Audience Profile

As far as video game developers and their receiving audience go, games can be split into further categories outside of their PEGI classification and content warnings. One of the most important things to consider is the mentality of the audience you’re aiming it at, for example a mindlessly gory and violent game could be mentally disturbing for a young child, and oppositely a trigger-happy adult may not enjoy playing a game involving the grooming of farm animals. Along with this is the consideration of other receivers around the player. For most children, the enticement of an 18 certification game means that they hold rebellion over their parent and the publishers of the game by defying the age restrictions and playing the game, and some parents are more than happy to buy it for their children. Whereas others may not be so happy to comply and feel that attempting to attract and entice this audience is completely incorrect.

Based on the content warning and age restrictions present on my video game box cover, my audience demographic factors will be:

· AGE: Judging from the extreme violence and mature content, the game will no doubt serve an 18 rating, meaning that only peoples over the age of 18 may buy it. But statistics show that more often than not, those age-legal people are just buying the restricted title for their child who could not purchase it themselves. This does make a mockery of the entire certification process, but no doubt enhances sales. Preferably the age range for my game would be from 18-40, but as I cannot stop sales to parents for their children, the demographic average may be lower than expected. According to a survey conducted by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) in 2008, the average age of gamers is calculated to be 35.

· GENDER: As my protagonists are both male and female, the game will not deter either one of the genders. However the content may discourage some females meaning that a higher proportion of males will buy it, but it is known now that the ratio of gaming genders is 60/40 to males/females.

· SEXUALITY: There is no nudity or sexual content within the game, however the female character will be dressed in complimentary clothing with the male imagine in mind. Strong masculine personalities will be swayed more onto hardcore game genres, such as shooters and fighting titles, and ideological feminine sexualities will prefer genres such as family/children’s entertainment or adventure

· LOCATION: The game will be set in a tradition urban city, and therefore will be recognisable to all major audiences. In terms of the buying audience, a game aimed at ideological for American and English games is the most preferable as these are where the highest majority of video game sales happen, whereas in Australia a lot of games with strong content are banned.

· OCCUPATION: Both protagonists will be of a young adult age, ranging between 25-30, which will no doubt be reflected in the audience demographic. This places the player within a age where a job would normally be expected, as well as a home and a mortgage. This means a lowered chance of frequent playing hours and hardly any time spent online. The other half of my audience will be students or unemployed, so long hours of game time as well as online interaction will take place.