How do franchises establish and develop continuing sales figures?

Assassins Creed 3
Wikipedia

Assassin's Creed III is a historical action-adventure open world stealth video game developed by Ubisoft Montreall and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows. It is the fifth major installment and the third numbered title in the Assassin's Creed series.

Publishing

Target audience - Boys from around 12 to older people around 40 even though the certification is an 18. Still the same as in the other Assassins creed games but trying to attract new people aswell. 

Target the audience through the new Native American main character protaganist (Connor) who is noble and stronger than in the others. It has to be specific in character design for the target audience.

Also through the setting, in the American revolution where no other game has been set before but also featuring the present day.

Narrative - follows the same narrative direction as the series' previous titles, containing both present day and historical plot arcs but the latest plot is significantly more epic in tone. With the worlds end set to occur in months, the game follows the same split narrative direction as previous Assassin's Creed titles, seeing Miles use the Animus, a machine capable of making its users relive the lives of their ancestors, to try to find the information he needs to save the world.

Gameplay:
The game follows the series' standard open world gameplay in the Desmond and Haytham/Connor Sequences, where the game's main story takes place. New gameplay additions include muskets and rifles, which can be fired at a considerable reload time, or used as a melee weapon. Hiding places can now be mobile, such as haystacks in wagons or moving carts, which can be used to sneak up closer to targets. Disguises can also be worn, fooling normal troops and only risking investigation by officers.
Free running has been modified to allow for more fluid, parkour-like movement over certain obstacles. Exploration has also been modified, allowing for map areas to be revealed without requiring a viewpoint synchronization.
Close combat has been modified, slowing during blocks to allow for more options in attack and defense. Human shields can be taken against firing lines of enemies.
Assassin's Creed III features new weather simulations such as snow, fog, and rain. Depending on the seasons, weather determines how the Templars and soldiers will move around with heavy winter snows making it more difficult to move swiftly.
Connor is able to hunt animals for skins in the wilderness while at the same time Connor himself might find that he is being hunted by other animals (bear, wolf, cougars, etc.). The value of an animal's hide is determined by how, where, and with what weapon you kill the animal. Muskets, flintlock pistols, and multiple attacks will make the pelt less valuable while a single stab or shot with a bow will increase the value.
Another major change is the Homestead. Starting with a single house and a few outbuildings, Connor can perform missions for people in order to convince them to settle near the Homestead, which provides raw materials and simple craftsmen (such as a barrelmaker). Raw goods and crafts can then be used as part of a local economy, selling them at market by caravan. Depending on the goods in the caravan and the level of threat nearby, these goods can be attacked and stolen or sold at a profit.
Assassin's Creed III also features a naval aspect. The entire eastern seaboard is a playable area, and will have its own missions, action, side events, and map. In the area, Connor will captain a ship, where the player can attack enemy ships. The controls of the ship rely heavily on environmental factors, such as wind direction and speed, and local presence of waves or rocks. The sails can be reefed or full open, providing more speed but slowing turning speed and control. Engagements are by cannon, with broadsides covering both flanks of the ship, and swivel guns that can be used as a sort of sniper weapon, damaging small ships, but also being able to destroy frigates by firing into open magazines. Other ships can also be rammed, damaging both ships. As naval missions are completed, the risk of capture of trade sent overseas is lessened.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin's_Creed_III

Genre - Multi- genre:

• Action- adventure -  combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres.

• open world/ sandbox- where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how or when to approach objectives. Generally open world games still enforce some restrictions in the game environment, either due to absolute technical limitations or in-game limitations (such as locked areas) imposed by a game's linearity.
• stealth - rewards the player for using stealth to overcome antagonists. Typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, using disguises, and/or avoiding noise. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking antagonists, perhaps rewarding the player for greater levels of stealth.

sandbox but also set missions and challenges to complete. It is also a fantasy genre which attracts boys who have always wanted to live like that because they can now be part of the fantasy world they have always dreamt of.

Marketing
Ubisoft advertise across a variety of formats to attract a bigger audience.

Assassin's Creed 3 has the most expensive Ubisoft marketing campaign ever, with a three month campaign rivaling big-hitters such as EA's FIFA and Activision's Call of Duty. It will have TV and on-demand adverts, online takeovers and a presence on the London Underground. There are also written adverts with features in magazines and newspapers.

Ubisoft tweet to adverttise Assassins Creed 3

TV advert for Assassins Creed 3

Wikipedia

Ubisoft's senior vice president of sales and marketing, Tony Key, said the game would enjoy the biggest marketing commitment in company history. Ubisoft UK MD Rob Cooper has said that Assassin's Creed III is a good entry point for newcomers to the series, and that he thinks Assassin's Creed III will hold its own against this year's biggest releases. In March 2012, the Assassin's Creed: Double Pack was released both as a retail purchase for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and digital download on PSN, which brings together the first Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II in a virtual compilation box.

Advert

 

Ubisoft has collaborated with several retail outlets on pre-order bonuses available through several store chains throughout the world. Which of the pre-order bonuses the player received depended upon where they pre-ordered the game. A free SteelBook collectible featuring artwork by renowned comic book artist Alex Ross is available as a pre-order incentive. The "Captain of the Aquila" DLC pack includes a single player weapon (The Pirate Boarding Axe) and a single player skin (The Captain of the Aquila's uniform). The "Colonial Assassin" DLC pack includes a single player weapon (The Scottish Flintlock) and a single player skin (the Traditional Colonial Assassins outfit). ^"Redcoat Multiplayer" DLC pack includes redcoat costume, a snake emblem, and a "doctor doll" relic. In the US, Gamestop is offering the single-player mission Lost Mayan Ruins and the Sawtooth Sword, Best Buy is offering the single-player mission Ghost of War and the Pontiac's War Club, while Amazon is offering the Steelbook Case.
SCEE offers a digital version of Assassin's Creed III via the PlayStation Store. Dubbed the "Gold Edition", the download includes the game, PlayStation Vita title Assassin's Creed III: Liberation and a Season Pass (a first for the series). Another version of the "Gold Edition" features the game and the Season Pass, but not Liberation. Third version comes with liberation, but without the Season Pass. All versions include A Dangerous Secret, the extra mission available with the Special Edition.

They pre-announced the game to let people know when it would be released. 

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed during an earnings call on November 8, 2011, that a new "major" Assassins Creed game will be released in 2012. Guillemot refused to go into any further detail on the title beyond its confirmation. Speaking to MCV, Guillemot dismissed the notion that annual Assassin's Creed installments are diluting the brands, stating instead that they're necessary to "satisfy the demand". Guillemot also claimed in the same interview that this year's Assassin's Creed will be the series' "biggest to date."

In February 2012, Ubisoft officially confirmed the existence of Assassin's Creed III. Guillemot described Assassin's Creed III as "the true next generation of both the Assassin's Creed brand and interactive entertainment/storytelling in general. We will push the title a lot because it's a fantastic product that the team has been working on for three years. What we have seen is just fabulous." Guillemot went on to say the publisher's investing more heavily in the game than in any other title in the series.

Assassins Creed 3 Trailer

 

Facts and Figures

• The game's main section, featuring Connor, takes place from around 1753-1783.
• The game's major cities are New York and Boston.
• By the time it is released, ACIII will have been in development for 2 1/2 years.
• 3.5 million copies sold in 1st week.
• The new game is supposed to be the franchise's largest.
• The developers estimate that 80% of the named characters in AC III were real people.
• You'll be killing real historical figures.

Assassins creed

Assassins Creed brotherhood

 A historical action-adventure open world stealth video game developed by Ubisoft montreal. Released November 16th 2010.

Formats:
 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, Microsoft Windows in March 2011 and Mac OS X in May 2011.

Amount of games sold:

• The game passed the one million sales mark in less than a week after its release.
• As of May 2011, Ubisoft announced the game had shipped 8 million copies.

Assassins Creed



Assassin's Creed is a historical fiction action-adventure open world stealth video game series that as of 2012 consists of five main games and a number of supporting materials. The games have appeared on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, iOS, HP webOS,^[2] Android, Nokia Symbian and Windows Phone platforms, and will be coming to the Wii U and the PlayStation Vita. The main games in the franchise were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with the handheld titles developed by Gameloft and Gryptonite Studios, with additional development by Ubisoft Montreal. All games in the franchise are published by Ubisoft. The series has been a success and won a number of awards. The series took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol.

First Release: 13 Novemeber 2007

	GameRankings	Metacritic
	(X360) 82.51%[47] (PC) 79.17%[48] (PS3) 78.82%[49]	(X360) 81[50] (PS3) 81[51] (PC) 79[52]

Formats:
PS3
X360
Win
And

Narrative:
Desmond Miles i a bartender who is kidnapped by a powerful corporation called Abstergo. While captive, Desmond is informed that he can use a machine called the Animus created by Abstergo to relive his ancestors' memories. He consents to use the machine and relives the memories of his ancestor Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad.
Altaïr, Desmond's ancestor, is a disgraced assassin because he broke the three tenets of the Assassin's Creed:

1. Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.
2. Hide in plain sight.
3. Never compromise the brotherhood.

In order to regain his former status, Altaïr must hunt down nine key targets. Altaïr reluctantly agrees and he slowly hunts down the men. He realizes they all have something in common. After assassinating all nine targets and discovering that his ninth target was in fact a trap, Altaïr confronts Robert, the leader of the Knights Templar, in front of King Richard I of England, leader of the Crusader army. Altaïr informs Richard that Robert is plotting to betray and kill him, which causes him to encourage a duel to the death between Altaïr and Robert. Richard then believes Altaïr. Upon dying, Robert confesses to Altaïr that there were not nine, but ten Templars conspiring to take the Piece of Eden, the tenth being the head of the Assassins, Al Mualim, who wanted to keep the Piece of Eden for himself and therefore sent out Altaïr to kill the others. Back at Masyaf, the assassin's fortress, Al Mualim had taken over the minds of the people inside. Altaïr manages to defeat and kill him in a duel. The memory Abstergo was searching for, which located the Piece of Eden, reveals it is only just one of 28 that are scattered across the world.
Back in 2012, Abstergo sends a team to recover as many Pieces as possible. Deciding they do not need him anymore, they give orders to kill Desmond. Lucy Stillman, an Abstergo employee who revealed to Desmond that she is an undercover Assassin, convinces them not to kill Desmond until they recover the Pieces, buying him time. Desmond is left alone in the Animus room, and by the use of Altaïr's Eagle Vision inherited from the "Bleeding Effect" caused by the Animus, he sees many symbols drawn in blood on the wall in his room and on the floors of the lab. These symbols contain references to the end of the world in many different languages and in the left side of his room, the player sees "I Entered the Animus and never returned".


Reception:
The Assassin's Creed games have received overwhelming popularity with the general public and much acclaim from critics. The series has also been financially successful, with the first and second games both selling over 8 million copies to date. In February 2011, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has shipped 6.5 million copies.^[85] As of May 2011, the first three main games have sold over 28 million copies worldwide.^[86] As of November 2011, sales for Brotherhood were "in line" with Assassin's Creed II, which sold close to 9 million copies worldwide through March 2010. Brotherhood has sold 3.14 million copies in the US through the end of September. As of February 15, 2012, the franchise as a whole has sold over 38 million copies since November 2007.^[87]
Assassins Creed 29 million units sold.

Ubisoft's full-year sales for its 2007-2008 fiscal year totaled �928 million, or roughly $1.45 billion, a 36.4% increase over last year's figure of �680 million / $1.02 billion. Fourth quarter sales were up 10% also, clocking in at �217 million / $340.5 million.

Following these sales figures, Ubisoft has raised its 2008-2009 operating profit forecast by 1 percent, to at least 12% from 11%, which means that fiscal year sales forecasts remain at around �1 billion. Ubisoft declared that the profit guidance increase is related to savings on royalties after the publisher acquired Tom Clancy's name for videogames and spin-off products: "Ubisoft's games line-up is particularly strong, with no fewer than seven existing franchises, five new releases and new brands in the casual segment," said CEO Yves Guillemot.


Sales of 1.93 billion in 2011 made the gaming industry the country's biggest entertainment sector.
ERA article

changing technology

The effect that changing technology is having on the computer game industry

 

The Games industry continuously innovates and makes use of new technologies to gain market share. Players include digital entertainment & graphics design companies that have revolutionized the way people play games. Most recently, there are news reports covering the beta launch of Cloud-based Online Gaming Platform called OnLive that brings games on-demand, anytime, anywhere to gamers all over the world.

Computer games industry experienced profitable growth. Revenue increased for the last five years and total market capitalization is estimated to be around 49.6 billion.

With the advent of the Internet, the video games industry captured the lost revenue (of traditional consoles & PC games to piracy) by capitalizing on consumers preferences of callobarative play and the multi-user environment in the online gaming market. Although with technology advances to deter piracy (e.g. server-side security firewalls, game protection technologies and password protected logins for users), it did shift the distribution control back to the game provider, pirated PC games still continued to be sold.

More info:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23765445/Analysis-of-Technological-Change-Effects-on-the-Games-Industry 

upcoming game release

Upcoming computer game release

Just Dance: Disney Party is released on October 23rd for the Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect. 

Players are required to perform specific dance moves in time with the music, following a routine indicated on-screen and performed by live dancers. If the player performs well, by dancing accurately and in-time, their score will build and a rating out of 5 stars is obtained upon completion of the track.

It is developed and published by Ubisoft and has live action dancers, the game modes (Team High Scores, Freeze & Shake, Balloon Pop), and the animated score icons and it includes a duet mode. In addition, all the songs are the original versions, not covers.

Just Dance and Disney are working together to create the greatest dance game for the whole Family.

Dance like a star to 25 songs from both the beloved classic Disney Movies and Disney Channel’s shows. Play with up to 4-players to experience the ultimate in family fun. With an amazing selection of family favorite songs, fun dances and kid-friendly gameplay, children of all ages can Just Dance along with family and friends.

The game is marketed using TV adverts with language and pictures that would engage the games target audience, which is children, and appeal to them so they will want to buy it. The adverts will usually be in between childrens programmes and especially disney ones because the audience watching them is the audience that is most likely to buy the game so it can appeal to a larger audience.

5 most important games

The 5 most important video games ever

Space Invaders

Released in 1978.  This simple blast the alien invader games is the most responsible game for the rise of the arcade game industry in the late 1970’s and early 1980s than any other game.  Over 60,000 machines were sold in the U.S.  It became the first “must have” game on the Atari 2600 and quadrupled sales of that console in 1980.  The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto who would later go on to design classic games like Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and F-Zero.

                                                                                  

Super-Mario Bros

Released in 1985. Super Mario Bros revived the video- game industry.  It was released at the launch of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario is also largely responsible for the Nintendo's initial success.  It was the best-selling game of all time for over two decades  with over 40 million units sold.  Mario has gone on to become Nintendo’s flagship character with each new system they release.

 

Tetris

Released in 1988. The block dropping puzzle game Tetris has a history of intrigue that rival any James Bond film.  It was created by Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov.  Immediately the game began to be knocked off and rights sold without Pajitnov’s approval.  Tengen, a division of Atari, produced the first and best version of the game on the Nintendo entertainment system.  Nintendo quickly sued claiming they alone had the rights.  The courts sided with Nintendo and Tengen’s version was pulled after only four weeks on the market making it a hot collectible today. It is one of the most popular puzzle games of all-time, more that 70 million copies have been sold worldwide in its various incarnations and console platforms, and over 100 million cell phone copies have been sold as well.

The Sims

Released in 2000. The Sims was unlike any other game before it, there were no enemies to defeat, no game to win, and no high score to achieve. It was a life simulator where you controlled the lives of your simulated humans.  And who would have ever thought that waking up, taking a shower, and getting dressed could be so addictively fun!  You could grow relationships with Sims of the opposite sex, get a job, and even start a family.  The Sims became the best-selling PC game of all time in 2002 and has seen numerous expansions and sequels released that allow you to take your Sims on vacation, become an entertainment superstar, and even cast magic spells.

                                        

                                                                                        

Wii Sports

Released in 2006. Wii Sports came packed with the Nintendo Wii console when it was released and because of that it is the best-selling video game of all time with over 75 million copies sold.  But more importantly, Wii Sports became the greatest social videogame, allowing friends and families to compete in sports like tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing.  Wii Sports has bridged generations becoming the game to have a strong following among senior citizens.  Wii Sports has thrived in retirement communities where golf and bowling leagues started.  It also became the game that resulted in the most player injuries due to its physical gameplay.  

                                        

structure of computer game industry

The Structure of The Computer Game Industry

The computer game industry is the economic sector involved with the development, marketing and sales of computer games. It creates dozens of job disciplines and employs thousands of people worldwide.

There are complex interactions of the various companies. A company focused on one of these areas may also be active in others. Publishers often own all or part of a development or distribution company and the hardware manufacterers all act as publishers for their own 1st party products. This means that an independent development company seeking to do business with a publisher may actually be approaching the owner of one of their main competitors.

 Two publishers who compete in one territory can end up working together (one may distribute the others games) in another territory. Because of this it is very important to understand the existing global relationships when doing business within the games industry.

•  The computer and video game industries have grown from focused markets to mainstream.
• Sound cards were developed for addition of digital-quality sound to games and only later improved for music and audiophiles.
• Early on, graphics cards were developed for more colors and later they were developed for  games.
•  Modern games are among the most demanding of applications on PC resources. Many of the high-powered computers are purchased by gamers who want the fastest equipment to power the latest cutting-edge games.

 Game industry value chain

1. Capital and publishing layer: involved in paying for development of new titles and seeking returns through licensing of the titles.
2. Product and talent layer: includes developers, desginers and artists, who may be working under individual contracts or as part of in-house development teams.
3. Production and tools layer: generates content production tools, game development middleware, customizable game engines, and production management tools.
4. Distribution layer:  involved in generating and marketing catalogs of games for retail and online distribution.
5. Hardware layer: or the providers of the underlying platform, which may be console-based, accessed through online media, or accessed through phones. This layer now includes non-hardware platforms such as virtual machines (e.g. Java or Flash), or software platforms such as browsers or even further Facebook, etc.
6. End-users layer: or the users/players of the games.
   
   
   
   
   6. The UK industry
      
   7. The third largest in the world in terms of developer success and sales of hardware.
   8. Fourth largest in terms of people employed.
   9. The country houses many of the world's most successful franchises.
   10. Before the tax relief was introduced there was a fear that the UK games industry could fall behind other leading game industries around the world such as France and Canada.
       
       
   
   
   More info on:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_industry
   
   
   

sexuality paragraph

In the establishing shot the mise en scene shows femininity which also maybe suggests homosexuality. The two girls are wearing big cream and white dresses looking into a mirror covered in grime and dirt, this connotes that her homosexual feelings have to be hidden away and their relationship she is longing for will never be. The colour of the background is dark and dusky showing that it is set in the past when homosexuality was frowned upon. In contrast the male is wearing browns and dark colours which are usually associated with the men, this connotes that he is heterosexual. Throughout the clip the women is recurringly seen wearing a white gloves this is a representation that she has to hide herself almost like a mask because she can't show her sexuality. However, when the dominant heterosexual male removes the glove this is almost like he is undressing her and forcing his sexuality on her. The two women on the bed are both wearing white this could signify purity and that they mean no harm, especially the woman who is awake, it shows she means no harm with what she is doing and her sexuality. The woman on the bed is also wearing a short dress this draws the audiences attention towards her body realising she is a very beautiful woman and the other woman is attracted to her. In contrast with the dusky establishing shot, the cut to the long shot outside is bright and colourful, this suggests that "out in the open" she will have to hide her feelings and her sexuality.