Entertainment has become serious business for those who provide it. Accenture has coined the term “G3” to refer to games, gaming and gambling. The G3 sector is now at least a $345 billion global business, larger than both the movie and music industries. This 30-page paper surveys recent developments in the G3 space, examines implications for both incumbents and new G3 industry players, and considers changes in technology and the value chain.

For most of their histories, the games and gambling industries have been distinct. But now, digital technology is confronting both industries with related challenges. Now that G3 has achieved mainstream, mass-market maturity, it will produce mass-market offerings that will shape consumer expectations. To understand the implications for today’s media players, this paper looks at the most important drivers of change, which the authors see as advances in technology, shifts in consumer behavior and expectations, and changes to the regulatory landscape.

If they are to exploit the opportunities created in the G3 space, both incumbents and new entrants will need to realign their strategies and business models so as to manage five areas: consumer proposition and brand; technology and infrastructure; value chain re-engineering; strategic partnering and alliancing; and revenue extraction. One section of the paper looks deeper into consumer behavior in the G3 space, noting four important consumer categories in gaming, segmented by occasion and behavior: Time Killers, Social Players, Avid Enthusiasts, and Hard-core Players.

Other parts of this paper take a look at the technological factors driving the evolution of G3, and the effects on the value chain of removing traditional intermediaries. The paper also explores the role of partnering in this space, advising players to “always consider the motive and ponder all the options.” In concluding, the authors set out the critical success factors, which include new approaches to segmentation, tailoring value propositions by platform and ensuring scalability and seamless efficiency of infrastructure, and leveraging the potential of new revenue streams, maximizing the value of their consumers and their new, innovative propositions. If you agree that ever more industries now operate within the “entertainment economy”, you might find it worthwhile to take a look at this report.