[Air-l] CFP: Digital Games Industries

[Jason Rutter]

Apologies for any cross posting.

DIGITAL GAMES INDUSTRIES: DEVELOPMENTS, IMPACT AND DIRECTION

19th-20th Sept 2003
ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition
University of Manchester,
Manchester, England.

Call For Papers

One of the major distinguishing features of modern capitalism is its
restlessness.  New activities emerge from within to compete with older, more
established, rivals displacing them in the process or succumbing to
competitive pressures themselves.  But as these new activities become
embedded in economic systems and old ones disappear there are profound
effects on the structure of economies, as well as on production,
consumption, demand, technology and employment.  The digital gaming industry
is one of the more important recent examples of this phenomenon of creative
destruction.  The study of this industry allows us to gain new insights
about innovation, the creation of new consumption and economic activities,
the growth of business opportunities and the development of the market in
terms of demand and consumption as well as supply.

Against the backdrop of the highly competitive economic environment of
gaming platforms, software and new game-enabled consumer technologies, the
ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition (CRIC) will be
hosting a two day workshop on the socio-economics of digital gaming. The
workshop aims to bring together international delegates from academic,
policy and commercial circles for an in-depth discussion on nature and
characteristics of this emerging sector: the 'drivers', key 'players', the
'current state of play', and the impact of the industry on the modern
economy and the framework of its evolution.

No new activity is without its context.  Thus further issues arise in
relation to the link between existing activities and consumption practices
and the role they play in shaping the development of the digital gaming
industries and new forms of technologically mediated consumption. Since the
development of the games industry may be perceived as an important example
of restless, emergent capitalism it follows that it may provide important
lessons for policy in relation to economic enterprise.

Digital gaming provides an excellent empirical probe to gain a better
understanding of a range of debates current in industry, academia and policy
but raises issues that cannot be dealt with solely through a
mono-disciplinary approach. Therefore, this event encourages a broader
inter-disciplinary framework drawing up sociology, economics, management,
innovation studies and so forth.

CRIC invites papers on all aspects of the digital games industry, its
development, production and end consumption but particularly welcome
submissions in the following areas:

* Competitive processes and their regulation
* The technology of gaming
* New sectors:
     Theories of business
     Analogous industries
     Emergent industries
* Role of venture capital and investment
* Standardisation of technologies and markets, instituted economic processes
* Inter-firm interactions and strategic alliances
* IPR, licensing and piracy
     Corporate spillovers
     Licensing agreements
* Labour markets and mobility
     Clustering and brain drains
     International division of labour
     Ethical practices & the World Trade Agreement
* Economics of demand and consumption
     Development of consumer capabilities
     Consumers as producers
     Digital gaming and value
* Evolution through success and failure

The workshop is keen to receive papers which offer firm and national case
studies as well as international comparisons and empirical work on
consumption.

Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words long and, in addition to an
overview of the work to be presented, should include:

   * All authors' names, institutional address, email contacts and URL
   * A list of up to six keywords
   * Details of data and models used
   * Full references for works cited

Abstracts, proposals and expressions of intent should be submitted
electronically in Word or RTF format to Jason.Rutter at man.ac.uk.

Deadline for expressions of intent to participate: 3rd December, 2002
Deadline for abstracts: 3rd February 2003
Accepted authors notified: 3rd March 2003
Deadline for camera ready copy: 28th July 2003

CRIC will provide assistance with workshop fees for all delegates and travel
expenses for those presenting work. Papers presented will form the basis of
an edited collection on the economies of digital gaming.

Stan Metcalfe    Jason Rutter    Ronnie Ramlogan

ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition,
The University of Manchester,
Harold Hankins Building
Booth Street West,
Manchester,
M13 9QH
www.cric.ac.uk/cric