GTA V Case Study

Name of game: Grand Theft Auto V

Release date: 17th September 2013

Institutions behind the game (game studio/publisher): Rockstar Games

Gaming platforms it is available on (e.g. PS4, PC, Wii etc.): PS3 and XBOX 360

Print

1. What print adverts were used to advertise the game? Find examples and post them on your blog.           
2. What key conventions of print adverts can you find on the example you have chosen? Product name? Font? Slogan? Central image? Colour?     The product name is grand theft auto v, the font used is the font used for almost every GTA game, the central images are of one of the main characters Trevor and the colour scheme is blue, red and yellow.
3. Find three reviews for your game that were originally published in videogame magazines. Are they positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from each review.                                 - XBOX Magazine said " Nobody makes an open world quite like Rockstar. Others may be bigger, moodier, or crazier, but between Rockstar's obsessive attention to detail and its anarchic approach to gameplay, something emerges that's deeply memorable and filled with a constant sense of discovery. InGrand Theft Auto 5, that something is the newly re-imagined state of San Andreas, a huge, beautifully realized landscape with miles of highway, mountains, desert, and rural towns - and, of course, the city of Los Santos, where all the real action unfolds."                                                                                              - Playstation Magazine said "The scale and sense of freedom is 
   so staggering that the initial wave 
   of amazement never wears off"
4. Did your game feature on any videogame magazine front covers? Find examples and explain why a front cover feature is so successful in promoting a game to its target audience. 

Broadcast

1. Did your chosen game use a TV advert to promote the game? Embed it from YouTube if it did and explain how it fits the key conventions of a TV advert.                                                                         Key conventions used here such as the all the institutional information at the end of the video and the dynamic cut scenes with in game audio from each main character.
2. Is there a game trailer on YouTube? Embed it on your blog and explain why it is effective in promoting the game to its target audience. This is effective in promoting the game as it shows the main narrative of the whole game and its shows all the new and exclusive features of the game such as the graphics and new vehicles etc. 
3. Can you find any other broadcast features on the game - interviews, launch party events, video reviews, clips of the gameplay on YouTube etc. Write about how they effectively promote the game to its target audience.  This is an interview with the voices of the three protagonists of the videogame's narrative. This forms a personal relationship between the audience and the celebrities and would therefore generate interest. 

E-media

1. Visit your chosen game's official website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of its target audience? It includes 20 different sections showed as titles with in-game pictures to direct the audience to the desired page.
2. Are there any creative or interesting aspects to the game's official website? Because of the advanced graphics, they use in-game pictures as links to the named page.
3. Does the game have a YouTube channel? No
4. Can you find any examples of user-generated content on YouTube that players have created and uploaded from the game? Embed any examples on your blog.                                                                 

1. How does user-generated content such as gameplay videos help to promote the game? They help promote the game as they automatically tell their audience whether the game is good depending on how much they play the game and they help promote the game as some people would like the videos and want to buy it due to the new features compared to previous games.
2. How many 'likes' has your chosen game's Facebook wall had? 5,641,830.
3. Choose five of the posts on the Facebook page's wall, screengrab them and explain how they appeal to the game's target audience. (note: the screen grabs appear as white boxes with nothing else inside).
4. What is your chosen game's Twitter hashtag? #GTAV.
5. How did the campaign use Twitter to promote the game? They use the audience to post their personal opinion and why by using the hashtag and tweet out the new updates coming soon for GTA V.
6. Can you find any other creative uses of e-media to promote the game? This might include hashtags, competitions, Instagram, user-generated campaigns or anything else that is designed to draw attention to the game. Some people create videos on YouTube such as funny moments or stunt montages or glitches to get something as they make people laugh or want to try out the same thing and want to watch more so they can be updated weekly or daily.

Pre- and post-release

1. What was the game's release date? 17th September 2013.
2. What is the earliest reference you can find to the game before the release date? Was it announced at a gaming conference (such as E3)? How did the publisher get a potential audience excited about the forthcoming game?                                                                                                                                     

1. How did the institution promote the game after it was released? The institution relied on 'word of mouth' and UGC to promote the videogame. The institution encouraged users to upload in-game footage of their online achievements and introduced competitions for the players to engage in, resulting in prizes as a reward. 
2. Does the game have any way of making the publisher additional income post-release (such as in-game purchases)? The game uses purchasable online DLC packs for weapons, vehicles or apartments for additional income as well as purchasing money for online by using real money to get a certain amount of money depending on the price

Other

1. Who do you think is the target audience for this game? Make up a potential target audience demographic and explain why you think it fits the game. What psychographic groups would be attracted to this game? Ages 13-30, mainstreamers and escapers.
2. What else can you find from the marketing and promotion of your chosen game? A launch event? Stories appearing in newspapers? Celebrity endorsement? Scandal or controversy? 
3. How does the campaign make an emotional connection with the audience? What is the audience appeal of the advertising campaign? The trailer and or adverts for the game shows the lives of three very different people which you can relate to by personal relationship and or personal identity. 
4. Can you find any images of how the game was promoted in-store - displays, point-of-sale promotions, window displays etc.?