Open AccessSpeculating on Steam: Consumption in the gamblified platform ecosystem
Author(s) -
Andrei Zanescu,
Marc J. Lajeunesse,
Martin French
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of consumer culture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.165
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1741-2900
pISSN - 1469-5405
DOI - 10.1177/1469540521993928
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , order (exchange) , business model , politics , distribution (mathematics) , video game , marketing , business , game theory , game studies , sharing economy , economics , industrial organization , sociology , computer science , political science , microeconomics , social science , multimedia , media studies , mathematical analysis , mathematics , finance , law , world wide web
The rise of platforms as the premier model of videogame distribution has led to a number of changes in the business models of producers and distributors. Consumers are constantly hailed by games platforms through freemium business models that offer cosmetic items contained in loot boxes or recurring subscriptions. Thus far, game studies and consumer studies have been unable to account for the totality of how these new and dynamic platforms circumvent legal barriers and attract potential consumers. This paper argues that a hybrid research model combining platform studies, socio-cultural critique of gamblification, and political economy is required in order to theorize and explicate how these platforms operate. The platformized and gamblified model for game distribution seeks to regulate and configure networks of association between consumers and producers with the ultimate aim of eliciting participation on platforms.