Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 2 - Industries

 Regulation – PEGI


Research the following using the PEGI website.

1) What is the VSC and how does it link to UK law?.

VSC links to the law due to the The Video Recordings Act in 1984 where it is illegal to supply PEGI 12, 16 or 18 games to those underaged in the UK.

2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage.
VSC established in 1989,used in over 30 countries across Europe,over 1000 games rated

3) What is the purpose of PEGI?

PEGI informs consumers about the content of a game before they purchase it in order to protect them from unsuitable content.

4) Click on the PEGI Rating tab in the top menu. What are the age ratings and what do they include?

3, 7, 12, 16 and 18. 

5) Scroll down to look at the ‘How games are examined’ infographic. What is the PEGI process for rating a game?

ratings are based on expert advice and public consultation

The ‘Freemium’ gaming model

Read this Lifewire feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) How does the freemium model work?
an app that you can download for free but that includes in-app purchases to produce revenue.

2) Why do some gamers believe freemium is ruining games?

Players become frustrated when it seems like the developers of these games are trying to nickel-and-dime them to death. 

3) What are the positives of the freemium model for gaming?

players can alternatively earn the premium content by working through the game and building up the in-game currency

Now read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.

“freemium” games and their in-app purchases account for about 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year.

2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?

Developers are then incentivized to put that stream of revenue directly back into the game to improve it.

3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?


Read this New York Times feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Temple Run use the freemium model?

 going freemium can, in the end, lead to bigger profits for the game makers.

2) The bigger gaming studios like Electronic Arts used to avoid the freemium model. Why are they now embracing it?
the freemium model has become very profitable

3) Why does Peter Farago suggest independent game makers benefit more from the freemium model than the major publishers like EA?

They do not have to pay conglomerates and workers, they can keep the money to themselves.

Electronic Arts

Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:

1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?

We started out with a game where you could control 16 Sims, have a pet dog and a career and that was most of the game.

We never thought that hundreds of millions of people would have played and continue to play five years later.AMANDA SCHOFIELD
We hadn’t yet introduced getting married, much less having children, and now it’s this rich world which covers every aspect of the Sims’ lives.

2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?

she says they’re services built in a partnership with our players.

3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?

the community is active

4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?

they listen to customer feedback

5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? These could be great introductory statistics in an exam essay on this topic.

200 million installs of The Sims FreePlay 78,000, which is the amount of game time in years our players have spent in the game

Finally, read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:

1) What audience pleasures for The Sims are discussed at the beginning of the blog?

diversion- escape from the real world and entertainment from controlling characters

2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?

expansion packs

3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?

DLC is simply new content for a game that is purchased or downloaded for free as a separate add-on.
 
4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?

pets: cats and dogs

5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?

it is responding to customer demands but also exploiting loyal customers as they are constantly paying money for the expansion packs when they could've been free

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