PlanetSide 2 mini case study:

1. What is Planetside 2?
2. What genre does the game belong to?
3. Planetside 2 developer/publisher:
4. When was it launched?
5. How does the gameplay work?
6. What are the six different player classes in the game?
7. What is the story or narrative to the game?

Planetside 2 is a free-to-play massively online first person shooter. The genre this game belongs to are action, adventure and the Planetside 2 game developer and publisher are Sony Online Entertainment. The game was first launched November 20th 2012 on PC. The gameplay works as it is a re-creation of the first Planetside game with the same world, the same armies/factions and round about the same time period.
The six different game classes available in-game are:

• The infiltrator class is a sniper class with a unique ability of clocking and hacking. Weapons available for this class are sniper rifles, scout rifles, and sub-machine guns to deliver pleasing results.
• The Light Assault Class which offers shotguns, carbines and sub-machine guns with a character skin of a scout. The ability for this class is Jump Jets which allows the player to fly for a short period of time.
• The Combat Medic is a healing class. Weapons included are assault rifles, sub-machine guns and shotguns. The ability included are to heal and resurrect other players.
• The Engineer Class has the ability to repair turrets, MAX units and vehicles. Also they have the ability to build anti-infantry and anti-vehicle turrets. Weapons included are carbines, shotguns, sub-machine guns and battle rifles.

The Heavy Assault Class include light machine guns, sub-machine guns, shotguns, battle rifles and rocket launchers which are effective at crushing enemy vehicles. The special ability includes a shield to endure heavy fire.
Planetside 2 is a science-fiction massively multiplayer online first-person shooter set approximately 300 years after the discovery of Auraxis, although the chronology of the game universe starts a few years before. After the Earth has nearly come to ruin following a devastating war, the world's governments came to a consensus and united under one banner: the world-wide Terran Republic. Some time later a wormhole, one which scientists fail to explain, appears and then disappears without a trace. Ex-President of the Terran Republic, Tom Connery, believes that the wormhole is a sign of existing extraterrestrial life and launches several space expeditions. The first expedition to Moon Belt gives a lead—a figurine of alien nature—giving Connery a reason to start a second expedition further into space. Several Terran Republic ships travel through the wormhole and are stranded for a very long period of time; their situation grows dire. Due to the crew's mental exhaustion and provision limit, strict curfews are applied. Later, a vote is held about the necessity of the measures. The positive vote wins, but only barely. There are nearly as many negative votes. A second vote is called. However, a terrorist bomb destroys the ship on which the vote is to occur, killing everyone aboard, including Connery. Curfews pass. Later, the expedition discovers the planet Auraxis, and as a result, Vanu, or "ancient", technology. Among this vast array of technology is "Rebirthing Chambers", capable of reviving any person from any kind of injury with even the smallest amount of genetic code. This removed the main tool of the Terran Republic on Auraxis, fear. As a result the Republic banned the use of this technology, but some scientists continued, forming the Vanu Sovereignty, as the Terran started to militarize to control this, a collection of separatists broke off, forming the New Conglomerate, who stole weapons and equipment from the militarization process. So exactly 175 years after Tom Connery and the other leaders of the Terran Republic were killed, the war between the Terran Republic and the New Conglomerate breaks out. Following this, the New Conglomerate attacks the scientists who were still working on the alien technology, the Vanu Sovereignty, and they are as a result drawn into the conflict with the Terran Republic and the New Conglomerate. This prevented any work towards finding a way to regain contact with Earth, and the war for Auraxis has been raging ever since.

Business model

Now look at the section on the Planetside 2 business model.

1. How much does Planetside 2 cost to play?
2. What does a subscription offer to players?
3. What can the in-game currency be used to buy?
4. Why do some players dislike games in which users can buy additional weapons or health

Planetside 2 is a free to play game however there is a in-game store to purchase items and skin changes using real money. The subscription offers to players increased experience, certificate points and extra resources such as grenades or health kits. In game currency can be used to buy new weapons and armour. Some players will dislike the use of other players buying additional weapons and health as it counts as cheating and is also un-fair to other players as it may be confused with hacking the game itself which can be a problem for the player buying the health kits and or weapons.

Write a possible target audience demographic for Planetside 2 in general:

Gender/age/social class/education/employment/location etc.

The possible target audience demographic for Planetside 2 is:

• 65% male and 53% female
• age: 12-45
• social class BC123
• eduction: middle to higher
• employment- political power- to business man
• Location: Flat-house

Now write a target audience demographic for each faction from Planetside 2 – it will be similar to the overall target audience but think carefully about changes in age, education or employment:

The Terran Republic: This is a faction which has a more traditional mind set of a military soldier i.e words like: Duty, Honour, Saviour and Justice are used to define them and the target audience for them will be mainstreamers.

The Vanu Sovereignty: This faction is one that consider themselves as more intelligent than the others. Words like; Wisdom, Enlightenment and strength are used to define them

The New Conglomerates: This faction is the most different out of the three. This is because this faction is a more rebellious, anti-establishment and against oppression.

Now use what you have learned about psychographic profiling to choose potential psychographic groups for each of the three factions:

The Terran Republic: This faction is for the mainstreamers. This is because these people are happy with the way things are and are used to following a routine. They also like thinking about others before they think about themselves.

The Vanu Sovereignty: This faction is for the succeeders who seek control. This is because they assume they are superior than others and have strong goals and self coonfidence. These gamers are normally organised

The New Conglomerates: This faction is for the reformers and want change. These gamers are quite rebellious and like to go on the path of their own ignoring other instructions or rules valuing their own independent judgement. These gamers are usually at the leading edge of society.