I had a bit of a "revelation" when it came to thinking of a question to look at for this project.
Because there is no set question for this module i found it hard to think of an idea. I felt quite lost. My group had a one to one with Kim and it was then i told her about my struggle. I told her some of my ideas that had sparked up but that i wasn't sure as to what i would talk about exactly. I mentioned talking about something to do with trans-media with Pixar. She said that there was some sort of manipulation of children where they get them to buy all these toys related to the films and franchise, games included. I though that this was a potentially interesting topic. I decided to let it simmer in my head thinking about what i could talk about.
The next day i went out shopping and i was in Game, looking at games and comparing prices as i always do. I saw that the game Dishonored was now £29.99. It was cheaper than it was before but i decided not to buy it, until i saw that there was a Dishonored Special Edition that included an Arcane Assassin pack for in-game play and a Tarot/Card Deck set for the exact same price! So i decided to buy it. As i was queuing up to pay for it, i looked over and saw the game Spyro : Skylanders, which is made by Activision. The way that Spyro : Skylanders works is that the characters you choose to play in game are actually physical figurines. When you buy the game you also get a starter set of characters and a platform. You have a wireless platform that you link up to the console and when you want to choose your character or change characters you take the figure of the character, place it on the platform and your character appears on screen. You don't need all the characters to complete the game, but for the hardcore gamer who likes fully completing games, there are so many of them (32 in fact) that in order to fully complete the game and acquire all the characters it would cost you in the £200 region as the figures range from £8-£18. I saw this and i thought to myself "Hey, that's a type of manipulation isn't it? that would fit into my project nicely!" But then, i looked down and saw what i was buying and i saw that i was a sucker as well, i had been manipulated at that very moment in time to buy this game because of the extras! I looked around the shop and saw all these toys, tee shirts and accessories and i thought to myself, "Oh God, it's everywhere! We are all being manipulated! Whether you're a child or an adult, you're being manipulated to a certain extent."
The questions im going to look at for this are: are we more likely to buy something because of its extra content and if so, why is that? Are Activision exposing and manipulating children in Skylanders? Is this all just clever marketing? And are the cross over of physical and digital going to become bigger in the future?
I am only focusing on the mechanic of the platform and statues in Skylanders. Not the game as a whole.
i went ahead and decided to see what game reviewers and columnists had to say about Skylanders. The first article is on The Escapist Magazine website. Skylanders: Contempt yet Evil by Invadergrey. He talked about the game as a whole and then expressed his opinion on the cost of everything. He said he enjoyed the game but the price of everything makes him dislike the game as a whole.
He talked about the total running cost of the game, buying all the statues and then said:
"This is a transparent and disgusting exploitation of the children of those with disposable income ..... The promotions encourage collection of as many different Skylanders as possible, a certain in-game collectible gives you previews of other Skylanders, and all of the boss fights include brawls with other Skylanders, showcasing their abilities. Skylanders is nothing more than a marketing ploy, which is a shame because balance issues aside, it's not a bad game at all."
"I guess you could say the system beat me. It's mainly because I remember a time when I did something like that with a game called Pokemon, only back then, all you had to do was buy two versions of the same game."
I then read another article from the Official Nintendo Magazine website. The Hidden Costs Of Skylanders by Chris Scullion. He primarily talked about the cost of the game as opposed talking about the game as a whole in-depth.
"it may encourage other publishers to go down the same route. Imagine a Pokémon game where instead of catching them all, you had to spend a couple of quid on a toy to unlock them? Would you want all 500+ then?"
"I'm fine with that if the bonus level is an additional extra over and above the full game. But blocking out the ability to see every area in the main adventure until you buy at least another five figures, and then asking you to buy another 24 figures to 100% it? Shameful, in my opinion."
A more balanced article aimed at parents is from the Hub Pages website. Skylanders review for parents : the good and the bad by abizzy, who weighed up the good and bad aspects of the game as a whole.
"I understand that parents have been asked to fork out for various collectibles over the years but I feel that the inability to continue a game for any length of time with the original characters is pushing it too far.....However , I cannot help having a begrudging respect for the creators of the game and an envy of the profits the company must be making!"
"Good : an absorbing and enjoyable video game with the added attraction of tangible, collectible figures.
Bad : the necessity to add to the expense incurred is instant and ongoing"
I decided to conduct my own investigation into the thoughts of this mechanic by interviewing gamers, non gamers and parents - i wanted a fair view on people who would be buying them for children people who knew a lot bout games and those who didn't. I showed them all three videos; the official Skylanders trailer, a video demonstrating the mechanic of the platform and statues, and a video by IGN talking about the total cost of the game. I then asked them a few questions after.
I showed them the first two videos first and this is what they had to say:
non-gamers: "It's clever, cool and you get a toy as well as a game"
"Better to play with figures and expand imagination"
"It's social, able to take the figures with you to your friends house"
gamers:" It's a good mechanic and seems to have good replay ability. It's different"
"It has a novelty approach to gaming"
"It has an increased market ability as its appealing to collectors and to people who like figurines/statues."
parent: "If i were a child id like it"
"The platform portal thing is amazing! It's really clever!"
This is what they said after seeing the third video:
non-gamers: "Ridiculous money"
"Rip off - you have already payed for the game and you have to keep buying add-ons"
"It's a good way to make money"
gamers: "They are making a DLC into a physical thing"
"It must be expensive, if its for kids the price of things always bump up"
parent: "It is unforgivable and wrong the prices they charge"
"Puts you off the game"
"I feel blackmailed"
Here are some of the questions i then went on to ask them:
"Do you think this game is successful? and why"
non-gamers: "No, it's too expencive!"
gamers: "Yes, It's easily accessible and seems to have a high replay ability"
parents: "I guess i would buy it for my child because it would make them happy but no i don't think so. It's expensive!"
- only the gamers said yes but Skylanders is actually a sell out in America and is so successful that they are bringing out a sequel Skylanders: Giants.
"Is this manipulating children? and why"
non-gamers: "No - I don't know, because parents are the ones who have to buy it"
gamers: "Yeah but only by the same amount as other game/toy companies. They are marrying two things together, physical collectibles with digital gaming. It's clever marketing."
parents: "Yes, there's so many of them and they encourage children to collect"
- i dont think the non-gamers really understood the question, but the others seemed to and said yes.
"Do you think there will be more physical and digital cross overs in the future?"
non-gamers: "Yes"
gamers: "Yes"
parents: "Yes, i like the idea of a physical and digital crossover."
-every one said yes, they like the idea of this cross over
"Are you more likely to buy a game that has something physical with it?"
non-gamers: "Yes, feels like you get more for your money"
gamers: "Yes, "Because you feel like you're getting extra and its a physical thing; Its a mentality. Children like to have something to physically touch and play with too"
parents: "Yes, it anchors the digital game to the real world."
-they all said yes and said similar things about having something for yourself that's physical.
So to conclude, going back to my questions:
are we more likely to buy something because of its extra content and if so, why is that?
Everyone that i asked this question to said yes. They said it grounds the game to the real world; makes it more real and believable.
Are Activision exposing and manipulating children in Skylanders? Or Is this all just clever marketing?
There is manipulation used here as they make characters that you have to buy an integral part of the game. But what really is the problem is the pricing of the statues - less people would complain if the price was lower. All in all, Activision have successfully made themselves a lot of money.
And are the cross over of physical and digital going to become bigger in the future?
Yes. People like things to be more real and to be grounded to the real world. The mechanic of Skylanders is very clever and a step forward in this cross over.
So, with Activision and Skylanders setting the bar, setting an example with the money to be made and the level of manipulation used, will we be subjected to similar levels of manipulation and be made for cash out on over priced items?
