Planetside 2

Use the Planetside 2 Wikipedia entry to answer the following questions:

• What is Planetside 2?

 PlanetSide 2 is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online first-person shooter published by Sony Online Entertainment and released on November 20, 2012.

• What genre does the game belong to?

sci-fi

• Planetside 2 developer/publisher:

Sony online entertainment

• When was it launched?

November 20, 2012. 

• How does the game-play work?

with the pc, you 

• What are the six different player classes in the game?

There are six unique player classes in PlanetSide 2. Each class has several unique weapons and special abilities. For each class new weapons, upgrades, and abilities can be acquired using in-game certification points. In addition, each class can earn ribbons and medals which reward additional certifications. The classes are as follows:

• The Infiltrator is a sniper class with special abilities of cloaking and hacking, and can use sniper rifles, scout rifles and submachine guns to deliver a devastating effect.
• The Light Assault class is a scout who uses carbines, submachine guns and shotguns. The Light Assault's special ability is Jump Jets, which allow them to fly through the air for a short period of time.
• The Combat Medic is a healing class. Their weapons include assault rifles, shotguns and submachine guns. The Combat Medic's special abilities allows them to heal and resurrect other players.
• The Engineer class has the special ability of repairing vehicles, turrets, and MAX Units. The engineer also has the ability to build anti-infantry and anti-vehicle turrets. The Engineer's weapons include carbines, shotguns submachine guns and battle rifles.
• The Heavy Assault class has light machine guns, submachine guns, shotguns, batte rifles, and also Rocket Launchers, which are effective at destroying enemy vehicles. They also have the special ability of shields to help them endure heavy fire.
• The MAX class has a mobile armored suit that allows them to take significant damage before dying. However, due to the suit they are also the slowest class. They have access to anti-infantry, anti-vehicle, and anti-air weapons. Max units cost resources to use.

• What is the story or narrative to the game?

PlanetSide 2 is a science fiction massively multiplayer online first-person shooter set approximately 300 years after the discovery of Auraxis, 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. 

Business model

Now look at the section on the Planet-side 2 business model.

• How much does Planet-side 2 cost to play?

• What does a subscription offer to players?

• What can the in-game currency be used to buy?

• Why do some players dislike games in which users can buy additional weapons or health?

The three factions

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

The Terran Republic:

The Vanu Sovereignty:

The New Conglomerates:

Print 

Wii Party casestudy

General research

• When was Wii Party released on the Nintendo Wii?

July 8th 2010

• Which developer/institution created Wii Party?

Nd cube. Nintendo SPD

• How many copies has the game sold since release?

230,000 units 

Broadcast

• What are the key conventions of a videogame TV advert? What would you expect to see in most videogame TV adverts?

homely scenes is the atmosphere of which the game is played at

• 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.

The key conventions the advert is the use of music appearing along with a voice over.

• What is the typical setting for Wii Party TV adverts? Why is that setting used?

The typical setting for the wii party is either an apartment or a family home.

• How might the setting appeal to families?

This appeal to families because it represents all family members as a nuclear family; seeing as the 'perfect family'

• What celebrities do the adverts feature?

the use of JLS gives a sense of promotion to the fans

• What do you notice about the celebrities' costume and make-up?

They're all wearing casual clothing which goes along with the theme of it being a homely setting that attracts to everyone.

• Why do you think those particular celebrities were chosen?

because it appeals to different audience members of the fans of the celebrity 

• What do the celebrities suggest about the Wii Party target audience?

They suggest that the target audience want to have a game to play with their family so they can interact and spend time with one another

• What else can you learn about the Wii Party target audience from the TV adverts? Suggest a demographic profile: gender, age, social class etc.

The target audience's age varies from 5-55, therefore it appeals to both young and old people because its basic and fun for everyone to contribute.

• 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.

The audience pleasures the game offers the viewers is a source of entertainment, and being able to interact with other creating a common interest within the families; this goes along with what theorists such as Blumler and Katz created.

• What examples of branding can you find in the Wii Party TV adverts - either for the game itself or Nintendo Wii?

The wii party is only made for the nintendo wii therefore it promotes the console, and encourages more people to buy it 

• Do you think the TV adverts were effective for promoting the Wii Party game?

Yes because it allows you to reach out to a broader audience and make people who are not on any sort of social media aware of the game, and what sort of game is out in the market for them to appeal to it more.

Print

• Find a Wii Party review from a magazine or newspaper. What does the review suggest about the target audience for the game?

"Wii Party U may be seen by many as another mini-game compendium churned out to appeal to families but there is more to it than meets the eye", this suggests that there is more to the video than expected

• Is the review positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from the review to support this view.

the review is positive about the game as it highlights the key features, eg the game is made for families. Also it gives us a hint to what may be in the game

• Do you think magazine reviews are effective in promoting the game to Wii Party's target audience?

I do think they are effective, as if a consumer wants to invest in a game they would look at reviews and if they find a negative one the may rethink buying the game

E-media

• Visit the Wii Party website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of a Wii Party fan?

It has the ability for other to interact by clicking on to different categories.

• What do you notice about the people in the scrolling central image featured on the website?

The image is of different ethnicities to attract lots of ethnic minorities

• 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?

There is repetition of these words to highlight that the page is for these people

• What is the colour scheme for the website? What does this suggest about the target audience?
• Look at the 'Video Gallery' on the official website. What do the 'Invitation' videos suggest about the Wii Party target audience?
• How many 'likes' has the Wii Party/Wii Party U Facebook wall had?
• 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.
• Wii Party does not have such a strong presence on other social networking sites. Why do you think this is?
• Which platform do you think is strongest in promoting Wii Party to its target audience - broadcast, print or e-media? Why?

SIMS casestudy

Print

1. What print adverts were used to advertise the game? Find examples and post them on your blog.

1. What key conventions of print adverts can you find on the example you have chosen? Product name? Font? Slogan? Central image? Colour?

The colour scheme of the print is purple to highlight wealth and fortune which will appeal to sim consumers because they will also feel superior, however some may argue that purple is more feminine so they added a blue title of 'sims' to balance it out- as blue is seen as masculine colour. The images are on both sides so the texts is highlighted more than the picture

1. Find three reviews for your game that were originally published in video game magazines. Are they positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from each review.

Metascore- " Create lifelike Sims with a unique personality and take them anywhere in the neighborhood. The powerful Create-a-Sim tool allows you to create Sims that are more realistic than ever." this review is seen as positive because it tells us the best bits about the game and doesn't mention any faults

Danger- " For a game that gives you a fake life all of these are good things." this is a blunt reply as it mentions a fault that can be been with playing the game then contradicts it with something good in the end.

Cynamite-"Sims 3 is the perfect example for a brilliant, fun game that works without any violence." this is also a positive review because overall there weren't many bad reviews, it talks about bad things that it doesn't include which overall makes the game look better

1. Did your game feature on any video game magazine front covers? Find examples and explain why a front cover feature is so successful in promoting a game to its target audience.

The game doesn't feature on any particular magazine however it has its own magazine in which people can gain information from and refer too if they need help in the game. 

Broadcast

1. Did your chosen game use a TV advert to promote the game? Embed it from YouTube if it did.

1. 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.

1. Can you find any other broadcast features on the game - interviews, launch party events, video reviews, clips of the game-play on YouTube etc. Write about how they effectively promote the game to its target audience.

They effectively promoted the game as they  promoted it through social media and made events in which you can play the game. Also on youtube it has trailers in which it shows you how to play the game.

E-media

1. Visit your chosen game's official website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of its target audience?

doesn't have a website for the specific video-game.

1. Does the game have a YouTube channel?

Life of simmer is the you-tube channel which gives an insight of how to play the game and also gives you tips on how to live the life of a 'simmer'

1. 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.

because it allows others to see it, which brings more popularity to it.

1. How many 'likes' has your chosen game's Facebook wall had?
2. Choose five of the posts on the Facebook page's wall, screengrab them and explain how they appeal to the game's target audience.
3. What is your chosen game's Twitter hashtag?
4. How did the campaign use Twitter to promote the game?
5. 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.

Other

1. 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?
2. Write down anything else of interest at the end of your case study blogpost.

FIFA14 case study

Print

1.                   Find a FIFA14 print advert and describe how it promotes the game.
 

2.   

1.  2 What key conventions of print adverts can you find on the FIFA ad? Product name? Font? Slogan? Central image? Colour?

We can see the print consists of Lionel Messi along with Gareth Bale, they deliberately used these characters because Lionel Messi is supposedly ‘the best player in the world’, however they also used Gareth Bale so they could appeal to a variety of consumers.

3.                   Find three reviews for FIFA14 that were originally published in videogame magazines. Are they positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from each review.

Huffsports Tech- “FIFA 14 is a success and the game-makers have evidently listened to the criticism which 13 generated. With its nifty layout and slickness, it is a vast improvement and all the more enjoyable for it.”

This review gives a positive insight of FIFA14 as it highlights that the problems that were there before have been resolved, this attracts consumers who may have had a problem with it.

Metascore- “in FIFA 14 players have better decision making and teams play smarter on both the attack and defence to bring the beauty of the game to life”

This review is also a positive review by demonstrating the best bits of the game it makes others want to try it too.

Video Gamer- “The only issue I noticed was in Be A Pro, where the game often stuttered when using the Pro camera angle.”

On the other hand this review is negative because it underlines the worst bits of the videogame.

4.                   Why are magazine reviews effective in promoting the game to FIFA14's target audience?

Magazine reviews are effective in promoting the game to FIFA14’s target audience because those who want to buy the game will refer to the reviews before buying it. Consequently, if the reviews are bad the audience are less likely to buy it, also the magazines are specifically targeted to the reader’s views and interest therefore the audience will go alongside what it says.

5.                   In your opinion, is print or e-media more effective in reaching the FIFA14 target audience?

I believe that the e-media is more effective because FIFA14 buyers are interactive with social media more than seeing the prints around us in society therefore it will reach the target audiences needs. Also we are able to see promotion from different devices through e-media – eg the tv and phone.

Broadcast

1.                   Watch the FIFA14 TV advert on YouTube. How the does the advert attract an audience?

In the audience we immediately notice the variety of ethnic groups; this instantly reaches out to lots of consumer. They also use the celebrity, which may be seen as an idol to some viewers therefore they will copy the actions there idol does- henceforth if drakes fans see him playing fifa14 they will also want to do so.

2.                   Why is Lionel Messi driving the van?

Messi is driving the van to show he’s the main one promoting in, we can see how he’s supposedly leading the rest of the people by driving the van, this also denotes

3.                   How does the TV advert feature the FIFA14 brand? Font? Slogan? Main star?

At the end they take the time to tell us when it’s out and what platforms we can play it. Also throughout the whole advert the website is at the bottom- informing the viewer where we can get more information. And at the end the slogan appears ‘ we are fifa 14’

4.                   Why is there a combination of famous footballers, celebrities and regular people in the advert?

So they can reach out to a combination of class’s, genders, ages, and ethnicities.

5.                   Watch the FIFA14 trailer on YouTube. How does it differ from the TV advert?

The trailer on YouTube is more like a virtual insight of how the game will look like when you play it, and it also highlights key features specifically in the game. This would be specifically for people who already have some sort of interest in the game. However the tv advert it targeted to attract consumers and reach out to a wider audience than the YouTube trailer.

6.                   Why is the trailer effective in promoting the game?

Because it’s promoted through the internet which is the best way to reach out to young people which is the general target audience for the game.

E-media

1.           
        Visit the FIFA14 website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of a FIFA14 fan?
It gives the viewer a chance to connect and compare with other players.

2.                   How many 'likes' has the FIFA14 Facebook wall had?

21,343,938 

3.                   Choose five of the posts on the Facebook page's wall, screen grab them and explain how they appeal to the FIFA14 target audience.

4.                   Find three examples of celebrity/footballer promotion on the Facebook wall and write how they promote the FIFA14 brand.

5.                   What is the FIFA14 Twitter hashtag?

6.                   What is the FIFA14 Twitter account currently tweeting about? Find three recent tweets and explain why they would appeal to the FIFA14 target audience.

7.                   Can you find any examples of user-generated content on YouTube? This means YouTube videos of FIFA14 gameplay that players have created and uploaded themselves. Embed at least three videos on your blog.