Target audience and actual profile of Minecraft players NB based on 2 surveys - some other surveys report different profiles.

1. What percentage of 8-15
year olds play videogames
in the UK?
Audiences
Lesson 6

2. Audiences
• US 92% of 2-17 year olds play video games
• UK 99% 8-15 year olds play videogames
(NPD)

3. Segmentation
Each genre of games tends to appeal to a different audience group:
people who play ‘Nintendogs’ rarely play ‘Halo.’
Games are designed and marketed to appeal to different types of
people.
Producers 'segment' the audience into different groups, and aim
their product at one segment. This is their target market.

4. How are gamers (audiences)
segmented?

5. Gamers
• Gender
• Age
• Communities
• Fans
• ‘Prosumers’
• Socio-economic status
• physiographics

6. WHY do people play the game?
Uses and Gratifications Theory
(Blumler & Katz)
Entertainment and diversion – taking you away from your own problems and your own
world for a while – escapism, to give you some excitement and drama in your life, to stop you being
bored
Surveillance and information – finding out about new things and places, helping you to
get knowledge about the real or virtual / game world and how it works, learning a new skill to use in
the real or game world.
Personal identity – comparing yourself to characters in the game, trying out other identities
(particularly powerful, strong or intelligent identities).
Personal companionship– getting involved with the characters as if they are real, wanting
to find out what happens in their lives; to work as part of a group, either in real life (e.g.playing a Wii
sports game together), or online; having something to talk about with other people: shared interests,
and feeling like part of a group.

7. What 'need' is being fulfilled here?
Example: 'Second Life' fulfils the need for personal
identity, allowing players to develop an avatar that
may be quite different from their actual personality
and looks; it may fulfil the need for entertainment,
escaping from the player's own real life into another
world; it may also fulfil the need for companionship,
both through the 'virtual' friends and partners
within the world of the game, and by belonging to a
community of second-lifers, participating in chat
rooms etc.

8. Watch the Minecraft advert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rhYLe4Q-IU
Which of the Uses and Gratifications does
the trailer suggest the game will offer?
Entertainment?
Information?
Identity?
Companionship?

9. Watch 3 more video games adverts
(choose different genres)
Which of the Uses and Gratifications does
the trailer suggest the game will offer?
Entertainment?
Information?
Identity?
Companionship?

10. Psychographics
Psychographics is less about facts such as your age, and more about attitudes and
values. The audience can be divided up into categories like:
Survivors: who like security and routine, who like to overcome challenges to stay
safe.
Social climbers: who like material wealth and status symbols, who like to be the
best at everything.
Care givers: who believe in ‘caring and sharing,’ working together, looking after
things and people.
Explorers: who are interested in personal growth, education, and social change,
who might want to change the word for the better, or experience life from a
different perspective.

11. Niche forums that feedback to
producers

12. Players, Producers, audiences,
prosumers
play/consumer
interact
produce
The audiences for video games blur the line
between audiences and producers.

13. https://www.quora.
com/What-are-the-
demographics-of-
Minecraft-players
Target audience Minecraft

14. -Who are the Minecraft gamers? (target
audience profile)
Age, gender, status, psychographics
- Why do they play? Uses & Gratification
- How often do they play? Are they ‘casual’
or ‘serious’ gamers?

15. Audiences - summary
How do audiences or video games differ from
audiences for films etc?
Explain these terms:
segmentation
target audience
demographic profiling
psychographic profiling
Uses and Gratifications
RESUMÉ

16. A Minecraft Player:
• spends 5-9 hours per week playing the game.
(casual gamer)
• plays Single Player Survival
• enjoys building or exploring above other
potential activities
• is between 17-23 (older than you expect!)
• is male (94%)
• and uses a Desktop

17. A Minecraft Player:
• Creates (doesn’t destruct)
• Shares/Social (prosumer)
• Is part of a community