Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry

Audience

Look at this YouGov blog on the console gaming audience and answer the following questions:

1) What statistics can you find for the number of male / female players for the major consoles?

PlayStation 5 (68% male; 29% female) and Xbox Series X|S (68% vs. 32%) have the highest proportion of male compared to female gamers.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Switch has the highest proportion of women playing its consoles, with 54% of gamers identifying as male to 46% identifying as female.

2) What is the difference between 'hardcore' and 'casual' gamers - and which do you think would play Horizon Forbidden West?

Looking at how people play on each system shows that, among American gamers, the “hardcore” – those who say they take video games seriously, or play competitively – are a minority, and one with the highest representation on the PS5 (19%) and Xbox Series X|S (20%).

Casual gamers are most common on the Nintendo Switch (45%), and the PC, where half of players identify as casual (51%). The PC is not always a dedicated gaming platform, and has other functions: while some will play graphically demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Destiny, others may be interested in a more relaxing experience on their commute – or in between work projects or chores – such as Solitaire or Stardew Valley.

3) What are the different reasons YouGov researched for why players play games? Which of these would apply to Horizon Forbidden West?

When asked, most gamers across every system say relaxing and winding down is a key motivation for playing video games – but especially for PC (77%) and Switch (78%) gamers compared to Xbox (56%) and PS5 (63%). This group are also more likely to say they play games “to pass the time” or “to escape from reality for a while”. Switch gamers are also especially likely to be creatively motivated: three in ten say they play games to “make a world of their own” (29%), next to a quarter of PC gamers (26%) and a fifth of PS5 (21%) and Xbox gamers (22%).

For their part, PS5 and Xbox gamers are more likely to say they play video games for social purposes: around a quarter of the former (24%) and nearly three in ten of the latter (28%) say they play video games “to interact with gamers from around the world”, next to just 16% of both Switch gamers and PC gamers. 

Escapism would largely apply to Horizon Forbidden West, as well as passing the time and creating a world of their own. 

Look at the PlayStation website page for Horizon Forbidden West. Complete the following tasks: 

1) How is the game promoted to an audience?

- Art depicting the game

- Reviews

- Gameplay trailers

- Game overview + synopsis of story

- In game screenshots

2) What are the key features for the game listed on the site?

- Price

- Release date

- Internet compatibility

- Console it is available on

- PEGI rating

3) What information does the website offer players about the game world and characters? Give a few examples.

- Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as you return to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon.

- The land is dying. Vicious storms and an unstoppable blight ravage the scattered remnants of humanity, while fearsome new machines prowl their borders. Life on Earth is hurtling towards another extinction, and no one knows why.

- It's up to Aloy to uncover the secrets behind these threats and restore order and balance to the world. Along the way, she must reunite with old friends, forge alliances with warring new factions and unravel the legacy of the ancient past – all the while trying to stay one step ahead of a seemingly undefeatable new enemy.

4) What spin-offs and additional content are available as part of the Horizon franchise?  

- Burning shores DLC expansion

- In game outfits for Aloy

- In game weapons for Aloy

- Digital art book

5) Applying Henry Jenkins's work on fandom, what aspects of the website (you may need to scroll down) encourage fan activity and engagement with online Horizon communities?  

- There is a section introducing the characters present in the game which can help audiences to become attached to them leading to them wanting to create and share content relating to their favourite characters.

- Cosplay guide to help fans create the outfits present in the game

- Papercraft guides to help audiences create the robots present in the game - this can be shared online helping to cultivate an audience.

Read this Wired feature on Horizon Forbidden West's open world design. Answer the following questions: 

1) Why did the writer enjoy Horizon Forbidden West?

Once the writer had been immersed in the gameplay through being introduced to it by the initial narrative, they felt they were able to appreciate each aspect of the map.

2) How is Horizon Forbidden West structured for players when they first start the game?

It is the kind of game that stays on its rails for the first five to ten hours, pulling you into the narrative before releasing you to explore. It creates structure and a sense of the goals for gameplay.

3) Why does the writer feel HFW created a more successful open world game than The Witcher 3?

The Witcher 3 is designed to encourage you to explore the open-world map before completing main story quests, even going so far as to punish players for moving on without fully exploring an area of the map, whereas Forbidden West focuses on its narrative and provides structure to what could otherwise be an overwhelming expansive open-world game. 

Industries

Industry research

1) Research Sony PlayStation Studios. 

PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Worldwide Studios in September 2005 and rebranded as PlayStation Studios in 2020 to include the PlayStation brand.

2) What studios are part of Sony PlayStation Studios?

Bend Studio, Bluepoint Games, Firesprite, Guerrilla Games, Haven Studios, Housemarque, Insomniac Games, Media Molecule, Naughty Dog, Nixxes Software, Polyphony Digital, San Diego Studio, Santa Monica Studio, Sucker Punch Productions, Team Asobi, Valkyrie Entertainment, XDev 

3) What notable games have they produced? 

Spider-Man, The Last Of Us, God of War, Uncharted and Horizon. 

4) Now research Guerrilla Games. Look at the 'Explore' page in particular. Who owns Guerrilla Games and how does it reflect the modern videogames industry? 

Guerrilla is one of Europe's leading game companies and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, reflecting how smaller indie companies are typically bought by larger conglomerates in order to take their expertise and experience.

Read this USA Today feature on Guerrilla Games. Answer the following questions: 

1) Which three companies merged to become Guerrilla Games?

Orange Games, Digital Infinity, and Formula Game Development.

2) What other games and franchises were created by Guerrilla Games?

Big Brother: The Game, Studios Hermen Hulst, Lost Boys Games, Killzone, Shellshock: Nam ‘67. 

3) How did Guerrilla maximise the Killzone franchise? 

There was a hype for Killzone before its release, and so over a million copies were sold which then allowed it to get Sony to draw up a first-party contract for Guerrilla Games.

4) What did Sony sign with Guerrilla in 2004? 

A first-party contract with Guerrilla games ensuring that from 2004 onwards, all the titles that they would develop would be only on PlayStation Consoles.

5) How is Horizon Forbidden West described in the article and what is the next stage for the franchise?  

The article suggests that Horizon Forbidden West is a totally different atmosphere. It also suggests that Aloy's journey in the game shows a different, soft side to Guerrilla Games. A new project, which would be VR and partnered with Firesprite called 'Horizon: Call of The Mountain' is in the future for the franchise.

Regulation and PEGI

1) What is HFW's PEGI rating and what age rating do you feel would be appropriate? Why?

Forbidden West is rated PEGI 16 which I believe is a reasonable age rating as the game heavily features non graphic violence and may be harder to play for people who are younger than 16.

2) Why is regulating videogames difficult in the digital age?

Video games are difficult to regulate as the key problem is that gaming platforms demonstrate different standards when it comes to content moderation and are not governed by a clear framework. Many studios have different ratings for similar type of games. It is also easier in the digital age for users under a certain age rating to bypass these regulations and purchase games with content they are not supposed to be exposed to. 

3) Are attitudes towards media content and regulation changing as a result of the internet? Explain your answer.

I believe that attitudes towards the regulation of content have been changing due to the Internet's ability to expose users to types of content they previously may not have had access to, such as children being able to see content from PEGI 18 games. However, it could also be argued that the Internet functioning as a moralising force may pressure video game companies to make sure their content is not offensive or widely inappropriate.