Unit 24 LO1: Task 1 - Media Products in the Interactive Industry
Ownership: In comparison, indie and conglomerate based productions within the interactive industry operate very differently in ownership. An example of a conglomerate would be Sony who operate their interactive industry through Sony Interactive. What follows this is other game studios which they purchase through vertical integration such as Guerrilla Games or Naughty Dog. Due to this, Sony can benefit from the vertical integration to produce different interactive products from their subsidiaries (I.e. Guerrilla Games with Horizon Zero Dawn and Naughty Dog with The Last of Us). Due to this, Sony owns the rights to these products. Furthermore, this allows Sony to benefit from horizontal integration meaning they can distribute their products on different platforms such as the PlayStation 5 and advertise the product in a Sony Pictures film like Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse did with advertising the Spiderman game on PlayStation. Synergy is also created here as Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse is then also advertised by the Sony game Spiderman: Miles Morales.
Independent companies however, don't get the same benefits of vertical integration and all that comes with it due to the prevalence of a joint venture in the industry. An example which would apply, linking to Sony, would be BluePoint Studios (before they were bought by Sony) which distributed their games on PlayStation as Sony controlled their distribution, whilst they produced the game. An example of this being Demon's Souls which was developed by Bluepoint and distributed on PlayStation.
Adaptation: An adaptation which came from a book into a game, produced by a conglomerate is The Witcher which eventually became a game series owned by conglomerate CD Project Red. This benefitted CD Project Red as they already had interest from the audiences which enjoyed the Witcher book series as likely audience members to the Witcher game series and likewise, this benefits the audience as they now have a different platform to interact with the series now as an active audience rather than passive. This proved successful as The Witcher 3 (the most recent entry) grossed $1,302,872,280 with 50 million copies sold. The Witcher games appeal to the fans of the books through (in the case of The Witcher 3) expanding on the narrative of the books so that the audience can engage interactively as Geralt, a character they may find an ideal self/partner in (Carl Rogers 1980) and experience stories they've read in a visual and interactive manner. The Witcher 3 expanding on this with content such as Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine which use characters and locations from throughout the books in a new narrative that previous audiences can gain further enjoyment from the series out of. Seeing locations like Toussaint or Oxenfurt realised and be free to explore; meeting characters like Regis in a brand new story that fans of the books and games will enjoy.
Brands: Red Dead Redemption uses cross-media promotion in traditional and viral marketing methods to sell itself as a brand to different audiences. An example of traditional advertisement would be billboards on buses which appeal to an older demographic on their daily commute (digital immigrants who are intrigued by the classic Western genre) and social media advertisements like trailers on YouTube that appeal to a younger, digital native audience due to the developer's reputation (Rockstar, a conglomerate) with games like the Grand Theft Auto series, that are mainly played by a younger (mature teenage) audience. The game's genre as an action RPG allows audiences to become more attached to the characters like John Marston and Arthur Morgan as they role-play as them in expanses of the Old West. The audience gaining entertainment through the presentation of playing as an outlaw on the run from the law as they engage in heated shootouts for a visceral pleasure (Rick Altman 1999).
Another brand would be Crash Bandicoot (owned by Activision) which appeals to a different, younger (7-15) audience compared to Red Dead Redemption's 18+ audience. An example entry in the series recently would be Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time which used cross-media-promotion in being advertised on social media through trailers and screenshots on sites like YouTube and Instagram for instant. Another example being (similar to Red Dead Redemption) billboards to reach audiences whilst they're on daily commutes for mass advertisement. Examples why the game appeals to its audience also in its advertising as a long awaited sequel to the Crash Bandicoot series following its latest (new) entry back in 2008 with Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant. This means that long time fans of the series (beyond the 7-15 primary demographic) gain gratification to finally experiencing a new entry; references to the older games like subtle posters in the game's levels featuring characters like Pinstripe Potoroo, Megamix and Fake Crash.
Audience Pleasures: A brand which contains various audience pleasures within the interactive industry would be Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Studios. An Example of this would be ideal self which can be made from characters like Arthur Morgan for men due to his dominant and masculine but sensitive presentation in the game which can appeal to a male audience as an ideal self (Carl Rogers 1980). Likewise for a female audience with Sadie Adler who acts as a strong female character in the narrative the audience can relate to (with her and Arthur also acting as ideal partners). Surveillance (Blumler and Katz 1972) is also present in the game due to the historical influence of the late 1800's America where issues like racism and sexism were prevalent which the game talks about, informing and also educating an audience. Due to this social interaction (Blumler and Katz 1972) is also possible due to the ways that these issues are presented to the audience where people can debate whether they're effective or not and if they relate to the modern world. Entertainment (Blumler and Katz 1972) also present in the gameplay which uses Western conventions like train heists and running from the law to allow the audience to further their immersion into the world as they role-play as characters like Arthur to further the ideal self. This also creates a visceral pleasure as you fight other people in shootouts in the gameplay. This is furthered with emotional pleasures (Rick Altman 1999) due to the grounded story and relatable characters like Arthur and Dutch in which emotional scenes take place like when Dutch leaves Arthur.
Crash Bandicoot offers its own pleasures, primarily being entertainment due to the audience demographic through the platforming gameplay, vibrantly and varyingly designed levels and worlds with colourful characters that the audience can find easily likeable, understanding their role in the story quickly by how they act through clear connotations, in comparison to red dead redemption where everyone is like a real human being. Due to this there is less of an ideal self however, in examples of juxtaposing designs (Crash being high key-coloured against someone like N.Gin who is low-key coloured in costume therefore, creating villain connotations). This allows a younger audience to connect to the characters quickly therefore, entertaining them (Blumler and Katz 1972).
