Mock Exam: Marketing and Promotion of Video Games

Five Creative Ways to promote the game to both boys and girls equally in the 12-18 age range:

State the games in common played by boys and girls such as temple run or Jet pack joyride.

Advertisement put on to the App Store showing that this game is new and exclusive

Trailer release on Youtube

Fan page on both Twitter and Facebook, This is because teenagers do a lot of social networking and this is a way to get some viral marketing

Advertising in magazine to show that this game is new and hot

Researching Video Games (Clash of Clans)

Clash of Clans is a mobile feeminum strategy video game from supercell, a video game company in finland. A multi player game, Clash of Clans allows players to build their community, train troops, and attack other players to earn gold and build defences to protect against attackers. Players can also use the chat feature to communicate with others and join clans to aid each other.
Purchasing gems via credit card helps players advance faster in the game. The pay-to-advance feature has proved lucrative for Supercell's two iOS applications. Clash of Clans and Hay Day were reportedly generating $2.4 million per day for the company in the first half of 2013. Clash of Clans has been a top 5 downloaded since December, 2012.
On September 30, 2013, the game soft-launched on Android in Canada and Finland. On October 7, 2013, Supercell quietly released Clash of Clans to all other international Google Play Stores.

Marketing: Supercell released an Advertisement in order to generate more revenue
Promotion: They also released a Fan page on both Facebook and Twitter. This was used as viral marketing (without having to pay.)

Researching Video Games (Temple Run)

Temple Run 2 is a 2013 endless running video game developed and published by the Imangi Studios. A sequel to the original game. Produced, designed and programmed by husband and wife Keith Shepard and Natalia Luckyanova. The game has the player taking on the role of an explorer who, having stolen an idol from a temple, is chased by "Demonic monkeys". It was released on the App store on January 17, 2013 and on Google play on January 24.

This game features the same controls as its predecessor. However, the game play itself is slightly different insofar as it introduces new obstacles, such as zip-lines, mine tracks, sharper turns, waterfalls, and jets of fire. The game also features new power-ups, and players now have the ability to save the protagonist from death by using green gems that are collected while running, or purchased online. The game is set in a different location than the first game, and the main character runs faster. The three monkeys that chased the character called Nuwan in the original game have been eliminated. Now, a singular enlarged monkey called Cuchanck is the sole antagonist.

In August, Usain Bolt was made available for purchase for a limited-time. In December, Santa Clause was made available for purchase, also for a limited-time. The December update also included water slides, an unlockable Santa hat for each of the main characters, collectible artefacts such as masks, and a "Christmas progress" chart. Except for Bolt and Santa Claus, all other characters are unlocked with coins; Bolt and Santa must be unlocked with gems.

As gems are rearer in the game, than coins,these are used to unlock special characters. Also in Temple Run 2 there is now a feature of resurrection which can only be used using a gem to bring you "back to life". Because of this players may be forced in to paying real money for this addictive game which is a way that the institutes can make money for this intriguing game which is free to download.

This game was promoted on the app store and also has pages on Facebook and Twitter. By this thee word of mouth is spread creating more "buzz" and the game, inevitably, gets more downloads. Also, a way the game is marketed is advertisements whilst playing another game appearing at the top of the screen.

Researching Video Games (FIFA 14)

E3: FIFA 14 Official Game play Trailer for Xbox One and PS4. Lionel Messi, Pique, and their Barcelona team-mates describe the perfect goal, supported by exclusive game play for FIFA 14.

The game was announced on E3. This is a great way to market FIFA 14 because, just like for Halo 4, thousands of people watch this world wide gaming event as it is the biggest in the world. Does this not only attract a big audience but revenues will be very high because this is a sequel of the extremely successful FIFA 13.

For marketing reasons, EA also released a demo of the new FIFA 14 worldwide on September 10, 2013, two weeks before the launch of the full game available for free download from the PlayStation store and the Xbox Marketplace enabling gamers to have their own opinion about the game. Furthermore,A new engine called EA Ignite Engine will be used in FIFA 14 which is only available on next gen consoles (PS4 & Xbox ONE). This features both graphical and game-play changes such as human intelligence to make the players react more like the real thing, True Player Motion to create more realistic movement from the players and more realism to the way environmental features like weather and stadium crowd dynamics develop during play.

Post release: FIFA 14 now has its own fan page on Facebook and Twitter. This allows players of this game to share what their opinion is (Most good as it is a FAN PAGE!) This is called viral marketing or Word of mouth. This is promoting a product by others talking about it and creating a "buzz"
Sales: On September 13 it was said that FIFA 14 pushed GTA V off the top spot in the UK sales chart.

Researching Video Games (Halo 4)

This is the Halo 4 E3 official trailer. This type of marketing is web based.

This a magazine with the cover marketing Halo 4. This type of marketing is Printed.

Pre-Release: The game was officially announced on june 6, 2011 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). This is a good way to market Halo 4 as E3 is the worlds biggest gaming event and have thousands of viewers each year. By doing this already a lot of people are going to be talking about the new game increasing the amount of promotion. Furthermore, as this is a sequel it already has a large audience to target, this means that Microsoft will bring in more revenue than a completely new game to the world.

Post-Launch: The game has been supported post launch with bug fixes, updates, and downloadable content. The downloadable content is very important for the game as this can bring in more revenue for the game makers and the platform it is played on (Xbox). This is because gamers will want to get as much content as they can in gameplay and if the only way is to pay and download exclusive content, then so be it.

Sales: Halo 4 grossed US$220 million on its launch day and $300 million in its opening week. The gross was a new record for the franchise, surpassing Halo: Reach's $200 million first-day gross. More than one million people played Halo 4 on Xbox live within the first 24hours of release. While Halo 4 debuted at the top of the UK video Games Chart and became the 18th biggest launch ever in the UK. U.S. retail tracking firm NPD reported that Halo 4 was the second most sold retail video game of November 2012, The third most sold retail video game of December 2012, and the third most sold retail video game of the year. Also, in 2012, Halo 4 was the 3rd most played game on Xbox Live based on average unique users per day.