Video games constitute a huge market with over three billion customers. Video games are a multifaceted business that depends on the type of platform (PC, console, mobile device). Mobile video games are experiencing the strongest development and are leading to the appearance of new business models (free-to-play games financed by advertising and in-game purchases). The appearance of new entrants that directly compete by developing simple and fast games (casual games) more quickly and at lower cost and the emergence of players that indirectly achieve domination by controlling access to mobile platforms through the app stores (Google and Apple) is leading to a disruption in the competitive balance of the market. In addition, the boundary between platforms is becoming blurred due to the development of new modes of game distribution, such as cloud gaming, which allow online play via the Internet either by subscription or as a game on demand.
In order to understand the challenges of the challenges of this profoundly changing environment, the case study provides a wealth of information which enables the detailed application in a comprehensive manner of the fundamental tools of strategic analysis of a competitive environment:
- PESTLE, Porter's 5 forces model,
- Industry value chain,
- Segmentation,
- Key factors of success,
- BCGs advantage matrix