CLOUD SERVICES AND CLOUD GAMING IN GAME DEVELOPMENT

Transcription

1 CLOUD SERVICES AND CLOUD GAMING IN GAME DEVELOPMENT Leah Riungu-Kalliosaari, Jussi Kasurinen, Kari Smolander Software Engineering and Information Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology P O Box 20, 53851, Lappeenranta, Finland ABSTRACT The goal of this qualitative study was to understand the relevance and utilization of cloud computing services within small and medium sized gaming organizations. We studied seven gaming organizations developing different types of games. The data was collected through face-to-face interviews, and analyzed using the grounded theory method. Our results indicate that small and medium sized organizations are familiar with cloud computing concepts and use cloud services mostly for non-business-critical tasks. Cloud services may also steer the gaming industry towards reaching for larger masses of players, hence increasing profits. However, there seems to be a lack of coherent and concrete business models to support the use of cloud services in developing gaming products. The results of this study can be used in developing better cloud gaming business models that would assist small and medium sized gaming organizations to gravitate towards cloud gaming. KEYWORDS Cloud computing; cloud services, cloud gaming, game development. 1. INTRODUCTION In 2010, Tim Chang predicted that gaming was going to be the media service of the future (Chang, 2010). The prediction was based on the analysis of the drivers that would accelerate the use of gaming among different players. The drivers include (1) rise of the digital natives meaning that people are becoming more familiar with internet services and are making frequent use of online media; (2) irreversible fragmentation and short attention spans i.e. users find the services that suit their needs at a particular time and can choose between different options with the click of the mouse; (3) new, open and lightweight platforms made up of smartphone platforms, social networks and fast internet bandwidth. The game industry has different genres of games, and beyond themes, for different types of users. For example, mobile game markets tend to release products which provide quick entertainment in short sessions, whereas console releases usually expect dedication in terms of time and interest. Overall, games are creative products aimed towards diverse markets, and a single game product cannot be expected to satisfy all of the different customer needs (Peltoniemi, 2008). In addition to catering to different customer needs, one unusual aspect of the game industry is the free-to-play business model (Tyni, et al. 2011). Free-to-play models offer the base product to the players without any charges. These business models are made viable by offering different ways to improve or enhance the user experience of the game with selective additions, which are subject to a fee. The first impression of the game industry is often related to video game consoles, but the industry extends also to more generalized platforms, e.g. mobile devices, smartphones and Internet sites. Video games have created a large industry, which generates annual sales of approximately seventy billion dollars, having grown to become almost thrice the size of the music industry during the 2000 s (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Cloud services can be provided mainly in three forms: (1) software applications running in the cloud i.e. software-as-a-service (SaaS); (2) application development environments available in the cloud i.e. platformas-a-service (PaaS); (3) computing infrastructure that can be acquired through the internet i.e. infrastructureas-a-service (IaaS) (Mell and Grance, 2011). Many enterprises are leveraging cloud services in order to

2 reduce costs, increase scalability and improve efficiency, among others. The platforms and infrastructure required to generate powerful video games may be packaged within the range of cloud services i.e. SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Cloud services combined with online gaming results in a cloud service referred to as cloud gaming (Jarschel et al., 2011). Cloud gaming is also synonymous to video games-on-demand (VGoD) whereby users play video games on personal computer screens, while the video game and video gameplay are stored and executed in a server that is located in the cloud (Chan, 2010). Researchers have made efforts at understanding various aspects related to the use of cloud services within the gaming industry. Examples are: the benefits of cloud computing for online games (Maggiorini and Ripamonti, 2011); risks associated with cloud gaming (Nahar et al., 2012); the business models suitable for cloud-based games (Ojala and Tyrväinen, 2011); and the performance of cloud-based games in different platforms (Moreno et al, 2012; Chan, 2010). All the above examples affirm that cloud gaming is on the rise. With the research question, How do game organizations apply cloud services and cloud technology in game development?, our objective is to identify how cloud services and cloud gaming are applied in small and medium sized gaming organizations and give an insight into the way these organizations apply cloud computing. In addition to defining the ways of application, we also analyze the reasons for and against cloud services and cloud gaming by the organizations. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the related research. We discuss our research process in Section 3, and present the findings of the study in Section 4. In Section 5, we discuss the results and conclude the paper with Section RELATED RESEARCH Chang (2010) identified various factors contributing to the growth of the game industry. These are ubiquitous gaming, easy access and distribution of gaming content, and social media as a channel for distributing games. Furthermore, the concept of games as a service has been combined with cloud gaming to generate more attractive means for attracting players (Chang, 2010). Combining online games with cloud computing has benefits such as improved scalability, faster development times, reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), increased interoperability, avoiding installation times and reducing piracy (Maggiorini and Ripamonti, 2011; Moreno et al, 2012). Cloud gaming enables small and medium sized organizations to develop and host games in the cloud with little upfront costs, allowing them to compete at par with large gaming organizations (Gaudiosi, 2013). Some studies have assessed business models for cloud gaming. Ojala and Tyrväinen (2011) evaluated a cloud gaming organization over a period of five years. The business model for the studied organization evolved so that the number of actors in the business model reduced over the five years. This was caused by a change in the target market and a change in the software provided (Ojala and Tyrväinen, 2011). Therefore, cloud gaming organizations are advised to evaluate and ensure that changes in the business models are always beneficial to all the actors. In another case study, Nahar et al. (2012) evaluated the critical risk factors affecting the business model and information systems innovations of a small cloud gaming organization. Ten risks were identified including lack of talented developers, diverse platforms and appearance of new competitors, to name but a few. In light of these risks, cloud gaming organizations need to develop appropriate strategies to mitigate the risks. For example, in order to beat the appearance of new competitors, the studied organization was expanding its business into other countries. Researchers have also experimented with cloud gaming. Moreno et al. (2012) evaluated the use of mobile phones as a delivery platform for cloud-based games. They stated the mobile market as one of the prominent platforms for cloud gaming in the future. Since cloud-based games are transmitted over a network, Chan (2010) experimented with a couple of wireless protocols (Wireless LAN g and WiMAX e) and studied how they affect the latency and scalability of cloud-based games. The results showed that a delay was experienced when the background load and the number of mobile users increased. As cloud computing gains ground in the gaming industry, cloud game providers need to pay attention to the quality of experience for their respective games (Jarschel et al., 2011). The gaming industry seems to be adopting the use of cloud computing as a way to distribute games. The larger digital distribution systems rely on cloud computing, and importing player profiles/saved games from the cloud is becoming a normal everyday activity.

3 3. RESEARCH PROCESS The goal of this explorative study is to observe the dynamics related to the adoption of cloud computing within small and medium sized gaming organizations and understand how cloud computing is used in the game products. Although video games have been in existence for a long time, the adoption of cloud computing in gaming organizations is a current developing phenomenon. Qualitative research methods can be applied to investigate new phenomena or phenomena about which much is known to obtain additional novel discoveries (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). We considered the grounded theory method (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) as a suitable research method for our study because grounded theory is recommended for developing new theories and concepts about real-life phenomena that have not been widely studied in the past (Seaman, 1999). Additionally, in grounded theory, the data is systematically gathered and analyzed to develop the theory that leads to in-depth understanding of the studied phenomena (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Table 1 contains the details about the interviewees and their organizations. We conducted four interview rounds during January-September Each interview round focused on interviewing respondents with similar tasks and roles i.e. project managers, programmers, upper management and game designers - to gather a complete view on the processes and activities of the video game company. All the organizations were interviewed in all four interview rounds, except for one case where the potential respondent had a very busy schedule. This was compensated by discussing the topics related to the second round interviews with the rest of the interviewees from that organization. We used semi-structured, theme-based interviews to collect the data. All four interview rounds contained similar themes, mostly related to the development, testing and quality processes within the organizations, along with topics such as outsourcing, knowledge management and process development. The themes and interview questions are available at (URL withheld for blind review). We conducted all the interviews at the respondents work locations and tape-recorded them at the same time. Afterwards, the interviews were transcribed into text for analysis. The collected material consisted of approximately 1400 minutes of interview data from 27 interviews, yielding 1572 observations in 172 categories. In the next section, we will discuss nine categories that are specific to the study presented in this paper. The language of the interviews was mainly Finnish. This was because we wanted the respondents to be able to express themselves clearly in their native language and to encourage discussion over the themes. During the analysis, the data related to this study was translated into English by the second author. We used ATLAS.ti software for analyzing the data. In the analysis, we applied the three coding steps in grounded theory open, axial, and selective coding (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). During open coding, different codes are attached to the different portions of data. The codes may be attached to a single word, a sentence or a group of sentences. The codes are then classified into groups, themes or families, specifically referred to as categories (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Axial coding starts during open coding by forming larger categories out of individual codes. The categories are then refined further and connections between the categories are established to understand intercategory connections, such as the relationship between the type of product and the biggest problem preventing adoption of cloud services and cloud gaming. The idea during axial coding is to work towards Table 1. Interviewees and Organizations Product platform Organization maturity Company size 1 Product size 2 Case A PC, Game consoles More than 10 published Medium Large products Case B Mobile Less than 5 published products Small Small Case C Game consoles, PC Less than 10 published products Medium Large Case D Mobile, PC Startup, making 1st product Small Medium Case E Mobile Less than 5 published products Small Small Case F PC Startup, making 1st product Medium Medium Case G Web-based Startup, making 1st product Small Small 1 Amount of people directly employed by the organization (European Commission, 2005) 2 Amount of people involved in a typical development project, including developers of the bought assets (Small: X<10; Medium: 100>X>10); Large: X>100

4 identifying the major categories which incorporate majority of the codes. During axial coding chains of evidence for different observations began to emerge; for example the codes Game Industry: Effect on products, Design process: Effect of marketing and Tools: application of cloud formed a chain of evidence for understanding how external factors affect the organizational needs to implement certain features of cloud computing. Axial coding is followed by selective coding, during which the theory is developed in terms of the phenomenon that covers all the categories. This might be a category that stands out the most or a concept that links all the categories together. In this study no single category explained all the observations made on the application of cloud computing, so the core category Cloud services and Cloud Gaming in Game development was a construct covering all observations made. The covered categories and relationships among them are presented in the next section. 4. RESULTS 4.1 Developed Categories The analysis started with the second author going through the interviews and identifying portions of the data related to cloud computing. Afterwards, he translated this text into English, and summarized the categories and their associated observations onto a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. He then discussed with the first author, who gave feedback used to refine the categories. We analyzed the data with a focus on cloud computing and its use within the represented organizations. Therefore, we aligned the categories to represent various aspects on how cloud services are used in the game industry. We developed nine categories which are summarized in Table 2, together with their corresponding observations. The categories are as follows: Application areas in current products show the ways in which an organization currently applies cloud services or cloud gaming in their games. Application areas in development list the ways in which an organization currently applies cloud services or cloud gaming in their development activities. Biggest problem preventing adoption is the most pressing issue that prevents the organization from applying cloud services/cloud gaming. Possible future use lists the ways the organization might use cloud services or cloud gaming model in the near future. The possible future use could be based either on using the cloud within the game product, or as a mechanism for game distribution and support or as a development tool in the organization. Opinion on cloud models lists the general interviewee comments on the models. Type of product lists the release platforms the organization currently considers their main development platforms. The product size is determined by the number of people contributing to the organization s products, including those involved outsourced and bought assets. The range of the product size is large for more than a hundred people in the development of the product, medium for greater than ten and less or equal to a hundred people, and small for less or equal to ten people. The organization maturity is concerned with the number of releases the organization has had for its product (s). Only the number of separate, individual products was accounted for, not additions or extra content packages provided for existing products. Improvement offered by cloud gaming model or service lists the most important advantage or improvement that cloud gaming or cloud services could offer in the near future. Figure 1 illustrates the most important relationships between these categories. Each category tells a part of the construct related to cloud services and cloud gaming in game development. Hence, we found that the categories were associated with each other. The lines in the figure illustrate the identified associations between the categories, e.g. the category Opinion on gaming models is associated with the categories Possible future use and Improvement offered by cloud gaming model or service.

5 Application areas in current products Application areas in development Biggest problem preventing adoption Possible future use Opinion on Cloud services/cloud gaming models Type of product Product Size Organization maturity Improvement offered by cloud services/cloud gaming model or service Table 2. Categories and Observations A B C D E F G Save states in No use in Save states in None Save states/player No use in cloud service current products cloud service profiles in cloud current products Knowledge sharing platform Technology not sophisticated enough. Use as a data storage, offer Games as a Service Needs more refinement, unclear business model PC, game consoles Knowledge Rendering sharing platform farm Money to adopt, availability, Technology restricts design Use as a data storage Very positive change, new business models and room for competition GaaS/Free2Pl ay-games are fundamentally different models than current Possible technology/pl atform to adopt GaaS games tend to be oversimplified (attention span issues) Mobile devices Game consoles, mobile Browser games are GaaS by default service Server system None None Knowledge sharing platform Relatively unknown in the organization Possibly offer Free2Play and premium models Unclear business model, future thing to adopt Mobile devices, PC Amount of existing users minimal (no reason to adopt) Use as a data storage Future thing to adopt if successful or becomes more mainstream Technology not sophisticated enough, security. Offer Games as a Service, storage Will transform games to "services", enhance social aspects of gaming Security issues Service provider system (server farm) Model here to stay, collects more revenue from customers Mobile devices PC, mobile Browser games Large Small Large Medium Small Medium Small More than 10 products Thin clients could allow more sophistication on budget systems Less than 5 products Tools available everywhere More than 10 Less than 5 products products No need to invest in excess infrastructure Furthers the platform independence of games Less than 5 products No set up clients, In-app/DLCpurchases to generate extra revenue Developing first Developing first product product No need to Steadier income, invest in excess more customerdriven infrastructure, advertising development 4.2 Findings Based on the developed categories and their associated observations, we consolidated findings that explain the current status of cloud services and cloud gaming in game development. The findings are formed by looking at the similarities and differences between the categories and their presence in the data. For Figure 1: Main relationships between categories related to cloud services in game development. Improvement offered by cloud gaming model or service Product size Organization maturity Biggest problem preventing adoption Type of product Application areas in development Opinion on cloud gaming models Application areas in current products Possible future use

6 example, finding 1 covers the observations associated with the categories Biggest problem preventing adoption, Opinion on cloud models, and Possible future use. In the following, we present the findings. Finding 1: Cloud services and cloud gaming are relatively well-known in the game industry, although the existing technology is considered too unreliable for the main game products. Several of the interviewed cases (Cases A, B, D, F and G) expressed their interest towards cloud services and cloud gaming in their products, but also disclosed that at the current state the technology is not reliable or sophisticated enough for applications beyond simple data storage or server farm services. You really cannot get technically high-end stuff out from cloud services as [you would] from traditional game systems; they [cloud services], also harm usability, there has to be some lag in the controls, for sure. Developer, Case B Cloud services are taking their first steps It would be [unwise] to go there now, as a small producer. Project manager, Case F I think they are the thing of the future, but I do not trust these current service providers most likely [a next generation console] will be largely [a] cloud computing system. Designer, Case B Although most of the cases were small, almost all of them had future plans for applying cloud services and cloud gaming. For example Cases C and F considered the cloud services to be an excellent way to divert investment requirements to a server system, while Cases A and D discussed the extended potential to the client-side systems provided by the cloud services. Cases E and G also saw the cloud-based distribution system as a possibility for more revenue sources, by enabling the customer base to have access to in-app purchases (see Tyni, et al. 2011) during gameplay. Added content is the hottest thing now, and similarly with [a platform], in-app purchases will be a big thing. Case E, Developer After all, it is just an additional thing to add to a game product. A benefit for the users, probably. Designer, Case D Overall, at the current state, cloud services are mostly used to avoid costly investments in the infrastructure and replace server-side services. The organizations are aware of the possibilities of the cloud services, but do not incorporate cloud-specific features to their products, unless the service is provided by the platform the game is released for. In Cases A, C and E this approach was used to save game states to the platform-delivered cloud system, enabling users to transfer game saves and profile data between different devices such as smartphones and touchpads. The [distribution platform] has offered this service for several year Cloud computing, that we do not do but we do have Cloud storage. Project manager, Case A Currently, the use of cloud-based services is mostly related to the development tools and technical frameworks of the development team. The most common cloud-based tools are document sharing and project management systems, enabling easier knowledge transfer between project stakeholders. Cases C and D were also using cloud as a resource system, utilizing commercial cloud service as a server (Case D) and rendering farm (Case C). Our [cloud-based server] solution seems to work just fine. It s not a large system but still, we do not have any reason to go back to dedicated servers. Developer, Case D Instead of using our system to get it done in a week, we uploaded it to [rendering service] where it was done within hours. Developer, Case C Finding 2: Gaming organizations need clear business models and success stories to convince them to adopt cloud services and technology. Besides the technological viewpoint, cloud services were also discussed from the business perspective. The most common difficulty with the cloud services and cloud gaming was considered to be the actual business model itself, and monetization of the technology, for example (Yamakami, 2012). Cases A and D criticized cloud services and cloud gaming for lacking clear indication on how applying these technologies would affect the business. Similarly, Case E s opinion on the cloud services was cautious: the current implementations of the cloud services and cloud gaming do not have enough users to warrant designs for those platforms. With cloud gaming solutions, where you actually stream games to clients - we decided not to go there, the revenue system is still too unclear for us. Project manager, Case A

7 We have been thinking about the premium and free-2-play models, that what could be our revenue model with that approach. Upper management, Case D From the business viewpoint, cases E and F were most positive towards the cloud services and cloud gaming models for the future. Case E considered the most important improvement of the cloud technologies in the game industry to transform the game products to services. Their concept was that the clouds enable game products to be available at any platform or system connected to the Internet, so customers are able to access the game from anywhere. This combined with the free to play-business models and in-app purchases would enable migration to the cloud gaming concept. [Using cloud] allows our users to start the game wherever they are and keep the progress they have made so far. Project manager, Case C Cloud services are useful when distributing assets to the members of the team. They generate automated backups and it is easy to have access to them. Project manager, Case F The way we see it is, using cloud services as storage for saving [game] states is already here. Project manager, Case F However, in some cases, the possibilities of the cloud services and cloud gaming were not considered to be very definite. For example, Case D considered both to be concepts that they might discuss or adopt in the future. We have noticed the trend and are going to implement these features. And I suppose [cloud services] are the way of the future, minimizing platform dependency. Project manager, Case D Cases A and F expressed a concern over the practical application of the cloud services and cloud gaming business models, and one Case C interviewee worried that developing games based on cloud service models might lead to over-simplification of the game mechanics, requiring market research and targeting a new customer base. [Browser games] and such are nice and all, but I do not like them. They are too shallow. Developer, Case C There are gamers who are only interested in a quick game. They are going to play for 5-15 minutes, and then drop it. They won t spend over 5 euro on one title, nor will they tolerate any loading time above 30 seconds. Developer, Case F One exception to the interviewed organizations was Case G, which developed browser-based games. Their opinion was that the browser games represent the cloud gaming model by default, as the games are freely available, and the business relies on the in-app purchases. Overall, Case G based their entire business model to the monetization approaches (Yamakami, 2012) for service-based businesses models. We would use free-to-play-model, and embed a possibility to buy in-game content. It just feels natural [way of making revenue]. Upper management, Case G Finding 3: Cloud services and cloud gaming business models do not seem to focus on any platform or organization size. This study involved seven game developing organizations that developed games on different platforms and were of different sizes and maturity levels. In all of the organizations the cloud services and cloud gaming models were known at least to the degree that the organization had some plans for the future application of the technology. I think [Cloud services and Video Games on Demand (VGoD)] models are here to stay. I believe they are the future, people seem to start disliking having to invest into large game systems. Game designer, Case F We have not discussed applying [Cloud services] in the company level. I personally think that they are potential services for future game consoles Project manager, Case B Case E was a small organization developing mobile games, while Case A developed medium to largesized games mainly for PC and game console devices. Both of these organizations had similar recollections of the cloud systems; currently cloud works as a data transfer tool, and in the long run it should allow transferring more complex operations to the cloud, allowing more elaborate products and services with the resource-limited client systems such as smartphones or touchpads. Using the cloud to save games has existed for years... but that s not real cloud computing yet, it is more a cloud storage. Designer, Case A Right now, social applications are taken into account, but we still are not in the computing-side of cloud systems Designer, Case E

8 No meaningful difference was found in the opinions and plans that the interviewed case organizations had about cloud services and cloud gaming. Finding 4: Organizations consider cloud services and cloud gaming models to steer products towards services and user groups towards communities. Besides general applicability of the cloud services and cloud gaming models in the game industry, some of the case organizations had developed more insightful opinions on the changes that these technologies will present in the game products. In Cases A, D, F, G and E, the outlook for the future was to offer games as a service, possibly with free to play or another business model. It seems that we are heading that way Games have to become services. They have to evolve to bring new customers. Developer, Case E Additionally, Cases F and G considered the social aspects of the cloud gaming business model. In the view of Case F, providing game products as services steers the customers towards game-related communities. Hence, community building, visibility in the social media and community management should be considered as important parts of operating in the game industry. Considering examples set by [a release platform], it is possible to bring advertising and tie-in businesses and so on, so games are no longer just games, they become service providers, created to cater some market niche. Project manager, Case F Case G went even further in their view of future game development; their vision was that the customer communities would begin to be more influential on the designs and development of the extensions for the existing products. After launch, you have to manage the player community, and keep it together When the users like the content, [the product] takes a life of its own. Upper management, Case G 4.3 Summary of the Findings The findings outlined above show the status of small and medium sized gaming organizations with regard to cloud services and cloud gaming. Our findings show that small and medium sized gaming organizations are aware of cloud services and cloud gaming. As for the research question, i.e. How do game organizations apply cloud technology and cloud-based services in game development?, it seems that game development organizations, regardless of their size or maturity, have future plans for utilizing the cloud technology and services. In many organizations, cloud computing was seen as a natural development step in game products, although in many cases, it was unclear how cloud services would be incorporated. Currently the available cloud solutions are not technically or business-wise sophisticated enough for the small game development companies to obtain. None of the interviewed organizations was interested in investing their effort on early adoption of the cloud systems at their current state. Overall, we summarize the findings as Game companies apply cloud technology and services only to the extent that their current release platforms allow. The organizations make future plans for applying cloud technology and services when they (cloud technology and services) have obtained a high enough maturity. Most of the organizations were not convinced of the economic value that cloud computing could bring if applied onto the gaming products in their current state. Despite the looming doubts, the organizations had some plans for incorporating cloud computing into their gaming products in the future. We can therefore conclude that the small and medium sized gaming organizations we interviewed try to keep an informed outlook about the latest cloud-related trends. They do so in order to be prepared to incorporate cloud services and cloud gaming into their gaming products. 5. DISCUSSION The objective of this qualitative study was to understand the relevance and utilization of cloud computing within the gaming industry. The results are based on analysis of the interviews conducted with practitioners from seven gaming organizations. The results of the study were classified into nine categories that were summarized into four findings.

9 We found out that small and medium sized gaming organizations are familiar with cloud services and cloud gaming concepts. Cloud computing was used mainly for supportive activities such as sharing the documentation and non-technical functions of the games like saving game states. In general, the organizations were not fully convinced of the current technological possibilities in the cloud for their games. However, most of the organizations had plans to adopt some form of cloud service in their product, especially via platform-as-a-service. Cloud computing was seen to improve the spread of gaming products to a wide customer base, and thereby supporting the concept of cloud gaming. However, this was not convincing enough for some of the organizations because cloud gaming business models did not seem to provide concrete pathways to generating profits. As demonstrated in previous case studies (Moreno et al., 2012; Ojala and Tyrväinen, 2011), cloud gaming organizations should expect changes in the business models. This calls for finding new ways to raise income. In our study, some of the organizations were aligned towards free-to-play games that accommodate in-app purchases. Even if cloud computing is said to provide cost cutting benefits, there is need to develop business models that align with the needs of gaming industry. Doing so would improve the potential for adoption, and increase sales from the gaming products and services. Cloud computing has the potential to spur the growth towards the evolution of gaming products into cloud gaming services. This would enhance the availability of the games, making them easily accessible ondemand. Consequently, it may lead to a wider base of players having access to the games. This generates a tendency to form communities of players. The growth of player communities brings upon the need for the game providers to set up techniques for handling community dynamics. A limitation of this study is the number of organizations. We interviewed practitioners from seven organizations. In order to get a wider picture of each organization, we carried out four interview rounds. The interview rounds contained similar themes, with each round seeking to interview practitioners with similar roles across the organizations. By interviewing more than one person in an organization we were able to gather balanced views across organizations. This also helped to minimize bias in the views and experiences expressed by the interviewees. 6. CONCLUSION This study focused on the adoption of cloud services and cloud gaming in the gaming industry. We used face-to-face interviews to collect the data and made use of qualitative analysis using the grounded theory method. The participants of the study represented small and medium sized gaming organizations. We observed that small and medium sized gaming organizations were well aware of cloud computing, but they had doubts about the underlying cloud technology for supporting gaming products. Cloud services and cloud gaming might also steer the gaming industry towards reaching for larger masses of players, hence increasing profits. However, there seems to be a lack of coherent and concrete business models to support the use of cloud technology and services in developing gaming products. This seems to hinder the gaming organizations from using cloud computing. Therefore, there is a need for clear cloud gaming business models so that the gaming organizations can understand how to monetize their products. The cloud technology should also be developed so that it can better suit the needs of video game production. In the future, we intend to observe the process of integrating an existing game product with cloud services, and how this can be managed in a small or medium sized gaming organization. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study was supported by the SOCES-project ( funded by the city of Lappeenranta, Cursor Oy and provincial authorities along with the European Union Development Fund. It was also supported, in part, by the Graduate School on Software Systems and Engineering (SoSE).

10 REFERENCES Chan D., On the Feasibility of Video Gaming on Demand in Wireless LAN/WIMAX. unpublished. Chang T, 2010, Gaming will Save Us All. Communications of the ACM, Vol. 53, Issue. 3, pp , doi: / European Commission, The New SME Definition: User Guide and Model Declaration, Enterprise and Industry Publications, Gaudiosi, J., Cloud Gaming Europe Video Games Intelligence Cloud Gaming Europe 2013 Conference. Jarschel M., Schlosser, D., Scheuring, S., and Hibfeld T., Gaming in the Clouds: QoE and the Users Perspective. Mathematical and Computer Modelling, doi: Maggiorini, D., and Ripamonti, L.A., Cloud Computing to Support the Evolution of Massive Multiplayer Online Games. Communications in Computer and Information Science, Proceedings of the International Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems, pp , doi: / _11 Mell, P. and Grance, T., The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. United States National Institute of Standards and Technology, Moreno, C., Tizon, N., and Preda, M., Mobile Cloud Convergence in GaaS A Business Model Proposition. Proceedings of the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp , doi: /HICSS Nahar, N., Huday, N., and Tepandi, J., Critical Risk Factors in Business Model and IS Innovations of a Cloudbased Gaming Company: Case Evidence from Scandinavia. Proceedings of Technology Management for Emerging Technologies pp Ojala, A., and Tyrväinen P., Developing Cloud Business Models: A Case Study on Cloud Gaming. IEEE Software, Vol. 28, Issue. 4, pp , doi: /MS Peltoniemi, M., Life-cycle of the Games Industry, The Specificities of Creative Industries. Proceedings of the 12th International MindTrek Conference: Entertainment and Media in the Ubiquitos Era. Tampere, Finland, pp PricewaterhouseCoopers, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: , PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Seaman, C. B., Qualitative Methods in Empirical Studies of Software Engineering. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Vol. 25, pp Strauss, A., and Corbin J., Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques, SAGE Publications, Newbury Park, CA, USA. Tyni, H., Sotamaa, O. and Toivonen, S., Howdy pardner!: on free-to-play, sociability and rhythm design in FrontierVille. Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, Tampere, Finland, pp DOI: / Yamakami, T., Revenue-generation pattern analysis of mobile social games in Japan. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Advanced Communication Technology, PyengChang, South Korea, pp