Revision: Assassins Creed III: Liberation

 Assassins Creed III: Revision



  • Part of the Assassins Creed franchise
  • Spin off from Assassins Creed III
    • Highly popular - big presold audience
  • Ubisoft is the publisher of the video game
    • Large global company - very powerful
    • Many successful video games made in the past
    • Lots of resources, knowledge and staff as well as money
    • Being a global company helps with distributing the company globally
      • Lots of money to spend on marketing
  • TV promo featured gameplay footage
    • Essential for video game as people want to see what the game will look like being played
    • Lots of filmic sections which appealed to audiences who like big budget, triple A rated games
  • Variety of posters
    • Lots of similarities/intertextual references to other Assassins Creed games
    • Similar outfits, styles and poses
    • Pre-sold fans will recognise the posters as being a part of the franchise, drawing them in
  • Released exclusively on the PS Vita
    • The handheld console which was new at the time, so working with Sony was a ploy in attempt to increase sales of the console
    • Both increased demand of the other product
  • Handheld consoles have been growing in popularity
    • Large industry
    • Working with Sony and the PS Vita meant users were taking a step forward in technology
  • Had a female playable character - Avaline
    • This was unusual
    • She was also mixed race
    • Women in games (especially ethnic minority women) are often under-represented, if represented at all
      • Sometimes they are represented very stereotypically and play the “damsel in distress” character
    • She is very strong and dominant, as well as the main killer
      • Appeals as a USP to the audience at the time
      • Especially to female gamers who were making up a large percentage of the market
  • Ubisoft want to maximise their profit
    • Hesmondhalgh, Curran and Seaton
    • Did lots of marketing, but used every opportunity to try and make more money from the game
      • Remastered Assassins Creed III in HD, which meant dedicated fans would re-buy the game
      • Utilising new technology
  • Gaming conventions are a huge part of marketing
    • Comicon had huge participation from Assassins Creed III
    • Had an Assassins Creed III obstacle course where you can take part in the obstacles as if they were a real assassin
      • People may film this and it will end up on social media, creating more advertising
  • Lack of regulation
    • Hard to regulate digitally
    • Easier for underage players to access the game
  • Fear of young players becoming violent like the characters in the video games
    • Should parents be taking more responsibility for what their children are playing?
  • There has been a number of incidences where people have blamed video games as a result of their violent actions
    • In a film, you watch someone commit the crime
    • In a video game, you commit the crime yourself
      • Is the immersive nature of games challenging for young audiences to see what is real and what is not?
  • VSC - Video Standards Council rated Assassins Creed III a PEGI 18
    • The violence was unjustified - kill for the sake of killing, rather than for a specific purpose
  • Social interaction
    • PS Vita had online capabilities, allowing the audience to play more regularly with their friends
  • Based around slavery
    • Attracts an audience with historical interest, or a more educated audience
  • Variety of downloadable content
    • If you bought Assassins Creed III and Assassins Creed III: Liberation, you could download extra content which shows Ubisoft are really trying to get as much money as they can















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