III. Read an article about electronic games. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-H for each part (95-100) of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0): (6 0.2 = 1.2 pts) YOU HAVE TO PAY TO PLAY Money doesn’t go far these days, especially in the world of high tech. Ian Kelly investigates. A. An unusual working environment B. Paying for the marketing C. The consumer’s viewpoint D. Some surprising reseach E. An interesting experiment F. The designer’s defence G. What should happen H. A bewildering choice 0. H Walk into any high street electrical store and the range of products available is dazzing. From MP3 players to DVDs, from hand-held computers to home cinemas, today’s consumer is confronted by displays of the latest gadgets everywhere they turn. Recently, though, people have begun to wonder whether they are actually getting value for money when they splash out on the next piece of electronic wizardry. The theory is that competition in the market forces pieces down and we all benefit from cheaper and better goods. But does it work? 95. I spoke to Vivian Parris of the consumer group Buywatch about one area of concern: video games. Buywatch carried out an extentive survey over the last six months into popular games consoles and the games that run on them. The results might shock anyone without any previous experience of this sector of the market. “Basically, teenagers and other game players are being ripped off,” says Vivian. “The prices of the consoles themselves are coining down, but the games are becoming more and more expensive, and there doesn’t seem to be any clear reason for it.” 96. Vivian explains that in computing there is something called Moore’s law. Gordon Moore was a computer engineer in the 60s and 70s and he noticed that computer chips double in power roughly every eighteen months. That should mean that faster and more powerful computers become easier and cheaper to make. Over the last thirty years of the computer industry that has happened, and a shopper today can afford technology undreamt of even ten years ago. Yet the prices of games keep creeping, or sometimes leaping, up. 97. To find out why out why that might be, I visited Softplay, the games software manufacturer responsible for such hits as Unknown Lands and Earthstalker. On arrival, I was led into their laboratory by Matt Koenig, games developer. Although they call it the laboratory, the room of people testing games, shouting their high scores to each other across pizza boxes and drinks cans couldn’t be further from the image of scientists in white coats. “This is where it all happens,” comments Matt. “One of the reasons for our success is that we are all just ordinary gamers at heart.” 98. We moved into Matt’s office where I grilled him about the prices of games. “Look,” he said. “A huge amount of reseach and development goes into today’s games. You can’t just create a character and expect people to be happy collecting keys or whatever. You have to give them stunning graphics, stereo surround sound, the whole works. And that costs.” I’m not completely convinced. We look at a few recent titles and compare the prices. “To be honest, we don’t set the prices. That’s up to the individual shop at the end of the day. All these games are very popular, and if you want something badly enough, you’ll save up your allowance and go out and buy it. It’s as simple as that.” 99. Obviously I wasn’t going to get far here. I decided to hit the streets and speak to the people who matter: the buyers. At a large game store in central London, I ran into a group of teenagers. “Sometimes you can find a bargain,” says Jade Mitchell. 14. “Mostly, though, it means putting money by each week until you can afford the one you want. Either that or start hassling your parents to get it.” The others laugh. “The console is nothing, and everyone’s got one,” she continues. “That’s the trick. They get you playing, and then charge you a fortune for the games.” 100. So what have I learned from my brief trip into the world of video and computer games? First of all, nobody even tries to deny that games are probably the most costly bits of plastic in the shops. There’s also no doubt that adolescents, who make up the majority of the game-buying public, want these games and are prepared to save to get them. What left me feeling uneasy was the fact that these products have huge advertising budgets, spent on persuading young people how badly they need them, and that money has to come ultimately from teenagers, or often their parents.