GTA V

GTA V campaign questions.

1. How long before release did the GTA V campaign begin? The GTA V campaign began on the 17th September 2013
2. How did the institution want existing GTA fans to react to the early trailers? they wanted existing GTA fans to react tot the early trailers by wanting them to understand what GTA is about 
3. How did the steady release of trailers build excitement and hype about the game?  the campaign presented all three main characters on who is going to be in the game
4. How was the launch used to generate news coverage? made newspaper headlines across the world. fans queued for over two hours ahead of the midnight launch. 
5. What effect did the strict embargo have on the audience? so the plot would be spoiled
6. In your opinion, why was the campaign for GTA V so successful? they basically stayed in control as they didn't give too much away before the actual launch of the game.

CASE STUDY- SUPER MARIO BROS.

Name of game: SUPER MARIO BROS

Release date: September 13, 1985

Institutions behind the game (game studio/publisher):  pseudo-sequel to the 1983 game mario bros.

Gaming platforms it is available on (e.g. PS4, PC, Wii etc.): Wii, PC and many more.

Print

1. What print adverts were used to advertise the game? Find examples and post them on your blog. 
2. What key conventions of print adverts can you find on the example you have chosen? Product name? Font? Slogan? Central image? Colour? title, image, uses bright colours.
3. Find three reviews for your game that were originally published in videogame magazines. Are they positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from each reviews- Wildly overproduced and derivative,                        Despite eye-catching sets and smart casting, this first feature-length film to be adapted from a video game is a bloated muddle,                       Super Mario Bros. is about as playful and challenging as an unplugged pinball machine   
4. Did your game feature on any videogame magazine front covers? Find examples and explain why a front cover feature is so successful in promoting a game to its target audience. 

Broadcast

1. Did your chosen game use a TV advert to promote the game? Embed it from YouTube if it did and explain how it fits the key conventions of a TV advert. it it shown on both TV and Youtube. for the Youtube one, the key conventions used are simple, it uses a title, image or in fact a video of family and friends playing the game on the console.
2. Is there a game trailer on YouTube? Embed it on your blog and explain why it is effective in promoting the game to its target audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmMTrTF4524
3. Can you find any other broadcast features on the game - interviews, launch party events, video reviews, clips of the gameplay on YouTube etc. Write about how they effectively promote the game to its target audience.  the reviews on youtube will help the audience know more about the game because people around the world are playing it and have a hint on what it might feel and how much they will enjoy after buying it.

E-media

1. Visit your chosen game's official website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of its target audience? it will interest certain targeted audiences, for example males, because the website uses alot of blues.
2. Are there any creative or interesting aspects to the game's official website? yes, there is, there is a show of the game play on the background, which shows how the game may be and look like. 
3. Does the game have a YouTube channel? yes
4. Can you find any examples of user-generated content on YouTube that players have created and uploaded from the game? Embed any examples on your blog. 
5. How does user-generated content such as gameplay videos help to promote the game? 
6. How many 'likes' has your chosen game's Facebook wall had?
7. Choose five of the posts on the Facebook page's wall, screengrab them and explain how they appeal to the game's target audience. 
8. What is your chosen game's Twitter hashtag? 
9. How did the campaign use Twitter to promote the game?
10. Can you find any other creative uses of e-media to promote the game? This might include hashtags, competitions, Instagram, user-generated campaigns or anything else that is designed to draw attention to the game.

Pre- and post-release

1. What was the game's release date? 13 september 1985 was the old one
2. What is the earliest reference you can find to the game before the release date? Was it announced at a gaming conference (such as E3)? How did the publisher get a potential audience excited about the forthcoming game? through research there might be another mario game coming soon 
3. How did the institution promote the game after it was released? they promoted audiences at commercials.
4. Does the game have any way of making the publisher additional income post-release (such as in-game purchases)?  yep,it uses in-app purchases, for example, you had to buy something to jump higher.

Other

1. Who do you think is the target audience for this game? Make up a potential target audience demographic and explain why you think it fits the game. What psychographic groups would be attracted to this game? this game is targeted for people aged 8+ to 30, this is because this game is for people aged younger and prefer it to be younger as they like to adventure.
2. What else can you find from the marketing and promotion of your chosen game? A launch event? Stories appearing in newspapers? Celebrity endorsement? Scandal or controversy?
3. How does the campaign make an emotional connection with the audience? What is the audience appeal of the advertising campaign?
4. Can you find any images of how the game was promoted in-store - displays, point-of-sale promotions, window displays etc.?
5. Write down anything else of interest at the end of your case study blogpost.

Long-term campaigns: Star Trek videogame

Star Trek: blog tasks

1) Pick out the five most significant aspects of the Star Trek campaign from the list above and explain why they were important in creating a buzz about the game. 

- E3 announcement and teaser trailer- it tells the audience what the game is about. 

- New teaser trailer released- this gives audiences to know more about the video game, give them more of a taster.

-Game co-promoted TV and radio adverts- this helps the audience know when the game is about to release.

- Interview with Brian Miller released- this is important because people would want to know what the aspects of this game is. Brian Miller would then help the audience understand what the game is about and why they have brought this game up.

2)Watch the following YouTube trailers and explain why they might appeal to an audience: 3) How many views did these trailers receive in total?

• Teaser trailer- 107,   732
• Xbox teaser trailer-  7883
• Full trailer-   4052
• Comedy trailer with William Shatner-   124

4) Why did the Star Trek video game publisher develop the marketing campaign over such a long time? to build up the prestige of the game and make  people know more about the game.

5) What other examples can you find online from the Star Trek marketing campaign? Print? Reviews? Broadcast? E-media? Do you feel the campaign as a whole was successful? 

  It offers what the audience like and it shows you what console can be played in this game, it also shows you the people playing in the game as well as the weapons used in their.

Phone and tablet gaming

Phone and tablet gaming: tasks

Read this BBC News article about Candy Crush Saga. Answer the following questions:

1. How much money is Candy Crush Saga estimated to make each day from its users?  Candy Crush Saga is estimated to make £610,000 ($1,000,000) per day from its user
2. How does it make this money?  free to download but generates extraordinary revenues by nudging addicted players into paying more to get gizmos that help them progress through difficulty levels.
3. How many people are estimated to have installed Candy Crush? 5 million people have installed Candy Crush
4. Where do people play?  people play worldwide, such as public transport, work, if they are free etc,
5. When was the game released? on Facebook this game was released on the 12th april and 14th november on smartphones.
6. When did it reach 500 million downloads? november 13th
7. Who is the typical Candy Crush gamer? young men at home, using consoles :/
8. What percentage of gamers have spent money on Candy Crush, buying in-app purchases etc.? 25% 
9. What percentage say they are addicted to the game? 30% say they are addicted to this game
10. What is your own experience of playing Candy Crush? Have you played it? Yes i play it when im bored or free, i really enjoy it because its challenging. 

AIDA exercise: marketing a new game

Task 1
Summarise who might play the game and what platform they will play it on. Give it a title.
The X-Factor 
The target audience for this game is 12+ because people at the age age of 12 watch X-factor which means they would be attracted to the game.
The platform they would play this game is on PS3 and Wii. 
Demographically the target audience for this game is for both genders, Male- 35% and Female-65%, this is because you have to sing in the game, which females 



Task 2
Use AIDA to plan a 10 minute marketing campaign for the new game:

A: How will you create marketing materials that attract audience attention to the game? There can be a free trial. People would get attracted to it because they would get to know how the will look and work.
I: How will you generate audience interest? I would definitely talk and give details about the game, I will also   show them the cover of the game. 
D: How will you stimulate audience desire to buy the game? talk about the features and make them play the game in store to give them a taster.
A: How will you promote audience action? to watch the actual TV programme is free, so the game itself is cheaper than other music games.

Task 3

Write up your notes on your blog and be prepared to share your ideas with the class.

Game 9
Music game. Players use a special microphone to pick up their own musical sounds, and play along to a series of tracks. They can use any musical instrument, or sing, and the game will interpret the notes they produce and check them against the original track. Their ability to play / sing in time and in key will be assessed for each song. Play can be in rehearsal or gig mode. In gig mode, the higher the score, the better the venue for the next gig

Target audience: Planetside 2

Who plays video games?

1. What is Planetside 2? PlanetSide is a massively-multiplayer online first-person-shooter video game 
2. What genre does the game belong to?  
3. Planetside 2 developer/publisher: it was published by Sony Online Entertainment
4. When was it launched? released November 20, 2012. 
5. How does the game play work? Action, Fight, Science Fiction.
6. What are the six different player classes in the game?  The infiltrator is a sniper class, The Light Assault class, The Combat Medic is a healing class, The engineer Class, The Heavy Assault class, and the MAX class.
7. What is the story or narrative to the game? the narrative of this game is that there is a planet called Auraxis, which was discovered 300 years back. although the chronology of the game universe starts a few years before. After the Earth has nearly come to ruin following a devastating war, the world's governments came to a consensus and united under one banner: the world-wide Terran Republic (TR). Some time later a wormhole, one which scientists fail to explain, appears and then disappears without a trace. Ex-President of the Terran Republic, Tom Connery, believes that the wormhole is a sign of existing extraterrestrial life and launches several space expeditions. The first expedition to Moon Belt gives a lead—a figurine of alien nature—giving Connery a reason to start a second expedition further into space. Several Terran Republic ships travel through the wormhole and are stranded for a very long period of time; their situation grows dire. Due to the crew's mental exhaustion and provision limit, strict curfews are applied. Later, a vote is held about the necessity of the measures. The positive vote wins, but only barely. There are nearly as many negative votes. A second vote is called. However, a terrorist bomb destroys the ship on which the vote is to occur, killing everyone aboard, including Connery. Curfews pass. Later, the expedition discovers the planet Auraxis, and as a result, Vanu, or "ancient", technology. Among this vast array of technology is "Rebirthing Chambers", capable of reviving any person from any kind of injury with even the smallest amount of genetic code and to continued. 

Business model

Now look at the section on the Planetside 2 business model.

1. How much does Planetside 2 cost to play? It is free to download, were if you want to buy something within the game you will have to purchase it from your own money, through PayPal or Credit Cards.
2. What does a subscription offer to players? the game also offers a subscription which provides players with increased experience, cert points, and extra resources, such as if you want to buying a medical kit in the game.
3. What can the in-game currency be used to buy? Station Cash is SOE's
4. Why do some players dislike games in which users can buy additional weapons or health? because they would need to buy the them, which they prefer not so.

Planetside 2: Target audience

Write a possible target audience demographic for Planetside 2 in general:

Gender/age/social class/education/employment/location etc.

-Gender- Male-80%  Females- 20%

-Age- 14+ to 35

-Social Class- A, B, C1 probably mainly middle class people

-Education- High school, College or University, or probably people at work.
- Location at a house.

The three factions

Summarise the three factions that players can join in the game:

The Terran Republic:  Honour, Saviour and Justice.

The Vanu Sovereignty: Potential, intelligence, strengths.

The New Conglomerates: Oppression, Freedom,  Rebels.

Now write a target audience demographic for each faction from Planetside 2 – it will be similar to the overall target audience but think carefully about changes in age, education or employment:

The Terran Republic-  ABC1 demographic - requires tactics

The Vanu Sovereignty- ABC1 Demographic; requires new technology and education/employment

The New Conglomerates- Age 18 - 24 - rebels especially as this game focuses on this particular aspect
Doesn't necessarily require someone to be in employment

Now use what you have learned about psychographic profiling to choose potential psychographic groups for each of the three factions:

The Terran Republic- Mainstreamers - seek security; these are people who live in the world of the domestic and the everyday. 

The Vanu Sovereignty- Resigned: seek survival. 
Succeeders: seek control; succeeders possess self-confidence, have a strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised. As a result, they tend to occupy positions of responsibility in society. When it comes to brands, they will often seek out the best because that is what they feel they deserve.

The New Conglomerates- Reformers - enlightenment/change; valuing their own independent judgement. 

Explorers: seek discovery; these people are driven by a need for discovery, challenge and new frontiers. Young in nature, if not in reality, Explorers are often the first to try out new ideas and experiences.

Wii Party :)

Case study 2: Wii Party

General skills.

1. When was Wii Party released on the Nintendo Wii?  It was released on the 8th October 2012
2. Which developer/institution created Wii Party? It was developed by the Nd cube and Nintendo SPD and platform-wii.
3. How many copies has the game sold since release? 7.94 million copies were sold.

Broadcast

1. What are the key conventions of a video game TV advert? What would you expect to see in most video game TV adverts? the key conventions used are, titles, celebrity appearence, slogans
2. How many of the key conventions you have listed above appear in the Wii Party TV adverts? List them with specific details from the Wii Party TV adverts?
3. What is the typical setting for Wii Party TV adverts? Why is that setting used? the typical setting for Wii Party is in a house or in a studio which looks like a house, there are mainly families and friends in the commercial advert, in Wii Party, JLS are in this TV advert.
4. How might the setting appeal to families? the setting used in this advert may appeal to families because it it based in a home, we families live.
5. What celebrities do the adverts feature? JLS takepart in this advert, such as Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, JB Gill and Oritse Williams.
6. What do you notice about the celebrities' costume and make-up? that they are dressed casual, like an everyday look.
7. Why do you think those particular celebrities were chosen? because the game itself is aimed at people aged 12+ to 35. which people these age group know JLS more.
8. What do the celebrities suggest about the Wii Party target audience? the JLS think that this game is based for everyone.
9. What else can you learn about the Wii Party target audience from the TV adverts? Suggest a demographic profile: gender, age, social class etc. gender- both ,  age-12-35 , social class- A,B and C1 probably.
10. What audience pleasures do the Wii Party TV adverts offer to viewers? Refer to Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory when answering this question. 
11. What examples of branding can you find in the Wii Party TV adverts - either for the game itself or Nintendo Wii? 
12. Do you think the TV adverts were effective for promoting the Wii Party game? yes 

Print

1. Find a Wii Party review from a magazine or newspaper. What does the review suggest about the target audience for the game? 
2. Is the review positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from the review to support this view. I love this game! This is one of the best party games on the wii by far and it has plenty of brilliant game modes.  the review is positive which helps other people want to buy this game.
3. Do you think magazine reviews are effective in promoting the game to Wii Party's target audience? yes because the target audience for this game- 12 to 35 tend to read and look at magazines. 

E-media

1. Visit the Wii Party website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of a Wii Party fan? its very attractive, it gives you all the information needed, it also makes the viewer read more, and click on every link possible.
2. What do you notice about the people in the scrolling central image featured on the website? that they are in the gameplay, they are in the actual game itself, which then makes the viewer who hasn't got a Wii, know how the characters or Mii's look in there.
3. How many times can you find the words 'friends' or 'family' used on the official website? Why do you think the website emphasises this aspect of the game? loads, this is because the game it selfis plaed by family and friends.
4. What is the colour scheme for the website? What does this suggest about the target audience? the colour scheme is mainly bright and strong pink, which also suggests that  girls/womens might more tend to play this games.
5. Look at the 'Video Gallery' on the official website. What do the 'Invitation' videos suggest about the Wii Party target audience?  the target audience of  the invitations videos suggest that kids and ladies are a big fan of this game, and  
6. How many 'likes' has the Wii Party/Wii Party U Facebook wall had? 
7. How does the Wii Party Facebook wall cross-promote other Nintendo games? Find three examples and explain why they appeal to the Wii Party target audience.
8. Wii Party does not have such a strong presence on other social networking sites. Why do you think this is?
9. Which platform do you think is strongest in promoting Wii Party to its target audience - broadcast, print or e-media? Why? i think that e-media is stronger in promoting, than broadcast and print, for example, everyone watches TV, which the ad may come on,rather than going on facebook and looking at the ad, which some people might not tend to have.