I was asked to conduct an investigation into a question of my choosing about a chosen part of the creative media industry, I chose game design and chose a question that correlates to it, I was also asked to state what I expect to find and what the purpose of the investigation is, as-well as why I chose this question in specific, on-top of skills and methods i intend to apply in hopes to come to a conclusion.
Why are some gaming companies hated?
The main aim of this investigation is to find out why certain gaming companies are despised by not only a large portion of gamers, but the people who play their games too, the purpose of which would help me understand why specific companies (of which have created games even i may play) are hated so deeply by their own consumers, and how it effects the gaming industry as a whole.
My secondary personal aim would be to achieve an understanding on the inner workings of how these companies operate, such as how their PR team handles consumers issues and their responses to major problems within their games, perhaps here I can find a common theme between all the companies, it may also help me understand as to why game company PR is generally so terribly received by the people they are attempting to appeal too.
The key practitioners I may be investigating will be among the most hated, and loved, these being the hated, EA, Rockstar, Bethesda, Activision, and the (generally) loved Valve, Naughty Dog, Paradox interactive, and two companies in-between the two groups (Bungie, Nintendo) I have chosen these as each has its own reputation among their respective communities, which will aid in researching as to why are some are so loved and hated, or both.
The skills I intend to use in the research of why certain gaming companies are hated are as follows, my general knowledge of said companies, my ability to shift through information quickly and efficiently, along with being able to figure out what info is useful and what info isn’t, on-top of these, the method i intend to use will be a thorough one, investigating each company individually and taking notes on all of them, then comparing notes and my findings in a conclusion of which may help reflect the answer to my question.
The reason I have chosen this subject to investigate in specific is because it is something that has intrigued me for a long time, I have often wondered as to why some game developers get so much hate, aside from the obvious reasons such as bad games, but the deeper ones which have to be researched to find out, there may be a common theme I can uncover in my search, and maybe truly understand as to why large portions of these companies fanbases hate them so much, on-top of helping me understand why I may feel similarly with some of them.
After being informed that I should focus on 3 of the selected key practitioners, I have decided to focus on the following, (Rockstar, EA, Ubisoft) I have chosen the following as they are generally depicted by the gaming community as a whole as being some of the least liked of the popular gaming companies, which Is helpful for me due to it being easier to understand as to why they are so hated.
These 3 in specific will be very helpful for me to develop an understanding they are all controversial in their own ways, having many different controversies which can be covered.