Abstract

The digital phenomenon changed how people play games, provoking significant changes in the consumer experience that go beyond video game devices. In this chapter, we provide an overview of video games as a form of digital consumption. Exploring key theoretical debates about games studies and digital consumption, we describe online games as a continuous and fascinating process of the gamer subject formation and consumer culture constitution. We present the constitution of online games as a category of consumption, describing video games as a particular type of play and entertainment. Later, we propose a multidimensional model describing the gamer’s subject position face the game structure and the cultural universe produced in this interaction. This model describes a micro-individual and subjective dimension of playful experience and a macro-cultural dimension of cultural texts and communitarian actions. Lastly, we discuss how video games are an icon of digital consumption and indicate suggestions for further studies.