Transnational Contexts of Development History, Sociality, and Society of Play ― Video Games in East Asia

This book examines the historical background of game development, offline and online gamer interactions, and presents a method to study the health impacts of digital games in East Asia. Focusing on examinations of how video games shape external interactions with the world as well as internal spaces, Lee and Pulos' volume brings together a range of approaches and regions to understand the impact of video games in East Asia and beyond. Contributions range from assessments of Nintendo's lasting technological impact in Japan and globally to analyses of mobile social gaming among teenage girls in Korea, with qualitative and quantitative methodologies set in contact with one another to offer a full spectrum of perspectives on video gaming and its profound cultural impact.

S. Austin Lee is Assistant Professor at Northern Kentucky University, USA. He received his BA from Seoul National University, South Korea and MA/Ph.D. from Michigan State University, USA. His areas of expertise include communication technology and culture and communication. His scholarly work has been published in top academic journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology. He also received the top paper award from the National Communication Association.

Alexis Pulos is Assistant Professor at Northern Kentucky University, USA and teaches games and culture, board game design, and video game analysis. He received his Ph.D. from University of New Mexico where he studied rhetoric, new media, digital games, and film. His current work focuses on the ways player agency is structured through the design and social regulation of rule systems.