AQA GCSE Media Studies

Unit 1 Investigating the Media Exam Topic: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games
Photocopiable/digital resources may only be copied by the purchasing institution on a single site and for their own use ZigZag Education, 2013 1

Starter
How many celebrities can you think of who endorse video games?

Richard Dyers Star Theory

Dyers theory proposes that: Celebrities are constructed and artificial They are constructed by the music industry why?

X Factor is a great example of how a celebrity can be constructed.

Can you name any other programmes which develop celebrities?

Celebrity Endorsement
Another way for a celebrity to generate income is to endorse a video game. They can lead to a successful franchise, e.g. Tiger Woods PGA Tour, which has been released every year since 1998. OR They can fail completely, e.g. David Beckham Soccer which was released in 2001. Rage, the developer and publisher, signed Beckham on a three-year contract for a vast amount of money. However, being up against Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA was suicide. The game received awful reviews, it bombed and Rage spiralled into debt and eventually went bankrupt. 4

Failed Celebrity-Endorsed Campaigns

Pokmon One Direction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkVAtpUTsaw#t=35

Pokmon Black and Pokmon White were the second main-series games to hit the Nintendo DS and brought a lot of innovations to the well-established series. Sadly, the inclusion of Simon Cowells collection of teen heartbreakers One Direction in the advertising campaign was not one that existing fans of the series would have wanted. Pokmon is a well-structured RPG game packaged as a kids game. As a result, it can be played very simply by youngsters who are fans of the TV series, but can also offer a more in-depth gaming experience for older gamers. It is the latter of these two groups who will always come under scrutiny for playing this kids game and these adverts will do nothing to help them. Before seeing these ads I had never been ashamed to admit I was still a Pokmon player. That has now changed.
http://planetivy.com/gaming/3641/celebrity-endorsed-video-games-that-should-have-avoided-the-fame-game/

Failed Celebrity-Endorsed Campaigns

The Sims: Showtime Katy Perry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd-4Bduagsk
For the latest expansion to this popular character-builder series, The Sims, players were invited to turn their average Joes into household stars. An exciting idea, but EA foolishly thought that they would need a celebrity endorsement to sell this idea. A series thats still thriving as well as The Sims can only be cheapened by a strategy like this, and that is exactly what happened here. The developers chose to use Katy Perrys 'rags to riches' story to illustrate the kind of lives players could forge for their characters in this latest addition. Though Perry undoubtedly has the stature to attract some new players to the game, EA have actually betrayed the core mechanic of the game by including her. The Sims has always been about making your own unique lives for your characters. Now players will instead be trying to emulate Perrys story, something that cheapens the classic Sims formula and will disappoint long-standing fans of the series.
http://planetivy.com/gaming/3641/celebrity-endorsed-video-games-that-should-have-avoided-the-fame-game/

The Worst Celebrity-Endorsed Games Ever by T3

Take a look at this website: http://m.t3.com/features/worst-celebrity-endorsed-games-ever It features what T3 consider to be the worst celebrity-endorsed games ever.

Choose two of the games and decide whether you agree with T3 and why.

Guitar Hero / Rock Band

Another way for celebrities to make money is to have their songs included on this type of game. Some bands even have their own dedicated editions!

Metallica Van Halen The Beatles AC/DC

Why do people like to play this type of game?
8

Guitar Hero / Rock Band

Who would you choose for a new game in this style?
Discuss in pairs.

Guitar Hero / Rock Band

Put together a pitch for your celebrity-endorsed video game using the template you will be given.

You will then pitch to a partner and they will give your idea a rating out of 10.

10

Guitar Hero / Rock Band

Make a cover for the video game.

You can download and print images from the internet to construct your cover. Make sure it has a slogan and appropriate reviews to attract the audience.

11

Plenary Swap your cover with a partner. Discuss improvements you could make.

12

Homework Complete cover.

13