Animal Crossing: Industries, Audiences and Contexts

Question 1

Economic Context: The Video Game Industry

Answer 1

• Video games began to develop in 1962
• Nintendo produced Donkey Kong in 1982
• Japanese companies began to grow more popular specifically ones like Nintendo
• Nintendo was successful with Mario in the 1980s on the NES platform and was the most popular video game for over 30 years
• The most successful hand-held console ever was the GameBoy ( produced by Nintendo )
• Nintendo’s Wii sports outsold Mario to become the most popular game
• Most video games produced at the time Animal Crossing was first person shooters meaning the games success was an anomaly

Question 2

Economic Context: Platforms

Answer 2

• Consoles = dedicated gaming devices used specifically for gaming
• Cloud Gaming = use remote servers to process and stream games to players devices
• The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid between a console and a handheld console ( Was the first of its kind)
• The PS2 was the most popular console ever sold
• Some games can be exclusive to specific platforms
• Consoles are normally released closer to Christmas and Animal Crossing was released before lockdown ( March) which increased sales due to timing

Question 3

Economic Context: Developers

Answer 3

• Video game developers design and create new games
• Quality Assurance= Tests the games and reports bugs or problems

Question 4

Economic Context: Publishers

Answer 4

• A video game publisher is responsible for overseeing the distribution, marketing and overall commercialization of a video game
• Distribution= publishers handle the logistics of getting the game into hands of consumers
• Provide financial support and budgets/ costs for the development
• Manages over copyright rules
• Nintendo are both the developers and publishers of this game ( vertical integration)
• Localization = northern and southern hemispheres so different seasons reflected in gameplay

Question 5

Economic Context: Video Game Genres

Answer 5

• Strategy = Puzzle games e.g. Candy Crush
• Can have combined genres e.g. Role-play + Shooter
• Massively Multiplayer Online ( MMO) = Online with lots of people at the same time
• Animal Crossing comes under the genres of open world, sandbox, online, roleplay and simulation/ adventure