Gaming And Video Fandom Overlap Cannibalisation Risks For Games And SVOD Releases

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20,000 Foot View: Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD), binge-watching and weekly usage of Netflix have penetrated the mainstream among gamers. Behind these propositions are companies with large marketing budgets and effective channels enabling them to reach their audiences. Depending on the degree of mutual fandom overlap, TV shows have a solid chance of competing for gamers’ digital time and vice-versa. Thus, scheduling major games releases against releases of popular TV shows poses a threat to games companies, as it creates an unnecessary engagement dilemma for consumers, interfering with the potential success of the release. An example of this was the recent launch of Assassin’s Creed on the same day Netflix’s Stranger Things came out. Considerations for release analytics and planning must be extended to monitor key releases from across the digital entertainment economy, rather than solely concentrating on one’s home turf.

Key Findings:

       of console owners and        of mobile gamers pay for a monthly video subscription, compared to the        consumer average        of console owners and        of mobile gamers use Netflix weekly, compared to        of consumers        of console owners and        of mobile gamers binge watch TV shows, compared to the        consumer average
• Console owners over index in TV show fandom for        out        tracked shows, while mobile gamers over index for all       
       of consumers are fans of Stranger Things, compared to        of console owners and        of mobile gamers
• Releasing Assassin’s Creed on the same day as Stranger Things is expected to have had a negative effect on the game’s release, as        of Assassin’s Creed fans are also fans of Stranger Things
• Gamers’ over indexing in SVOD and binge watching calls for greater awareness among games publishers’ when planning releases
• If a game release is planned on the same day as a TV show release, the degree of cannibalisation risk between the two is determined by size of their fandom overlap

Companies and products mentioned: Amazon Prime Video, American Horror Story, Assassin’s Creed, Call Of Duty, Daredevil, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, FIFA, Game Of Thrones, House Of Cards, Jessica Jones, Legends Of Tomorrow, Legion, Little Big Planet, Man In The High Castle, Mr. Robot, NCIS, Netflix, Scream, Shannara Chronicles, Sherlock, Stranger Things, Super Mario Odyssey, The Big Bang Theory, The Flash, The Grand Tour, The OA, The SIMS, , The Voice, Teen Wolf, Top Gear, Transparent, Walking Dead, Wolfenstein II