REVISION: Spec broken down part 1

This is the spec I will be going through all this in a PPT as a last minute reminder but I will post it up here as I do it to help you. First of here's a reminder of everything that the exam board wants us to know:

Candidates should be prepared to understand and discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions, as well as the nature of audience consumption and the relationships between audiences and institutions. In addition, candidates should be familiar with:

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions;

The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

Firstly, behind the cut I will be focusing on the elements of production, marketing, distribution and exchange. Remember: These are just prompts, if you don't have the notes to answer questions asked then you need to do some reading.

Production – Who created the game? (R*, Minecraft, Skylanders) Are there any other companies involved or are they independent? How was the game financed? Who developed the game? Who published the game? What genre is the game? How much did the game cost to make? What is the target audience?

Marketing – How are games marketed? Go through how GTA 4 and 5 have been marketed in a completely different way to Minecraft … or Skylanders Giants .... Or Farmville 2 – how are each of these marketed?

Distribution – How are the games distributed? Go through current trends of Distribution including different business models:
Boxed copy in stores
Boxed copy bought online
Bought digitally online
Downloadable Content (Digital) for both boxed copies of the game as well as digital games – extension strategies as well as responses to feedback
eg. Minecraft sold only through minecraft.net – and released as an Alpha and then Beta version (unfinished product) which meant the game was constantly being updated by the developers (Notch and the Mojang gang!)
Do you know the pros and cons of Digital Distribution? Read some of our essays if you don’t!