The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder

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The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder

A comparative study of the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video

game industries

Anders Wiig Letnes

Master´s Thesis in Media Studies

Department of Media and Communication University of Oslo

June 15, 2020

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The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder

A comparative study of the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video

game industries

Anders Wiig Letnes

Master´s Thesis in Media Studies

Department of Media and Communication University of Oslo

June 15, 2020

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Copyright Anders Wiig Letnes 2020

The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder:

A comparative study of the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video game industries

Anders Wiig Letnes http://www.duo.uio.no

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Abstract

This thesis studies the differences in the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video game industries, and the possible consequences of said

differences. It does so by using a theoretical framework mainly consisting of discourse theory, agenda-setting theory and framing, and by using the methods of content analysis and critical discourse analysis (CDA). There were two key findings. First, the Norwegian video game industry is invisible, but “the Swedish game wonder”, which the Swedish industry is called, is not. This could make the Norwegian industry less important for the public, politicians and investors. Second, the Norwegian media tries to bust myths about the industry, games and players, while the Swedish media keeps the myth of the game wonder alive. This difference in coverage was influenced by the financial crisis, which changed the Norwegian coverage entirely, but did not alter the Swedish coverage as much. In general, the Swedish coverage is more positive and balanced than the Norwegian coverage, while the Norwegian coverage is more negative and sensationalist. This could lead to both little knowledge and to false knowledge about the video game industry, Norway´s biggest cultural export, which could both affect its potential future success, and the understanding of the industry, games, gaming and players in the public. Therefore, the infrequent and unbalanced coverage should be changed and improved.

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Foreword

It started with a mix of jealousy and fascination. Norway and Sweden are neighbors, have a shared culture and history, a similar language, political system, economy and media system.

Yet, for some reason I could not fathom at the time, the Swedish video game industry was much more successful than the one of Norway, my home country.

You could say, then, that this thesis was born out of a sense of broken national pride.

Still, I would say it was more fascination than jealousy. So similar, yet so different – why? As an avid gamer I know that Norwegian developers produce great games – I have played them!

– so why are they not as successful as Swedish titles? And why do the media ignore them?

Frustration was also a key ingredient. Film, TV-series, literature and music are

frequently featured in the Norwegian media, but video games? It is rare. And this, it turns out, is very strange, given the fact that video games are Norway´s biggest cultural export – bigger than literature and film combined. Where is the media coverage on this export? Such

questions and observations led me to pursue this topic further, and – through jealousy and frustration, but mostly fascination – this thesis is the product of my pursuit.

I have had a great time writing about a topic I care about, but it was hard work. It would not have been possible without my excellent supervisor Joakim Johansen Østby

(Spring 2019-Spring 2020). His patience, feedback and encouragement has been vital, and has made it easier to know what works and what needs more work. I am still amazed at how he saw something in my project description two years ago, and how he has helped me step by step towards what the thesis is today. It has undergone many changes, and sure looks quite different from the outline I handed in during the fall of 2018. He has always given me just the right amount of feedback, so I never felt overwhelmed, but also given me enough to work on for the next supervision meeting. This balance between feedback and encouragement has helped me keep my motivation up all the way. Thank you very much!

I also want to thank my fiancé Liv Roli Andersen from the bottom of my heart for her infinite patience, understanding and encouragement – not only in this, but in everything. She has let me focus on the thesis when I needed to, and she has helped me take my mind off of it afterwards. Talking to her about the thesis has also helped me keep all the concepts in order.

Hopefully, these findings will find their way to a newsroom, where they might serve as eye-openers, or even warnings, to journalists, editors and media owners.

Ignore them at your own peril.

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Figures

Figure 1: Bar chart showing articles using terms meaning “the game industry”………. 31

Tables

Table 1: The top 10 free-to-play games by revenue (SuperData, 2020, p. 12) ... 12

Table 2: The opportunity frame and the risk frame ... 38

Table 3: Frame types ... 38

Table 4: Number of articles per year per country ... 47

Table 5: Was the industry the main topic of the article? If not, was it about video games? Did it include an explicit and/or implicit characterization? ... 47

Table 6: Main topic and explicit/implicit characterization separated by country ... 48

Table 7: Framing ... 48

Table 8: Framing in percentages by year ... 48

Table 9: Opportunity and risk framing in total by country ... 49

Table 10: Framing over time ... 49

Table 11: Which industry is covered? ... 50

Table 12: Coverage of the national, international or both industries over time ... 50

Table 13: Framing of the national industry by country ... 52

Table 14: Framing of the national industry by country over time ... 53

Table 15: Frame type over time ... 53

Table 16: The frame types of economy and industry over time ... 54

Table 17: Number of articles per source ... 54

Table 18: Number of articles per source over time ... 55

Table 19: Framing by source ... 55

Table 20: Framing by source over time ... 56

Table 21: Articles featuring a comment from a spokesperson ... 56

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Table 22: Coverage of the national, international and both industries by source ... 57

Table 23: Major events per year ... 58

Table 24: Framing in the spring coding session ... 60

Table 25: The 48 articles analyzed in CDA ... 64

Table 26: The articles from 2004 ... 65

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Topic & research questions

1.1.1 Topic

For years, I have noticed that the Norwegian press rarely covers the video game industry, and when they do, the coverage tends to be unbalanced. Most of the articles are sensationalist or negative, and games/players are depicted as either strange or dangerous. After working with this thesis, this has only become more obvious.

When most news was about Covid-19, the lead paragraph of an NRK-article on video games read: “Opinion: Stay inside. Have as little close contact with others as possible. Use the internet as community. Suddenly, the computer nerd is the ideal for how we should behave in society” (Oldeide, 2020). The journalist says that he is an “enthusiastic gamer”, but I still think it illustrates what type of coverage gets prioritized.

As an enthusiastic gamer myself, I am tired of such coverage, and in this thesis, I want to illustrate how the video game industry is portrayed. Not to singlehandedly change the coverage, but to at least show the media, researchers and the public what it looks like. I have played games most my life, and my main academic interest in media studies is media effects.

My thesis encompasses both, as I am interested in the consequences of the coverage.

I have also observed that film, TV-series and music are covered frequently, despite the fact that video games have actually become Norway´s biggest cultural export – bigger than literature and film combined. One third of the Norwegian population plays video games daily (Kulturdepartementet, 2019, p. 15). There is thus a huge discrepancy between reality and the reality presented by the media, and I wanted to study this discrepancy and its consequences.

A comparative study can show if this discrepancy is characteristic of Norway, or if it is similar elsewhere. Comparing Norway and Sweden is useful because they are often seen as similar – culturally, economically, but, more importantly, also in terms of their national media markets. Yet, their national video game industries are different in size and success. While video games are Norway´s biggest cultural export, Sweden has produced some of the most successful games of all time, for example Minecraft and Candy Crush Saga.

Sweden has historically been more of an authority on video games than Norway. For instance, the Swedish company Bergsala AB has been the main importer of Nintendo in

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Scandinavia, and has daughter companies in Norway, Denmark and Finland. Moreover, Sweden has always a bigger IT industry than Norway. According to Oslo Economics (2018), a Norwegian analytics firm, the Swedish video game industry´s growth correlates with how the IT industry developed. Platforms that made game development possible were established as the technology developed further, and at the same time the video game culture grew and got more accepted (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 53). One could argue, then, that a video game culture was established at an earlier time in Sweden than in Norway, and that it grew faster.

Such circumstances have also affected the size of the industry today.

Sweden is still an authority compared to Norway, not only when it comes to the size of the industry, and the success of its titles (like Minecraft), but also because Norwegian

developers go to Sweden to get private funding for their projects. Jon Cato Lorentzen, a former Norwegian video game journalist, now CEO of the Norwegian developer Krillbite Studio, has said: “If a Norwegian Minecraft or Fortnite is published, then Swedes will be reaping the success. This is because Norwegian investors are unsure about what games are”¹ (Letnes, 2020b). In other words, Sweden has been, and still is, ahead of Norway here. The Swedish video game industry is referred to as “the Swedish game wonder” by the Swedish media – a moniker that seems earned. Would a nation with a similar media system, but a different video game industry, have a similar or different coverage of the industry?

The Norwegian video game industry is smaller, and there is little previous research on it, especially its depiction in the media. Kristine Jørgensen, a Norwegian video game scholar, is among the few who has studied it, and her work² is vital for anyone wanting to understand its structure. Jørgensen has suggested policy changes, but they are mostly economic, like increasing public funding, and redirecting it towards publishing (2009, pp. 333-335).

In 2018, Oslo Economics published the report “Den norske spillbransjen” (“The Norwegian video game industry”), on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. It looks at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the Norwegian video game industry. Many of them are economic in nature. However, one major weakness is that the industry has low visibility, both in Norway and internationally, and one opportunity is to increase visibility, especially in Norway, but also abroad. Investors know little about the industry, and the industry gets little attention in the media, in both economy and culture sections. In its final section, the report recommends that the industry should be more “proactive”. In fact, it says there are tendencies

1 Original: “Hvis det kommer et norsk Minecraft eller Fortnite eller noe sånt, så vil det være svensker som sitter og høster inn suksessen av det. Det skyldes at norske investorer er usikre på hva spill er”

2 For instance, Jørgensen (2009) and Jørgensen (2013).

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within it to not take the visibility issue seriously. Oslo Economics thus recommends a joint effort to increase visibility and build networks, and it adds that the government could help here (2018, p. 59-62). In sum, the Norwegian video game industry is invisible in the media, invisible abroad, invisible to investors and invisible to politicians. Yet, Oslo Economics does not study visibility itself, for instance media coverage. The policy documents which the report laid the groundwork for – the 2018 white paper Meld. St. 8 (2018-2019) Kulturens kraft.

Kulturpolitikk for framtida³ and the 2019 strategy Spillerom – Dataspillstrategi 2020-2022⁴ – made important changes, but they are not about visibility and media coverage either.

In other words, scholars, reports and white papers have to varying degrees neglected the importance of media coverage on the video game industry. Not only an academic research gap, then, but also a lack of knowledge among politicians making video game policies. This missing piece of information is important to our understanding of the industry, and its public discussion. This is thus an important topic of research, and one goal here is to mend the gap.

Many people have decried the media coverage. In 2019, the Norwegian game My Child Lebensborn won a BAFTA. Martin Bergesen, a Norwegian video game journalist and author, said in a blogpost that the game was only covered in Norwegian media after it won.

Yet, he argues, as a game about the children of German soldiers and Norwegian women during WWII, cultural journalists could easily have written about it. In fact, international media like Der Spiegel and The Guardian did so, even before it had won (Bergesen, 2019).

Norwegian journalists talk about video game coverage in two interviews with

PRESSET., a magazine run by students at the University of Oslo⁵. Rune Fjeld Olsen, former VG-journalist, agrees with Oslo Economics´ claim that video games are not visible enough in the Norwegian media: “Yes, undoubtedly. All the big Norwegian media had good video game coverage before, but they do not anymore. So, what is covered now is mostly phenomena based” (Letnes, 2020a). Lorentzen says that when the media covers video games, “it is

«screen time», «conflict» […], it is «millionaire through playing Fortnite»” (Letnes, 2020b).

Their comments about the type of coverage matches my own experience.

Studying this infrequent and unbalanced coverage is important for multiple reasons.

As explained above, there is a research and knowledge gap related to the media coverage of the video game industry, which must be mended. Moreover, as my theoretical framework will

3 The power of culture. Cultural policies for the future.

4 Computer games strategy 2020-2022. The term “spillerom” is similar to “elbowroom”, but is a play in words, and directly translates to “room to play” or “gaming room”.

5 I am the Culture Editor of PRESSET., and I have written the interviews referred to. They were not conducted as a part of this thesis, but share its topic, which is interesting from a journalistic perspective as well.

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make clear, such infrequent and unbalanced coverage can have many negative consequences.

According to agenda-setting theory, infrequent coverage could make the video game industry seem unimportant to the public (Carroll & McCombs, 2003, p. 36-37). In both discourse theory and framing theory, the way people talk about something, and the way the media frames something, can influence our understanding of it (Entman, 1993, p. 52; Foucault, 1972, p. 49). Unbalanced coverage could lead to wrong perceptions of the industry. It could even influence investor interest and political interest, as well as the understanding of video games in the public and among players. Despite Oslo Economics´ recommendations, then, more visibility might not be positive in itself, if the industry is portrayed in a negative way.

1.1.2 Research questions

Based on the above, I want to study and compare the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video game industries. I want to do this in order to mend the research gap, to find out if the Norwegian coverage really is as infrequent and unbalanced as claimed, and if the Norwegian industry is indeed invisible. I am comparing this to the

Swedish coverage to find out if a nation with a similar media system, but a different video game industry, has a similar or different media coverage. As infrequent and unbalanced coverage could have multiple negative consequences, it is important to study these. The findings might serve as advice, inspiration and warnings, which might help change and improve coverage, which might in turn mitigate the consequences.

I have thus two research questions for this thesis:

1. How often and in what ways are the international and national video game industries depicted in the Norwegian and Swedish media?

2. What differences are there in the media coverage, and what are their possible consequences?

In order to answer them, I am studying the media coverage of the video game industry in three Norwegian news sources (Aftenposten, VG, NRK) and three Swedish news sources (Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, SVT). I study articles from the years 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2018, both quantitively and qualitatively. After presenting the topic and research questions, I will briefly introduce my theoretical framework and methodology, as well as provide reading instructions for the rest of the thesis.

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1.2 Theoretical framework & methodology

1.2.1 Theoretical framework

My theoretical framework will be thoroughly described in Chapter 2. I am writing in the field of media studies, which has always used theories and methods from both the humanities and social sciences. I am working with the media effects theories of agenda-setting and framing, but I am also drawing on discourse theory, which comes from linguistics. My framework will first describe the industry, then how the media is covering this industry, and then describe the theories which can be used to discuss the consequences of this coverage.

Firstly, I will describe the video game industry, both the international and national ones. This will establish what the media is covering when covering these industries, as well as differences between the Norwegian and Swedish industry. I will then discuss how the media covers these industries, and the type of journalism which usually does – cultural journalism.

Secondly, I will be drawing on discourse as a theoretical concept. A discourse is “a representation of some area of social life from a particular perspective” (Fairclough, 2010, p.

289). Discourses are “practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak”

(Foucault, 1972, p. 49). Media discourse on the industry will also form perceptions of it.

Thirdly, I will be drawing on agenda-setting theory. Its main argument is that the prominence (or “salience”) of elements in the news becomes prominent in the public as well.

Formal aspects and frequency communicate salience, and these are used by the public to decide which objects are the most important (Carroll & McCombs, 2003, p. 36-37). Thus, infrequent media coverage on the industry makes it seem unimportant to the public.

Fourthly, I will be drawing on framing theory. According to Robert Entman (1993), framing involves making “some aspects of a perceived reality […] more salient” in a text, which then promotes “a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral

evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described” (1993, p. 52). In other words, framing involves highlighting some aspect of reality, in order to influence our

understanding of something. An article highlighting either positive or negative aspects of the video game industry could influence our understanding of it in a positive or negative way.

1.2.2 Methodology: Research, data, analysis

In this thesis, I will conduct both a content analysis and a critical discourse analysis. I will thus be studying articles about the video game industry both quantitatively and qualitatively.

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According to John E. Richardson, a quantitative analysis can summarize “what newspapers write”, while CDA can analyze “how” (2007, p. 20). Such an approach, then, will enable me to answer both parts of my first research question: How often and in what ways are the international and national video game industries depicted in the Norwegian and Swedish media? In the content analysis, I will analyze data generated through coding a set of variables related to each article. For instance, one important variable is how the article frames the video game industry. In CDA, the data I will analyze will be the language of a set of articles. These will be selected through the content analysis. More on this selection in Chapter 3.

1.3 Reader instructions

After this brief introduction, the thesis will proceed as follows.

Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework. In this chapter, I will describe and discuss the theories introduced above. As above, emphasis will be placed upon the relation between coverage and consequences. Differences and similarities between the theories and the

theoretical concepts will be discussed. This is important, as for instance frames and discourses are often defined quite similarly, yet refer to different, albeit related, concepts. I will also establish which frames I want to study, and which discourses I expect to find in CDA.

Chapter 3: Methodology. In this chapter, I will describe and discuss the methods introduced above. Emphasis will be placed on how I will conduct the content analysis, the version of CDA I want to use, and the connection between the two methods.

Chapter 4: Content Analysis. In this chapter, I will present the results of the content analysis. I will analyze data coded from 500 articles, from four years (2004, 2009, 2014, 2018), and from six different sources (four newspapers, two public broadcaster websites) – three from Norway (Aftenposten, VG, NRK), and three from Sweden (Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, SVT). Findings will help me answer the research questions. The results will also be used in the CDA, and they will also help me select the articles for CDA.

Chapter 5: Critical Discourse Analysis. In this chapter, I will analyze a total of 48 articles from the four years mentioned above. Each year will have its own section where Norwegian and Swedish articles will be analyzed together and compared. Each year will be divided in relevant themes, each with its own subsection. Analysis of textual features and discourse practices will be conducted simultaneously, and at the end of each year I will analyze social practices. Finally, in the last section, I will summarize the findings.

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Chapter 6: Conclusions & Summary. In this chapter, findings from the thesis as a whole will be summarized and discussed. I will answer the research questions, and draw conclusions. Finally, I will point out directions for further research, and look at the future of media coverage on the video game industry.

References. An alphabetical list of literature drawn upon in this thesis. The list is in four parts according to literature type: 1) Book & book chapters, 2) Scientific articles, 3) Reports & white papers and 4) Newspapers & websites.

Appendix. In this final section, I will include an overview of the variables from the content analysis, my coding frame and more examples of articles that I either included or excluded in my sample – and my arguments for doing so.

1.4 A note on translations

Some places, translations will be provided for Norwegian and Swedish words and sentences, both from the literature I am drawing on and from the newspapers articles that I am analyzing.

All translations were made by me. Some translations are supplemented with a footnote of the original quote in either Norwegian or Swedish. This was done in two cases: 1) When the quote contained Norwegian or Swedish words or concepts that were difficult to translate, or when multiple translations with different meanings were applicable. 2) When the quote included a strong statement, argument or claim, where it was important to maintain both its translated and original version, in case my readers want to read the original quote.

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Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework

In the following chapter, I will present the theoretical framework of this thesis. It consists of a description and discussion of the video game industry, cultural journalism, discourse as a theoretical term, of agenda-setting theory, framing theory and literature on what frames and discourses other researchers have found in similar research. My framework will first describe the industry, then how the media is covering this industry, and then describe theories which can be used to discuss the consequences of this coverage.

2.1 The Video Game Industry, media coverage and cultural journalism

2.1.1 The Video Game Industry: Casual or hardcore?

In this section, I will describe the video game industry, both the international and national ones. This will establish what the media is covering when covering these industries, as well as differences between the Norwegian and Swedish industries. I will then discuss how the media covers these industries, and the type of journalism which usually does – cultural journalism.

The international video game industry has been growing steadily since its birth in the 1980s, and it has surpassed both the music and movie industry in revenue (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 15). The participants in the industry are “developers, publishers, distributors, retailers, customers, consumers, IP-owners, platform owners and hardware owners”

(Zackariasson & Wilson, 2012, p. 3). Developers and publishers are the most important actors in the value chain (Kerr in Jørgensen, 2009, p. 319). Developers often lack the funds to develop and promote their games, and publishers thus have a crucial role in “bringing games to consumers”. The most successful ones are North American and Japanese (Zackariasson &

Wilson, 2012, p. 3). The biggest console manufacturers are from the US (Microsoft) and Japan (Nintendo, Sony). Both these facts make the US and Japan powerful actors in the international video game industry. However, China is becoming an important actor. In 2016, the Chinese video game market was the biggest, and the Chinese company Tencent had the largest video game revenue of all public game companies (Newzoo, 2016). When the media is covering the international industry, then, it is often the American, Japanese or Chinese one.

I will now discuss what games make the most revenue. People playing lucrative games must be an important target group for the industry, which it will try to reach via marketing, game design and communication. Like media coverage, this is a way of communicating with

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the public. The rest of the section will thus try to establish who the industry is communicating with, and what industry the media is covering, as well as which games and which players.

To find the most profitable target group, one can split the industry into segments. The entire industry had a revenue of 109 billion dollars in 2017. Differentiating in terms of which platform the game is for, gives the following pattern: smart phones (32 %), tablets (10 %), console (31 %), PC (23 %), browser (4 %) (Newzoo in Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 15). The mobile market, then, is the biggest single market within the industry.

Differentiating between the segments of “hardcore” and “casual” games and gamers is also common. The concept of casual “became popular around the year 2000” as a contrast to

“more traditional” games and gamers, now called “hardcore” (Juul, 2010, p. 8). In his book A casual revolution (2010), video game scholar Jesper Juul argues that the titular “casual revolution” is “a breakthrough moment” in video game history, where “[v]ideo games are being reinvented, and so is our image of those who play the games” (2010, p. 2). For Juul, this change is the result of an increase in so-called casual games, which are “easy to learn to play, fit well with a large number of players and work in many different situations” (2010, p. 5).

Hardcore games, on the other hand, are more complex and requires the gamer to invest more time in order to have a meaningful experience: “a casual game is sufficiently flexible to be played with a hardcore time commitment, but a hardcore game is too inflexible to be played with a casual time commitment” (Juul, 2010, p. 8-10).

Juul argues that early video games, like arcade games of the 1980s (Pac-Man, Tetris), were “made for a general audience because there was no separate audience of game experts at the time”. After that, video games “developed a large set of conventions, [grew] a specialized audience of fans … and alienated many players” (2010, p. 2). Now, he argues, the industry is targeting a different audience. A manager in publisher Electronic Arts said of the change: “I was surprised by how wired we were to a particular target audience of 18–34-year-old guys. It was a challenge to change the rule book of designing games for fraternity brothers” (Ryan in Juul, 2010, p. 7). In sum, casual games are becoming more popular than hardcore games, and casual gamers are now the industry´s target audience.

Mikolaj Dymek (2012) argues against Juul, saying that despite its global and seemingly mainstream success, “the video game industry is a subcultural industry that produces subcultural content for a subcultural audience with a subcultural industry logic”

(2012, p. 36). According to Dymek, the industry still caters to hardcore gamers, and in doing so, it alienates “the majority of society”, for instance women (2012, pp. 44-45).

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Three of his arguments are important to this thesis. The subcultural industry-argument already mentioned is the first one. Dymek draws on different definitions of “subculture”, and for instance sees it as a minority “differentiated from the majority culture” (Dymek, 2012, p.

36-37). Dymek´s second important argument, is that the way the video game industry works, and the way games are produced and marketed, contributes to a “subculturalization of an increasingly esoteric subculture of hardcore gamers” (2012, pp. 41-44). Dymek´s third important argument, which is arguably a direct response to Juul, is that if video games are to become “a truly universal majority mass-culture medium”, the hardcore subculture must evolve. “If, and when” that happens – Dymek is positive that it will – we might see “the revolutionary potential” of video games (2012, p. 53).

In sum, Juul argues that the industry has changed, while Dymek claims that “the expansion of the medium is impeded by subcultural mechanisms” (2012, p. 50). Juul discusses two trends in casual gaming. One is “mimetic interfaces” where player activity mimics the activity on the screen, making them easy to understand. Examples are Nintendo Wii games, where players hold the WiiMote⁶ and for instance move their arms to mimic golf.

Another is “downloadable casual games” that are “purchased online, can be played in short time bursts, and generally do not require an intimate knowledge of video game history” (Juul, 2010, p. 5). Dymek agrees that smartphones, with their touchscreens (“mimetic interfaces”) and app marketplaces (“downloadable casual games”), indeed have led to a massive growth in players. Yet, he neither believes that this a “reinterpretation” of video games, or that the industry has left the hardcore subculture behind. He argues that while mobile games are dominated by the genres of puzzle and platform, three-dimensional games are still mostly hardcore genres like FPS and action. Dymek also argues that the revenues generated by typical hardcore gamers are still larger than that of casual gamers (2012, p. 52-54).

Juul and Dymek expressed their opposing views in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The articles I am analyzing in this thesis are from the years of 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2018. Juul´s casual revolution is between 2000 and 2010, and smartphones (the first iPhone came in 2007) and Nintendo Wii (released in 2006) contributed to this revolution. One could thus argue that the industry was more hardcore than casual in 2004, then became more casual in 2009, and if the development has continued, more casual than hardcore in 2014 and 2018 too.

I argue that both Juul´s and Dymek´s arguments have merit. Drawing on statistics, for example from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Juul claims that playing “video

6 The motion controller for Nintendo Wii. It tracks motions, and can be pointed at the screen like a cursor.

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games has become the norm” [his emphasis] (2010, p. 8). Moreover, “[s]imple casual games are more popular than complex hardcore games” (Gartenberg in Juul, 2010, p. 8). Juul wrote the book in 2010, but the ESA´s report from 2019 still shows that 65 % of adult Americans play video games. There are not more (American) players than ten years ago, then, but one could still say that playing is the norm. According to ESA, casual is the most popular genre, but it is unclear on what the percentages mean: “71 % Casual”, “53 % Action” and “47 % Shooters” (2019, p. 6). It cannot mean that 71 % of all games played are casual, as the other two genres make up more than 29 %. It could mean that 71 % of all players play casual games, and that 53 % of all players play action games, i.e. that players play more genres than one. Thus, casual is the most popular, with action and shooters quite close.

The same report includes a list of the best-selling games of 2018. Of these 20 titles, only four could be considered casual: Minecraft, Mario Kart 8, Rocket League and Super Mario Odyssey. After many updates, Minecraft has become increasingly complicated, and I am not sure if it could be considered casual anymore. The hardcore game Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 tops the list (Entertainment Software Association, 2019, p. 20). These numbers back up Dymek´s claim that hardcore gamers are still a valuable group.

Better graphics have traditionally been a way to sell new consoles, and Juul uses the Nintendo Wii as an example of how this “is beginning to be outshone […] by more casual experiences aimed at more casual players” (2010, p. 16). Wii won the last console war⁷ by out-selling competitors Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Yet, its follow-up, Wii U, was a huge flop. Nintendo moved away from the WiiMote, which enabled casual games with “mimetic interfaces”. This move and the flop could have impeded the casual revolution. Nintendo´s newest console, Nintendo Switch, is a success, but PS4 has still sold twice as much.

The other trend Juul discusses, that casual games are downloadable, is not exclusive to casual games. Downloads, games that are free to play, mobile games – these have arguably also contributed to spreading hardcore content. Moreover, the last decade, the years after Juul wrote the book, have seen the rise of esports. I argue that esports has been a sort of comeback for hardcore games and gamers, and in many ways can be seen as the return of the hardcore.

Many of the most popular esports games are very much hardcore: PUBG, League of Legends, Dota 2, CS:GO, Hearthstone, Overwatch. These are complicated strategy⁸ or FPS

7 Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are competitors in the console market. They usually release consoles at the same time, and each cycle is called a generation. The competition in each generation is often called a console war.

8 Or one could say “strategic”, as the genre of League of Legends and Dota 2 is actually called multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Hearthstone is in the digital collectible card game (DCCG) genre.

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games, which takes time to understand. Not only for the players, but also for the spectators – of which there are 495 million (Pannekeet, 2019). In fact, only Rocket League⁹ is casual among the biggest esports games. Even Fortnite, which is more directed towards a younger audience, is an FPS which also includes other complex mechanics, like building shelters.

Esports do not negate the casual revolution. As mentioned, mobile is still the largest segment within the industry, but not every mobile game is casual – although they often are.

Mobile versions of hardcore games, like Call of Duty Mobile, have also had success. To investigate Dymek´s claim that hardcore gamers generate more revenue, one could look at games by revenue. According to a report by SuperData (2020), free-to-play games¹⁰ earned more than premium games in 2019. Out of the top 10 free-to-play games by revenue, shown in the table below, only Candy Crush Saga and Pokémon GO are casual (2020, pp. 12-14).

Table 1: The top 10 free-to-play games by revenue (SuperData, 2020, p. 12)

The casual revolution has indeed opened up video games to more than just hardcore gamers, but many popular and high-grossing games are still hardcore. Thus, it seems that gaming has not become truly mainstream yet. I believe we see Dymek´s subcultural mechanisms in the rise of esports. In other words, while playing has become the norm, as Juul puts it, when the media covers the industry, it might not necessarily be the casual games and gamers that is in focus. Popular and high-grossing games are likely to be covered, for instance Fortnite. When covering the industry, then, the media might often be covering the hardcore part of it.

2.1.2 The Norwegian and Swedish Video Game Industry

As mentioned in section 1.1, Jørgensen´s work is vital for understanding the Norwegian video game industry. I will focus on aspects which differentiates it from the Swedish industry. The relationship between Norwegian developers and (international and national) publishers is

9 A racing/soccer hybrid.

10 Games that are free to play, but often with unlockable features that cost money. With premium games, customers get all the content upon purchase, although these often feature unlockable content, as well.

Nr. Title Revenue Nr. Title Revenue

1 Fortnite $1.8B 6 Pokémon GO $1.4B

2 Dungeon Fighter Online $1.6B 7 Crossfire $1.4B

3 Honour of Kings / Arena of Valor $1.6B 8 Fate / Grand Order $1.2B

4 League of Legends $1.5B 9 Game for Peace $1.2B

5 Candy Crush Saga $1.5B 10 Last Shelter: Survival $1.1B

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“loose”, while it is “tighter” in Sweden. This has made Norwegian developers more

independent, but also made it harder for them to succeed globally (Jørgensen, 2009, p. 337).

The Swedish video game industry is bigger. Four Swedish studios have more than a hundred employees each: Massive Entertainment, Avalanche, Digital Illusions (DICE) and Starbreeze (Sandqvist, 2012, p. 144). In other words, Sweden has four companies roughly the same size as or bigger than Funcom, the biggest Norwegian studio. Swedish developers are more “vulnerable” to publishers. Most Swedish developers have given up their intellectual properties to publishers, which means giving up control over game development as well (Sandqvist, 2012, p. 149). Compared to Norwegian developers, then, Swedish ones have less freedom, but are bigger. International publishers have influenced the Swedish success, as they have invested and made bigger productions possible (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 53).

One might argue that visibility is even more important for Swedish developers, as they are mostly funded by publishers, investors and private capital. Without publishers, Norwegian developers have also sought such funding. Yet, the Norwegian industry mainly consists of small companies with limited resources and low sales, making it hard to finance development and attract private capital (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 60). Unlike Swedish studios, Norwegian ones are able to apply for specific public funding for video game development, through the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI). In 2018, NFI granted a total of 446,6 million NOK to film, TV-series, documentaries and video games. The latter received 23,7 million NOK of this total (Norsk filminstitutt, 2018, p. 29). NFI has an obligation to fund the industry, but private investors are free to choose what they fund. Thus, one could say that visibility is even more important for Swedish developers, and this might also explain why Oslo Economics says that there are tendencies among Norwegian studios to not take visibility seriously (2018, p. 61).

While the public funding works “relatively well” for “small game productions”, it is not sufficient for companies wanting to scale up (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 60). According to Jørgensen, this implies that the government either wants the industry to focus on small games that do not require publishers, or to find funding elsewhere. The government encourages development, but neglects distribution, which Jørgensen finds “problematic” (2009, pp. 332- 333). Many companies are very dependent on public funding (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 60).

This creates a system where the industry is moving in circles, instead of forward.

There seems to be more knowledge about the industry in Sweden, resulting in more private capital. According to Oslo Economics, it would be beneficial to start viewing games as industry more than culture. This is done in other Nordic countries. In Sweden and Finland studios can apply for grants at “sector neutral” funding agencies, which sends stronger signals

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to investors than the NFI funding does (Oslo Economics, 2018, p. 62). This understanding of video games could also be tied to visibility, and how the industry is portrayed in the media.

Oslo Economics thinks that Norwegian developers can capitalize on their competence, and take part in the growing global game industry, but in order to do so, the industry should be formally organized. All the other Nordic countries have an organization fronting the industry. This can make the industry more visible (Oslo Economics, 2018, pp. 60-61).

As mentioned, Oslo Economics (2018) laid the groundwork for two government white papers, but as pointed out, they do not deal with visibility or media coverage. Nonetheless, the government seems to want the video game industry to succeed. In a way, it already has, as it is Norway´s biggest cultural export. Yet, it is far behind other Nordic countries, and has the potential to grow. Why is the media not covering this industry?

2.1.3 Media coverage and cultural journalism

As mentioned, two interviews in PRESSET. cover the issue of video games in the media. Jon Cato Lorentzen¹¹ agreed with Oslo Economics´ claim that Norwegian games are not visible:

“Yes, way too low visibility. The cultural parts in Norwegian media is worse than ever before”. He also claims that: “Norwegian media had the best video game coverage in Europe from 2000 to around 2010. Every Norwegian newspaper had solid journalists and reviewers who covered games as a cultural phenomenon. […]. Then everything was built down after the financial crisis” (Letnes, 2020b). As mentioned, Rune Fjeld Olsen¹² also said the coverage has changed, claiming it is “phenomena based” now (Letnes, 2020a). Lorentzen calls the articles and stories “simple” (Letnes, 2020b).

For some newspapers low readership was a factor. Cecilie Asker, Culture Editor in Aftenposten, says that Aftenposten has not reviewed video games for a few years, because of few readers, and because others “do it more thoroughly than us” (Letnes, 2020a). Yet, some articles about video games still get high readership. The most read article on nrk.no is called

“Only after Mats´ death, did his parents understand the value of his gaming”¹³. Mats sat in a wheelchair because of a muscular disease, and died when he was 25. He played the online game World of Warcraft a lot, and his parents thought he was lonely, and that he died without having an impact on the world. When he died, many people he had played with reached out, and his parents understood that they were wrong (Schaubert, 2019). The article thus had many

11 Former Aftenposten-journalist who has written some of the articles analyzed in this thesis.

12 Former VG-journalist who has written many of the articles in this thesis.

13 Original: “Først da Mats var død, forsto foreldrene verdien av gamingen hans”

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elements that resonated with readers, and was not just about video games, but at the same time explained how valuable video games are for many people.

Asker does not agree with Lorentzen that culture journalism per se is worse than it used to be, and she says that Aftenposten focuses on other areas of culture (Letnes, 2020a).

Lorentzen says that Aftenposten fired the specialists after the financial crisis, but kept

“movies, because of celebrities, [and] music, because of celebrities, and everyone watches tv- series now, so we´ll focus on that” (Letnes, 2020b). In sum, video games had too few readers and did not sell, which in the post-crisis media economy meant that the newspapers had to let their video game journalists go. Yet, the Mats-article shows that video game articles are read.

This is also an issue of cultural journalism. In the Nordic countries, cultural journalism is “news media’s coverage of art, culture, and lifestyle” (Kristensen & Riegert, 2017, p. 9). In Cultural Journalism in the Nordic Countries (2017), editors Nete Nørgaard Kristensen and Kristina Riegert say that one change in cultural journalism, has been a shift “towards the journalistic paradigm, lessening the importance of aesthetic expertise in specific cultural fields, as well as autonomy from the central news desk” (2017, p. 15). Another change is a broader set of subjects: “not only architecture, art and humanities, literature, dance, theatre, film, and music but also fashion, gaming, television and media industry analysis” (Kristensen

& Riegert, 2017, p. 18). Why are some requesting more coverage, then? Is gaming still included in this definition of culture? And is cultural journalism in decline?

The book is not clear on this. In one of the chapters, the authors write that “space devoted to arts and culture expanded up until the early 2000s, indicating an increased demand on both soft and interpretative journalism, which addressed the increasingly individualised interests of a fragmenting audience” (Knapskog, Iversen & Larsen in Hellman, Larsen, Riegert, Widholm & Nygaard, 2017, p. 119). Yet, it does not say what happened afterwards.

The book does not conclude on the differences between Norwegian and Swedish cultural journalism. On the one hand, Kristensen & Riegert writes: “there are similarities to Norway regarding cultural journalism’s societal role; Swedish cultural desks also share the general Nordic trend of reduced editorial autonomy and specialisation” (2017, p. 17). Yet, later in the same chapter, Kristensen & Riegert explains that one main arguments in one of the chapters in the book, “is that the Swedish approach to coverage of, and debates about, culture in leading newspapers and public service includes a more pronounced societal/political aspect as well as significant international components compared to the other Nordic countries”

(2017, p. 19). In other words, there might be some differences, but the book does not go into whether cultural journalism has a stronger position in Sweden than in Norway, for instance.

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In their chapter on Norwegian cultural journalism, Jan Fredrik Hovden, Leif Ove Larsen and Silje Nygaard argue that “[f]rom the 1960s popular culture was given increased attention and space, and the fine arts lost its dominance in relative terms” (2017, p. 69). Thus, the general pattern of a broader subject matter is found in Norway as well. In the case of the newspaper VG, the authors say the change was a part of a popularization process, “and the stars of the movie and television screens were among the most marketable content” (Hovden et. al., 2017, p. 78). Oslo Economics points out that the video game industry does not have celebrities like film and music do, which could have made it more visible (2018, p. 26).

Coverage on popular culture – which video games are – increased, in part because of its marketability. If one believes Lorentzen´s claims that film, music and tv-series were kept because of celebrities, i.e. marketability, it means that this development is still ongoing, and that cultural expressions without celebrities are avoided.

Another change in Norwegian cultural journalism, which also coincides with the general patterns, is who the cultural journalist is. It used to be an “expert of literature and visual arts”, but now it is a “professional journalist” (Hovden et. al., 2017, p. 83). As the journalists that were experts on video games were fired, this change seems to be ongoing.

In sum, former journalists and industry insiders are calling for more media coverage on games, and are claiming that cultural journalism is in decline. Research on the subject is not conclusive. Video games became a subject of cultural journalism as it moved more towards popular culture than traditional fine arts. Cultural editors are less autonomous than before, meaning that the central desk can control more of their coverage. Some scholars claim that Swedish cultural journalism might be more “societal/political” and “international” than its Nordic counterparts – which would include Norway (Kristensen & Riegert, 2017, p. 19).

After describing claims about the media coverage, and research on cultural journalism, I am going to present theory dealing with the consequences of coverage frequency and type.

2.2 Discourse

2.2.1 Discourse and CDA

As one of my methods is critical discourse analysis (CDA), of which Norman Fairclough is one of the founders, I will be drawing on his definition of discourse. The following will explain the term, while the method will be explained in Chapter 3. I will also explain how society influences texts, and vice-versa.

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According to Fairclough, a discourse is “a representation of some area of social life from a particular perspective”, for example “neo-liberal discourse” (2010, pp. 289-290). For Michel Foucault, perhaps the most prominent of discourse scholars, discourses are “practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak” (1972, p. 49). Media discourse on the video game industry will also form perceptions of it. As Jørgensen and Phillips writes, discourse both “shapes” and “mirrors” social structures and processes (1999, p. 74). This social constructivist aspect of discourse is vital for this thesis, as it deals with the potentially socially constructive effects of the media coverage on the industry and the public.

The “socially constructive effects of discourse” is central in CDA. Fairclough says that the world is “discursively construed (or represented)”, but which “construals” become

“socially constructive […] depends upon a range of conditions” (2010, pp. 4-5). According to Jørgensen and Phillips, one thing that separates Fairclough from other discourse theorists is precisely his view of discourses as both constituted and constituting (1999, p. 77).

If discourses do have socially constructive effects, “the dialectics of discourse takes effect: discourses may be enacted in ways of acting and interacting, and they may be

inculcated in ways of being, i.e., identities” (2010, p. 292). Fairclough elaborates: “discourses are enacted in ways of acting (e.g., new way of managing, new procedures, routines etc.), inculcated in ways of being, in social identities (e.g., new management identities, such as new types of ´leader´), and materialised in new spatial, including architectural, forms” (2010, p.

77). Thus, for Fairclough, discourses are not just the ways we talk about things. They also influence the way we act, the way we are and even the way we build things.

2.3 Media Effects: Agenda Setting Theory and Framing

2.3.1 Media Effects

Media effects theories can help answer both my research questions. Over the past forty years, the research on media effects has “turned full circle”, according to Shanto Iyengar. Early on, researchers studied persuasion, but found little evidence that media campaigns changed who people voted for. Researchers turned to agenda-setting, and found that “changes in the public agenda prompted changes in political attitudes”. The next phase includes research on framing, which “resembles persuasion, but rather than focusing on messages that might persuade, the causal factor is presentation”. Thus, “framing effects have morphed into persuasion effects”, and media effects research has, in a way, gone back to where it started (Iyengar, 2014, p. 63).

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2.3.2 Agenda-setting theory

The main argument of agenda-setting theory is that the prominence (or “salience”) of

elements in the news becomes prominent in the public as well (Carroll & McCombs, 2003, p.

36-37). In other words, issues frequently featured in the media will also feature frequently in public discourse. Newspapers communicate salience through formal aspects (front page, length of article) and frequency (objects mentioned often), which are used by the public to decide which objects are the most important (Carroll & McCombs, 2003, p. 37). Infrequent media coverage on the video game industry makes it less salient. In other words, when it is invisible, it may seem unimportant to the public, to investors and to politicians.

Maxwell McCombs explains that there are two conditions for agenda-setting to take place: “need for orientation” and “obtrusiveness/unobtrusiveness”. In the first, people are uncomfortable in unfamiliar situations, and might “turn to the news media for orientation and adopt its agenda”. People who do not need orientation are not as affected. In the second, people are influenced more easily if the issues are something they do not experience in their daily lives (McCombs, 1994, p. 14). This could help explain the lack of investments in the Norwegian video game industry. If investors and politicians are unfamiliar with the industry, they might adopt the media´s agenda. Lack of coverage might signify its lack of importance.

Coverage focused on risks might make investors less interested in supporting the industry.

Still, one could argue that everyone knows what video games are, and do not need orientation. Yet, knowledge of video games does not equal knowledge of the industry. While games themselves may be important to many people, or many people know someone who thinks that games are important, lack of media coverage might still signify that games and the industry are not seen as important topics for the public, neither in terms of culture nor

economy. Infrequent coverage could thus influence how the public understands the industry.

Such an influence could have huge consequences, for instance for the success of the industry. According to Steven L. Wartick, intense media exposure can change corporate reputation (1992, p. 46). Chi-Shiun Lai, Chih-Jen Chiu, Chin-Fang Yang and Da-Chang Pai found that corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation “have positive effects on industrial brand equity and brand performance” (2010, p. 465). Reviewing existing research on the subject, Juan Manuel de la Fuente Sabate and Esther de Quevedo Puente found evidence for corporate reputation influencing financial performance, but also the vice-versa (Fuente Sabate & Quevedo Puente, 2010, p. 176). As this literature shows, agenda-setting can influence corporate reputation, which then can influence financial performance. Infrequent

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media coverage, in addition to political and industrial aspects, can thus be possible reasons for the small size of the Norwegian video game industry. I also believe that the type of coverage influences the understanding of the industry, which makes discourses and frames important.

2.3.3 Framing or attribute agenda-setting?

I will be drawing on framing theory to show the consequences of the type and tone of

coverage. At the end of the 1990s, agenda-setting scholars started incorporating framing into the theory, and as I am drawing on both theories, I should explain why I am not only drawing on agenda-setting. What I have referred to as agenda-setting so far is its first level, which covers the salience of objects, while the second level covers the “salience of the attributes of those objects” (Carroll & McCombs, 2003, p. 38). Some scholars, like McCombs and Salma Ghanem, argue that framing is equal to the second level (Reese, Gandy & Grant, 2001, p. 2).

Others, like T. Michael Maher (2001), disagree, saying that “[a]genda-setting theorists are borrowing a limited subset from the overall concept of framing” (2001, p. 90).

Despite McCombs and other agenda-setting scholars´ attempts to converge the two, an increasing amount of research is happening within framing studies, while agenda-setting is

“leveling off”, as David H. Weaver (2007) puts it. Why is unclear, but Weaver suggests that

“frame” is a more flexible and general term, which can apply to many aspects of messages, while attributes are more specific. The two are similar, though, but framing seems to “include a broader range of cognitive processes – such as moral evaluations, causal reasoning, appeals to principles, and recommendations for treatment of problems” (Weaver, 2007, pp. 142-146).

I choose framing because: 1) Attribute agenda-setting and framing affect different cognitive processes. First and second level agenda-setting affect the same ones. Combining first level agenda-setting with framing would thus cover more processes. This might make for more persuasive media effects. 2) Framing is a popular research topic, and there will likely be other research and findings which support and/or supplement the findings of this thesis.

2.3.4 Framing

Robert Entman´s (1993) definition is often cited by framing scholars, and will be followed in this thesis. For Entman, framing involves making “some aspects of a perceived reality […]

more salient” in a text, which then promotes “a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described”

(1993, p. 52). In other words, framing involves highlighting some aspect of reality, in order to

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influence our understanding of something. An article could highlight positive aspects of video game sales – money is made, jobs are created – or it could highlight negative ones – kids play too much, games teach violence. This could then influence our understanding of the industry.

While methodological issues will be discussed in Chapter 3, there are some theoretical issues on framing, as well. As both CDA and frame analysis will be used, the terms of frame and discourse must be distinguished. Some scholars have done research using both. Lauren R.

Tucker (1998) analyzed media discourse through frame analysis. Tucker´s object was a jeans campaign, labeled “kiddie-porn” by the media. The “kiddie-porn frame” consists of the

“discourses of Generational Equity, middle-class morality and patriarchy” (Tucker, 1998, p.

141). For Tucker, frames are structured by discourses (1998, p. 145). Said discourses “work together” to turn the campaign into “an archetype of child pornography”, and they articulate the interests of a social group, the Baby Boomers (Tucker, 1998, p. 153-154).

Tucker, like Fairclough, is focusing on power relations, and she calls framing a

“discursive strategy”, where the media “promote elite social discourses as the public

discourse or the common sense of society” (Tucker, 1998, p. 143). She draws on Hall (1985) and Althusser (1969), both of whom are frequently cited in literature on CDA, as well. In this thesis, I am adopting Tucker´s view that discourses structure frames. This makes it possible to study both, and still keep the two separated, so they can be studied as different phenomena.

2.4 Frames and discourses

2.4.1 Theory, research and literature as sources for frames and discourses

Tankard (2001) suggests theory as a source for frames, which gives the research “validity and coherence from the previous theoretical work” (2001, p. 105). Cacciatore, Scheufele &

Iyengar (2016) laments that few framing studies “explore frames that previous research has shown to resonate well with culturally shared schemas among audiences” (2016, p. 14). I will now present literature, research and theory about media coverage, framing and discourse in relation to video games, which will be sources for frames and the discourses structuring them.

2.4.2 Frames: utopian & dystopian / opportunity & threat

Dmitri Williams (2003) was the first to research media coverage of video games (McKernan, 2013, p. 307). He also used frame analysis, making his research a natural place to start. New media is often met with both utopian and dystopian reactions, Williams says (2003, p. 524).

The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder

The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder

A comparative study of the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video

game industries

Anders Wiig Letnes

Master´s Thesis in Media Studies

Department of Media and Communication University of Oslo

June 15, 2020

The Invisible Industry vs. The Game Wonder

A comparative study of the Norwegian and Swedish media coverage of the international and national video

game industries

Anders Wiig Letnes

Master´s Thesis in Media Studies

Department of Media and Communication University of Oslo

June 15, 2020

Abstract

Foreword

Contents

Figures

Tables

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework