Your Future in Video Game Design
By Stanley Rubenti
stanley.rubenti@collegedegreereview.com
College Degree Review Columnist
Do you remember when video games cost $.25 at the arcade? If you were really good, you could entertain yourself for several hours and only spend about three dollars.
In those days, anyone who gravitated towards a video game design career was driven either by unbelievable passion or incredibly long foresight. Back in the days of Atari and Nintendo, video games were not the cash cows that they are today.
Video Game Design in the New Millennium
These days, a video game design career may still be a passion, but it's also profitable. The gaming industry is ballooning at an exceptional rate. The popular subscription-based World of Warcraft (WoW), for example, has 7.5 million users, each of whom pays approximately $15 a month or more. When you calculate that out over 12 months, this one game generates almost $1.5 billion a year, and that's just one of many hugely successful games.
Video Game Design and the Console Wars
WoW is just one example of why pursuing a video game design career can be a lucrative decision. The console wars (between Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and others) translate into long lines of enthusiastic fans waiting to secure early releases of updated designs. And because technology improves at such a fantastic rate, manufacturers will never be able to keep up with consumer demand for better, faster, and cooler products.
The Government's Take on a Video Game Design Career
If the news headlines and hype around video games aren't enough to convince you that a design career is worth exploring, perhaps the U.S. Government's assessment will sway you. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the market for video game software will "experience robust growth over the next decade."
In other words, it's a great time to go back to school for training in computer science, animation, graphic design, video game design, computer programming, graphic art, or computer engineering. Your skills and expertise will undoubtedly be well received by appreciative employers and adoring fans all over the world.
Sources
CBC
Spong
U.S. Department of Labor
About the Author
A freelance writer, Stanley Rubenti currently lives in Bangkok, where he provides admissions consultation for college-bound students. Stanley holds a B.A. in history.
Posted on: November 21, 2006
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