Video games, piracy as great equalizers -- MIT professor

By Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net IF there were any great equalizers in new digital media, it would be video games and piracy, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Co-Director for Comparative Media Studies Henry Jenkins III. In an interview with hackenslash at the recently held Games Convention Asia (GCA) in Singapore, Jenkins said video games have converged different entertainment platforms that allowed producers of these contents to exercise new ways to stretch the viability of their intellectual properties. Jenkins refers to this as "transmedia strategies." Though video games started out as a stand alone entertainment platform, with stories and characters of their own, they eventually became a convergent platform. There are now tie-ups among movie studios, book and comics publishers, and music recording companies with video game developers to come up with convergent content. Jenkins said that this trend will continue on as more people who are seeking specific content find out releases regarding their favorite material, be it books, music, movies, TV series, video games, and even toys. Jenkins cited the success of the Star Wars franchise wherein George Lucas used different platforms to expand the Star Wars universe. "Lucas had podracing in the movies but people wanted to know more about it so he came out with a video game. It's this kind of market curiosity and demand that drives producers to seek other platforms to expand their creation. Video games are just the most viable," he said. On the other hand, Jenkins noted that other attempts might fall flat as producers are not familiar with how the dynamics of convergent transmedia strategies are done. One particular story is the Matrix Trilogy approach, wherein the producers relied too much on using the video game version of the Matrix as background material leading to the next two movies. The strategy flubbed as most viewers of the next two movies were not familiar with some of the references in the movies that were supposed to be included in the video game, which served as a prequel. Meanwhile, Jenkins also noted that piracy is a contentious issue but defends it as a necessity for consumers who have no access to many materials that would have been otherwise made available to them. "We're in a world where global communication allows people to know about content the minute it's released and we want to get access to it. Overtime, it may build a market. There will be enough consumer interest to break through barriers to get that content," he said. He sees piracy in two ways: that it is the only available way for developing markets to get access to materials and another is that it is a rebellious method for consumers against high prices of original material. To balance this, Jenkins said that both producers and consumers would have to reach a "moral economy" where the system of belief is that transactions are fair. Producers must know where to take their materials and where it is demanded, then decide on how to make prices more affordable without losing to piracy. Jenkins believed that users, if given the proper access point for content they want, will buy original instead of resorting to piracy. Jenkins said that many production companies are looking at different strategies to bring their content to more people and ensuring that these markets do not shift to buying pirated material. "The younger generation of executives understands the digital age more than their older counterparts. The question now is: how much influence do these younger guys have over the older guys so they could change their strategy? Once they solve that, the rest will be easier,” he said.