Assassins Creed III - Liberation

Production

• coding
• testing - to check it actually works
• alpha and beta builds - things which are not quite finished
• open beta test - an almost finished version to be played by the public to test the game works

Post-production

• patching and maintenance - allows it to be released earlier

Marketing and promotion

• Electronics Entertainment Expo
• a way to sell games to publishers
• Indie game development and marketing
• AAA - informal classification for high budget video games
• Unreal and Unity are industry standard
• Comiket - comic market in Japan

Assassins Creed III - Liberation

• published by Ubisoft in 2012 for the PlayStation Vita, with a subsequent HD re-release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• PlayStation Vita is a sequel to the PlayStation portable
• use of lexis "true HD audience"

How does the trailer to the re-release of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation appeal to both mass and niche audiences?

• mainstream
• a clear and easy way to understand narrative based on the actions of a single character
• female black lead character may appeal to new audiences
• released on a range of different consoles allowing for minimising risk and maximising profit
• lack of gameplay footage focuses on more attractive elements
• historical setting provides a rich and exciting
• niche
• iconography and recurring themes of the franchise, including a serious tone
• playing as an assassin
• elements of violence and stealth