Task 1

Structure – The Value Chain
Below is a diagram outlining the relationship between the main sectors with the gaming industry.

You can see we which sectors have the most direct relationships and the most communication to get a final product out of he pre production process and into the post process in which games are launched in stores, featured in magazines and other media's.

In the gaming industry there are several sectors that greatly influence the production and advertisement of a game. Once a game is produced by sectors such as the developers, the game then as o be passed on to other sectors such as publishers and distributors so people can purchase the product however hey see fit.

All of these sectors have to work together to finalize the production and post production of a product and to get it in the hands of the consumer, in this article I will be explaining each sector and what each sector does to ensure an optimised production and post production process for a gaming product.

The sectors are:

• Developers 
• Publishers 
• Console Manufacturers/First Party Publishers
• Distribution and Retail
• Outsourcing Companies 
• Press and Media

Developers
In the developing sector of the games industry, developers of a chosen product have the responsibility of creating the main product from nothing, using appropriate hardware and software to come up with the required final result.

Game developing sectors vary in size for different products, some developing teams could be only one or two people who are control of most other sectors, perhaps creating their own indie game. One example of a group of two developers that created a whole game, is the developers behind the game Super Meat Boy, Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes. These two men, together created one of the most popular indie games ever made in 2010. This was quite a lengthy production process and the duo faced many challenges along their way to video game stardom, though they were faced with feats they faced along the way, they triumphed over all and have made millions of this product alone!

The developers behind this particular game have named their team, "Team Meat", development teams often have a name to heir sector which makes them stand out from other development teams. These names can often lead to notoriety across the world, encouraging more work to come to these particular teams, making them more money and increasing heir popularity greatly.

Below is footage for the game Super Meat Boy, created by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes.

Developers often work in hundreds or even thousands to create certain games that require intense effort and time to create to a high standard. Game development teams that have had to work with such high numbers though, have been able to create some of he most popular and content filled games, such as Grand Theft Auto Five and the whole Assassins Creed series.

Below is a trailer for the game Grand Theft Auto V, this game was developed by Rockstar, one of the most well known game development teams, renowned for heir success. Also below is the company logo for Rockstar.

Below is a trailer for one of he games from he Assassins Creed series. The development team behind this particular series is Ubisoft, another example of an extremely well known and successful development company. Also below is a log for his company.

Developers have little communication to most of the sectors in the game industry, they focus solely on the creation of the final product and don't have to consider aspects of publishing and advertisement.

Below is a video of a developer discussing how to be a dveloper and what it is like o be one himself.

How to Be a Game Developer - Up at Noon
Naughty Dog's David Ballard tells us how he got started in the industry and how you can, too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6mTfY0ENv4

Publishers
In the publishing sector in the games design industry, a video game publishe, is a publishing company that publishes either a single game or an large array of games, that have been developed by the publishers themselves or by external developers that have developed a product specifically for them.

As with publishers for most other media products, publishers of video games such as EA (Electronic Arts), are responsible for heir created products distribution and advertisement.

Publishing sectors often finance the whole creation and finalisation of a product and even creation of studios for developers to create a product.

Larger video game publishers distribute the game they publish and create.

Smaller publishers tend to use external sources to distribute and publish their final product for them, as they tend to have little or no knowledge of how to get a game into stores and into the hands of a consumer, as this can be quite a complicated process.

Publishers often perform functions such as the paying of licence fees, localisation of a game and the creation of printed artwork such as games cases and manuals.

Top Ten Tips for Game Publishers - Below is a video giving e tips to aspiring game publishers hat could help them greatly in heir production and publication of their product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcHmVMnLR8

Below is a list of major publishers and heir logos:

Take-Two Interactive

Ubisoft

Electronic Arts

Nintendo

Sony

Microsoft

Sega

Activision 


Below is a list of mid-size publishers and their logos:
Konami

Capcom

Warner Bros. Interactive

Paradox Interactive

505 Games

Atlus

Tecmo Koei

Deep Silver



Console Manufacturers/First Party Publishers
Console Manufacturers, also known as First Party Publishers, are companies such as Microsoft that manufacture and distribute consoles to the public, in order for consumers to be able to play the latest distributed games, at the highest and latest quality possible.

Third party publishers that have a game that they would like to be released on a specific distributors console, must first contact the console manufacturers in order to get their approval. Such approval can help bring a game to the knowledge of those who might not usually recognise the specific game, as they would only be used to the games that are currently available to play on the console that they already own.

With permission from console manufacturers, developers and publishers can go on to create games based on the specifications of the console that they intend to make a game for. For example, if someone was making a first person shooter with relatively up to date graphics and animation techniques, they would need to have permission to create this type of game for a more up to date console with high specifications, as a game like this would not run on a handheld console such as the 3DS, as this console type would not be able to handle the demanding quality of graphics and required processing power. This is why most games on handheld consoles are still relatively old fashioned, quite often being two dimensional as opposed to the intense and immersive experiences you can get from playing some of the latest games on next generation consoles, such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Below you can see the kind of game quality you usually get with the Nintendo 3DS, though below that you can see the much higher quality experience you get with the Xbox One.

3DS gaming experience


http://86bb71d19d3bcb79effc-d9e6924a0395cb1b5b9f03b7640d26eb.r91.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/pilotwings-resort-3ds-screenshot.jpg

Xbox One gaming experience 


http://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2013/11/6138.cropped_2D00_skype_5F00_xboxone_5F00_notification_5F00_framed_5F00_188BA343.png

Some of the most obvious console manufacturers that you will most likely recognise are:

Microsoft – Probably the most well known company worldwide, releasing the Xbox, Xbox 360, and the Xbox One. Personally my favourite console manufacturer and distributor.

Below is an image of their latest console, the Xbox one and the game Assassins Creed Unity, which is featured on this console.

http://compass.surface.com/assets/b7/d4/b7d4bb66-c6a5-4e51-ab56-0a77bbd59eeb.jpg?n=assassins-creed-unity-console-with-kinect-bundle_xbox-one_hardware_hub_470x300.jpg

Sony - Another extremely well known company, responsible for the long line of PlayStation consoles such as the PS3 and PS4. A console manufacturer and distributor that I am not overly fond of, due to favouring Xbox consoles created my Microsoft.

Below is an image of their latest console, the PS4 and the game Knack, which is featured on this console.

http://images.vg247.com/current//2013/06/PS4-Knack-Bundle-600x313.jpg

Nintendo – historically this is the best known console manufacturer and distributor and the longest running console manufacturer and distributor in the market, responsible for the creation of consoles such as the Nintendo DS and 3DS. A console manufacturer and distributor I am not overly fond of, as their systems lack the technical ability and superiority of next generation console like the Xbox One.

Below is an image of one of their latest consoles, the newest version of the 3DS and the game Luigi's Mansion, which is featured on this console.

http://img14.deviantart.net/2be4/i/2013/092/f/1/luigi_s_mansion_2_3ds_bundle_by_angeluspulchra-d6065ba.png

Below is a video describing a YouTube channels personal Top 10 Video Game Consoles and their manufacturers.

Distribution and Retail
Distribution and retail is when a product is distributed amongst many different retailers such as GAME and HMV to be sold to consumers. After a product has finished the pre production process and is actually created, it is sent to be packaged with packaging that has been developed with a similar process to the product itself before being sent to retailers to be sold to the consumers.

The demand for many products such as video games has created many jobs, such as jobs for the creation of the products, packaging and the jobs available and the retail stores themselves to distribute the products for the companies that have created them.


Distribution is perhaps the most important sector within the game design industry, as the main aim when creating a product is to distribute a game that has been created, to make a large profit on expenses used to develop the game in whole.


Outsourcing Companies
Outsourcing companies is a term used when a company is outsourced, which means the companies employees have either been transferred to another company or another company has took over a company to make more money that the previous owner. This can create different levels of jobs for many people, but it can also make people lose their jobs.



Outsourcing is a common practice within the gaming industry, as projects often end so workers are urged to look for other work, or have work found for them, through the company they have just completed a product for.


Press and Media
Press and media are key to the advertisement of a video game that has been created by a company. The companies use the press and media to advertise their games everywhere possible and help them to make greater profits, because more people have seen that the game has been released and are more likely to buy it.

Games can be advertised by trailers and posters that have been created with a vast amount of effort, especially the trailers for the games, as trailers for video games are often not gameplay and don't replicate the games exactly.

Many jobs are created to advertise video games, such as jobs where people design and make concept ideas for posters and trailers, before they are actually released, upon a successful release which advertises a game in a good light, sales are increased drastically and this is key to the success and profit of a game and its development process.

Below is a trailer for Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag, which would have been created by developers to advertise the game and bring the game to more peoples attention, urging more consumers to purchase it and increase profits overall.

Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag -- E3 2013 Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cwj1RQbOzM

Below is a poster for Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag, that would also have impacted the decision of consumers to buy the game upon release.


Below is a screenshot from an article for Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag, this would have altered peoples opinions and knowledge of this particular game and encouraged them to purchase it, also increasing overall profits.

Full article can be found at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/10/29/assassins-creed-4-black-flag-review