Synopsis

Over the past thirty years or so, video games have conquered an ever-wider audience. This fast-paced, in-depth investigation deciphers the overwhelming dominance of this new mass medium.
Long seen as a pastime for pimply teenagers, video games have gone mainstream. Surfing on technological innovations, relying on universal impulses to appeal to an ever-widening audience, this industry, with annual worldwide revenues reaching 100 billion dollars, has succeeded in offering cultural products adapted to a globalized economy. Classic" console video games are no match for Hollywood blockbusters. At the same time, the spread of smartphones has been accompanied by a proliferation of hugely successful games, as witnessed by the recent Pokémon go phenomenon, and before that, the success of Candy Crush and Angry Birds.