4. What is media convergence and give an examples of its use in the industry?

media Convergence is old and new media that is included into a media form. for example in GTA 4 there are different types of advertising in the settings of the game for example Rockstar use their logo on billboards and on the side of taxis. also another type of media convergence are the radio stations in the game, rockstar make these stations seem very realistic because they actually put rockstar adverts into their stations. rockstar are very clever in the way they exploit their logo in the game, this in media terms is called viral marketing.

the benefits of this for rockstar is that they are promoting there entire company's logo and brand which will help to sell games other than gta as they will have a better reputation, also the brand as a whole will have gained reputation from the success of gta4.

a weakness is that their promotion side of the marketing mix could be improved as they could generate more revenue from bringing in capital from advertising for other companies, as there is a great amount of many in advertisement for example that's how free websites make so much money.

Case Study - Distribution Task

• What consoles is your game available on and was it released on any other console, if yes then was it at the same time or at a later date?
• Why do you think it is available on that console? i.e. the Wii's interactivity is essential for the game experience.
• What content is available online, where online (what websites) and why do you think that particular content is online? i.e. what makes it different, desirable for the gamer?
• What websites are your game available on? i.e. XBox live
• Can you play your game with other people? i.e through bluetooth on the DS or on a multi-player mode on the Wii.

1.our game is only available on the wii.
2.because the Wii's interactivity is essential for the game experience.
3.unavailable online.
4. game , amazon, play.com and e bay
5.yes an essential part of wii fit is the multi-player mode.

online advantages and disadvantages

advantages

1. distribution costs will be cheaper because no packaging, and no actual disk to have the game on will be required.
2. less costs as there would be a cut in employees.
3. less costs for consumer as dont need console
4. don't need to go to shop to get the games as you can just buy them on computer.
5. can access your games anywhere in the world so no need to unplug console etc to play game.

disadvantages

1. gaming will be depending on internet connection which could be too slow, for certain levels of gaming.
2. lots of people would be left jobless.
3.most online website could need maintenance which could loose them sales.
4. harder for consumer to get information as they would not have anyone to go too.
5.most hard drives have limited capacity so could not be able to download too many game.

my favorite game advert analysis

I feel that this advert is very effective because it shows the exact game play footage in high definition. its also effective because it shows what the games about and how you play it. adding to this advert call of duty makes it known on what other specialist press magazines think of it e.g. ''JAW DROPPING''








the audience of this game are defiantly males, however the age is not clear due to the fact that men of all ages play it but if I had too make an assumption i would say 12-35 year old males.

yes, I feel that this advert shows the intense game play that this video game has included with in it I find the ( 11 10 09) at the end of the game tells me that this game will become the biggest game of the year. thus persuading me to buy this game.

definitions

marketing definition: The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

viral marketing

Definition

Marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.

wii fit: this marketing type would not be appropriate for our produce as it is not targeted to hardcore gamers which would try to get as much info about a game as they could but to everyday people and families which would not be interested to gather information about the game.

Information

Viral marketing depends on a high pass-along rate from person to person. If a large percentage of recipients forward something to a large number of friends, the overall growth snowballs very quickly. If the pass-along numbers get too low, the overall growth quickly fizzles.

At the height of B2C it seemed as if every startup had a viral component to its strategy, or at least claimed to have one. However, relatively few marketing viruses achieve success on a scale similar to Hotmail, widely cited as the first example of viral marketing.

guerilla marketing

Definition

Unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.

wii fit: our game would not market in this way because this again is not targeted to a specific type of audiences but too all who enjoy interacting with other people not just in their living rooms but world wide.

Information

Coined by Jay Conrad Levinson, guerilla marketing is more about matching wits than matching budgets. Guerilla marketing can be as different from traditional marketing as guerilla warfare is from traditional warfare. Rather than marching their marketing dollars forth like infantry divisions, guerilla marketers snipe away with their marketing resources for maximum impact.

specialist press

definition

this is when a certain type of press is targeted to their specific audiences

wii fit: once again our game would not use this method of advertisement because it was advertised to anyone and everyone included people which would not normally be interested in games, this is the reason for how successful the game was as it opened its target market extravagantly.

mainstream press

definition

advertising aimed at large amounts of audiences that read non specific media types such as magazines, billboards ,TV and computer.

wii fit: our game uses this type of marketing because as I said before it was advertised to anyone and everyone included people which would not normally be interested in games, this is the reason for how successful the game was as it opened its target market extravagantly. this type of marketing helped wii fit to reach massive revenue levels as it needed everyone to know about it and not just gamers which you would advertise on a gamers website if so.

notes on games britannia programme

1. I have learnt that the video games industry started to boom in the mid 1990's. they created new interactive worlds for their audiences. this changed the way we look at video games in today's world. the games can be bought from all around the world online and in stores. these games have become more affordable

2. gta4 also allows their audiences to interact in a new and vibrent world of gaming. it has also become affordable for all and is distributed all around the world, online and in stores.

3. wii fit is a fine example of a game which has been brought out to accomidate to the social side of gaming more that being a typical gamer. wii has also got a wider range of potential customers, as we have said before, not just typical gamers who it does also accomidate for playing independantly,but everyone and anyone who likes to enjoy themself and likes spending quality time with their freinds and family.

wii fit case study

Step onto the Wii Balance Board and into a fun way to get fit.

* Control on-screen action with your movements on the balance board as you work your way through a variety of challenges aimed at getting you off the couch and into the action. Check your Body Mass Index (BMI), see your Wii Fit Age and keep tabs on your daily progress towards a more fit for you.

* Get fit with more than 40 activities and exercises, including strength training, aerobics, yoga and balance games. Whether you're doing a yoga pose or snowboarding down a slalom course, there's an activity for everyone.

* Challenge your family and friends to get in shape! Create your own personal profile and set goals, test your balance, track your progress with daily workouts and unlock new exercises and activities.

Create a Profile:

• Before you jump into doing exercises and activities, you'll start by creating your own profile. Choose a Mii, enter your height and age information, and do a few quick tests:
• BMI Check: BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that is the standard used by agencies such as the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health. To check your BMI, you'll enter your height then stand on the Wii Balance Board and let it read your weight.
• Wii Fit Age: After you've checked your BMI, you'll do a basic balance test and find out your current Wii Fit Age. This basic balance test measures how well you can control your left and right balance. Based on the results, you'll be assigned a Wii Fit Age.

Categories:

• Wii Fit features four main categories to choose from: Strength Training, Aerobics, Yoga and Balance Games. As you spend time exercising, you'll earn Fit Credits that unlock additional exercises and activities within these categories. Wii Fit also tracks the activities you do the most and puts them into the Favorites category.
• Strength Training: Put your strength to the test with muscle-toning exercises like Single Leg Extension, Sideways Leg Lift, Arm and Leg Lift, Single-Arm Stand, Torso Twists, Rowing Squat, Single Leg Twist, Lunge, Push-Up and Side Plank, Jackknife, Plank and Tricep Extension. Challenges include Push-Up Challenge, Plank Challenge and Jackknife Challenge.
• Aerobics: Get your heart pumping with fun, interactive Aerobic exercises like Hula Hoop®, Basic Step, Basic Run, Super Hula Hoop, Advanced Step, 2-P Run, Rhythm Boxing, Free Step and Free Run.
• Yoga: Work on your balance and flexibility with Yoga poses and activities like Deep Breathing, Half-Moon, Dance, Cobra, Bridge, Spinal Twist, Shoulder Stand, Warrior, Tree, Sun Salutation, Standing Knee, Palm Tree, Chair, Triangle and Downward-Facing Dog.
• Balance Games: Get into the action with fun, balanced-based games like Soccer Heading, Ski Slalom, Ski Jump, Table Tilt, Tightrope Walk, Balance Bubble, Penguin Slide, Snowboard Slalom and Lotus Focus.

Tracking Results:

• Keep tabs on your daily progress with easy-to-understand graphs and charts. Using your personal profile, you can set goals, view a graph of your BMI results over time, see how many Fit Credits you've earned, check your Wii Fit Age and even enter exercise time you've done outside of Wii Fit. It's all about coming back and exercising a little every day, and the personal profile makes tracking your daily progress simple and easy.
• You can quickly check your Wii Fit Age and BMI without even putting the game in the console by going directly to the Wii Fit Channel.
• Up to eight family members can create their own profiles in Wii Fit. On the profile-selection screen, everyone in the family can see each other's recent BMI progress and Fit Credit total. This will allow families to have a friendly competition to exercise and get fit.

this is how nintendo have tried to attract their customers to buy this game, firstly they have showed how the players can interact with their characters online, secondly it shows how the game works in a simple and easy way. i feel that nintendo have been very clever with their marketing skills with this game.

wii fit case study

Research of terms and companies

Zynga is a casual game developer located in San Francisco, California, United States.^[1] The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Capcom is an international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines.

Wideload Games is an American game developer located in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 2003 by Alexander Seropian—the co-founder of Bungie and head behind the games Halo: Combat Evolved, Myth, and Marathon—and 6 other former Bungie Studios employees 3 years after Bungie's acquisition by Microsoft Corporation.

Xbox Live Marketplace is a feature lets you search, browse, and purchase games, videos, and even avatar accessories while you are away from your console.

Braid is a platform and puzzle video game developed by independent software developer Jonathan Blow. The game was released on August 6, 2008 for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service.

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software.

Ideas behind GTA 4

The main theme of GTA 4 was about being different and standing out. While GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas were considered to be part of the GTA III trilogy (same graphics engine, similar characters, similar mission style, etc.), Grand Theft Auto IV is considered a fresh start for the GTA series, focusing more heavily on realism and storytelling than in previous titles. This is why it's been dubbed GTA4 and not GTA6 (as many had originally anticipated), even though it's the sixth major title in the series.

http://www.gta4.net/overview/


GTA 4 was intended to be a departure from the earlier games, with a more serious tone, a deeper, darker story and less cartoon aspects.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/4373632/Dan-Houser-interview-Rockstar-Gamess-writer-for-GTA-4-and-The-Lost-And-Damned.html

second task

1. The first ever game i played was 007 night fire this was with my play station 2.

2. The games that i enjoyed were fifa and and all the james bond games, this was because fifa and james bond had good graphics and story lines.

3. The games that i play now are fifa 10 and call of duty modern warfare 2, these games are enjoyable to play because you can interact online with people all around the world.

4. I really haven't had many consoles, play station 2 and play station 3 are the main consoles that i have purchased.

5. I play many games online, fifa 10 and call of duty, i play them in my bedroom or living room