LO2 - Understand the importance of reviews for the marketing and promotion of computer console games.

A written comparison of two reviews of an existing computer game from different media.
 
VIDEO REVIEW
MAGAZINE REVIEW
 

After reading the Forza 5 review from IGN on the Xbox One you get the impression that the game has both negatives and positives.  The reader will become either persuaded by the review, or ignore the review. Personally I think that the review is fair.
 

“Forza 5 is gorgeous and smooth as butter”, the word “gorgeous” is quite emotive. The word is directed at the game in a whole.

After reading the review as a whole, I would probably purchase the game as it has many positive points and not as many negatives.

The video review from ThatDudeInBlue starts off very positive and makes you want to buy the game as they focus on good points "Forza 5 is everything it should be".

Compared to the IGN review, the video review from ThatDudeInBlue is far less detailed, but clearly outlines the good and bad points at the beginning of the review whilst the IGN review summarises the whole review in a paragraph.

The internet video starts of positive, but around the middle of the game the negative comments start and outweigh the positive ones.

The reviewer talks about the lack of multiplayer game modes, and says this is a big problem as some of his best memories have been made whilst playing online. This makes you not want to get the game as almost all good video games have a decent multiplayer mode.

The IGN review called "Forza 5 'Metal made beautiful" praises the game saying "it is very hard to fault", the reviewer then goes on to say how the graphics are "astonishing" due to the careful details on the "lavish" cars. The reviewer calls the game a "Titan" and a "Must have", these phrases make the viewer want to have the game.

Overall the online video review makes clearer and more in depth points in comparison to the IGN magazine review.

In the IGN review you get a sense that it is personal and engages the viewer due to the colloquial language, for example in the IGN review, the reviewer mentions the game is as though " a set of keys is wedged into the palms of a grinning teenager." The online video review lacks any colloquial language, however it is far more informative.

 

LO1 - Understand the computer console game industry and its products

Evidence of research into one chosen gaming company.
Team Cooper is a games company who also make apps. They are based in Sheffield and operate in the Electric Works building. Team Cooper was first started in 2006 by one person however, overtime more people were added to the team and now has 8 members. The company was set up to create fun and exciting games.
they first used Flash to develop their games however, they have now moved on diversifying, investigating and working with a variety of new technologies like HTML5, HAXE & Unity whilst still using old Flash, PHP & MySQL.
Team Cooper create many types of genres of games, this includes Art, action, and Arcade.

Evidence of write up of Sumo presentation.
Sumo digital came into our college and gave a presentation.
Sumo digital are based in Sheffield with over 12 years of  and have over 200 employees. Sumo digital have made many famous games such as Sonic & Allstars racing: transformed and Virtua Tennis 2009. Sumo use various software to create their games, the software differs for each department, the art department use 3D studio, Zed brush and MIA, whilst the programmers code with C++.  Sumo create games on many consoles, such as PS3, XBOX 360 and PSP, recently Sumo have had success with Sega and are now working with them, developing new titles.

Team Cooper business report.

 The games company I am going to research is Team Cooper. Team Cooper is a games company who also make apps. They are based in Sheffield and operate in the Electric Works building. Team Cooper was first started in 2006 by one person however, overtime more people were added to the team and now has 8 members. The company was set up to create fun and exciting games. Team Cooper create their products with Flash and HTML 5 and have served clients such as Sky, CBBC, Nickelodeon and Al-Jazeera.

Here is a hierarchy of Team Cooper:

Team Cooper create their products on the computer, they first used Flash to develop their games however, they have now moved on diversifying, investigating and working with a variety of new technologies like HTML5, HAXE & Unity whilst still using old Flash, PHP & MySQL.

The Facebook games which Team Cooper have developed are made using Flash, PHP & MySQL and the mobile games and iPhone/Android apps have been created on HTML5. Team Cooper’s future projects are likely to be built in Flash, HTML5, Unity or C++; for desktop, mobile or “something else” according to the Team Cooper website.

According to Team Cooper, the best technology for creating games is Flash, it is better than HTML 5 as it has faster rendering speeds across browsers and has good audio support. For viral marketing it is useful as the full game can be compressed into a single SWF file, this allows it to be distributed and copied easily around the web.

Team Cooper create many types of genres of games, this includes Art, action, and Arcade. The games Team Cooper create are all cartoon and are suitable for young children as they’re who the target audience. Examples of Team Cooper’s games are “Beehive Bedlam” and “Blockbusters”.

Team Cooper do not make games on consoles, previously they have tried creating games on different platforms but now they only make internet and mobile based games, these are sometimes puzzle games such as ‘Beehive Bedlam’, multi lingual games such as ‘The Marathon’ as or anything else ranging from skill games to arcade games.

The regulatory body in charge of rating Team Cooper’s games are The Pan-European Game information (PEGI). PEGI was created in 2003 and is one of the most commonly used rating systems as it clearly labels any inappropriate games.

PEGI’s ratings are in the age categories of 3+, 7+, 12+, 16+ and 18+. These are based on whether the game contains gambling, online play, violence, discrimination, sex, drugs, fear and bad language.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was the first regulatory body that was created specially for the games industry, it was founded in Canada and the USA in 1994.
The job of the ESRB is to give age ratings for games within the USA and Canada.

Team Cooper has never had a game of theirs banned as they have followed the guidelines given by PEGI.

Examples of video games that have been banned in the UK are:
Carmageddon, Manhunt 2 and The Punisher.

8 reviews of existing computer games.

Click links to view the review of the game (PDF):

WWE 2K14
STREET FIGHTER IV
QUAKE
MIDNIGHT CLUB: LOS ANGELES
SUPER MARIO BROS
GRAND THEFT AUTO V
CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
FIFA 14