming has increasingly become a social activity. In 1997 Ultima Online became the first online multiplayer game, and since then socialising in the game world has become an everyday activity for millions of people, usually geographically far apart. People develop alliances, friendships, and even romantic relationships as their game characters. 'eSports' - live competitive gaming events between celebrity players have also become popular as they attract millions of views through sites such as Twicth
• One thing that has made Fortnite so popular is the ability to access the game from consoles, PCs, laptops, smartphones, or tablets. You can also download it for a range of operation systems. You can move mid-game between devices without interrupting gameplay. This means it can be played on anything anywhere. This is a good example of technical convergence
• Epic Games uses an operating system called Unreal Engine to develop Fortnite. They have made this available on their website, encouraging their audience to use it to develop their games.
• Fortnite is also a good example of cross-media convergence (where more than one media brand or form joins to promote one another)
• Fortnite is the most viewed game on YouTube and has also used streaming platforms like Twitch to broadcast live competitions
• Fortnite has also incorporated other media brands and franchises. In collaboration with Marvel Studios, there was a special Avengers segment. The format of Fortnite means that any kind of costumes, weapons and games can be introduced to keep the game fresh which also keep Fortnite in the news and social media
• Epic Games has a good relationship with various non-gaming celebrities such as Drake and basketballer, Ben Simmons. This helps to promote the game beyond the traditional gaming market.
• Epic Games was started by Tim Sweeney in 1991 and was originally run from his parent's house
• Unreal Engine was named 'the most successful videogame engine' in 2014 by Guiness Book of World Records
• Epic Games owns video game developer Chair Entertainment and cloud-based software developer Cloudgine, and has sub-studios in the UK, Japan, and Germany
• Tencent, a Chinese investment company focused on internet and AI development, bought a 42% stake in Epic in 2012
• Fortnite is an example of the 'Games as Service (GaaS) model - where there is a constant revenue stream from 'in-game purchases' after the initial purchase
• Some of the in-game purchases are 'micro-transactions' where players pay for weapon, costume, and game upgrades rather than 'grinding through' the gameplay to score them. For Fortnite, this is V bucks which can be earnt in the game or bought with real money
• In Fortnite upgrades are purely 'cosmetic' as they don't affect the gameplay. They often consist of new skins and emotes. These are only available for a short period, increasing their value and encouraging players purchase of them.
• Another revenue stream for 'Games as a Service' (GaaS) is to offer 'season passes', like a subscription that allows you to access new content throughout a period of gameplay (the season), that play-for-free users cant access
• Fortnite offers players 'battle passes' and then drip-feeds limited edition and exclusive content to these players over the course of the season
• PEGI regulates video games
• Fortnite has a PEGI rating of 12 for "frequent scenes of mild violence"