Videogames case study 2: Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Videogames case study 2 - Kim Kardashian: Hollywood blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Kim Kardashian Hollywood CSP case study' and complete all the following questions under the subheadings Language, Representation, Industries and Audience.

Language

1) What is the objective when playing the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game?
It is to work your way up to the celebrity charts and become the most famous 
2) What is an A-list celebrity? Why is it important in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?
An A-list celebrity is a celebrity who is very famous or a person who is well known
3) How do you download the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game?
On the app store and google play
4) What is the narrative or storyline of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? Where is it set?
It is set in the  United States, because of the name Hollywood in the title, the main objective is to become an A-list celebrity to make your way to become the most popular celebrity
5) What characters can you play as? What characters appear in the game?

You can customise you character and then you have the NPC's (non playable characters) these are the people who give you the objective and they can be dated talked to ,etc

Audience

1) What audience pleasures are provided by the game? Use Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory.

This is more of a personal identity
2) Why is the game so addictive for audiences?
Because it includes celebrities and it simulates how they could live if they were living the Hollywood life style
3) Applying Stuart Hall's Reception theory, what is the preferred reading for Kim Kardashian Hollywood - how do the producers want the audience to react to the game? For the oppositional reading, why might someone dislike Kim Kardashian Hollywood?

People might dislike it because lacks action in the game because this game is just about going and trying to become and A-list celebrities at the same time it has micro-transactions for the game which are actually really expensive for a monthly subscription on a mobile game.

Read this article from Forbes on why the Kim Kardashian game is so successful. If the website is blocked, you can access the text of the article here.

4) Why does James Liu think Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is so successful?
Because it included the name of Kim and also they had many downloads and the game featured micro-transactions which makes it so that they get paid every month while the consumer pays every month.
5) What does James Liu suggest is the reason players keep coming back to the game?
Apparently because he thinks that it is unique other than the other games like the ones where you collect and push buttons.

Representations

1) What representations of women can be found in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?
Different types like ethnicity and race as they make it a customisable characters
2) What representations of race, ethnicity or sexuality can be found in the game?
They include all types of race, ethnicity and sexuality
3) How does the game both reinforce and subvert stereotypes in the media?
it does it by doing things like having the male do certain task as well as for the females, this shows the difference on the objectives they have to do like different genders sometimes have to do separate tasks and sometimes they do the same 
4) What does the game suggest regarding modern perceptions of celebrity and how to get famous?

that fashion is the more modern way to get famous

5) How might someone criticise the representation of celebrity in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

her character in the game is too "exaggerated?"

Industries

1) How much does Kim Kardashian: Hollywood cost?
$53 million to $80 million
2) How does the game make money?
$130,000 a month
3) What subscriptions are available to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?
they are all monthly subscriptions and they cost more depending on what you want and how big the content is
4) How was Kim Kardashian: Hollywood marketed and promoted?
she had a large fan base and then went on social media to tell people about it so that people who followed her could see what she posted
5) How does Kim Kardashian: Hollywood use media convergence to cross-promote the game and the Kardashian brand?
as was said in the last question, she had a large fanbase of people on social media following her so when she posted that she had a mobile game, people would go on and play the game that she announced

Grade 8/9 extension tasks: reading and response

Read this Independent article on the Kardashians and celebrity culture. Why does the academic Dr Meredith Jones think the Kardashians are important to study?
They say that they could help people to recognize people in the way that they are like race ethnicity, sexuality and more about the person.
Read this Stylecaster article on 5 things we learned playing Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. How does the game encourage players so spend real money on in-app purchases?
people who are really into the game would spend money on it sometimes some situations where you would be entitled to something you could pay the person to "convince them" to maintain your reputation 

Read this article on Glu Mobile, the game developer behind Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. What does the article say about targeting female gamers and using celebrity to sell the game?
Because it turns stereotypical things that women like and form it into a game as well profiting from it form the subscriptions that have been applied to the game.
Read this Guardian article on a Kardashian controversy regarding promoting products on Instagram. Why do some people regard Kardashian as a "toxic influence"? Because they allowed an ad or implemented an ad which talked about a lollipop which suppressed people's appetite, this shows some sort of toxic influence as it may be saying the the people are fat and that they need to lose more weight by taking their product that  they have decided to put in.