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.

Uncharted - Drakes fortune advert analysis

We think that this advert is effective as it gives the audience a lot of information about the game as a whole because unlike GTA 4 it does not have a already existing good reputation, so needs to demonstrate that its game play is of a high quality to sell the game.
The audience that this game is trying to sell to are male teenagers who are interested in adventure games full of excitement, such as Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones. the advert shows this as it is quick paced and has a lot of action within it, also it shows quite a lot of violence in many different settings.
We think that it is a fair representation of the game as a whole as it shows the many different levels within the game with explicit detail on characters, weapons and lastly but certainly not least the incredible story line, which is presented in such a manner you actually feel your in the 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

Games production research

Capcom began in Japan in 1979 as a manufacturer and distributor of electronic game machines. In 1983 Capcom Co., Ltd was founded and soon built a reputation for introducing cutting-edge technology and software to the video game market. Now an industry leader in the video game industry for 25 years, Capcom's legacy of historic franchises in home and arcade gaming are testaments to an unparalleled commitment to excellence.

Building on its origins as a game machine manufacturer, Capcom is now involved in all areas of the video game industry and has offices in Tokyo, Osaka, California, England, Germany and Hong Kong.

About Wideload Games

Wideload Games, a development studio of Disney Interactive Studios, focuses on creating interactive entertainment with original intellectual property and humor as an underlying theme. . Based in Chicago, Wideload Games was founded as an independent studio in 2003 and acquired by Disney Interactive Studios in 2009. Wideload's first game published for Disney Interactive Studios is the original mystery party game, Disney Guilty Party. For more information, log on to http://www.wideload.com.

"Braid is an ingenious and startlingly creative puzzle game, built with an understanding of good game design that even some of the industry's most revered figures could learn from."

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. Open source licenses often meet the requirements of the Open Source Definition. Some open source software is available within the public domain. Open source software is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open-source software is the most prominent example of open-source development and often compared to user-generated content.^[1] The term open-source software originated as part of a marketing campaign for free software.^[2] A report by Standish Group states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.

Open Source Does Have Advantages

• Lower total cost of ownership
• Reduced dependence on software vendors
• Easier to customize
• Higher level of security
• Do not see a significant advantage

xbox live marketplace

This feature lets you search, browse, and purchase games, videos, and even avatar accessories while you are away from your console.

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.

Zynga was founded in July 2007 by Mark Pincus, Michael Luxton, Eric Schiermeyer, Justin Waldron, Andrew Trader, and Steve Schoettler.^[2] They received USD $29 million in venture finance from several firms, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in July 2008, at which time they appointed former Electronic Arts Chief Creative Officer Bing Gordon to the board.^[3] At that time, they also bought YoVille, a large virtual world social network game.^[3] According to their website, as of December 2009, they had 60 million unique daily active users.^[4]

In December 2009, Russia's Digital Sky Technologies bought a $180 million share of Zynga.^[5]

As of February 2010, Zynga has over 750 employees.^[6]

On 17th February 2010, Zynga opened Zynga India in Bangalore, the company’s first office outside the United States.^[7]

On 18th March 2010, Zynga confirmed that they will open a second international office in Ireland.^[8]

Development team for Grand Theft Auto 4

There were many different development teams like: art director, technical director, character artist. cutscene animator and in-game animator.

Cutscene, Voice, Associate producer, Executive Producer, Test team, Production team, Soundtrack supervision, technical analyst, technical manager, business development director, motion graphics, Rockstar publishing team, music producer, system programmer, prop artist and designer.

Development assistants, Production, Art, Animation and Dialogue.

The programmers were: graphics, Al/physics/animation, game, network, leads-cross platform, tools and RAGE.

RAGE is the Rockstar Advanced Games Engine.

Around 150 game developers worked on GTA4

The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits.” and “Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platform

OnLive is launching the world's highest performance Games On Demand service, instantly delivering the latest high-end titles over home broadband Internet to the TV and entry-level PCs and Macintosh® computers.

Founded by noted technology entrepreneur Steve Perlman (WebTV, QuickTime) and incubated within the Rearden media and technology incubator, OnLive spent seven years in stealth development before officially unveiling in March 2009.

OnLive, together with its Mova subsidiary, lies directly at the nexus of several key trends, all of which are reshaping the way we think about and use digital media:

• The shift to cloud computing, displacing the limitations, cost and complexity of local computing;
• An explosion of consumer broadband connectivity, bringing fast bandwidth to the home;
• Unprecedented innovation, creativity and expansion within the video game market.

Pioneering the delivery of rich interactive media to the home, OnLive will change the way that entertainment applications are created, delivered and consumed.

The impact of the world's highest performance Games On Demand service is going to increase the amount of people that want to play games on or offline, as they are able to get them more easily and when ever they want to get them.

first task video games

midnight club ps3
1) i like the graphics on this game, also the setting is realistic.
2)teen male who are interested in cars, and racing cars.
3)its realistic that the car was hard to handle when driving at speed.
4)no
5)no
6)
7)ps3 because its the fastest console which would mean the game would be getting the best out of it as it could.
gta vice city ps2

second task

Des
1. the first ever game i played was time crises on the playstation1.
2) the games that i used to enjoy playing were always the fifa football games as i was not that intersted in video games when i was younger but have always been incredibly interested in football.
3)fifa 10 as it is a very sociable game which is very enjoyable playing with or against your friends, it also has a good manager mode which can be extremely entertaining whilst by yourself. Another feature which make it very good is online where you can play anyone in the world.
4)the consoles i have bought is the ps3 because it is very realistic and graphics are superb. i have also bought the psp as it was very convenient whilst traveling etc as it was portable.
5)no