Why and how has Minecraft been a commercial and critical success?
Since Minecraft was
developed by Mojang in 2009, there has been many developments and updates to
keep players interested even though some updates may be very minor. Minecraft
is a block by block game which gives players the opportunity to create their
own world and to explore others which people have formed.
The highly admired game
gains some popularity from the fact that since 2012 it has been available to
play on several different consoles such as Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. This gives
the game a better reputation because if people do not have a certain games
console they can still play as it is available on a variety of different ones.
Also, only one year later the game expanded to an educational game for new
players and for schools etc. to help children learn whilst also having fun.
Another reason for the
success of this game is that the majority of the audience is children. Due to
children being in love with this game and playing it every day, the name
‘Minecraft’ has become a household name across the globe. This means that word
of mouth between parents/carers and children gets the game played much more
which then gets spread even more and so on. Going back to the educational
version, this also would get the game much more success because parents/carers
would much rather their children to play something which would educate them and
benefit them rather than violent bloody games.
The genre of the game is
Sandbox, due to this it has infinite replayability which means it can never be
completed and you can play for as long as you want with it staying how you
like. This is good and attracts more people because players will never have to
end the game and can play until whenever they want to be it 2 weeks or 2 years.
Not many games have this feature which then makes it unique and appealing to a
wider audience who are used to stopping games when it tells them to stop.
Minecraft is a platform
agnostic game which means that it can be played through pretty much every
platform e.g. PC, Xbox, PlayStation, iPhones, Android. This is very useful to
many people as they can play on the go or play at their friend’s house even if
they have a different console. Another format is in print, now you cannot play
the game like this but they have books which can highly assist the players of
the game as they sell handbooks with tips and tricks in alongside magazines
which contain updates on the game, more tips, tutorials and many puzzles. This
is so successful because it means that the players don’t always have to be
staring at a screen and can use reading as a more educational and old-fashioned
way of playing their favourite game.
One more reason as to why it
is a success is because it brings people together. For example, it means that
players can socialise without actually leaving their bedroom. There are videos
on YouTube for people to watch and comment on meaning they are interacting with
other players in a safe and fun way. There is a strong social community of Minecraft
players on social media platforms where they can share their favourite tips and
tricks for various goals which then are shared between people who may need
them.
The final reason why
Minecraft is the second most popular video game created in history is because
it fulfils people when they are enabled to bring order to a world full of chaos
and mayhem. They can change and organise the world in whatever way they would
like to which means it can be as messy, as organised, as colourful as they want
it to be. It gives people the opportunity to make a world completely unique
from all others which enables freedom and power over everything in their world.
Players are also allowed to make their avatar look however they want from
regular people to mermaids again giving them a huge sense of freedom and
individuality. This makes it a very popular game among the video game community
as very few games allow this.
BBC Task
Task: Have a look at the range of BBC programmes today – Look at Radio 1 through to Radio 6 and one column for local stations
•Which programmes are most clearly fulfilling their PSB remit?
•What range of programmes are offered?
•Which audiences are being targeted?
| Fulfilling PSB remit: | ||||
Breakfast show, news, story telling, charts, dance anthems.
|
The target audiences are young people and the older people commuting to work.
|
|||
Includes information, entertainment. No education.
|
Breakfast show, news, chats, jazz music, charts.
|
The targets are older people (20s-30s).
|
||
Includes information, entertainment. No education.
|
Core proposition of classical music, speech-based programming for education, Jazz, world music, drama, the arts and ideas and religious programming.
|
Listeners of any age trying to expand their cultural horizons through engaging with the world of music and the arts.
|
||
Includes information, entertainment. No education.
|
A mixed speech service, offering in-depth news and current affairs and a wide range of other speech including drama, readings, comedy, factual and magazine programmes.
|
All listeners seeking intelligent programmes in many genres.
|
||
Includes information and entertainment. No education.
|
Breaking news, news and sports coverage through broad analysis and discussion.
|
News and sports fans of all ages and all ethnic backgrounds and areas across the UK.
|
||
Includes entertainment.
|
They juxtapose current releases - BBC Sound Archive and the alternative spirit of music from 1960s to the present day.
|
Mainly the older generation who lived through these times of music.
|
BBC Radio 1 Playlists
Breakfast Show
|
Radio 1
|
I Miss You – Clean Bandit
|
The Sound – The 1975
|
Barking - Ramz
|
God’s Plan – Drake
|
Firework – Katy Perry
|
Real Life – Duke Dumont & Gorgon City
|
17 - MK
|
Rockstar – Post Malone
|
No Words - Dave
|
Waves – Mr. Probz
|
Stay – Zedd & Alessia Cara
|
Feel It Still – Portugal. The Man
|
Ciao Adios – Anne-Marie
|
Rain – The Script
|
Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
|
Let Me Go – Hailee Steinfield
|
Into You – Ariana Grande
|
Black Beatles – Rae Sremmurd
|
River - Eminem
|
Take Me To Church - Hozier
|
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