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How to Cite a Computer Game in APA Style

Computer games aren't just entertainment -- they also can serve as research or sources of information. If you're writing an article, essay or research paper, and you've chosen to cite a computer game in your reference section, there are certain formatting guidelines to follow. The American Psychological Association (APA) provides in-depth rules for citing computer and video games and many other types of media used as research or sources in articles, essays or research papers.

Instructions

- 1
  Locate the game's publication information. Either on the computer game's packaging or instruction manual or online, you should find the official name of the game, the year and city of publication, and the name of the company that published the game.
- 2
  Cite the source in-text using signal phrases and parenthetical citations. Mention the author and year when citing the source. If there is no author, use the title of the source in the signal phrase or the first few words of the title in parentheses.
  
  Examples:
  
  In The Sims (2000), players can create entire families.
  
  In life simulation games, players can create entire families (The Sims, 2000).
- 3
  Write the reference list entry, starting with the title of the game, followed by the medium in brackets, followed by a period. Give the year of publication in parentheses, followed by a period. Write the city of publication, followed by the abbreviation of the state of publication, a colon, a space and the name of the publishing company.
  
  Research and Documentation Online provides the following example: Sims 2 [Computer software]. (2005). New York, NY: Maxis.

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