Skylanders Giants

Skylanders Giants is a video game that involves the use of toys called skylanders. Skylanders Giants is the sequel to the 2011 hit Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure and is the second game created in the Skylanders series. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was rated the #1 Kids toy of 2011, and with this success, it would have been a mistake not to have made a sequel. The game is so unique due to the fact that it includes symbiosis from the combination of a video game that includes toys. Players interact with the game through real life by purchasing toys from stores such as Asda. It is very rare to come across a game that uses real life objects - (toys) in it. Due to this, it is bound to attract people to it, and if the game is good enough - then of course it is going to be a success. The first game in the skylanders series was based on the characters from the Spyro games. The Spyro games themself were very successful and so the game is going to make Spyro games fans want to try out the game to see if they enjoy it. The skylanders games include eight elements that can be found in both of the Skylanders games logo's. (See above) The eight elements are Wind, Earth, Undead, Life, Fire, Tech, Magic and Water. The game will be released on Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, and the upcoming Wii U.

The game is marketed in many different ways. It has been advertised all over the internet, especially on websites where you can buy the game such as Asda and Amazon. The official Youtube channel of Skylanders Giants has also played a big part in the marketing as it uploads videos of the game including trailers, updates and game footage that receive hundreds and thousands of views. In a video that they uploaded 6 days ago, it has already received over 51,569 views. Videos that they have uploaded 1 month ago have received 110,000+ views. The most viewed video that has been uploaded on the http://www.youtube.com/skylandersgame channel has had 1,827,200 views and was only uploaded 6 weeks ago! In total, the channel has received 33,553,784 video views which means at least half of that number has seen at least one Skylanders Giants video and have been informed about the game. Thats a lot of people! With the game involving toys, it gives more potential for marketing to be successful. The video game promotes the toys, and the toys promote the video game. So in total, it is gaining twice as much recognition and publicity that what a normal game gets.

Skylanders Giants will be released in two versions. A starter pack and a booster pack. The starter pack will cost $74.99 (£46.59) and the booster pack will cost $59.99 (£37.21). The starter pack includes the Skylanders: Giants game, The portal of power, Two Skylanders (S2 Cynder & Jet-Vac on consoles and S2 Cynder & Pop Fizz on Nintendo 3DS) and One Giant (Tree Rex) whereas the booster pack only contains the game and Tree Rex - A Giant. Each individual Giant Skylander will cost $14.99 (£9.31) . LightCore Skylanders, which light up (without requiring any batteries) when near the Portal of Power, cost $11.99 (£7.45) , while regular Skylanders will cost $9.99 (£6.20).

 

Reality Is Broken - Notes

There are over 500 million global gamers. The next generation will add 1 billion to that total.

The average WoW Gamer spends 22 hours a week playing.

Every month, 5 million people use the WoW Wiki. http://www.wowwiki.com/

Typical gamer spends an hour or two a day playing video games.

More than 10million 'Hardcore Gamers' in the UK, France and Germany spend at least 20 hours a week playing.

Truth is: In todays society, computer and video games are fullfilling genuine human needs that the real world is currently unable to satisfy.

The people who continue to write off games will be at a major disadvantage in the coming years.

The gap between gamers and nongamers is growing smaller all the time. In the US, The biggest gaming market in the world, the majority of us are already gamers.

69% of all heads of household play computer and video games.
97% of youth play computer and video games.
40% of all gamers are women.

1/4 gamers is over the age of fifty.

The average gamer is thirty-five years old and has been playing for twelve years.

Most gamers expect to continue playing games for the rest of their lives.

Hot Coffee Mod

'The Hot Coffee Mod' is a mini game that was modded into Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The mod originated on the PC, And eventually moved onto other consoles such as The Playstation 2 and the Xbox. The mod allows the player (as the main character - CJ) to engage in sexual intercourse with any of his six girlfriends. The mod gets its name from when CJ's girlfriend invites CJ in for coffee - a euphenism for sex.

By The middle of July 2005, the minigame had attracted a lot of publicity from the likes of lawmakers and politicians. This then led to the game being pulled off shelves and the game to be re-rated as an adult game.
The game went from being rated Mature (M) To Adults only (18+).

Due to the hot coffee mod, Take-Two interactive seen themselves on the receiving end of a filed lawsuit from the city of Los Angeles, in January 26, 2006. The lawsuit accused the company of failing to disclose the sexual content added to the game.

Rockstar has allegedly vowed legal action would take place against any sources that reveal how to access the hot coffee mod part of the game. This mainly points towards cheat device code sites.

 

Notes

The tentpole business model is similar to the business model that a lot of Hollywood studios use. When a publisher releases one 'blockbuster' game, it is accompanied with heavy marketing and investment. The money made from this is then used to support the development of riskier - Potentially more creative games.

An example of this is when GTA Brings in a lot of money for Rockstar which then allows them to invent smaller games such as Bully and Manhunt.

EA Rely on the updates of games such as FIFA and Madden to create cash for the research and development of other games.

A problem with this is that they are putting the game at risk. An example of this is when EA Released Spore. It sold over 1 million copies in the first 17 days, however, due to the development costs EA only expected to get the money back with five years of updates and sequels!

The Hollywood model is when a company contracts out parts of the game such as art and car physics to other companies so that it lowers development costs.

The Rockstar Family

The Rockstar Family

Rockstar Japan - Rockstar Japan is the main headquarters for Rockstar Games in Japan. They have worked alongside companies such as Capcom who are responsible for such blockbuster games such as Resident Evil. They are the main producer for Rockstar in the Asian Market. They have their own unique Rockstar logo that is very easy to recognize it by due to the fact it looks like the Japan flag. Their main headquarteres is located in Tokyo, Japan.

Rockstar San Diego is another branch of the Rockstar franchise who are located in Carlsbad, California, USA. Before they joined Rockstar games, they were called Angel Studios. Rockstar San Diego pioneered some of the biggest selling Rockstar games including the 'Midnight Club' series and the Red Dead series - Red Dead Revolver and Read Dead Redemption. The studio was acquired by Take-Two Interactive back in the november of 2002.


Rockstar Vienna - Rockstar Vienna is another branch from the Rockstar family who are located in Vienna, Austria. They were founded in 1993 on January 4th and previously known as neo Software Produktions GmbH. They joined Take-Two Interactive in 2001 before Joining Rockstar Games in 2003 on their tenth anniversary. Rockstar Vienna are partly responsible for the creation of games such as Max Payne, Manhunt 2, GTA III, And GTA:Vice City.



The Rockstar Logos: (From Top to bottom) - Rockstar Japan, Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar Vienna.

 

Synergy and Symbiosis

Synergy:

Synergy is the term used to describe the connection between companies when they come together in order to come up with a final product that involves advantages for all of the parties involved. An example of synergy being used is Disney's High School Musical. The film was released on DVD, The sound-track was released on CD, And a video game was also released.

Symbiosis:

Symbiosis is when different companies come together and promote a product which works out for the good for all companies included. The best example of this is when McDonalds give away toys in their 'Happy meals'. It helps to promote what ever the toy is from wether this may be a movie or tv show. Other methods of symbiosis include when a product is promoted on things such as easter eggs and bed covers. (Quilts, Pillows, Curtains.)

Independant Games (Indie Games) & Limbo

Independant games, otherwise known as 'Indie games' are games created by individuals or very small groups of people without Video game publisher financial support. Indie games often focus on innovation and rely on digital distribution. Digital distribution is when a product such as a game or music album is distributed online, rather than a physical copy that can be bought from a shop. All indie games are distributed online, and have their own section in the Xbox live marketplace called "Indie Games". The majority of them will have a trial run where the user downloads a trial of the game to see if they like it, rather than buying it straight away without knowing what it is like. In the past few years, indie games have seen a rise due to new online distribution methods and development tools. Some of the all time best indie games include Limbo, Brade, World Of Goo, Cave Story+, FTL (Faster than light) and obvcourse the record selling - Minecraft. Minecraft would probably be the most well known indie game and has seen a massive rise in players over the last year. Although i havent played it myself, i have heard that the game itself is very entertaining and good fun to play. Due to the popularity of minecraft on the PC, This led to minecraft being released on Xbox live and becoming even more of a success.

Indie games do not have what it takes to be compete with blockbuster and AAA Games as most people do not feel that indie games take advantage of the new sorts of technology that there are these days unlike FPS Games such as call of duty that take full advantage of the new technology and make the game as realistic as they can. Indie games are not realistic and so not that many people play them because they like to have a sense to as if they are actually in the game themselves. People would rather play a realistic game and feel the experience of it, rather than play a non-realistic 2-D indie game, that gets boring after about half an hour. Indie games are cheaper than big blockbuster and AAA Games to produce, and to buy. They save money as they do not have to pay for physical copies of the product to be shipped all around the world. Instead, people buy them online with a few clicks of a button. With this, they can then afford to sell the game at a low price - Most oftenly half the price as to what an AAA Game sells for.


Limbo:

“The game is a masterpiece.” - Giant Bomb 5/5
“Limbo is genius. Freaky, weird genius. Disturbing, uncomfortable genius.” - The Escapist 10/10
“Dark, disturbing, yet eerily beautiful, Limbo is a world that deserves to be explored.”- Joystiq 10/10
“Limbo is as close to perfect at what it does as a game can get.” - Destructoid 10/10

Limbo is an indie game that is available to buy on the Xbox, Playstation, Microsoft Windows and Gamersgate. The game was the premiere title of independant Danish game developer Playdead. The player guides an unnamed boy through dangerous environments and traps as he searches for his sister. The developer built the game's puzzles expecting the player to fail before finding the correct solution. Playdead called the style of play "trial and death", and used gruesome imagery for the boy's deaths to steer the player from unworkable solutions. The game is presented in monochromatic black-and-white tones, using lighting, film grain effects and minimal ambient sounds to create an eerie atmosphere often associated with the horror genre. One of few games to be made with no colour - (Just black and white) aswell as little in-game sounds as possible yet it has still managed to be one of, if not the best indie game ever created. A very unique and original game that deserves the excellent reviews it gets. The title was the third-highest selling game on the Xbox Live Arcade service in 2010, generating around $7.5 million in revenue. The title won several awards from industry groups after its release, and was named as one of the top games for 2010 by several publications.

The plot of the game tells the adventure of a boy in search of his missing sister. The nameless boy awakens in the middle of a forest on the "edge of hell" and sets off in search of his sister. On his journey, he encounters only a few human characters, who either attack him, run away, or are dead. At one point during his journey, he encounters a female character, who abruptly vanishes before he can reach her. The forest eventually gives way to a crumbling city environment. On completion of the final puzzle, the boy is thrown through a pane of glass and back into the forest. He walks a short distance until he again encounters a girl, who, upon his approach, stands up, startled. At this point, the game abruptly ends.

I have only played the trial game of Limbo and can honestly say it is a great game. It is very gripping and i would recommend it to anybody who enjoys playing video games of whatever kind...
The trial version of the game ends on a cliffhanger leaving the player in question: "What happens next?..." A Very good technique to try and persuade the player to buy the full game to find out what happens next. Anybody who plays the trial version will deffinatley want to buy the full game. It honestly is one of the best, and most intreaguing games ive ever played. It is a 'Puzzle-Platform' game that is sure to have the player thinking. The game requires the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles aswell as solving puzzles such as backtracking in order to drag an obstacle (crate, trap) that they have passed on their way so that they can use it to get past what is blocking them on their adventure.

The game includes an official website where you can buy the game directly from it.
http://limbogame.org/

It is the winner of more than 90 awards, including:
Gameinformer’s “Best Downloadable”
Gamespot’s “Best Puzzle Game”
Kotaku’s “The Best Indie Game”
GameReactor’s “Digital Game of the Year”
Spike TV’s “Best Independent Game”
X-Play’s “Best Downloadable Game”
IGN’s “Best Horror Game”

Reviews:

1UP.com - B
Edge - 9/10
Eurogamer - 9/10
G4 - 5/5
GameInformer - 9/10
GameSpot - 9/10
GameSpy - 5/5
IGN - 9/10
PALGN - 9.5/10
I Would rate the game - 10/10

 By Ryan Jones.

The End Of Single Player?

Nowadays, almost every game includes an online feature. Whether this may be Xbox Live, Plastation Network or any other online system, The online section of video gaming is becoming more and more popular. In order to play online, you are required to have a connection to the internet and a connection from the console to the internet provider (Router, Modem...). Playstation network is free to play, whereas on the xbox you have to pay for an online membership. There are different memberships you can get - 48hour, 3 months or 12 months.

Games that have had a huge impact on bringing people away from playing single player to play online include the Call of Duty franchise, FIFA & PES, Left 4 Dead, Halo and many more, including the newly installed version of Minecraft for Xbox 360. Not every game has an online feature, and so are designed for single player purpose only. However, some games that include co-operative play and multiplayer includes Call of Duty. They have a single player campaign which is where the player completes the game on their own, aswell as a co-operative campagin option where you can play through the game's campaign with friends and people online. I personally find playing multiplayer/online games funner than playing solo as there are a lot more things you can do than to what you do on your own. It is also more socially interactive to play with others online rather than just playing on your own. The majority of people who buy games such as CoD And FIFA Will buy them to play online as not only can they be seen as fun, a lot of people find it addictive! Nowadays, the creators of such games put more effort into the online part of the game rather than the single player section, due to the fact thats what the people want. As multiplayer becomes more and more popular and grows rapidly, the demand for the game will also increase so the creators are going to have to put even more effort into the creation of the game in order to meet the demands of the public and make them happy.

Games series such as Halo and Call of Duty did not gain their publicity and popularity from the single player section of the game, they got it because the multiplayer was such a success. Even the classic/greatest single player game - Grand Theft Auto has now basically been forced to introduce a multiplayer section to their games, even though i find games such as GTA Better for single player. Mutiplayer works for some games, but not all games. As a multiplayer gamer myself, i still enjoy playing solo from time to time and find it enjoyable to complete things such as campaing on cod or career mode on fifa. Although i dont want it to happen, i do believe that in around 10 years time, single player will be gone completely. Technology is rapidly advancing and in the near future, everybody will have an active internet connection to play games online, and so the creators will believe there will be no need for single player. The proof i have? Where have the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro gone? Some of the greatest single player games from back in the day, gone. Just like that.

Is this the end for single player gaming?...