OCR Minecraft Factsheet 

-Minecraft is the second most successful videogame of all time behind Tetris.

-Created and designed by Markus Persson, who developed and published the game through his company Mojang.

-Well over 121 million copies have been sold worldwide over all consoles.

-Minecraft is a sandbox game.

-There are many game modes in Minecraft; including Creative, survival, adventure, spectator and multiplayer minigames.

-The game was released in 2009.

-In 2012 Minecraft was released on the X-box 360.

-In 2014 Minecraft was bought by Microsoft for $2.5Billion.

-Tell-tale released "Minecraft story mode".

-Minecraft has been released on a wide range of consoles.

-PC version of the game is the most up to date and updated game of them all.

-Minecraft is very moddable.

-You can apply texture packs to make your game look different.

-You can have a mod that lets you use VR within the game.

 Different platforms people can play Minecraft on;

PC
Playstation 3+4
Xbox 360+One
Minecraft pocket edition
Nintendo switch
Psvita

People wanting the full experience would play on PC as that is where the most content is.
people who want a simpler experience and just want to have fun with some friends would pick the other options as it is easier to join together on the same server on the consoles + mobile phone.

Different ways people can play Minecraft;

Creative mode - people who just want to build with infinite resources
Survival mode- people who want a challenge and survive with finite resources
Hardcore mode- like survival but you get 1 life
Adventure mode- playing custom maps made by other players
Minecraft story mode
Minecraft servers with minigames within
Minecraft education edition
Minecraft realms

Find an effective video game advert and write about why it is effective. Also, choose an advert for Minecraft and analyse if this is effective too. This needs to be submitted on your blog.

Cyberpunk 2077 Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFH0mpLVMDY

This game advert is effective as it gathers interest in the audiences as it gives a wide glimpse of the world and what it has to offer, gives a brief idea of what the story is going to be like without going too deep into the game, leaving the audiences wanting more which could cause them to go out and purchase the game, or their interest could  get higher as more trailers are released.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition Trailer 2015 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-fMtNOS_gU

This game advert is effective as it is all recorded on a mobile device, which the pocket edition is played on, this gives a realistic expectation for what the game will play like. The advert is also effective as it uses the soundtrack from the actual game as the track for the trailer, which is minimalistic and non-complex with shows what the Minecraft experience is like. The video also changes camera angles multiple times during the duration of the advert showing gameplay and third-person footage immersing the audience into the game.

Marketing, Promotion and Franchising. 

How are video games traditionally marketed and what franchising takes place?

-TV Adverts

-Posters

-Sponsors

-Social Media

-Promotions

Intertextuality- When one type of media makes a reference to another type of media, E.G Simpsons "Couch gags".

The Minecraft Franchise.

-A Lego minecraft set was released on 6th June 2012 which expands its audiences as Lego is a company bigger than minecraft.

-Mojang collaborates with an online merchandise store called Jinx to create minecraft merchandise, such as clothing or toys.

-In March 2013, Mojang signed a deal with Egmont group to create  minecraft books, annuals and magazines.

-In 2019 there is speculated to be a theatrical release of a minecraft movie.

-Minecon is a popular real life convention for the video game, hosted by Mojang. in 2017 Minecon:Earth was released as a live stream of the event broadening the amount of people "attending" the event.

Minecraft - audiences and industry task

Advantages of Minecraft being owned by Microsoft;

-Its hugely profitable purchase for making money by Microsoft, they have already made the $2.5Billion 

they spent on it back from the game alone.

-So there are no other major competitors that can own the game, E.G Sony buys Minecraft.

-It is a fun product which Microsoft wants to own as most of Microsofts products, such as desktop computers and Microsoft office, are not fun products but are a necessity.

Disadvantages of Minecraft being owned by Microsoft;

-Possible Xbox exclusives as Xbox is owned by Microsoft.
-Developers won't have the same love for the game as Mojang as they weren't the ones who created it.
-Microsoft can add microtransactions to the game, splitting the player base.

How Minecraft entertains, Minecraft entrains as it allows people to unleash their creativity, provides an escape from the outside world, everyone can play no matter your age or gender, Minecraft YouTube celebrities  can record themselves and entertain the mass subscribers they have and the game can entertain many demographics as the game is not violent and isn't created for a single audience.

How Minecraft helps people identify with others as you can build structures and maps to suit your interests and people can use the in-game chat to speak to you and make new friendships with similar interests. People can also join communities within the game from a website or a YouTube channel to change their Minecraft to the communities likings.         

How Minecraft educates, Minecraft allows pupils to create circuits and logic gates within a 3D environment and they can properly see their product in a realistic setting. Minecraft can be used in architecture as architects can create models and structures in an easy to use setting where they can edit, plan and construct them in real time.