Convergence

1. Convergence
Media institutions in the 21st century
produce and distribute their
products across several media
platforms: e.g. The Guardian has a
paper edition, an online
edition, podcasts and an iPhone /
Android app.
In regards to our industry, the
three main platform holders
Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are
examples of convergence

2. Convergence
 Another example would be Warner Brothers making Harry Potter
the film and then releasing Harry Potter the video game.
 When this happens it is called cross-media convergence.
 With video-game convergence, it has become part of the synergy
of marketing for many children’s films that a tie-in game is
released in the run up to the cinema release – compared to many
other games they are usually rushed and use the IP (Intellectual
Property) of the film and combine it with an existing game
engine.
 Synergy: Using more than section of the media to aid the
promotion and sale of a product
 There are few critically acclaimed movie tie-in games. The classic
examples many gamers my age mention is Goldeneye on the N64
– However, this came out two years after the Bond film! It shows
that sometimes it is good to wait!
 Sometimes it can happen the other way round: Films that
are adapted from videogames – to varied success!

3. Technological
Convergence
When technologies come together to
perform more than one function e.g:
a mobile phone taking photos and videos
Internet TV
In the early 90s, when I was recalling my
NES and SNES adventures last lesson, they
could only do 1 function – Can you note
down all the functions that the most recent
computer consoles can do?

4. Why audiences are
important
 Shops and businesses are accountable
to their customers – if they don’t give
them what they want, they won’t buy
products and make any money
 Audiences are exactly the same – they
control the flow of money
 Audiences have changed over
time, and tracing this change helps us
to understand why a modern-day
audience is important

5. How do you think audiences have
changed?
1980s Audience 2012 Audience