ONE UP Creativity, Competition, and the GGlloobbaall BBuussiinneessss ooff VViiddeeoo GGaammees $ JOOST VAN DREUNEN ONE UP ONE UP CREATIVITY, COMPETITION, AND THE GLOBAL BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES JOOST VAN DREUNEN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS(cid:2)NEW YORK Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu Copyright © 2020 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dreunen, Joost van, author. Title: One up : creativity, competition, and the global business of video games / by Joost van Dreunen. Description: 1 Edition. | New York City : Columbia University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020012565 (print) | LCCN 2020012566 (ebook) | ISBN 9780231197526 (hardback) | ISBN 9780231552219 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Video games industry. | Video games—Economic aspects. | Creative ability in business. | Competition. Classification: LCC HD9993.E452 D748 2020 (print) | LCC HD9993.E452 (ebook) | DDC 338.4/77948—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020012565 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020012566 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America Cover design: Noah Arlow Cover image: Shutterstock For Max, who always wants to play We don’t know who discovered water, but we know it wasn’t the fish. —Marshall McLuhan contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xxi Introduction 1 PART 1 GAMES AS A PRODUCT 1 Digitalization of Interactive Entertainment 13 2 Games Industry Basics 26 3 Empire on the Edge of the Volcano 53 PART 2 GAMES AS A SERVICE 4 Everyone Is a Gamer Now 71 5 Myth of the Mobile Millionaire 95