Download - GTA IV
Case study overview
Aims
To recall production, distribution and consumption of GTA IV.
To apply knowledge to past questions for section B.
What do you need to know? Students need a study of the production,
distribution and marketing of a specific game within one or across various gaming platforms, along with its reception by a variety of British audiences.
Study of the impact of next generation capabilities (HD, Blu Ray and online services) on the production, distribution, marketing and consumption of games.
GTA IV – The Game
What genre is the game? Who developed the game? Is the developer independent? Do they
have an affiliation with a particular console?
Vertical integration – how has this impacted upon the development and marketing of the game?
Rockstar Games – Background info Rockstar Games are a well established
gaming company which are situated in the US and UK. They are notorious for their controversial games which have made them well known and successful.
GTA IV – Production
Which platforms can you play the game on?
How has the game been designed and constructed? How does this fit in with other games of the genre?
When was it released? How many copies have been sold to
date?
Gameplay
Multiplayer online mode Open world exploration or complete
missions – two different endings Win trophies for missions Become a member of the Rockstar
Social Club. Listen to radio stations during gameplay Intertextuality – Ricky Gervais in game
R.A.G.E & Euphoria Rockstar Advanced Games Engine Rockstar developed the engine to facilitate
game development on the PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles.
The thing that makes Euphoria interesting is the naturalistic movement of the characters, the use of artificial intelligence and it ensures that the characters act and react differently everytime
See article on advantages of RAGE.
Distribution
How is the game promoted to the target audience?
How is the game sold/rented/downloaded to maximise profits? Increase revenue streams.
How do the console ensure their larger share of the market?
Distribution – Marketing Technological convergence Synergy Desire creation Viral marketing – spoof websites Guerilla marketing – unconventional such
as murals, wanted posters, graffiti and stickers.
Specialist press Media convergence: Online fan forums Regulatory bodies – do they restrict?
Distribution - Marketing
What image does the game create? Think posters, game play sequences, trailers etc. Be a criminal in the open world environment.Violence
How does the game maximise its profits using revenue streams?
Distribution – MarketingDelay of release…. Was delay was cleverly planned as it increased
media coverage about the game? Strategic? Rockstar believe no publicity is bad publicity, so
even if people were venting anger on these sites, the game was still getting more and more media coverage.
When it eventually was released so many people have heard about it and the expectations had now risen so the sales were phenomenal
and the games flew off the shelves.
Marketing and Production Episodic content – restricted to those
with XBOX 360 consoles. Spin offs available for PSP and
Nintendo DS. Audience involvement on rockstar
games website. Online multiplayer modes. HD graphics
Audience
Who is the game aimed at? Is the game restricted to audiences in
any way? Think gate keeping. What type of player experience does
the game offer? Are there any wider issues in which
gameplay could effect audience? Consider audience effects and moral panics.
Targeting the Audience
Certain audiences were targeted using different strategies, such as this phrase on a billboard in Edinburgh ‘Edinburgh: Home of Rockstar North’, this creates a closer relationship with those who live there and perhaps have played the other GTA’s.
Targeting the audience
Rockstar used fan forums and websites to create interest in their game giving fan sites exclusive previews of the game.
Fans could also rant about a topic in the hope that it could be broadcast on GTA IV talk radio station.
Audience
The audience for GTA IV are those similar to other games such as ‘Man Hunt’ and ‘Bully, equally as controversial and using their ‘guns and killing’ image to sell games have been largely successful.
According to research the average gamer is 28yrs and Rockstar wanted to make games for the mature gamer.
Further information…
Consider how competitive the GTA IV game is in the games market now?
Are there any games which could rival its success?
How is the game trying to keep desire creation?
When will the next game be released?
Further information…
Even though your case study is primarily on GTA IV you can mention other games in your answer to back up points made.
GTA IV was once the fastest selling game and now that has been taken over by Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.
Next Generation Features HD Graphics (enhance game
enjoyment) Blu Ray (on PS3) Holds more data on
disc and fast data processing means smoother game play.
Advanced games design engines which produced realistic movement on screen.
Study of next generation features See handout on Next Gen Features.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/7041086.stm
Mark Scheme
See mark scheme for Section B. The mark scheme is similar to Section A
but note the differences. Make a note of what is required to
achieve a level 4 answer.
Read through high grade answer on videogames.
Task
Take a look at the past questions on the following slides.
Think about how you would approach the questions and what points you could make.
Exemplar pre new spec
Discuss the issues raised by an institution’s needs to target specific audiences within a media industry you have studied.
January 2009
Discuss the ways in which media products are produced and distributed to audiences within a media area which you have studied.
June 2009
Discuss the importance of technological convergence in the production and distribution of media products within a media area which you have studied.
Task Answer the following exemplar question: Discuss the ways in which the
development of new technologies, which have been introduced in recent years, have impacted upon the production, distribution, marketing and consumption of media products within a media industry you have studied.