Here below is what the examiner has reported back from the results of the 2011 paper on instituions and audiences for the Video Games industry. Please read to have an idea of what is expected!
Video Games Industry
The best answers tended to come from candidates who had been well-prepared with detailed,contemporary case studies and were able to select relevant material from these to respond to the question. Many candidates were able to build their own experiences as consumers into their responses and were able to contextualise these through wider understanding of the relationships between producers and audiences.
The best responses came from candidates who appeared to have studied the area from an institutional perspective and recognised the role of big corporations and franchises in discussion of the marketing of games. Some candidates did very well in this area focussing on Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto 4), discussing distribution, marketing and exchange across platforms. Candidates were able to discuss the franchise and were able to discuss the importance of synergy and technological convergence with relevance to the question. Weaker responses tended to just describe the games with limited analysis of distribution and marketing in relation to the game targeting specific audience.
