Recently in class, we have been discussing the concept of pure competition. Mr. Stewart acknowledged that, for the most part, this is an abstract concept. Rarely does it ever actually occur in the real world. There are 3 key points that must be addressed when addressing whether or not a market is in pure competition:
1. A large number of producers must be selling the product (we can define large as 10+, but as this is an abstract concept, it doesn't really need to be strictly defined. The point is, there are a lot.)
2. The product must be standardized. A standardized product is one that does not differ greatly between what each of the producers is selling.
3. There must be easy entry and exit from the market. This means that the market must not require any surplus of money, resources, etc to become involved with the industry and sell the product and also it must be simple to leave the market.
So, let's think about Minecraft YouTubers and pure competition, one rule at a time. First, are there a large number of YouTubers who upload Minecraft videos? Maybe more than 10? There are thousands, at least. Second, is the product standardized? Well, let's be honest: they're all Minecraft videos. Yes, the game mode may differ in content, but overall the product is similar between each "producer" or YouTuber. Finally, is there simply entry and exit into the market? All that you need is a computer, which most Americans already have, a YouTube account, which comes with a Google account, which most Americans already have, and a recording software, which can be downloaded for free. And say you wanted to exit the market-- that too would be extremely easy, all there is to do is stop posting videos!
In conclusion, although pure competition is an abstract concept, we can clearly see its applications in a market that many of us have unknowingly been consumers in since a very young age.
I think the ideas you bring up in your post are very applicable to games more popular today. For example, Fortnite has taken over the content of YouTube. Like you said, everyone is playing the same game, but using different content. With Fortnite, there is not an option yet for customizable games, but still people are creating there own game modes to differentiate themselves from other YouTubers. Fortnite has overrun the the YouTube page, just like Minecraft was a couple years ago in its prime.
ReplyDeleteI like how you clearly gave a good example of pure competition and went through each step one by one describing how Minecraft fit the requirements of pure competition. There are plenty other examples of pure competition especially in gaming and Youtube similar to this posts. We see a lot of Fortnite Youtubers today as well as League of Legends and plenty other games that follow the same criteria.
ReplyDeleteI like how you clearly defined the requirements for the abstract concept of pure competition and related that to the example of Minecraft that we have been covering in class. In order to understand the concept of pure competition further, I think it is important to look at other examples of pure competition. While it may seem completely unrelated to Minecraft, a farmers' market is another example of pure competition. Like Minecraft, there is a huge amount of stands a customer can go to (like Minecraft channels), all stands are selling the same farm made fruits and vegetables (the Minecraft content), and it is easy for anyone to set up a stand or leave (choose to upload or not). So as unrelated Minecraft and farmers' markets may seem, it is important to realize how all pure competition markets are similar and that they are unknowingly a part of our everyday life.
ReplyDeleteThis post helped clarify to me what pure competition is and how Minecraft is such a strong example of the theory. I believe that without YouTube, Minecraft would not represent pure competition as well because there is so much advertising and promotion when creators make videos while playing the game. YouTube also shows the pure competition of Minecraft because no other video game is as popular on that platform.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how Youtube is a great example of pure competition in the real world. The plat form of Youtube and its guidelines makes every user follow the same rules. These rules correspond with those of pure competition, hence why it falls in that category. It for this reason that Youtube has created a pure competition in the real world. I find it very interesting how one user can be so large, with millions of fan, while others go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteNot only is this applicable to Minecraft YouTuber's, but for any creator on the internet. I think YouTube in general is a prime example of this concept. Like you said, if you have a computer and an account, there is nothing from stopping you from making money off of original videos. Before YouTube, people did not have the ability to make money off regular home made videos. I like how you used three concepts of pure competition and applied it to Minecraft to explain this example of pure competition.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good blog post, but I disagree with some of the points made. You argue that Minecraft YouTube videos are standardized, but after Mr. Stewart showed us the Minecraft documentary, I had a brief period in which I started watching Minecraft YouTube videos. After watching a couple from a variety of YouTubers, I quickly gravitated toward PythonMC b/c of his personality and the editing style of his videos. Different YouTubers have different amounts of subscribers and viewers because they create products that are widely different from each other and therefore resonate with different people. So in that aspect, although the market for Minecraft YouTube videos is similar to pure competition, I would argue that these videos are not a standardized product.
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