Video Games : Call of Duty

Call of Duty 

Ownership 

• Published and owned by Activision 

Franchising 

Activision also franchises the Call Of Duty brand to a number of different companies. Merchandise includes action figures, comic books and card games.

Marketing and distribution 

• Focus on billboards rather than digital platforms 
• Billboards make fans feel more physically connected and involved in the ground with the CoD community, in relation to the game being set in WW2
• Global marketing plans 
• Unique codes on 5 different billboards around the world allowing for exclusive content to be unlocked online
• Above-the-line advertising of billboards, trailers 
• Website with option to buy new Black Ops game with trailer embedded and drop-down menu for different incarnations of the game. 'Community' second on website, allowing users to discus games on forums; links in to uses and gratifications theory. 
• Combination of traditional-digital advertising, QR code from billboard 

Audience and regulation 

What does PEGI do?

Regulator of video games and apps within Europe. They provide the minimum age ratings on games in order to allow individuals to make an informed decision when purchasing through the use of age ratings and content descriptions 

What does PEGI stand for?

Pan European Games Information 

What are the different PEGI ratings?

Name a problem with the current PEGI ratings in relation to violence

Violence is generally subjective and therefore hard to classify. Desensitisation of society means rating will change.

Which theory can be applied to this article?

The Hypodermic Needle theory tells us that audiences are generally passive and absorb messages from the media. As audiences may be unable to reject media messages, they can be negatively influenced. This could be an increase in aggressive behaviour and lack of sensitivity. 

- Desensitisation 

- Moral panic

The uses and gratifications theory focuses on the potential reasons as to why individuals consume media. This theory links into article we studied about the relation between video games and violence. One reason individuals consume media would be for information / self education. Children, especially those at an impressionable age, will be passively learning from these video games. Young children using video games as a form of self education is likely to increase aggressive and violent behaviour, as they will have seen on screen. Despite video games having age ratings, these are not foolproof as they can still, in theory, easily be consumed by those younger than the limit. According to the uses and gratifications theory, individuals will also consume media as an insight into personal identity. Individuals may use violent videos games, such as CoD, as models of behaviour. Consuming media for the reason of reenforcing their personal values and finding models of behaviour can lead to negative influences. Consumers may copy behaviour as seen in video games, for example becoming physically violent.

Verisimilitude - how realistic media is 

Gameplay

• Legal/ethical issues 

Usage and glamorisation of weapons, stereotyping, casual use of violence, real life serious historical events turned into entertainment in the form of a video game - insensitive?
Player starts to associate violence with achievement ?
Promotion of political unrest (in relation to war)?

• Micro features (camerawork, mise-en-scene, sound) in relation to the creation of verisimilitude

Distortion of sound in relation to on scene play. Sound is muffled when underwater. Human voices.
POV camera

• Societal effects of first person POV shooter games

Desensitisation of society due to constant use of violent video games, violence becomes viewed as casual.