[game_edu] thoughts on access to industry research

[Jordan Lynn]

What about older, archived reports? If the up-to-date reports on the latest
titles and franchises are too expensive, what about industry and sales
information from five years ago?

I understand that the videogame industry expands rapidly each year, and so
older data might not be as useful, but access to data that companies may not
actively be using could be a more economical option to teach students about
industry structure and market performance.

-Jordan Lynn

On Fri, May 22, 2009 at 4:46 PM, S. Gold <goldfile at gmail.com> wrote:


>  As you all know, I am alwa

>




> ys very busy looking for resources and opportunities for all of us to

> benefit, but sometimes I come across small stumbling blocks. This is one of

> those occasions where I need a couple more heads to help me come up with

> possible solutions that might help bring this resource to all of us in

> education.

>

> I recently found myself on a quest to access game industry research

> information that is normally sold to various studios per report or via

> purchasing seats to the database of information. When I am referring to

> research information, I mean in-depth information on game titles, industry

> trends, franchise history, marketing analysis, competition analysis, etc...

> This is information that really is not accessible via a Google search. I

> tried to talk to the folks at NPD, “I appreciate your inquiry, but at this

> point NPD does not wish to participate. We have quite a strain on our

> resources right now, so we can't make any time commitment.” I then spoke to

> EEDAR, a “a business intelligence company”. The cost to get access to

> EEDAR’s info via GamePulse is $25K USD per seat (or $50K for 5 seats) per

> year with most large studios buying into the 5 seat access. Of course, that

> kind of pocket change is not in the budget of most educational departments.

> So I have been in touch with the CEO of EEDAR (http://eedar.com) and he

> said that he has a great affinity for education, he realizes that this is

> information that educators need access to in order to really give students a

> true understanding of the business of games. However he finds it hard to

> sell something to EA for $25K and then turnaround and sell the same thing to

> educators for considerably less. So he is looking for ideas on how to do

> business with educational institutions without jeopardizing current clients.

> My questions to you: 1) is this the kind of information you would like

> access to? 2) what would you be willing to pay if your institution could

> have access? 3) can you think of a reasonable recommendation that would

> satisfy all parties?

>

> Ideas that are currently being floated:

>

>    - Creating a “lite” version of GamePulse – probably branded under a

>    different name

>    - Custom reports that give game industry info with permission to

>    redistribute to students (custom reports are still pricey, but not like the

>    all access GamePulse). Typically, there is no license to redistribute.

>

>

> All of your comments and ideas will be compiled and I will present them in

> hopes of making something like this open to all educators.

>

> Everyone have a great weekend (those in the USA – have a great long

> weekend).

>

>

> Susan

> --

> Susan Gold

> Skype: tahoegold

>

> "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

> Oscar Wilde

>

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>

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