Digital Games Industries:
Developments, Impact and Direction

HOME | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAMME

19^th-20^th September 2003
ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition
University of Manchester,
Manchester,
England.

CALL FOR PAPERS

One of the major distinguishing features of modern capitalism is its restlessness. New activities emerge from within to compete with older, more established, rivals displacing them in the process or succumbing to competitive pressures themselves. But as these new activities become embedded in economic systems and old ones disappear there are profound effects on the structure of economies, as well as on production, consumption, demand, technology and employment. The digital gaming industry is one of the more important recent examples of this phenomenon of creative destruction. The study of this industry allows us to gain new insights about innovation, the creation of new consumption and economic activities, the growth of business opportunities and the development of the market in terms of demand and consumption as well as supply.

Against the backdrop of the highly competitive economic environment of gaming platforms, software and new game-enabled consumer technologies, the ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition (CRIC) will be hosting a two day workshop on the socio-economics of digital gaming. The workshop aims to bring together international delegates from academic, policy and commercial circles for an in-depth discussion on nature and characteristics of this emerging sector: the 'drivers', key 'players', the 'current state of play', and the impact of the industry on the modern economy and the framework of its evolution.

No new activity is without its context. Thus further issues arise in relation to the link between existing activities and consumption practices and the role they play in shaping the development of the digital gaming industries and new forms of technologically mediated consumption. Since the development of the games industry may be perceived as an important example of restless, emergent capitalism it follows that it may provide important lessons for policy in relation to economic enterprise.

Digital gaming provides an excellent empirical probe to gain a better understanding of a range of debates current in industry, academia and policy but raises issues that cannot be dealt with solely through a mono-disciplinary approach. Therefore, this event encourages a broader inter-disciplinary framework drawing up sociology, economics, management, innovation studies and so forth.

CRIC invites papers on all aspects of the digital games industry, its development, production and end consumption but particularly welcome submissions in the following areas:

• Competitive processes and their regulation
• The technology of gaming
• New sectors:
  • Theories of business
  • Analogous industries
  • Emergent industries
• Role of venture capital and investment
• Standardisation of technologies and markets, instituted economic processes
• Inter-firm interactions and strategic alliances
• IPR, licensing and piracy
  • Corporate spillovers
  • Licensing agreements
• Labour markets and mobility
  • Clustering and brain drains
  • International division of labour
  • Ethical practices & the World
  • Trade Agreement
• Economics of demand and consumption
  • Development of consumer capabilities
  • Consumers as producers
  • Digital gaming and value
• Evolution through success and failure

The workshop is keen to receive papers which offer firm and national case studies as well as international comparisons and empirical work on consumption.

Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words long and, in addition to an overview of the work to be presented, should include:

• All authors' names, institutional address, email contacts and URL
• A list of up to six keywords
• Details of data and models used
• Full references for works cited

Abstracts, proposals and expressions of intent should be submitted electronically in Word or RTF format to Jason.Rutter@man.ac.uk.

Deadline for expressions of intent to participate: 3^rd December, 2002
Deadline for abstracts: 3^rd February 2003
Accepted authors notified: 3^rd March 2003
Deadline for camera ready copy: 28^th July 2003

CRIC will provide assistance with workshop fees for all delegates and travel expenses for those presenting work. Papers presented will form the basis of an edited collection on the economies of digital gaming.

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