Download Games exam prep

GCSE Media Studies
Preparing for the Exam
What Mr Connolly thinks the four
tasks will be
• Describe two marketing campaigns for video
games and say why they were successful.
• Explain what you think the USP of your chosen
game is and why it will appeal to your audience.
• Explain what you will do to market and promote
your chosen game.
• Create a TV Ad Storyboard/website
homepage/Facebook Page in order to promote
the game.
What we are going to do today
• Decide which game you are going to focus on
in the exam.
• Look at an existing game and its marketing
campaign that is like the one you are focusing
on in the exam.
• Talk about how to use this case study in the
exam.
• Begin to plan another case study.
The Brief
• Two choices of game
• “Dancefloor”
• “The Detectives”
• You have to research and present two case
studies of successful marketing campaigns. I
would suggest that ONE of the two is either….
….a Professor Layton title
OR
Lets case study these two
• I am going to go through the kind of information
you need to research for this first task.
• You can use this information, so that Just Dance
or Professor Layton can be one of the two
examples you write about in the exam
• You should also make sure though, that you have
this kind of information for ANOTHER game
marketing campaign of your choice. You could
use one of the ones you have done already, as
long as you have this kind of information about it.
What kind of information do I need to
have about these two case studies?
•
•
•
•
What kind of game it is?
Who was the target audience for it?
What kind of games platform was it designed for?
What kind of traditional marketing activities were
undertaken to promote the game (e.g. TV adverts, posters)
and how did these appeal to their audience?
• What kind of new media marketing activities (e.g. social
media, web, convergent) were undertaken to promote the
game and how did these appeal to the audience?
• What synergies were exploited in the marketing of the
game?
• How successful was the game in terms of sales/downloads?
Professor Layton Series
• A series of puzzle solving adventure games for
DS/3DS
• Broad audience , probably suitable for ages 880.
Traditional forms of marketing
• Print
• What do you notice
about this advert?
• Do some textual
analysis on it. Think
about
– Colours, Fonts,
Register, Layout,
Logos, Slogans,
Connotations
TV Adverts
http://youtu.be/KPO7Ir0_IMg
http://youtu.be/44b_1DDJ-Y4
Analyse how these ads are working on their
audience in terms of Camera, MES, Sound and
Editing
How are they appealing to the audience?
New Media Marketing
• Each version of the game had an official
webpage with gallery images and links to
online game play via the Streetpass function.
This is an example of convergence (3DS
Streetpass is a convergent technology)
• Layton 7 will be available on iOS and Android
Synergies
• Professor Layton has also been turned into
• Manga
• DVD/Blu-ray Film
• Novels
• All of these products help to sell the game to
the audience. This is synergy
Sales and Downloads
• Series sales of over 15 million copies as of
August 2013
• Level-5, the games producer claims that it is
one of the most successful DS only games of
all time.
• Layton 7 will be available on iOS and Android.
What does this suggest?
Why/How was the marketing
successful?
• Creation of a character and a narrative
• Combination of adventure and puzzle-solving
• Appealed to a broader range of people because of the
puzzle challenge elements
• Marketing creates a sense of the game being set in the
past. Layton is a kind of Sherlock Holmes figure
• Successful use of web and mobile/ convergent
technologies something beyond the game. Keeps
audiences interested in the series.
• Connection to manga which has a broad audience.
Just Dance 4
Just Dance 4
• A rythym game released for Wii, Wii U, Xbox
and PS3/PS Move
• Broad audience, but probably focused 10-15
year old females and their families
• Battle/puppetmaster modes bring a
competitive/fitness aspect to the game
Traditional Forms of Marketing
• Again, how is
this working on
it’s audience.
• Analyse Colours,
Fonts, Register,
Layout, Logos,
Slogans,
Connotations
New Media Marketing
• Facebook and Twitter. Also use of Instagram to
encourage INTERACTIVITY (“Are your dance
moves on Instagram?”) – How does this
promote the game?
Synergies
• JD is a means for music artists to sell their
music, but also, selling their music helps the
game.
• May also help to sell and promote consoles,
particularly as it requires most recent version
of motion sensor consoles such as Play Station
Move and 360 Kinect
Sales and Downloads
• One of 2013s top 10 biggest selling games in the
world.
• Just Dance 4 – 6.9 million copies sold worldwide
• Just Dance 2014 – 3.06 million copies sold
• Seen as part of the Worlds Number 1 Dance
Game brand.
• Both JD4 and JD2014 have downloadable content
making them bigger sellers.
How/why is the marketing successful?
• Colourful vibrant images and brand identification
• Prominence of famous music artists in both game
and marketing materials (works like a kind of
celebrity endorsement)
• Fitness aspect emphasised by things like “Sweat
Mode”, makes audience think that the game is
healthy/good for them
• Use of social media to keep people interested in
the game and connect them to a wider
community of players.
What you need to do now?
• Gather material under the headings below for another
game of your choice. (This could be the case study you
have started already)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
What kind of game it is?
Who was the target audience for it?
What kind of games platform was it designed for?
What kind of traditional marketing activities were undertaken to promote
the game (e.g. TV adverts, posters) and how did these appeal to their
audience?
What kind of new media marketing activities (e.g. social media, web,
convergent) were undertaken to promote the game and how did these
appeal to the audience?
What synergies were exploited in the marketing of the game?
How successful was the game in terms of sales/downloads?
How successful was the marketing campaign and why?
Then….
• Use this material to write an answer to the
following task, to be handed in by Thursday
next week.
• Explain how the marketing and promotion of
two video games could be seen as successful
in appealing to an audience like the one you
intend your campaign to reach.