logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
18m 51s

Inside video game economics (Two Indicat...

NPR
About this episode
Why do video game workers offer labor at a discount? How can you design a video game for blind and sighted players? Does that design have lessons for other industries?

These and other questions about the business of video games answered in todays episode. The Indicator just wrapped a weeklong series decoding the economics of the video game industry, we're excerpting some highlights.

First, we meet some of the workers who are struggling with the heavy demands placed on them in their booming industry, and how they are fighting back.

Then, we check in on how game developers are pulling in new audiences by creatively designing for people who couldn't always play. How has accessibility become an increasingly important priority for game developers? And, how can more players join in the fun?

You can hear the rest of our weeklong series on the gaming industry at this link, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was hosted by Wailin Wong, Darian Woods, and Adrian Ma. Corey Bridges produced this episode with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Kate Concannon, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez with help from Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+
in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Jul 31
What makes a toy go viral
Squishy, slimy, fidgety toys are having a moment. But it’s more than just an anxiety-soothing, social-media fueled trend – these toys are reshaping how toys get made.Today on the show, we have the story of the once-humble squishy dumpling and what it teaches us about how to make ... Show More
25m 35s
Jul 29
How to beat the resource curse in Norway (Summer School)
Let’s call it the luxury of restraint. This is what enabled Norway to avoid the fate of so many other countries when they discovered oil and it changed the mix of their economy overnight.Norway! It’s expensive, wealthy, and abundant in resources. We’re going to compare two of the ... Show More
38m 55s
Jul 24
Piles of cash and a town of solutions in Kenya, Nigeria (Summer School)
Let’s head to a small town in Kenya that’s become globally famous for helping economists answer some of the biggest questions facing humanity.In Kenya and Nigeria, economics isn’t just theory, it’s real life. We’ll look at some radical experiments that turned out to be enormously ... Show More
38m 38s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2021
Slate Money - Fist Bumps for Zelda
This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Stacy-Marie Ishmael are joined by Gene Park of The Washington Post for a very special all-gaming episode. They get into the massive economy behind video games, the complexities of the multiverse, what games make you a “gamer” and discuss ho ... Show More
55m 31s
Jul 2024
WORK 16 - Boss Fight
<p>The video game industry, like much of the tech, has been resistant to unionization for a very long time. But like so many other white-collar businesses, video game studios are built on the backs of thousands of exploited, low-paid workers.&nbsp;</p><br><p>This is the story of ... Show More
47m 49s
Aug 2024
'Black Myth: Wukong' makes video game history
First-person game sees 2.2M concurrent players. (0:16) Yearly payrolls ended March revised down by 818,000. (1:28) Target rallies with positive quarterly comps. (2:45) Show Notes Oppenheimer’s top 32 ideas for August-September Warner Bros. eyes spending $8.5B on Las Vegas film st ... Show More
6m 51s
May 2017
Video Games
From Spacewar to Pokemon Go, video games – aside from becoming a large industry in their own right – have influenced the modern economy in some surprising ways. Here’s one. In 2016, four economists presented research into a puzzling fact about the US labour market. The economy wa ... Show More
9m 11s
Mar 2022
Loading, fast – The business behind gaming
The gaming market is making headlines and hitting all-time records. And all eyes are on the industry's next move. In this episode, you'll hear from experts at Strategy& and Stillfront as they examine this sheer growth and deconstruct the video gaming market to highlight fascinati ... Show More
31 m