"GeoPoll’s latest report, “Gaming in Africa,” provides a detailed exploration of the burgeoning gaming scene across Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Drawing from the perspectives of more than 2,500 gamers, this report shines a light on the habits, preferences, and challenges of the Afr
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ican gaming community. Highlights from the survey include the following:
The Prevalence of Mobile Gaming: The survey reveals a significant tilt towards mobile gaming, with an astounding 92% of respondents playing games on their mobile phones. This preference is driven by increasing smartphone penetration and the Android platform’s dominance, with 92% of respondents having downloaded games from the Google Play Store.
Engagement: Gaming serves as a primary source of entertainment, relaxation, and a remedy for boredom for the majority of gamers, with 73% playing for fun and 64% for stress relief.
Expenditure: Financial investment in gaming is noteworthy, with 63% of gamers having made a purchase related to gaming. The amount spent varies, with 29% spending between $2 to $5 monthly, illustrating a willing but cost-conscious gamer base.
Navigating the Barriers: The report also identifies barriers to gaming purchases, with 47% preferring free games and 44% citing a lack of funds. The cost-related challenges extend beyond purchases, as gamers list the cost of data bundles (42%) and expensive gaming hardware (31%) among their top challenges.
A Call for Cultural Representation: Over half of the respondents value cultural relevance in games, and a substantial 44% feel there are not enough games with characters that look like them or environments similar to their life, signaling an untapped market for local content creation.
In-Game Advertising Insights: Despite mixed feelings about ads in games, a surprising 63% have made a purchase after seeing an ad in a game. This suggests that while ads may be met with some resistance, they remain a potent tool for engagement and monetization within the gaming ecosystem.
The Local Gaming Scene: A striking 56% of respondents are unaware of any games made in Africa, highlighting a significant gap in visibility and market penetration for local developers. However, there is a growing interest in supporting local talent, with varied sentiments across countries regarding the importance of local games." (Key findings summary)
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"Charting the increase in the use of games for the dissemination of extremist propaganda, radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization, this book examines the 'gamification of extremism.' Editors Linda Schlegel and Rachel Kowert bring together a range of insights from world-leading experts in the f
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ield to provide the first comprehensive overview of gaming and extremism. The potential nexus between gaming and extremism has become a key area of concern for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to prevent and counter radicalization and this book explores key trends and debates, future directions, and potential prevention efforts. This includes the exploration of how games and game adjacent spaces, such as Discord, Twitch, Steam, and DLive, are being leveraged by extremists for the purposes of radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization. Additionally, the book presents the latest counter-terrorism techniques and promising preventing / countering violent extremism (P/CVE) measures currently being utilized in the gaming sphere and explores the ongoing challenges, controversies, and current gaps in knowledge in the field. This text will be of interest to students and scholars of gaming and gaming culture, as well as an essential resource for practitioners working in prevention and counter-extremism, professionals working at gaming-related tech companies, and policymakers". (Publisher description)
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"The ubiquitous presence of digital games has resulted in an expansion of the applications of these games from mere entertainment purposes to a great variety of serious purposes. In this edited volume, we narrow the scope of attention by focusing on what game theorist Ian Bogost has called 'persuasi
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ve games', that is, gaming practices that combine the dissemination of information with attempts to engage players in particular attitudes and behaviors. This volume offers a multifaceted reflection on persuasive gaming, that is, on the process of these particular games being played by players. The purpose is to better understand when and how digital games can be used for persuasion by further exploring persuasive games and some other kinds of persuasive playful interaction as well. The book critically integrates what has been accomplished in separate research traditions to offer a multidisciplinary approach to understanding persuasive gaming that is closely linked to developments in the industry by including the exploration of relevant case studies." (Publisher description)
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"Rechtsextremistisch, antisemitisch oder rassistisch motivierten Anschlägen fielen seit 2019 in Neuseeland, den USA, Norwegen und Deutschland 86 Menschen zu Opfer. Die Täter verbindet nicht nur ihr Hass, sondern ebenso ihre Radikalisierung im Internet. Sie alle fanden zuvor in einschlägigen Foren
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Gleichgesinnte und Ansporn, ideologische Substrate für ihr Weltbild, aber auch Anleitungen zur Herstellung von Waffen. Bei dem Anschlag auf die Synagoge in Halle hatte sich der Attentäter für eine Online-Übertragung der Tat ausgerüstet – sie öffentlich sichtbar zu machen gehört, so der Tenor des Buches, zum Kalkül eines speziellen, ausschließlich männlichen Tätertypus. Im realen Leben sei er (selbst)isoliert, aber virtuell und global bestens vernetzt. In Anlehnung an die Strategien, die Codes und Ziele einschlägiger Computerspiele inszeniere er den Terror und biete ihn einem gleichgesinnten internationalen Publikum dar. Das Weltbild dieser Täter sei antisemitisch, rassistisch und misogyn, zugleich vielfach von Selbstmitleid, gekränkter Männlichkeit und Selbsthass bestimmt – das Ventil, mit diesen Affekten fertig zu werden, finden sie in imaginierten oder auch realisierten Gewalttaten. Die Autorinnen und Autoren beleuchten Motive, Sozialisation und Selbstinszenierung der Täter und fragen, welche Verbindungen zwischen der virtuellen Radikalisierung und den realen Gewalttaten von Rechtsterroristen bestehen. Ein eigenes Kapitel befasst sich zudem mit der Rechtslage gegen Hass im Internet." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"In this new edition of the pioneering text, students learn to assess the major theories used to analyze games, such as ludology and narratology, and gain familiarity with the commercial and organizational aspects of the game industry. Drawing from historical and contemporary examples, the student-f
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riendly text also explores the aesthetics of games, evaluates the cultural position of video games, and considers the potential effects of both violent and "serious" games." (Publisher description)
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"This study is a snapshot of children’s use of social media in East Asia, focusing on four countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The research incorporates the experiences of 301 children across the four countries, including 121 street children and refugees, collected through a ser
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ies of focus group discussions and participatory exercises. The qualitative data collected was supplemented by a confidential anonymous self-administered 20-item questionnaire completed at the end of the focus group discussions. While more is arguably known about how children in middle- and high-income families use social media, those from lower income families, marginalized children, children with disabilities, street children and refugee children are often excluded from conversations on their use of social media and online safety. This study explicitly attempted to include the voices of children from these populations. These were supplemented by discussions with parents, grandparents, caregivers and frontline workers including social workers, counsellors, child psychiatrists and educators." (Introduction)
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"This article makes an exploratory contribution to the theoretical foundations of the study of gaming in radicalization research. It is argued that both top-down and bottom up gamification have already impacted extremist discourse and potentially radicalization processes but that research on gamific
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ation in other contexts points to a much wider application of gamification to extremist propaganda distribution tools in the future. The potential influence of video games on radicalization processes exceeds the transfer of the popular argument that exposure to violent media leads to desensitization to the context of radicalization and includes the exploitation of pop culture references, increases in self-efficacy regarding violence, and the direct experience of retropian visions through the content of games." (Abstract)
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"This research project contributes to the CVE (countering violent extremism) literature by studying narratives as tools of reflections on self-identity designed intentionally within gaming exercises to help contextualize and account for as much environmental complexity as possible. This paper provid
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es theoretical understandings of narratives (and their role in our lives), discusses narratives as they relate to violent extremist ideologies, and proposes how narrative reflections may serve as a deradicalization tool within cooperative games. Additionally, this article highlights elements of narrative reflection within current CVE resources and provides a list of exercises (games) that can be used in the field to promote narrative reflections." (Abstract)
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"This book explores a wide range of cyberpsychological processes and activities through the research and writings of some of the world’s leading cyberpsychology experts. The book covers a broad range of topics spanning the key areas of research interest in this emerging field of enquiry and will b
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e of interest to those who have only recently discovered the discipline as well as more seasoned cyberpsychology researchers and teachers. The book contains eight sections, and includes contributions spanning the breadth of current academic and public interest. Topics include: online research methods, self-presentation and impression management, technology across the lifespan, interaction and interactivity, online groups and communities, social media, health and technology, video gaming, and cybercrime and cybersecurity." (Publisher description)
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"How can videogames portray love and loss? Games and Bereavement answers this question by looking at five videogames and carrying out a participatory design study with grievers. Sabine Harrer highlights possible connections between grief and videogames, arguing that game design may help make difficu
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lt personal feelings tangible. After a brief literary review of grief concepts and videogame theory, the book deep-dives into examples of tragic inter-character relationships from videogame history. Building on these examples, the book presents a case study on pregnancy loss as a potential grief experience that can be validated through game design dialogue." (Publisher description)
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"In this review essay, I will chart the history of video game technology, the emergence of game studies as a field, provide an overview of the key aspects of gender and video game research, and highlight key debates in gender and video games research." (Page 5)
"Adopting emerging technologies easily, spending a large proportion of time online and multitasking are signs of the increasingly digital nature of our everyday lives. Yet consumer research is just beginning to emerge on how this affects basic human and consumer behaviours such as attention, learnin
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g, communications, relationships, entertainment and knowledge. The Routledge Companion to Digital Consumption offers an introduction to the perspectives needed to rethink consumer behaviour in a digital age that we are coming to take for granted and which therefore often escapes careful research and reflective critical appraisal." (Publisher description)
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"Este volume consiste em uma seleção de artigos que versam sobre questões contemporâneas dos estudos de jogos eletrônicos – game studies – e sobre sua inevitável interseção junto ao campo da Comunicação. Nela estão presentes trabalhos apresentados na primeira edição do GP de Games d
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o Congresso da Intercom – realizado em setembro de 2016, bem como artigos de pesquisadores nacionais e internacionais convidados. De modo geral, acreditamos que o livro apresenta um panorama geral sobre o estado do campo de estudos dos video games no Brasil e seus avanços nos últimos anos, além de auxiliar na reflexão acerca dos caminhos de pesquisa tomados por pesquisadores engajados neste campo. Dentre os onze artigos que compõem a obra, figuram questões como relativas a retórica e linguagem, filosofia, game design, estudos de narrativa, estudos de fãs, media literacy e aspectos históricos dos video games." (Resumo)
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"This book analyzes mobile gaming in the Asian context and looks into a hitherto neglected focus of inquiry - a localized mobile landscape, with particular reference to young Asians' engagement with mobile gaming. This edition focuses not only on the remarkable success of local mobile games, but als
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o on the significance of social milieu in the development of Asian mobile technologies and gaming culture. It analyzes the growth of the current mobile technologies and mobile gaming not as separate but as continuous developments in tandem with the digital economy." (Publisher description)
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"Aus der Perspektive der Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung stellt sich die Frage, wie mediale Kommunikation dazu beitragen kann, dass Menschen klimabewusster handeln. Die bisherigen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass viele der typischen Darstellungsformen des Klimawandels - wie Katastrophenbilder - eher kontra
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produktiv wirken. Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich deswegen der Frage, welche Medieneigenschaften klimaschonendes Handeln positiv unterstützen. Den theoretischen Ausgangspunkt bildet das Forschungsfeld Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation. Der hier verortete Ansatz der Handlungsorientierung nimmt an, dass Menschen in Lernsituationen selbst aktiv handeln müssen, damit sie das Gelernte in ihren Alltag übertragen. Handeln wird durch fünf Merkmalen charakterisiert: Intentionalität, Erstellen eines Produktes, Handlungsspielraum, Bewusstheit des Handelns und der Prozesscharakter. Hieraus werden Gestaltungsempfehlungen für ein Online-Spiel formuliert und Variablen für die empirische Studie abgeleitet. Als zweite theoretische Säule wird das Forschungsfeld "Interactive Storytelling" erschlossen und das dramentheoretische Modell von Lessing ausgewählt. Um das entwickelte Variablenmodell zu testen, wird das Online-Spiel "RED - Renewable Energy Drama" (ca. 10 Spielminuten) konzipiert. Es thematisiert das Stromsparen im eigenen Haushalt. Eine quantitative Online-Befragung (n=287) prüft die theoretischen Annahmen, ergänzend werden Interaktionsdaten aus dem Spielverlauf erfasst. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass ein hoher Alltagsbezug der entscheidende Faktor ist. Stehen verschiedene, alltagsnahe Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung, um eine Aufgabe zu lösen (Handlungsspielraum), dann denken die Spieler stärker darüber nach, wie sie diese Aufgabe üblicherweise zuhause lösen (Bewusstheit). Dies wiederum hat einen positiven Effekt auf alle Dimension von Handlungskompetenz: die Spielenden haben den Eindruck, alltagstaugliche Heuristiken zum Stromsparen zu lernen, sich die Bedeutung ihres eigenen Handelns für den Klimaschutz bewusst zu machen und eigene Verhaltensweisen zu reflektieren und/oder zu verändern. Einen ebenso positiven Effekt hat es, wenn das Feedback zu den gelösten Aufgaben als hilfreich bewertet wird, was besonders dann der Fall ist, wenn Verhaltensalternativen miteinander verglichen werden. Auch Spielcharaktere, die ein realistisches Verhalten mit typischen, konfligierenden Gedanken und Gefühle in alltäglichen Entscheidungssituationen zeigen, haben einen positiven Effekt auf die Handlungskompetenz." (Zusammenfassung)
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"Entertainment Media Use in the Middle East is the result of survey research in six Arab nations involving more than 6,000 face-to-face interviews in nationally representative samples—citizens and expatriates alike—and conducted in Arabic, English and French. The result is a portrait of how peop
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le in the six countries, selected to represent the larger Arab world, make use of entertainment media in their daily lives and what they think about it." (Introduction)
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