Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 2 - Industries

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?

The VSC Rating Board is an Administrator of the PEGI age rating system which is used in over 30 countries throughout Europe.  In 2012 the PEGI system was incorporated into UK law and the VSC was appointed as the statutory body responsible for the age rating of video games in the UK using the PEGI system. 

2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage.

- 13938+ Games Rated
- 15141+Apps Rated
- 1702 Number of Member Outlets
- 30 Years in Operation

3) What is the purpose of PEGI?

It gives an age rating for games depending on the content it involves and how appropriate it would be for each age range. 

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

PEGI 3

-Majority of games within this category don't contain anything that requires a rating or warrants a content warning

PEGI 7

-Any game that would normally be rated a 3 but contains some possibly frightening scenes or sounds may be considered suitable in this category

PEGI 12

-More detailed and realistic looking violence towards fantasy characters is allowed. Any violence towards human characters is must look unrealistic. Mild swearing. Sexual posturing.

PEGI 16

-Mature and realistic violence against humans, heavily deal with death and injury. Sexual activity but no visible genitals. Bad language with sexual expletives as well as prominent use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. 

PEGI 18

-Heavily realistic severe violence, graphic with blood and gore. Glamorise use of drugs and descriptions of criminal techniques. Sexual activity with visible genitals.

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

#1 Content Declaration Assessment 

PEGI assessment where the game developer declares in detail what the game contains. Covering elements such as violence, bad language, sex and drug use. After assessment completion the developer is provided with a provisional rating

#2 Submission Materials

The developer provides evidence for their assessment answers which includes video footage and a copy of the game

#3 Video Footage Examination

The video footage is then assessed and analysed to see if there was anything missed or misinterpreted from the questionnaire before examining the game itself

#4 Game Examination

Testing the game itself is to try out things that may not have been shown in the video. For instance investigating the physical effects of different weapons or exploring the ways your character can be harmed

#5 Receiving The PEGI Licence

The ‘Freemium’ gaming model

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

1) How does the freemium model work?

A freemium app is free to download and play but includes in-app purchases where you need to pay in order to unlock certain things.

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

Freemium games like Sims take longer for the game to move on with players having to wait for changes that you chose to happen for a long time if they don't pay for it which means it takes longer to see progress in the game. Some gamers may also find it misleading when freemium games have in-app purchases as they downloaded it being a free game and now they're being asked to make purchases.

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

Some players wouldn't be willing to or don't have the facilities to purchase games so it gives them a chance to still enjoy gaming without having to pay for the game in general as in-app purchases are optional. 

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 $10bn or more in iOS revenue each year.

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

Unless games that you initially pay for to buy and play, having in-app purchases with freemium games makes players constantly make purchases and spend money meaning game developers are able to see a lot of revenue and they're able to therefore put the retained profit towards developing the game(s) even more to better them.

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

- The possibility of addiction by some players can occur, usually without the players knowing of it.

- The possibility of children accidentally purchasing games.

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

1) Why did Temple Run use the freemium model?

It started off as a purchasable game which was available for 99p but as the publishers started seeing a drop in the amount of customers purchasing the game, they made it free to download as they can still generate revenue from in-app purchases.

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

It's become mainstream and has proven its ability to generate significant amounts of revenue.

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

Because audience are more likely to download a game for free from independent gamers as they wouldn't trust them without knowing much about their games in order to purchase it unlike publishers such as EA.

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?

The game has developed over time offering their players a lot more options to choose from and different versions of the game for players to choose which one suits them best.

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

"Games aren’t products anymore, they’re services built in a partnership with our players. This means that functions like customer support and community management are a critical part of the game development process and must be embedded with our game teams so we not only know what our players are saying about the newest update, but we also can quickly respond to any problems that arise."

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

One of the most rewarding parts of working on this game is that our community is very active and always hungry to see more features and content in the game. We’ve not had to do much more than listen and build to keep the players engaged.

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

When we find systems that are particularly exciting to our players, we focus our efforts to build that section out a little more. There are so many more ways that each of our players have unique needs and requests when it comes to playing The Sims FreePlay, so it’s super important that we’re always finding ways to reach all of these individuals by varying the content and features we focus on.

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.

There have been over 200 million installs of The Sims Freeplay and the amount of game time in years players have spent in the game is 78,000.

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, personal identity and relationships.

2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?

- 'The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff'

- 'The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs'

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

4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?

- Range of different ages (generations)

- Increased diversity is clear in the game

- Increase in gender options

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

I believe it exploits loyal audience as they don't benefit from it, rather the producers that benefit from it.