The three games I have chosen from my selected genre to compare are Red Dead Redemption (2010) Minecraft (2011) The Amazing Spiderman IOS (2011)
Ownership
Red Dead Redemption:
The game is developed by Rockstar Sand Diego and additional work by Rockstar North. The game is published by Rockstar games and was released on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. The publisher Rockstar Games ownes the developers of Red Dead Redemption as well as six other Rockstar studios around the world including: Japan, Leeds, Lincon, London, New Englad and Toronto.
The formats Red Dead Redemption are played on are owned by Sony for the Playstation 3 and Microsoft for the Xbox 360. The game was priced at £39.99 in the UK and $59.99 in the US.
Minecraft:
Minecraft was developed by Mojang as well as published. The game was released for the PC, Mac, IOS devises, Android and Xbox 360. Minecraft costs £16 for the PC and Mac format and £5.99 for the IOS platforms and 1600 Microsoft points for the Xbox 360.
The various formats that run Minecraft are owned by several companies. Apple own the Mac and IOS formats, Microsoft own the PC and Xbox 360 platforms and Google own the Android format.
The Amazing Spiderman IOS:
This game was developed by Gameloft for the IOS platforms and was published by Activision. This game on the IOS format were able to play on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch all which are owned by Apple. The app costs £4.99 on the iTunes App Store. This game is based on the new released movie The Amazing Spiderman which was released 2012.
Distribution and Exchange
The way games develops to reaching the consumer starts with the game being developed by the developers where they make the game. Then the game need to be published and promoted by the publishers who are also in charfe of the marketing aspect. The is then distributed to various retail outlets and online shops e.g Amazon, Play.com. Then finally the game hits the shops where the consumer can exchange money for the product.
Red Dead Redemption:
The way Red Dead Redemption reaches to its consumers is by selling a physcial copy of the game on a disk or buying a copy of the game on online stores in which the consumer can then play on their selected platform being the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. The way Rockstar get money from the game is from the game sales. Every copy of the game sold, Rockstar get a percentage from, Rockstar take in the most money from the product. When Purchasing Red Dead Redemption, The consumer gets the full game and usually some bonus promotions such as a certain character outfit or weapons. The consumer may also buy downloadable content which included new charcters and missions. Rockstar have a club called Rockstar Pass which the consumer can join for a price which entitles the consumer to get promotional gifts including downloadable content before non members and can get more game content cheaper. Rockstar also make money from this.
Minecraft:
The way Minecraft reaches its consumers is by selling the game on their website which the consumer then has to download on their computer which will enable the consumer to play. The way Mojang the company get money from the product is the same structure where the game is developed, promoted and then distributed. The consumer has to only pay once for the game which entitles them the full content. The game has no downloadable content.
The Amazing Spiderman:
As this game is played on an IOS Platform such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, There is a different development structure to distribute the game. The developer first has to register as an apple developer enabling them to create games for Apple products. The deveopler then has to create the game and test it using a simulator. After the game is developed and running, the developer then has to submit their game for approval to sell on the iTunes store. Once the game has been approved, Consumers can then buy the app off The iTunes store online using their unique Apple iTunes acount. Once the consumer has bought the game at a one off cost, They are entitled to the full game. Like the original structure of development, The developers get a cut from every copy of the game sold.
After researching the developement process for the three games I analyized, I have discovered advantages and disadvantages to them. For example, Rockstar have to spend all their own money creating and developing the game before they make any money. Only when the game hits the stores and sell do the company get money from it. Rockstar are taking a big risk putting a lot of money into a game that could not be as successfull as they were hoping. Rockstars advantage is that they can make more money from releasing DLC (Downloadable content) which can be a disadvantage to the consumer as they have to pay even more money on the game.
A disadvatage Mojang have with Minecraft is that the game itself is very cheap for a game of that stature and they have no additional content the consumers can buy. The advantage is that they have also released the game on other platforms including the Xbox 360 and IOS devises which are other sources of gaining money.
The advantages of Activision releasing The Amazing Spiderman on IOS platforms is that it brings in a different sort of audience who enjoy gaming on their phones or tablets. The disadvantages to the consumer is that they have to pay what could be considered a lot of money for the game without them playing it before which they might not enjoy playing so they have wasted money on the product. The main advantage for this game is that it is promoting the newly released film in which the game is based upon.
jackcraig94 