One mark wonders
Define three of the following terms:
Convergence
Distribution
Horizontal integration
Institution
Synergy
Vertical integration
Globalisation
Digital technology
Multimedia integration
Conglomeration
Explore how ownership has shaped Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
- PS Vita 2012 - a poorly performing console
- However re-released for home consoles - more popular
- Produced by Ubisoft Montreal
- PEGI 18
- Re-released twice, including in 2019
- Heavily criticised and underperformed, 600,000 copies sold
- Ubisoft: major producer!
- High production values
- Trailer
- Latest Assassin's Creed game gives out AC:III as a bonus item!
- Compare to Dark Souls III
- Production
- Distribution
- Conglomeration
- Convergence
- Digital convergence
- Vertical and multimedia integration
- Ubisoft
- Major label
- Franchise
- PS vita
- Portable platform
- Both niche and mainstream
- French studio... so there are French weapons, French subtitles. French locations, French historical events.
- Released in Japan Assassin's Creed: Lady Liberty. Localisation
Knee-jerk: Assassin's Creed is a mainstream, major videogame with high production values, produced by a major corporation.
Major vs indie: a comparison of box art
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published in the UK by Nippon Ichi Software America. Grasshopper is an independent videogame studio, and relies on external publishers to publish it's games both physically and digitally around the world. While there are paradigmatic features suggesting action game conventions, the genre for The 25th Ward is not immediately clear. In actuality, the game is a postmodern text based graphic adventure. The low production values (including the predominant use of black & white) as well as the atypical way in which the title obscures the faces of the characters (who are incidentally fairly minor characters within the scope of the game's narrative) suggests to the game's niche target audience an exclusive and 'hardcore' game experience. Grasshopper, like many indie game studios rely on word of mouth to sell games, ad the enigmatic front cover functions as a hermeneutic code, challenging the audience to investigate the game further.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, a clear example of horizontally integrated business practices. Paradigmatically, the box art clearly demonstrates an action game, with the proairetic codes of the weapons suggesting action, and the setting suggesting adventure paradigms. The midshot of the veiled protagonist is strikingly similar to other Assassin's Creed games, which demonstrates risk averse industrial practices. Quite simply, this game is too big to fail. The PEGI 18 age certification demonstrates that the game will impart a level of violence and mature content expected from the young male target audience. However, atypically, the main character, presumably the player character is both black and female. This is both an example of progressive representation and a unique selling point, which can potentially allow the game to be heavily discussed online and to go viral.
What other games did we study?
Death Stranding, The Silver Case: The 25th Ward, Fallout IV, Dark Souls III, Goat Simulator...
Extension: Explore the ways in which audiences can use and take pleasure from videogames. Make explicit reference to Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
- Part of a franchise
- High production values
- Soundtrack - appeals to niche audiences
- Escapism - murder, action, parkour
- Explore Notre Dame cathedral - data being used to help rebuild!!!
- Allows audiences to identify and to play as a black woman
- Breaking the fourth wall: simulation
- Information - historical information - architecture!
- Social interaction and bragging rights.
- Cultural capital of ownership - buy a special edition