The second part of our assignment is to identify any competition that we could face. I've already written about this briefly, but these are the gaming news sites that I have identified to be my main competition:
Game Informer
I talk about Game Informer a lot, but for good reason. It is one of the most subscribed magazines in America, with a circulation of 7.8 million and 3 million online readers, according to Slate.com. Its staff members are excellent journalists who have a wide range of reporting multimedia knowledge. Since it is primarily a magazine, Game Informer has very well-written articles. Game Informer would most likely be my main competitor in the video game news industry.
In order to compete with Game Informer, I would have to enforce that in order to be a good journalist, one has to know how to write and report. As important as multimedia has become nowadays, it's crucial to know the basics of journalism.
IGN
IGN, or International Gaming News, is right up there with Game Informer. It's an online-only news site that tends take advantage of video features more than written features. While Game Informer would off competition through words, IGN would offer competition through multimedia.
Even though I would place emphasis on writing and reporting, I would require all staff members to have experience working with multi- and social media. It is the only way I will be able to compete with IGN.
Polygon
Polygon takes the best aspects of Game Informers and IGN and puts it into one. There are excellent, well-written features, thoughtful video features and discussions, and a beautiful web layout. Each feature is designed like an online magazine, tempting the reader to read more and more.
There are other gaming news sites like Gamesradar, Joystiq, and GameSpot that offer great video game journalism, but Game Informer, IGN, and Polygon are the most popular and well-made sites.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Actual market research
Now that I've identified different elements of market research, I have to do some actual research for five of them. Here's what I discovered:
1) How many gaming news sites charge for content?
To my surprise, very few gaming news sites charge for paid content. In fact, only found one that did. Companies that would be big competitors such as IGN, Polygon, Gamesradar and Joystiq do not charge readers for content, and, as a result, there are no paywalls. Game Informer, one of the most subscribed magazines in the U.S., charges readers for the actual magazine, but most of the online content is free. Some online content is only available with a subscription, however.
2) The number of mobile gamers in America.
Based on a review by Newzoo, there were over 100 million mobile gamers in America in 2012, a 35 percent increase from 2011.
3) The Average price of mobile games.
For this element, I went to the Apple App store's top 10 paid games. Eight out of 10 titles were priced at $0.99; one is priced at $6.99 and one is priced at $8.99. I searched through the app store some more, and while there seems to be a mix of prices, it was clear that a majority of games are priced at $0.99.
4) Which gender plays mobile games the most?
Based off of the same study by Newzoo, 58 percent of mobile gamers are male in the U.S.
5) The amount of money gaming news sites charge for content.
As I said before, Game Informer is the only gaming news site that I found that charges for content. It costs $20 for a 12-month subscription.
2) The number of mobile gamers in America.
Based on a review by Newzoo, there were over 100 million mobile gamers in America in 2012, a 35 percent increase from 2011.
3) The Average price of mobile games.
For this element, I went to the Apple App store's top 10 paid games. Eight out of 10 titles were priced at $0.99; one is priced at $6.99 and one is priced at $8.99. I searched through the app store some more, and while there seems to be a mix of prices, it was clear that a majority of games are priced at $0.99.
4) Which gender plays mobile games the most?
Based off of the same study by Newzoo, 58 percent of mobile gamers are male in the U.S.
5) The amount of money gaming news sites charge for content.
As I said before, Game Informer is the only gaming news site that I found that charges for content. It costs $20 for a 12-month subscription.
Market Research
With the semester winding down, we are starting to focus more and more on our final projects. Our first assignment is to identify 10 different elements of market research that we would have to conduct.
As a gaming news site that also makes video games for mobile devices, these are the different elements of market research that I would have to conduct:
1) The number of people who read gaming news sites.
2) How many gaming news sites charge for content.
3) The amount of money that gaming news sites charge for their content.
4) The amount of money readers would be willing to charge for gaming news.
5) The average age of readers.
6) The average age of gamers.
7) The average of age of mobile gamers.
8) The average price of mobile games.
9) The number of mobile gamers in the U.S.
10) How much money gamers would be willing to pay for video games.
11) What types of games mobile gamers prefer to play.
12) Which gender plays mobile games the most?
These are the ones that came to me first, but if I think of any more I'll be sure to post them.
As a gaming news site that also makes video games for mobile devices, these are the different elements of market research that I would have to conduct:
1) The number of people who read gaming news sites.
2) How many gaming news sites charge for content.
3) The amount of money that gaming news sites charge for their content.
4) The amount of money readers would be willing to charge for gaming news.
5) The average age of readers.
6) The average age of gamers.
7) The average of age of mobile gamers.
8) The average price of mobile games.
9) The number of mobile gamers in the U.S.
10) How much money gamers would be willing to pay for video games.
11) What types of games mobile gamers prefer to play.
12) Which gender plays mobile games the most?
These are the ones that came to me first, but if I think of any more I'll be sure to post them.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Questions for John Christie
-How did you come up with the idea for the Pine Tree Watchdog? Was it one "ah-ha" moments or was it an idea that developed over time?
-How did you come up with the name?
-When working on a story like The Book on Paul Lepage, how did you even begin to gather information? Where did you start? How did you start your writing process?
-When you first started your career as a journalist, did you ever think you would take on such enormous role?
-What was the hardest part in starting your own news outlet?
-How did you come up with the name?
-When working on a story like The Book on Paul Lepage, how did you even begin to gather information? Where did you start? How did you start your writing process?
-When you first started your career as a journalist, did you ever think you would take on such enormous role?
-What was the hardest part in starting your own news outlet?
My company's vision and mission statement
Vision: The Gamer's Gazette will provide readers with well-written and in-depth reporting on the gaming industry while developing new and ethical ways in which our followers can experience story telling.
Mission: The Gamer's Gazette will keep readers informed about the latest news and trends in the gaming industry through different kinds of multimedia and high-quality and ethical reporting.
The gaming industry is an ever-growing business that shows now signs of slowing down. The Gamer's Gazette believes that it is important to report on this industry as it is a major contributor to popular culture and the entertainment industry as a whole.
Our stories will take advantage of multiple multimedia programs to fully immerse our readers in our stories.
In recent years, video games have proved to be an excellent medium in which stories are told. The Gamer's Gazette believes that it is a journalists duty to tell stories, so the gazette offers video games based off top news stories in addition to journalistic contest.
The games developed by The Gamer's Gazette will be ethical and informative and will be the collaboration of professional game developers and journalists.
Our stories and games will be accessible online through our website. A subscription is required to access all that The Gamer's Gazette has to offer.
Mission: The Gamer's Gazette will keep readers informed about the latest news and trends in the gaming industry through different kinds of multimedia and high-quality and ethical reporting.
The gaming industry is an ever-growing business that shows now signs of slowing down. The Gamer's Gazette believes that it is important to report on this industry as it is a major contributor to popular culture and the entertainment industry as a whole.
Our stories will take advantage of multiple multimedia programs to fully immerse our readers in our stories.
In recent years, video games have proved to be an excellent medium in which stories are told. The Gamer's Gazette believes that it is a journalists duty to tell stories, so the gazette offers video games based off top news stories in addition to journalistic contest.
The games developed by The Gamer's Gazette will be ethical and informative and will be the collaboration of professional game developers and journalists.
Our stories and games will be accessible online through our website. A subscription is required to access all that The Gamer's Gazette has to offer.
Vision and mission: what's the difference?
Part of our homework assignment for Tuesday was to take a look at the Pine Tree Watchdog's website, specifically looking at the news site's vision and mission statement. I didn't know that a company could have both a vision and a mission statement; they just seemed like the same thing to me. But after reading through the Pine Tree Watchdog's I understand the difference between the two, and why it's important for a company to have them.
A vision is defined as an imaginative concept. This means that a company's vision is simply a concept or idea that it strives to meet everyday. In terms of the Pine Tree Watchdog, this means that all staff members strive to "fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American Democracy," while writing and reporting clear articles that don't choose sides. The mission statement essentially says the same thing, but it goes into much greater detail as to what the company believes in and how it delivers content that reflects these beliefs. I think it's important to have both of these because it shows customers what the company strives for and what it believes in.
A vision is defined as an imaginative concept. This means that a company's vision is simply a concept or idea that it strives to meet everyday. In terms of the Pine Tree Watchdog, this means that all staff members strive to "fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American Democracy," while writing and reporting clear articles that don't choose sides. The mission statement essentially says the same thing, but it goes into much greater detail as to what the company believes in and how it delivers content that reflects these beliefs. I think it's important to have both of these because it shows customers what the company strives for and what it believes in.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Revised Powerpoint Pitch
So I'm once again having problems embedding my powerpoint to a post, but I will provide the link. As I said in an early post, I focused on making the slides look cleaner. Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8v40a7CVTtwTTgtX3pDSnlibWc/edit?usp=drive_web
Response to pitch comments
Before we edit and pitch our business ideas, we were asked to look at what our classmates said about we have so far. I was surprised about how everyone supported and liked my idea. As I've posted before, my idea is a video game news outlet that that reports on video game news and actually develops small games based off of big news stories. The idea is a stretch, but I guess a lot of people like it!
As for the strucutre of the pitch, my classmates had a lot of positive feedback to give. Mostly everyone said that the slides were very informative but text-heavy. When I revise my pitch the first thing I'll do take care of that. Now that I'm planning on actually presenting the idea, I'll save the words my actual spoken words. I'll also split up some slides into multiple slides to save space. A few people noted that the template for the pitch is kind of bland. As a video game news company, it would make sense that the presentation is fun and colorful. One response noted that I only talk about the video games at the beginning; I have to make sure that I'm running a news company that makes video games, not the other way around.
The structure of the pitch needs the most attention, but I also need to think about some aspects of the business itself. One person wanted to know how I would make people aware of my company, and another suggested that I change the amount of articles before a paywall is reached.
All in all, the comments were very helpful. I'm really glad that people like my idea, and it looks like the structure of the pitch itself only needs a little tweaking. The only thing I'm dreading is making sure I have enough to say when I talk to the class. Public speaking has never been my thing.
Response to "Inside Forbes" article
One of our reading assignments for Monday was a Forbes article titled "Inside Forbes: Journalists Need to Understand the Ad Business, Not Sulk and Go Home." It's basically just an informative article about the different types of advertising, but I'm the exact type of person that this is aimed at.
We talk about advertisement pretty frequently in our entrepreneurial journalism class, and I tend to zone out or loose track of what we are talking about. I'm a journalist after all, why should I care about this stuff? Just leave it for the business guys.
While I still think there's some truth to how I used to think (I certainly don't plan on managing advertising), the article proved that I need to learn some of the basics. If I don't know at least something about how newspapers make money, I can't contribute to discussions about the industry.
I like how the article related to Terry's discussion last week. The old business models of the industry don't work anymore; we have to find ways to adapt to the digital age.
We talk about advertisement pretty frequently in our entrepreneurial journalism class, and I tend to zone out or loose track of what we are talking about. I'm a journalist after all, why should I care about this stuff? Just leave it for the business guys.
While I still think there's some truth to how I used to think (I certainly don't plan on managing advertising), the article proved that I need to learn some of the basics. If I don't know at least something about how newspapers make money, I can't contribute to discussions about the industry.
I like how the article related to Terry's discussion last week. The old business models of the industry don't work anymore; we have to find ways to adapt to the digital age.
Response to Terry Williams' visit
Terry Williams, the president and Chief Operating Officer of Keene Publishing Corp. came to our class to talk about what we should be do to prepare for our future and the current state of the journalism industry. Terry was my favorite guest speaker for one reason: he was optimistic.
Right when he started he had good news and bad news. The bad news was that ad revenue is extremely low and that there are fewer jobs in the journalism industry. This is far less worse than I thought; we hear about this all the time in journalism classes, so I'm used to it. The good news was that the only way is up. Sixty five percent of publishers are optimistic about the journalism industry, Terry said, and news outlets all over America are figuring out ways to survive and survive well. We did talk about Patch.com's failures for a little bit, but the conversation was mostly about the industry's successes.
Two of the most interesting examples he gave were those that sold extra products in addition to magazines (like cowboy gear) and the newspaper that is completely free. I've never thought about the extra products business plan before. It's kind of like my semester project idea for the video game developing company but at a different level. I might add this to my business plan.
Overall, Terry's visit was positive and inspiring. I've wanted to go into newspapers for a while know because I figured the industry experienced it low points. Based on Terry's presentation, it looks like I was right. The industry had it's low points, but now things are getting back to normal, and I can't wait to see what it looks like in the next few years.
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