Quest for insights: Leveraging data from the video game ecosystem in marketing

Over the past decade, video games have dramatically risen in popularity, and marketers have started recognizing the research opportunities video games provide. However, much of the current research in the gaming space focuses on the video game experiences of individual consumers, whereas other participants in the video game ecosystem are often ignored. In addition, research frequently uses traditional data collection and analysis techniques that do not adequately account for the unique features of the data generated within this ecosystem. In this article, using a framework based on service-dominant logic and the customer journey, we identify six distinct pillars embedded in the video game ecosystem and describe the types of data generated through interactions among them. We then present three challenges with data gathering and analysis that arise from the co-creation of value within the video game ecosystem. Finally, we outline adaptations marketers can make to address these challenges and present future research directions to help access and analyze data generated throughout the video game ecosystem.