Thorough presentation on Media Audiences / Minecraft

1. TO WHAT EXTENT DOES
MEDIA OWNERSHIP AFFECT
VIDEO GAME AUDIENCES?
BY EVE AND MOLLY
Key Definition
• Media Ownership – Media ownership refers, simply, to the people and
persons who own and play a role in influencing media industry. There are
three main models of ownership: public, private and government owned
Media.

2. CREATION AND CENSORSHIP – KEY TERMS
• Censorship - Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication,
ideas or information, considered to be objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or
"inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments, private
institutions, and other controlling bodies in media industries.
• Oligopoly - Oligopoly is a market structure in which a small number of firms
control increasing shares of its industry.
• Independent (Media Producer) - Small media production, marketing, or
distribution companies not state owned and not affiliated with a ‘major’
commercial company.
• Demographics – The division and grouping of people based on things like age,
gender, income, education and occupation; it is often used to define a target
audience.
• Prosumer – Formed from the words 'producer' and 'consumer', a 'prosumer' is an
individual who both consumes/uses a product or service, but also take part in

3. CREATION, DISTRIBUTION AND CENSORSHIP
AFFECTING AUDIENCES
• The creation, distribution and censorship of certain video games can
affect their audiences, whether that be their demographic, consumption,
or ideas.
• There has been an increase in online distribution gaming and free online gaming
(especially on mobile phones)
• Online retailers, such as Apple’s ‘App Store’ and Google’s ‘Play Store’ have weakened
the power of publishers, as developers can now upload directly to the app store.
Audiences enjoy the ease of downloading applications (in this case, video games)
from the same place. The elimination of middle –men retailers, such as ‘Game’ and
‘HMV’ in the UK or ‘GameStop’ in the US, has made the purchase and consumption of
video games far quicker, easier, and cheaper.
• Media producers also dictate which platforms their products are compatible with. A
larger number of platforms means a larger audience can access the game.

4. CREATION, DISTRIBUTION AND CENSORSHIP
AFFECTING AUDIENCES
• The implementation of cross platform compatibility, alongside 'multiplayer' mode, by major creators
has allowed consumers to interact with one another whilst playing games, increasing the social appeal of
video games, and encouraging users to remain online for longer periods of time.
• Minecraft's 'multiplayer' servers allow multiple users to play together online, with friends or strangers.
• Minecraft has a unique network of separately owned servers – such as 'Hypixel,' 'Mineplex', or 'The
Hive'. Interestingly, 'Hypixel' is itself owned by a separate video game developer ('Riot Games') after its
acquisition in 2020.
• The industry is now increasingly dominated by high-budget productions from mainstream producers that
attempt to minimise the risk entailed by developing franchises and playing safe with content – which was
traditionally designed to appeal to a core audience of young men.
• Minecraft was first launched in November 2011 under independent ownership – founded by Markus
'Notch' Persson, who formed video game company 'Mojang' in 2010 – but eventually was acquired by
the corporation 'Microsoft' in September 2014 for US $2.5 billion. Minecraft reached a wider audience.
• Microsoft is an oligopoly, being one of the largest players in the 'tech' industry.

5. • Minecraft was originally an original product, but – majorly in the last 5 years – has
began to franchise. Not only have they expanded into typical merchandise (apparel,
accessories, home goods, toys, collectibles and books), but also secondary games and
events.
• ‘Minecon’, an in-person fan convention about the game, was established in 2010
and occurred annually until 2016. The event was revitalised in 2020 under the new
name ‘Minecraft Live’ as a livestream, which has continued until the current day.
• Minecraft’s various spin off games expand on features of the original game,
showcasing further depth and creativity. For example, Minecraft ‘Story Mode’
focuses on narrative story telling, ‘Minecraft Dungeons’ focuses on combat and PVP
and ‘Minecraft Legends’ focuses on strategic gameplay.
• Contrastingly, the development of game design technology has allowed an independent
sector to spring up, producing low budget games with smaller teams that can afford to
take more creative risks.
• Independent games, such as the upcoming life-simulator ‘Paralives’, often afford
development via crowd funding. Utilising platforms such as ‘Patreon’ they offer
exclusive benefits to their pledges, such as behind the scenes content, pre-release
CREATION, DISTRIBUTION AND CENSORSHIP
AFFECTING AUDIENCES

6. CREATION, DISTRIBUTION AND
CENSORSHIP AFFECTING AUDIENCES
• Prosumers also play a large role in shaping Minecraft’s ‘final product’
• A large proportion of Minecraft's audience are drawn in via the 'modding'
community. Minecraft users create modified textures, mobs, interactions, and
lighting to alter or enhance the experience of the game to suit their playstyle.
• The event 'Minecraft Live' hosts an annual 'mob vote' where Minecraft users
can vote on the next creature to be added into the game from a preselected group
of 3 options. The audience adopts or rejects new features.
• Minecraft has dedicated forums and support teams for community reports of
bugs/glitches so they can easily identify and fix issues, driven by audience input.
• Video Games also have the opportunity for user-generated modifications (open
source software)
• Minecraft has ‘The Marketplace’ - A digital store for users to purchase 'skins' or
other game modifications with real money.
• The sandbox game genre allows players to log in and create a virtual world, free of
restrictions.
• Minecraft's 'Creative Mode' allows players to have access to unlimited resources,
travel ability, and world editing tools in the game.

7. ACCESSIBILITY
Key Definition: 'Accessibility' - The quality of being easily reached, entered, or used by people.
'Ability' - Video games can hold barriers to access to individuals with disabilities. They can be
made accessible through various adaptations.
Here are some adaptations the developers of Minecraft have implemented:
• Menu UI (User Interface) Narration via 'Text to Speech' - Auditory needs.
• Text Editing (Change Colour, Size, Opacity, Font, Line Spacing etc) - Visual Needs.
• Varied controller computability (Keyboard/Mouse/Console Controllers/VR/ Touch Screen
etc) allows players to configure gameplay to their needs – Motor Needs.
• Audio: Sound Effects/Music volume can be adjusted individually - Auditory needs.
• Differentiated textures: Individuals that experience forms of colour blindness previously
struggled to differentiated types of 'ore' due to their only differentiator being colour. As a
result of this, Minecraft implemented new textures (2022) for each individual object type -
Visual Needs.

8. ACCESSIBILITY
'Socio-Economic' - There are various socio-economic barriers that can make video games inaccessible to a
large proportion of prospective audiences.
These include:
• Location: Game developers and publishers have the ability to 'regionally price' their games, often
charging more in high income regions, and charging less in proportionally lower income areas. However, if
this doesn't occur, games are often unaffordable for those in nations with weaker currencies.
• Financial Status: Video games are often inaccessible due to price; they are often unaffordable for the
working class when combined with the costs of the device and internet connection. Game prices are
significantly rising year by year additionally. Video games are also statistically more popular along children
and young adults, meaning – as part of the economically 'dependent' population – audiences cannot always
access the product targeted at them due to monetary restrictions.
• Regulation and Law: There is no universal regulation placed on video games, meaning regional and national
restrictions vary. It can benefit audiences i.e. restrictions on gambling/spending limits, reducing or limiting
violent depictions, or banning positively reinforcing long gaming sessions via rewards. However, it can also
lead to audience inequality, as games are often unnecessarily banned or restricted.
Key Definition: 'Accessibility' - The quality of being easily reached, entered, or used by people.​

9. • Location: Minecraft has not implemented regional pricing despite its global success. It currently costs
£24.99 for Windows/PC, or one £6.99 payment for 'Pocket Edition' (Mobile). Many have pointed out the
conversion rate makes the game completely unaffordable and inaccessible (comparative to local average
income) in other regions.
• Financial status: Minecraft is compatible with a large range of devices, meaning people often do not have to
purchase a new (expensive) device to access the game.
• To combat inaccessibility for children, Minecraft launched 'Minecraft Education Edition' as a game-based
platform that also encouraged learning creatively. It holds pre-made lessons surrounding topics like
environmentalism, ecosystems, heritage, science and coding. It is marketed to schools, having a free trial
period where each student can have 10 logins without the school being charged, after which it is monetised.
Children, who may not have access to such games at home, are given an opportunity to play and learn
online through school.
• Regulation and Laws: Minecraft currently isn't banned in any countries due to its relatively tame nature; it
be a 'family-friendly' game. Pan European Game Information (PEGI) has rated the game as a '7+' due to mild,
realistic violence and possible scary images/sounds.
ACCESSIBILITY
Key Definition: 'Accessibility' - The quality of being easily reached, entered, or used by
people.​
Has Minecraft attempted to break these accessibility barriers?

10. MONETISATION
• As previously mentioned, Minecraft is monetised in 2 major ways:
• Sales – 300 million copies have been sold worldwide (as of 2023). It currently costs
£24.99 for Windows/PC, or one £6.99 payment for 'Pocket Edition' (Mobile). The
COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant resurgence in population for the game, with
an estimated $380 million made in 2021 alone. Minecraft has utilised its committed
fan-base to generate a consistent profit.
• 'Marketplace' - Contrasting to many other games on the market, 'Minecraft' utilises
user-based material as bonus, monetised DLC (downloadable content) for their
game. Users can join a 'Partner Program' in which, if their content is approved, they
can sell their bonus content and make receive around 30-50% of its profits.
Minecraft takes a platform fee, which adds to their revenue.
• Other streams of income:
• Merchandise – Minecraft sells a wide range of merchandise, displayed not only on
their own storefront, but in high-street retailers, department stores and
supermarkets globally. They sell almost anything, from stationary, to clothing, to
toys and books. The sale of video game merchandise integrates ‘game reality’ and

11. MONETISATION
• Other games are monetised in various other ways, such
as the following:
• Freemium/ Microtransactions – Many games employ
a model that has the 'base' of their game to be one
fixed price, or free to play, with all exciting
additional content being paid. An example of this is
'The Sims' Franchise. 'The Sims 4', in particular, has a
system of 'expansion packs', 'game packs', 'stuff
packs' and 'kits'. Their prices ranges from anywhere
between £34.99 to £4.99 and vary based their assets
and gameplay additions. There is currently a total of
73 DLC packs for this game, which many players
consider excessive and a result of producer 'greed',
as many of the features seem essential to the basic
function of the game as a 'life simulator’.
• Subscription – Players can pay small instalments for
temporary access to games. It is usually based on a
monthly/yearly model.
• Virtual Currency – The creation of an ‘in-game
economy’ based on the transfer of real currency.

12. DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION
• Avatar –
• Originally, Minecraft only had one free character that players could play – Steve. This
clearly masculine character suggests that the audience of the video game was men and
meant that Minecraft was not including women in their target audience based on their
playable characters. Creator Marcus ‘Notch’ Persson even commented in 2012 "I've tried
making a girl model in Minecraft, but the results have been extremely sexist" He added:
"Blocky things are more masculine”.
• Following Microsoft’s acquisition of the game in 2014, the new free avatar character
‘Alex’ was added – a white female character. Many players were pleased with increased
gender representation.
• Players continued to campaigned for increased representation
of avatars within Minecraft, leading to the addition of Noor,
Sunny, Ari, Zuri, Makena, Kai, and Efe in 2022 – displaying a
variety of genders, skin tones and physicsal characteristics that
their audience could identify with.
• Although Minecraft is a ’POV’ game (the avatar isn’t is usually
seen) audiences still believed representation to be important.
• This could be an example of audiences impacting video
game production rather than owership.

13. DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION
• Additionally, before ‘Alex’ was added to game, the only female, human character in the game was the
‘witch’ mob. Although this likely wasn’t maliciously intended, it simply added a subliminal message (to
the largely male, young, impressionable player base at the time) that women are intrinsically
dislikeable, villainous or even wicked. It’s a harmful misrepresentation.
• Other Games –
• Many other games also intend to represent nationality, ethnicity, sexuality and class, to
further connect with their target audiences.
• An popular example of this is the 2022 indie puzzle game ‘Unpacking’, which lets a
player follow the life of an anonymous character as they grow up. Audiences praised its
subtle LGBTQ+ representation, and how ‘normalised’ the storyline felt.
• However, there is still a lot of progress to be made with representation within video
games. Many changes have only been made in recent years, such as The Sims 4 Skin
Tone Update, and many are yet to be made.
• These changes are possible, however, due to (what The Evening Standard described as)
the ‘socially motivated Gen-Z generation of gamers becoming old enough to back their
values with disposable income’.

14. MARKETING AND PROMOTION
• Minecraft’s Marketing and Promotion seamlessly blends with how the
game is crated and monetised. Mojang’s recognition of the importance
of the ‘limitless creativity’ of its players has allowed mass amounts of
user-generated marketing content.
• With the rise of VSPs (Video Sharing Platforms) such as YouTube and
TikTok, as well as Livestreaming sites such as Twitch, there has
been a rise of online ‘gaming’ communities. People share their
gameplay, builds, and servers. This is an incredibly effective
marketing tool, as the game reaches new audiences.
• Occasionally, Minecraft directly sponsors popular creators to test or
promote new updates or features and upload it onto these platforms
• ‘Minecraft Feedback’ forums have allowed open channels of
communication between audience and developers for years, allowing
a sense of collaboration for players.
• Players tend to drive trends that increase the game’s popularity.
• Minecraft also has regular, free updates with captivating cinematic
trailers.
• It keeps the game fresh and exciting for existing customers, whilst
simultaneously attracting new ones.

15. MARKETING AND PROMOTION
• Cross Platform Availability-
• As previously mentioned, the cross-platform availability of Minecraft allows
the game to reach a particularly wide audience.
• Partnerships and Collaborations –
• Mojang has collaborated with various other brands and games to expand the
Minecraft franchise. It encourages the audiences of each brand to interact
with the other.
• Lego (2014- now) – Minecraft has a long-standing partnership with the
blocky toy creator ‘Lego’. A total of 92 sets have been released since the
beginning of the collaboration, each depicting various scenes, biomes, or
structures that can be found within Minecraft such as ‘The Nether’, ‘The
Cave’, and ‘The Village’. The similarities between the two products (one
digital block game, one physical block toy) made the collaboration very
logical.
• Super Mario – In 2016, in alignment with the release of Minecraft on the
Nintendo Wii U, Minecraft released the ‘Super Mario Mash-Up Pack’ which
gave players access to new skins, a Super-Mario themes world, and music

16. EDITORIAL AND REVIEWER BIAS
Editorial Bias
• Development Decisions: Consider how the personal preferences, beliefs, or values of game developers
might influence the design, themes, and narrative choices within a game.
• Many people suggest this as a cause of Minecraft’s limited representation of gender and race in its early
stages, due to creator Marcus Persson’s previously mentioned misogynistic comments.
• Mojang protests that his beliefs no longer ‘reflect those of Microsoft or Mojang’.
Reviewer Bias
• Game Coverage: Be aware that media outlets, websites, or magazines covering video games may have
editorial biases that affect the selection of which games to feature, promote, or criticize.
• Genre Preferences: Game reviewers may have personal preferences for specific game genres, leading to
biased assessments of games outside their preferred genres.
• Platform Preferences: Some reviewers might have biases toward certain gaming platforms, influencing
their evaluations of multi-platform games.
• Cultural and Social Biases: Consider how reviewers' cultural backgrounds, social perspectives, or
personal beliefs may impact their interpretations and critiques of game content.

17. MITIGATING BIAS
• Diverse Development Teams: Encourage the video game industry to promote diversity
within development teams to ensure a broader range of perspectives in game creation.
• Transparent Reviews: Seek out game reviews that provide transparency about the
reviewer's preferences, background, and potential biases to better interpret their
critiques.
• User Reviews: Consider user reviews alongside professional reviews to get a more
comprehensive understanding of a game's reception, keeping in mind that user reviews
may also be influenced by personal biases.