Entertainment- a real need?

[zaiteku]

When working in the games industry, we always call it one of the toughest industries because there is no real need for entertainment products as compared to other needs. But is this really true? If so, why get into the entertainment industry at all?

I think there is a "need" for entertainment myself, but what is the "key" ingredient that turns an entertainment product from one that is not needed into a "must have" product? ("I have to have that game, watch that movie, or read that fiction book!")

-Ty

 

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[Darkside]

I'd say the strongest factor is advertising. If you can spend a lot of money to advertise your product, people will come to you in droves. Doesn't matter how great your product is if people don't know about it. How many people went out and bought Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 because of the television commercials and online ads that they saw? I'd say a large percentage.

This does present an obstacle in the path of most entrepreneurs who are just starting their business as they won't have lots of money to spend on advertising. They'll have to find creative ways to create buzz. Richard Branson was very good at this; doing lots of dangerous stunts to get attention for his company and products.

 

[Knowledge Kick]

Of course entertainment isn't a need in the sense that you would die without it, but I would say that it IS in fact a need.

My reasoning behind this? Every culture in the World has some form of entertainment regardless of how rich or how poor the people are.

Every civilization throughout history has partaken in some type of entertainment.

So I think it's safe to say that the concept of entertainment isn't going anywhere. It seems that even in bad economic times people still need something to take their mind off of the everyday struggle.

 

[FDJustin]

The key to superb entertainment? That is frustratingly simple, and complicated to answer at the same time. Once you have a theme, you need to know what the people who are attracted to that theme want out of it. After you recognize what they like about a theme / want out of it, skillful delivery is what's going to make an addict out of them.

I'll try to give an example... Zombie lovers, at least the kind I'm familiar with all have a sort of survival hero fantasy that works so well with the theme. Fans will often compare survival strategies with each other, talk about what would be smart or stupid to do in the situation, and love both testing their own ideas, and seeing how other people would (mis)handle the situation.

So to make an entertainment product they'd swoon over, I'd make sure to put strong emphasis on the survivors, what they do, and how they attempt to cope as the situations change.


It also helps to understand what makes a medium successful, and not just a genre / theme / whatever. MMO's for example are highly reliant on metagame for success. I think this is especially true if you have non-unique gameplay. Metagame is all the things that happen outside / around the gameplay, such as people creating guilds, working together on missions, game-masters leading live events. Things like that.

While I feel the above is the core for making an entertainment product good, it's just the core. The deeper your understanding of your medium, the greater your power to deliver that core in a way people will be impressed by, and receptive to. Things like atmospheric sounds and objects, emotional impact, foreshadowing....


To be honest, I think the ability to understand what draws people into something, and the ability to create an enjoyable experience are two separate skillsets. They must come together to get the results you want.

 

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[Gymjunkie]

Entertainment IS a need because if it wasn't people wouldn't spend hours watching TV, listening to Music and playing Games... People spend HOURS every day so there is a demand for it

 

[Graves]

Entertaining games will sell well.
Entertainment is one of the most important needs - the point of life is to have fun, after all

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Entertainment is a huge need because ENJOYMENT is a need. FUN is a need. PLEASURE is a need. People demand these things and they will often choose it over most everything else.

 

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[Nicola]

Entertainment is definitely a need.

There is a reason that the first part of procreation is fun.

Think about it!

 

[Rain]

Entertainment, generally speaking, is the highest paying field in the world (sales being #2).

It can definitely be considered as a "need".

 

[zaiteku]

Awesome! thanks for your insights guys, good stuff!

I do view it as a need for sure, it just has many saturated markets- have to find a way to cut through...

 

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[intrigue]

There's good entertainment and then theres bad entertainment. Just like any industry, quality is important.