June 2020

The video game industry is one of the fast flourishing sectors in technology. The highest part of the income comes from software. The industry has more room for growth and competition. To monitor the growth of a company’s stock in the market, earnings reports are utilized by investors. The marketbeat.com earnings calendar values the industry at $97 billion. Just to have the facts at hand, here is a list of giant companies in the video game industry that have made their names well-known.

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)

Founded in Tokyo on the 16th of November, 1993, SCE is a subsidiary of the tech giant Sony. SCE’s brand name game, PlayStation, was built around the success of Sony. This section of the Sony Company is outstanding after recording $20.8 billion in revenue during the 2018 fiscal year. The record by SCE was the highest of all the segments in the Sony Corporation. Other than PlayStation, their other products include the Uncharted series and the God of War games. SCE is definitely a force to be reckoned with when it comes to video gaming. 

Nintendo

Nintendo must be the oldest company as far as games are concerned. Formed in 1889, about 130 years ago, as Nintendo Karuta Co., it aimed to create hand-illustrated playing cards. The hand-illustrated playing cards are Japanese playing cards with pictures rather than numbers and suits. Nintendo then branched into various ventures from a taxi company, to an instant rice company, a remote control vacuum cleaning company, to a toy company. Eventually, Nintendo moved from a toy company and utilized gun technology into video games. Its revenue was estimated at $5.59 billion in 2018. Despite the low income, the company has outstanding longevity, popularity, and legacy with its character Mario wooing fans.

Electronic Art (EA)

Initially founded in 1982 and commonly abbreviated as EA. The software company has withstood the test of time and remained successful in business. EA’s popularity is attributed to its yearly games for FIFA, NBA, and NFL sports representation. Currently, EA owns the Swedish game company DICE. Following a business deal with Disney, EA is the sole distributor of the Star Wars games. The total net worth of the Electronic Art Company is $22.90 billion. EA’s revenue in 2018 was $5.1 billion, which is close to Nintendo’s.

Epic Games

It was founded by Tim Sweeney in 1991 while he was still a student at the University of Maryland. Epic MegaGames was initially Potomac Computer Systems and changed due to efforts to make a single person studio seem more significant. They developed the first-person shooter, Unreal, in 1998, followed by the first iteration of the Unreal Engine. They later dropped Mega and became Epic Games. The worth of Epic Games was estimated at $15 billion in March of 2019 with 250 million players. 

Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games was born in 1999 when BMG games were taken over by Take-Two Interactive. Most known for its Grand Theft Auto series in 2014, the company managed a shipment of 250 million copies of their games. The following year, the number of game shipments was replicated with 250 million copies of Grand Theft Auto series being shipped alone. The legendary Grand Theft Auto has sold more than any other game in the series in the history of the company. When asked about their choice of games, Rockstar’s VP, Dan Houser, responded that it is in their DNA to avoid doing what other companies are doing. The container company for Rockstar, Take-Two Interactive Software, recorded annual revenue of $2.66 billion in 2019, a 48% increase from 2018.

Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard is a double-headed monster in the video gaming industry. Both Activation and Blizzard are responsible for popular games like the Tony Hawk Franchise and the ubiquitous Call of Duty First-Person Shooter franchise, respectively. The two companies merged in 2007, creating Activision Blizzard and developing more popular games like Overwatch and Destiny. In 2018, the company generated $7.5 billion in the growth of revenue.

One common trend with these video game software companies is their humble beginnings, except for SCE. However, over time, these companies have grown into multibillion-dollar companies in annual revenue.

Planes, trains, and automobiles are largely automated to some extent or another. Cars are parallel parking without humans; commercial aircraft can fly and land without humans; trains are enabled to operate without humans. What about commercial shipping vessels? I’m talking about the big boys like the one that saved Tom Hanks in Castaway.

Victor Restis, a Greek shipping magnate, touches on the subject of commercial shipping automation in a recently published article, “COVID-19 Turning the Tides on the Maritime Shipping Industry.” He explains that today’s commercial shipping vessels are loaded with the latest communication technologies, IoT technologies, and other aspects that provide substantial cost savings efficiencies. From what the article states, automation in shipping vessels is highly unlikely, so I did a little more digging into this topic.

According to the Maritime Executive – an industry publication – we will never see fully autonomous transoceanic commercial cargo ships – at least for not a long time. It goes on to say that autonomous vessels are likely to operate in only minimal capacities. The reasoning is that the industry states there are too many vulnerabilities and intricate mechanical components to trust automation to control the vessel completely. Upon reading this, my mind brings up a video I saw of Elon Musk celebrating the accomplishment of launching a full-scale rocket into the atmosphere, have it reach inner space, then return to earth and land in the same spot that it started from – all automated. Is the shipping industry saying that their method of transportation is more complicated than space travel? I don’t know enough about either to choose a side, but it is fascinating to think about and explore. So I did.

I found an article that states, “In 2017, SEA CHARGER, a small solar-powered and crewless home-built boat completed a trip from California to Hawaii using GPS and a satellite modem for guidance and connectivity. And companies in the shipping industry are already using technologies that could eventually be used to automate larger vessels. The newest vessel of the Red and White Fleet, a San Francisco charter boat company, is a hybrid diesel-electric with a 160-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack that provides enough power for the ship to do a one-hour Golden Gate cruise on battery power alone.”

So, it seems possible even if the shipping industry isn’t quite ready for it. It appears that to equip a large cargo ocean liner fully requires an enormous expense and design complexity, something that isn’t a viable option at this point. Perhaps as older ships are retired, and new ships are designed and built, we will start seeing more technological integration toward fully automated commercial shipping vessels.

As you launch your business, your business plan will become your best friend. Not only will it help to guide you through each step of planning, running, and building your company, but it will be critical to bringing in funding or growing your executive team. With that in mind, it’s clear that outlining a top-notch business plan from the start is key to building a successful business. While there’s no “right way” to create your business plan, there are a few aspects that you want to focus on.

Know Your Audience

Typically, you’ll be faced with two key audiences: the investors or partners you’re aiming to bring into the company and yourself and any other leaders who are on board with the business already. For the former, you need to convince them of not only why they should be a part of this project but why you and your team are the right people to pull this off. You want to summarize your plans as persuasively as possible. It’s equally important, though, to be honest in your descriptions so that, should someone not be the right fit for your company, you don’t waste your time or theirs pretending they are.

And, of course, don’t forget to consider your business plan’s lasting legacy; it will act as your roadmap through not just your company’s first steps, but its lifetime. This doesn’t mean that you can’t make changes down the line, but having a solid starting point will save you future troubles.

Include the Most Important Details

Your business plan should be customized to fit you and your business but, even so, there are a few important details that you’ll want to include no matter what:

What are you selling?

It would be pretty difficult to run your business—and convince others to get involved—without a firm understanding of your product or service. Know whatever you’re offering to your customers thoroughly, and be able to explain it clearly and concisely to potential investors, partners, and clients.

Who’s your ideal customer?

Speaking of customers: who are they? Try to avoid vague, wide-ranging descriptors. It might help to create an avatar depicting your ideal customer. To take it even further, how will you help them? Touch upon your intentions for customer service for an even more concrete view of your customer relations. And, beyond even that, what marketing tactics will you employ to make sure they know about you?

How will your business run?

How will you handle inventory management, order fulfillment, and other logistics? Consider the benefits of utilizing a third-party logistics provider, for example, like the flexibility and improved customer experience they can provide. You might not know what you’ll be doing at exactly 2 p.m. every Thursday, but you should have an idea of both the day-to-day and big-picture operations of your business.

How will money move in and out?

You need to be aware of your budget as you plan your business. Is your 3pl service provider giving you the best results for the best price? Are you considering the cost of business staples (think envelopes, office supplies, and business cards)?. What sort of investment do you need upfront, and what kind of return can be expected? In short, how are you funding your business while making it profitable?

Present Professionally

When it comes to sharing your business plan, you want it to look like it’s come from the founder of a successful business. Consider a custom foil-stamped tax folder to hold financial documents—and always opt for the “fancy” paper. Even if your company has not yet launched you want to look the part. Pair your CEO-worthy business plan with a smart suit and you’ll be off to a great start.

You can find all templates across the internet for outlining your business plan but remember that there’s no one correct way to create it. If you understand your business—what you have to offer, to whom you’re offering it, how you’ll do it, and how you’ll pay for it—and present it well to both your team and its potential supporters, you’ll have the ideal business plan in no time.