How do franchises establish and develop continuing sales figures? Write a response to the question using Assassins Creed III and detailing the following areas:
Publishing is a key aspect in the establishing and development of sales figures because they define the target audience of the game. After the development of the game, the publisher can take the game and aim for an audience that they think will be most successful for the game, for example with Assassins Creed 3, a game which is clearly more aimed at a male audience, with a lot of violence and some sexual scenes. However Ubisoft have also tried to target a female audience with the PS Vita version of the game, as they have changed the main character to a female, obviously to target the more casual female gamers to pick up the game and to play as a female. With the average age of a gamer being around 30 years old and a very large proportion of gamers being male, Ubisoft have tried to please as much of the market as possible with the two seperate protoganists being used to please both male and female audiences. Another reason why publishing is so useful is that the genre can be defined by the publisher. Consumers do not want a product which is massively different to the previous games, for example with the Assassins Creed franchise, where Ubisoft have kept the core gameplay and genre the same throughout the game series, as their consumers do not want a completely different experience. The real challenge for producers is to produce a game which provides innovative ideas and gameplay without taking away from the original game concepts. Assassins Creed is a multi-genre game and it uses this to appeal to as many consumers as possible, with concepts from many genres such as stealth, beat'em up and platformer games. Publishing also allows the narrative of a game to immerse players and take them into the game. Gamers enjoy a sense of escape in a game and games such as Assassins Creed 3, with a very strong narrative and story throughout the game, allow gamers to escape from reality and enjoy an adventure in a different life or character. This appeals to many people as they want an escape from everyday life. All of these three things allow publishing to establish continuing sales figures, as with a strong narrative the consumers want to purchase the next instalment of the game to keep up with the story and immerse themselves in an escape. The target audience makes sure sales figures are as high as possible, as aiming for the wrong audience could result in poor sales so making sure you are aiming for the correct audience is a key part of maintaining consumers interests and keeping sales figures throughout. Lastly, the genre of the game allows the game to attract as many people as possible, establishing and continuing sales of the game as much more consumers wish to play a game that incorporates many different genre's of games.
Development is another key aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures because of, firstly, the game engine. The game engine is a key aspect in making a game the very best it can be, by creating a system that can efficiently and best use the available RAM on a console and display the most detailed graphics and run the smoothest that it can without framerate drops. Assassins Creed 3 is a good example of the use of a game engine, because it is using a brand new game engine created just for the game, called AnvilNext, which allows for up to 2000 Non-playable characters on screen at once. The development of this new engine allows Assassins Creed 3 to take huge leaps from the previous games in terms of graphical and gameplay experience. These developments allow Ubisoft to create continuing interest in the game and keep sales figures up as consumers want a product which improves from previous games but keeps core gameplay elements the same. The game design is very useful for creating continuing sales figures, as it allows for a changing experience for the consumer. With the introduction of a new main character is Assassins Creed 3, for example, the game designers can reinvent their game and intrigue new potential consumers, and even possibly introduce new elements of gameplay, for example with "Conor" the native american in Assassins Creed 3, the game designers could possibly introduce new weapons, storylines and characters just from his ethnicity alone. With this constant change of gameplay and characters it stops the games from becoming dull, as these fresh elements to the game keep sales figures high, as people want to see the new things you can do in your favourite game. With the release of new gameplay elements consumers see the games as something new and fresh for them to enjoy. The release of game images prior to release is another key part of the development , as it creates hype for the game through the images. This creates sales as people want to preorder the game after seeing teasers of the gameplay and design and possible features the game may have, which creates continuing sales figures.
Marketing is yet another aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures, as it allows the game to attract attention from consumers and creates hype. Assassins Creed 3 was a very well marketed game, with over 4 million pounds being spend on marketing alone, the biggest spend Ubisoft have ever shelled out on marketing alone. Adverts were rolled out on television, radio, and posters and other physical forms of advertisement were put out in tube stations, train stations and all around the country. These means of advertisement allow Ubisoft to get as many sales as possible when the game comes out, as sufficient hype will have been created and many more consumers will want to purchase the game than if they hadn't advertised at all. A successful advertising campaign across many formats allows for the most possible consumers of the game. Assassins creed and Assassins Creed 2 were a lot cheaper in terms of marketing, however because the idea and concept of the game was fairly new the game still generated hype and interest, while now the marketer's job is to interest in the game fresh and new, and introduce people who haven't maybe seen the game series to buy and consume the game. The use of TV commercials also tries to get casual gamers to see the trailers for this game, as more serious gamers probably would have seen it on YouTube or another media site. Another way that Ubisoft try to market their game is through the use of YouTube. Ubisoft will release trailers and use popular commentators or reviewers from the site to put out a good opinion of their game. They have also released behind the scenes development trailers, to get gamers an inside view of what goes on creating the game and also slip in gameplay footage to create hype and pull in as many sales as possible. All these marketing techniques are used to portray Assassins Creed 3 or any other game over as many formats as possible, roping in the biggest consumer audience and creating lasting sales figures for the game.
Distribution is the final aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures, as it is a key stage of getting the product to the consumer. Companies such as Amazon and Play.com are key distributors of games such as Assassins Creed 3. Customers can preorder the game, allowing them to be some of the first people in the country to receive and play the game, and allowing them to get the advantage on other gamers. Schemes like the pre-order scheme are key in getting a good sales figures when the game first releases, as gamers can pre-order at any time prior to the release, allowing people with not as much money to still manage to get the game. Amazon distributes the games from their shipping headquarters, making sure they get there in the time specified by the consumer, for example with Super Saver Delivery, a free delivery from Amazon, products will come later and take longer to come, however with First Class Amazon will ensure it comes as soon as possible. This allows for Assassins Creed 3 and other games to be distributed countrywide and give as many people as possible the game as fast as possible, allowing for high sales figures. Companies like Amazon and Play.com also will slowly reduce the price of the game as time goes on, making people who didn't want to buy it on release day buy it, and therefore developing sales figures further. The distribution of games to consumers is often overlooked as an insignificant part of the video game industry, however with 3.5million copies of Assassins Creed 3 being sold in the first week of release alone, the distribution of the game is a very very important part of the cycle. Supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Morrisons have also began to invest into the video game industry, selling games at usually a discounted price to other retailers and prompting gamers to consider where they buy their games from. Distribution allows for continuing sales figures as without them, the consumers would have no outlet to purchase the games they want easily.
Development is another key aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures because of, firstly, the game engine. The game engine is a key aspect in making a game the very best it can be, by creating a system that can efficiently and best use the available RAM on a console and display the most detailed graphics and run the smoothest that it can without framerate drops. Assassins Creed 3 is a good example of the use of a game engine, because it is using a brand new game engine created just for the game, called AnvilNext, which allows for up to 2000 Non-playable characters on screen at once. The development of this new engine allows Assassins Creed 3 to take huge leaps from the previous games in terms of graphical and gameplay experience. These developments allow Ubisoft to create continuing interest in the game and keep sales figures up as consumers want a product which improves from previous games but keeps core gameplay elements the same. The game design is very useful for creating continuing sales figures, as it allows for a changing experience for the consumer. With the introduction of a new main character is Assassins Creed 3, for example, the game designers can reinvent their game and intrigue new potential consumers, and even possibly introduce new elements of gameplay, for example with "Conor" the native american in Assassins Creed 3, the game designers could possibly introduce new weapons, storylines and characters just from his ethnicity alone. With this constant change of gameplay and characters it stops the games from becoming dull, as these fresh elements to the game keep sales figures high, as people want to see the new things you can do in your favourite game. With the release of new gameplay elements consumers see the games as something new and fresh for them to enjoy. The release of game images prior to release is another key part of the development , as it creates hype for the game through the images. This creates sales as people want to preorder the game after seeing teasers of the gameplay and design and possible features the game may have, which creates continuing sales figures.
Distribution is the final aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures, as it is a key stage of getting the product to the consumer. Companies such as Amazon and Play.com are key distributors of games such as Assassins Creed 3. Customers can preorder the game, allowing them to be some of the first people in the country to receive and play the game, and allowing them to get the advantage on other gamers. Schemes like the pre-order scheme are key in getting a good sales figures when the game first releases, as gamers can pre-order at any time prior to the release, allowing people with not as much money to still manage to get the game. Amazon distributes the games from their shipping headquarters, making sure they get there in the time specified by the consumer, for example with Super Saver Delivery, a free delivery from Amazon, products will come later and take longer to come, however with First Class Amazon will ensure it comes as soon as possible. This allows for Assassins Creed 3 and other games to be distributed countrywide and give as many people as possible the game as fast as possible, allowing for high sales figures. Companies like Amazon and Play.com also will slowly reduce the price of the game as time goes on, making people who didn't want to buy it on release day buy it, and therefore developing sales figures further. The distribution of games to consumers is often overlooked as an insignificant part of the video game industry, however with 3.5million copies of Assassins Creed 3 being sold in the first week of release alone, the distribution of the game is a very very important part of the cycle. Supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Morrisons have also began to invest into the video game industry, selling games at usually a discounted price to other retailers and prompting gamers to consider where they buy their games from. Distribution allows for continuing sales figures as without them, the consumers would have no outlet to purchase the games they want easily.
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