1. A CASE STUDY

2. From the specification: Video games A study of the production, distribution and marketing of a specific game within one or across various gaming platforms, along with its reception by a variety of (British) audiences. This should be accompanied by study of the impact of next generation capabilities (HD, Blu-Ray, online services etc) on the production, distribution, marketing and consumption of games. 3. Heres a lovely video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrurGjHbPU8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzvMOlvlXrY&oref =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fs earch_query%3Dcall%2Bof%2Bduty%2Bmodern%2B warfare%2B3%2Bgameplay%26aq%3D6%26oq%3Dca ll 4. Production The Call of Duty series is published by Activision. (Publishers are focused on marketing and distribution.) Activision own a number of software development companies (Developers are the equivalent of a production company) including Treyarch and Infinity Ward. 5. A Call of Duty timeline Call of Duty - October 29, 2003 Call of Duty 2 - October 25, 2005 Call of Duty 3 - November 7, 2006 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - November 7, 2007 Call of Duty: World at War - November 11, 2008 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - November 10, 2009 Call of Duty: Black Ops - November 9, 2010 Modern Warfare 3 November 8, 2011 Black Ops 2 November 12, 2012 Call of Duty: Ghosts November 5 - 2013 6. Content The early CoD games dealt with events in and around WWII, an era revisited in World at War. More recent titles have dealt with more modern warzones. 7. Platforms What are the different ways in which Call of Duty can be played? How do they differ? Is there a definitive version? What makes the game so popular amongst the audience? Who is the target audience? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rZRbSshurQ&feature=related 8. New Media TechnologiesVS As well as appearing on a variety of platforms, what new media technologies allow the modern gaming audience to broaden their experience? 9. Digital Distribution Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to distribute games and related media online, from small independent developers to larger software houses. Steam also has community features, automated game updates, in-game voice and chat functionality. As of January 2012, there are 1504 games available through Steam, and 40 million active user accounts. The concurrent users peak was 5 million on January 2, 2012. Although Valve never releases sales figures, Stardock, former owner of competing platform Impulse, estimated in 2009 that Steam had a 70% share of the digital distribution market for video games. 10. Distribution Methods Traditional retail shops (HMV, Game etc) Online Retail buying a physical copy through a website (Amazon, Play etc) Download: PC Steam X-Box X-Box Live PS3/4 Playstation Network 11. How has the game been marketed? What media sectors have been used to sell CoD? 12. What other media sector is the games industry now similar to? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6QVxLE5JUgWhat has accounted for this boom in gaming?