The North American Game Industry - The Video Game Industry: Formation, Present State, and Future - page 95

The words of ea_spouse caused a ripple in the video game industry,
one that is still being felt, though in dif erent ways. For a brief moment, it
seemed revolutionary; however, seven years later, new QoL controversies
emerge, demonstrating that very little has actually changed. White papers
were written and special interest groups formed, and awareness was cer-
tainly raised, but death-march crunches still occur and many developers
accept them blindly. The IGDA encouraged developers everywhere to con-
template and begin addressing QoL issues (Bates et al. 2004). A few years
later, Game Developer magazine published an article examining the suc-
cess and failure of QoL ef orts in the game industry (Hyman 2007).
Because of the public nature of ea_spouse's words, it has served as a focal
point for academics interested in game development work (Dyer-Witheford
and de Peuter 2006; Wark 2007). The dii culty of these analyses is that
they fail to examine the underlying systems and cultural practices that
make such serious labour issues seem commonplace if not quietly accepted
by many.
CONCLUSION
Game developers in North America continue to face structural barriers to
openness. These barriers require signifi cant changes by console manufactur-
ers and publishing companies. These companies technologically and legally
barricade access to distribution channels. Yet the fears that led to these deci-
sions no longer threaten. It is time for the game industry to embrace a culture
of openness and sharing that facilitates the growth of the medium. Manufac-
turing companies have largely been playing the same game for the last thirty
years and are hesitant to play by new rules. In a more open production space,
there will be greater competition and the possibility for content that manu-
facturers do not endorse or approve. However, this is already the industry's
reality. The only dif erences are that game developers will be more able to
share knowledge and resources and users will have a new opportunity to
embrace and explore a medium they already care so deeply for.
The North American game industry produces a majority of the games
that appear on the international marketplace. It is a large industry charac-
terized by intense work practices, high risk and volatility. It lends itself to
high-stakes dramas: long hours, looming deadlines, hardcore workers, big
money payouts and tremendous losses. Yet, only occasionally has it come
under analytic scrutiny by academics. In part this is a product of general
inaccessibility. Cultural analysts have dii culty gaining access to private
organizations where long hours and intense work practices balk at the pos-
sibility of a “distraction” taking up space in their organization, which is
already pressed to succeed with the cards stacked against it. Although there
has been some signifi cant work in this space by myself and other analysts
(Dyer-Witheford and Sharman 2005; Kline, Dyer-Witheford and de Peuter