One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games

The video game industry has achieved massive worldwide success due to game companies thinking creatively about digital distribution, free-to-play content, e-sports, and live streaming. One Up offers a pioneering empirical analysis of innovation and strategy in the industry, demonstrating that video game companies flourish when they bring the same level of creativity to business strategy as they do to game design.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 06 October 2020
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The success of video games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Pokémon Go has been a phenomenon that has captured the attention of the world. While game companies and their popularity may be poorly understood and often ignored from the standpoint of traditional business strategy, this industry generates billions in revenue by thinking creatively about digital distribution, free-to-play content, and phenomena like e-sports and live streaming. In this essay, we will explore what explains the massive worldwide success of these games and what lessons can be drawn from their major successes and failures about the future of entertainment.

One Up offers a pioneering empirical analysis of innovation and strategy in the video game industry to explain how it has evolved from a fringe activity to become a mainstream form of entertainment. Joost van Dreunen, a widely recognized industry expert with over twenty years of experience, analyzes how game makers, publishers, and platform holders have tackled strategic challenges to make the video game industry what it is today. Using more than three decades of rigorously compiled industry data, he demonstrates that video game companies flourish when they bring the same level of creativity to business strategy that they bring to game design.

The book is filled with case studies of companies such as Activision Blizzard, Apple, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Microsoft, Nexon, Sony, Take-Two Interactive, Tencent, and Valve, which force us to rethink common misconceptions around the emergence of digital and mobile gaming. One Up is required reading for investors, creatives, managers, and anyone looking to learn about the major drivers of change and growth in contemporary entertainment.

In conclusion, the massive worldwide success of video games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Pokémon Go is a testament to the creativity and innovation of the game industry. Game companies that embrace creativity and strategic thinking in their business practices are more likely to succeed in the ever-changing entertainment landscape. By drawing lessons from the major successes and failures of the industry, we can hope to see continued growth and innovation in the years to come.

Weight: 546g
Dimension: 161 x 236 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231197526