Abstract: Through a retrospective account of the evolution of China's online game industry, this paper
examines the political, economic and cultural factors, with an emphasis on formal policy making, that
have shaped the industry. Drawing on the theory of fragmented authoritarianism, this study finds that
10 Chinese online games are deeply shaped by the political environment of the autocratic Chinese system,
which features inter-ministerial competition and intertwined state control and commercial interests. The
current Chinese online market is combined with a strong private sector presence and a considerable
government role. The Chinese government seems to have achieved its policy goal of helping Chinese
companies to dominate the domestic market. However, the extensive and ambiguous government
15 policy and regulations, have, to some extent, restrains innovation. To that end, whether China can
accomplish its three-stepped importation-substitution-creation strategy in this highly creative industry
remains to be seen and warrants future investigation."
Editorial by Timothy Loew, executive director of Mass DiGi, encouraging Massachusetts to tap the state's game workforce potential and avoid mistakes of Rhode Island in financing 38 Studios
Abstract: "The video game industry is a billion dollar industry with an ever-growing fan base.
Massachusetts, along with other states, has begun to take an interest in further developing this
dynamic industry. A problem facing many policy makers and economic developers is accurately
defining the video game industry, determining the types of workers that form of human capital
within its workforce and where these businesses are located. This study helps to solve this
problem by converting video game credits, found in all video games, into Standard Occupational
Codes to identify the types of workers who comprise the industry and by conducting spatial
analysis using Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). It also uses the Occupational Information
Network to evaluate what forms of human capital comprises the video game industry. The
results show the video game workforce comprises both creative workers such as artists and
musicians, but also computer programmers, engineers, and business management and
marketing professionals. This workforce tends to be concentrated not only in larger U.S.
metropolitan areas but also in regions with a significant high-technology workforce, college
towns, and government laboratories. Also, as this diverse workforce contains a wide variety of
skills and abilities, a common theme is being able to work together as a team to develop a
product. This study is part of a growing body of research and initiatives to identify and to locate
new, creative industries within metropolitan regions. This research will contribute to future
research using occupational analysis to identify new and growing industries."