Report on a Game Franchise
The franchise that I will be researching is the Need for Speed franchise, more so the 'Underground' series.
The underground series of Need for Speed was started with the release of Need for Speed: Underground on 17th of November 2003 and then followed by the release of Underground 2 on the 13th of November a year later.
Primary Research
Having played both the games when I was younger, I have a fair bit of knowledge as the 2 games mentioned were my life for 2 years causing Underground 2 to become my favourite game of all time. The genre of these games were Arcade racing. These games involved racing to progress further into the career mode or exploring the map and finding hidden goods such as cash stacks. Other features include customising your car to give it a rating out of 10 stars. The higher star rating your car has the more companies that will contact you over being on the cover of their magazine.
The Underground series of Need for Speed was fun and unique as it required the player to customise and tune their car to become the best meaning hours could of been spent at a time playing. Each car could be modified and tuned to your liking. Paint job, body kits and neon light, all these could be added to your car to make it 'your' car. Below are 2 images of the car customisation screen that show what your car can effectively look like, on the left is Underground and on the right is Underground 2
http://topneed.co.uk/need/38385238 https://www.nfsunlimited.net/showroom/entry/4543
On top of the car customisation in Underground 2, the developers included a rating system which was very well connected into the story. For example, the players ride would have to have a certain visual rating (out of 10 stars) to appear on the cover of a magazine which a sponsor would require you to do.
Undeground 2 has a few more racing modes that its predecessor, these make a great addition and can really spice things up. Underground only featured 4 race types and they are as followed;
Circuit - This is a track that is outlined by arrows and is 2 or more laps.
Sprint - This is differs from circuit as it a point-to-point race that can go up to 8km
Drift - This would require the player to drift round a set course to earn points, the more points you have the better your chance of winning would be.
Drag Racing -This is pretty self-explanatory, the player would have to race opponents on a straight road while trying to avoid traffic and obstacles.
Underground 2 featured 3 more race modes to challenge to player, these are as followed;
Street X (Cross) - This is a small and tight cornered race with 4 racers that involves great handling and precision.
Underground Racing League (URL) - This is similar to circuit although it takes place on a legal race track and you need to complete these in order to progress further into the story.
Outrun - The player can start these races by pressing the trigger button when next to a racer on free roam. The player would then have to outrun the opposing racer by 300 metres.
Secondary Research
"Need for Speed Underground 2 is pretty good but what you do in between race, but unfortunately what you do in between races keeps you away from the game's best moments" - Gamespot blogger Jeff Gerstmann
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-underground-2-review/1900-6113361/
The game series has received many positive reviews from professional reviewers such as IGN and Gamespot and many of the players that have played both games have said that it is easily one of the best games of its time. Players have been quoted saying that it was the best game of their childhood.
Many of the reviews for the game are somewhat similar in the sense that 'at heart, it [Need for Speed Underground 1&2] is just another racing game with a Hollywood sparkle'
Underground 1 and 2 were 2 of the best racing games out during that period, apparently nothing could compare to them. The racing and the whole car customisation put the games in a league of their own. However the racing wasn't up to the standard it could of been up to as to have a fast car was a long and painful process, even then the cars didn't feel fast enough. However the motion blur effect made up for this making it seem like cars were faster than they actually were. There was only one game that topped the Need for Speed Underground series and that was Burnout 3: Takedown simply because the game had the 'speed' that it [Underground series] was missing.
Quantitative Research
I got a few people to complete a survey on some aspects of the game series. From the research that I conducted I can gather that most of the players preferred Underground 2 to Underground. 66% of the players surveyed have said that their favourite part about the series is the car customisation that is found within the games while the other 33% enjoyed the free roam ability more. On the survey, I included a list of games asking which ones they would prefer out of both of the Underground games, Burnout 3: Takedown and Midnight Club 2. All of these games came out within a 2 year period. 66% said that they like Underground 2 more while another 33% preferred Burnout 3: Takedown. This tells me that the customisation in Underground 2 was a selling point. Lastly, I asked players to rate the Underground series out of 10 and the average rating that it got was 9 out of 10.
Underground written review by Gamespot:
"Need for Speed Underground is great. With just a bit more variety to its tracks and a slightly better career mode, it definitely could have been better, but it has great graphics, solid sound, and the sort of easy learning curve that makes it a driving game that anyone can excel at. Online play gives the PC and PlayStation 2 versions of Need for Speed Underground an edge over the other versions. Import racing fans will also get an additional kick out of the car customization aspect, which is more faithful than in other games that have attempted to mimic the same style of street racing. Race fans should definitely check out Need for Speed Underground"
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-underground-review/1900-6084275/
Underground 2 written review by IGN:
"While NFSU2 contains some aspects of its predecessor, several major changes make a significantly different game. The world is massive and open, filled with many more courses that before. The progression scheme is complex and you'll find yourself winning to earn money so you can spend it on modding the heck out of your car over and over again. The cars are more weighty and a little more realistic too, requiring a little more skill from the driver.
Production Research
The production time for each of the Need for Speed Underground games is unknown. To gain the attention of people watching television, EA included an advertisement for Need for Speed Underground. The TV spot finely demonstrated the car customisation by changing a regular street car into a fully tuned and modified street racing car. Need for Speed Underground was the first Need for Speed title to require Hardware Transform and Lighting in a graphics card and this soon became the standard for all Need for Speed games. Underground went from semi-professional racing and closed circuits to illegal street racing and an open world to explore. To me, this is a selling point all in itself as it's a completely different idea to what has previously been released. There is one feature however that wasn't that well received when it was found out and that was EA's decision to not include police even though they have been included in previous titles and would have made the Underground series that much better. However, Need for Speed Underground was the first Need for Speed game to offer a career mode and a garage to customise the players car. After that every game part of the Need for Speed series featured a career mode and the ability to customise your car, although you haven't been able to do it to the degree of Underground 2.
Underground 2 was highly anticipated by fans and to hype up the game even more EA included a playable demo on the EA/Criterion collaboration game Burnout 3: Takedown for an early play of the game before it's release. To introduce the game, EA released a TV commercial. The TV spot showed the game in a way that shows off the unpredictability of the racing as seen when a van comes out of nowhere and wipes out one of the the racers. It also shows some of the extent of what the car modification can do. The video also includes a(n) (attractive) woman, this is most likely to attract the attention of the older male population. Lastly, the choice of music is quite good as well as it's a sort of crazy song to go with the whole underground illegal street racing theme.
The underground series of Need for Speed was started with the release of Need for Speed: Underground on 17th of November 2003 and then followed by the release of Underground 2 on the 13th of November a year later.
Primary Research
Having played both the games when I was younger, I have a fair bit of knowledge as the 2 games mentioned were my life for 2 years causing Underground 2 to become my favourite game of all time. The genre of these games were Arcade racing. These games involved racing to progress further into the career mode or exploring the map and finding hidden goods such as cash stacks. Other features include customising your car to give it a rating out of 10 stars. The higher star rating your car has the more companies that will contact you over being on the cover of their magazine.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GTAV/comments/2rnudt/just_realized_how_close_my_favorite_childhood
The Underground series of Need for Speed was fun and unique as it required the player to customise and tune their car to become the best meaning hours could of been spent at a time playing. Each car could be modified and tuned to your liking. Paint job, body kits and neon light, all these could be added to your car to make it 'your' car. Below are 2 images of the car customisation screen that show what your car can effectively look like, on the left is Underground and on the right is Underground 2
http://topneed.co.uk/need/38385238 https://www.nfsunlimited.net/showroom/entry/4543
On top of the car customisation in Underground 2, the developers included a rating system which was very well connected into the story. For example, the players ride would have to have a certain visual rating (out of 10 stars) to appear on the cover of a magazine which a sponsor would require you to do.
Undeground 2 has a few more racing modes that its predecessor, these make a great addition and can really spice things up. Underground only featured 4 race types and they are as followed;
Circuit - This is a track that is outlined by arrows and is 2 or more laps.
Sprint - This is differs from circuit as it a point-to-point race that can go up to 8km
Drift - This would require the player to drift round a set course to earn points, the more points you have the better your chance of winning would be.
Drag Racing -This is pretty self-explanatory, the player would have to race opponents on a straight road while trying to avoid traffic and obstacles.
Underground 2 featured 3 more race modes to challenge to player, these are as followed;
Street X (Cross) - This is a small and tight cornered race with 4 racers that involves great handling and precision.
Underground Racing League (URL) - This is similar to circuit although it takes place on a legal race track and you need to complete these in order to progress further into the story.
Outrun - The player can start these races by pressing the trigger button when next to a racer on free roam. The player would then have to outrun the opposing racer by 300 metres.
http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/679032/images/career_mode_outrun2.jpg
Secondary Research
"Need for Speed Underground 2 is pretty good but what you do in between race, but unfortunately what you do in between races keeps you away from the game's best moments" - Gamespot blogger Jeff Gerstmann
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-underground-2-review/1900-6113361/
The game series has received many positive reviews from professional reviewers such as IGN and Gamespot and many of the players that have played both games have said that it is easily one of the best games of its time. Players have been quoted saying that it was the best game of their childhood.
Many of the reviews for the game are somewhat similar in the sense that 'at heart, it [Need for Speed Underground 1&2] is just another racing game with a Hollywood sparkle'
Underground 1 and 2 were 2 of the best racing games out during that period, apparently nothing could compare to them. The racing and the whole car customisation put the games in a league of their own. However the racing wasn't up to the standard it could of been up to as to have a fast car was a long and painful process, even then the cars didn't feel fast enough. However the motion blur effect made up for this making it seem like cars were faster than they actually were. There was only one game that topped the Need for Speed Underground series and that was Burnout 3: Takedown simply because the game had the 'speed' that it [Underground series] was missing.
/
Quantitative Research
I got a few people to complete a survey on some aspects of the game series. From the research that I conducted I can gather that most of the players preferred Underground 2 to Underground. 66% of the players surveyed have said that their favourite part about the series is the car customisation that is found within the games while the other 33% enjoyed the free roam ability more. On the survey, I included a list of games asking which ones they would prefer out of both of the Underground games, Burnout 3: Takedown and Midnight Club 2. All of these games came out within a 2 year period. 66% said that they like Underground 2 more while another 33% preferred Burnout 3: Takedown. This tells me that the customisation in Underground 2 was a selling point. Lastly, I asked players to rate the Underground series out of 10 and the average rating that it got was 9 out of 10.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gm5R67O4kig/maxresdefault.jpg
Qualititative ResearchUnderground written review by Gamespot:
"Need for Speed Underground is great. With just a bit more variety to its tracks and a slightly better career mode, it definitely could have been better, but it has great graphics, solid sound, and the sort of easy learning curve that makes it a driving game that anyone can excel at. Online play gives the PC and PlayStation 2 versions of Need for Speed Underground an edge over the other versions. Import racing fans will also get an additional kick out of the car customization aspect, which is more faithful than in other games that have attempted to mimic the same style of street racing. Race fans should definitely check out Need for Speed Underground"
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-underground-review/1900-6084275/
Underground 2 written review by IGN:
"While NFSU2 contains some aspects of its predecessor, several major changes make a significantly different game. The world is massive and open, filled with many more courses that before. The progression scheme is complex and you'll find yourself winning to earn money so you can spend it on modding the heck out of your car over and over again. The cars are more weighty and a little more realistic too, requiring a little more skill from the driver.
The sad part is that the huge city is actually perhaps too huge for its own good. You'll grow bored driving around the mostly empty streets, and once you collect the small quantity of Info letters, find the few shortcuts, and open up the garages, there's not much left. The Outrun races ARE fun, but some of them can last up to 15 minutes, and if you want to progress, you're simply going to have to wait.
In all, NFSU2 is an impressive, and more importantly, fun game that overcomes its faults with depth, breadth, and variety."
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2004/11/13/need-for-speed-underground-2-5?page=4
From what I have read from written reviews, the underground series was looked upon as the pinnacle of racing game within the 2 years both of them were released. Near enough every racing game fanatic would say that both the Underground games are high up in their personal lists. Unfortunately though, both of the Need for Speed games lack something of great importance that is needed to make it the perfect racing game and that was that it lacked the speed. I have already addressed this issue and said that the motion blur effect EA have included in the titles make up for it.
Audience Research
The target audience for these 2 games isn't quite clear as there are billboards in the game that suggest it would be for adults but the way the game plays out and the gameplay would suggest it's aimed at junior to teenagers. For example the flashy car body customisation would easily attract the attention of kids and teenagers but while the part upgrades could attract the attention of adults. Also the whole underground racing scene could attract the attention of actual racers looking for a preview as to what it could possibly be like. Even though this game would seem like a child's game, it can still be picked up by nearly anyone of any age and played.
http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/11/85/21/86/mazda_16.jpg
Market Research
I have tried to find market profits for the underground series but I couldn't find anything. However I found the organisations profits from the year that Underground was released. To begin with, the company, Electronic Arts [EA], upped it's profits by $5.6 million from $18.4 million to $24 million for the first quarter of 2004. This is a substantial increase allowing the company to further grow. Collectively, the company's revenue rose up 22% from $353 million to $432 million
Within a year, Need for Speed Underground sold over 7 million copies, Seeing as though I couldn't find the original price for the game lets just say that it costed £25. This would mean that 7 million copies sold at £25 each earned EA a staggering £175 million at least. These figures tell me that Need for Speed Underground was a highly anticipated game and was well received by the public.Production Research
The production time for each of the Need for Speed Underground games is unknown. To gain the attention of people watching television, EA included an advertisement for Need for Speed Underground. The TV spot finely demonstrated the car customisation by changing a regular street car into a fully tuned and modified street racing car. Need for Speed Underground was the first Need for Speed title to require Hardware Transform and Lighting in a graphics card and this soon became the standard for all Need for Speed games. Underground went from semi-professional racing and closed circuits to illegal street racing and an open world to explore. To me, this is a selling point all in itself as it's a completely different idea to what has previously been released. There is one feature however that wasn't that well received when it was found out and that was EA's decision to not include police even though they have been included in previous titles and would have made the Underground series that much better. However, Need for Speed Underground was the first Need for Speed game to offer a career mode and a garage to customise the players car. After that every game part of the Need for Speed series featured a career mode and the ability to customise your car, although you haven't been able to do it to the degree of Underground 2.
Underground 2 was highly anticipated by fans and to hype up the game even more EA included a playable demo on the EA/Criterion collaboration game Burnout 3: Takedown for an early play of the game before it's release. To introduce the game, EA released a TV commercial. The TV spot showed the game in a way that shows off the unpredictability of the racing as seen when a van comes out of nowhere and wipes out one of the the racers. It also shows some of the extent of what the car modification can do. The video also includes a(n) (attractive) woman, this is most likely to attract the attention of the older male population. Lastly, the choice of music is quite good as well as it's a sort of crazy song to go with the whole underground illegal street racing theme.
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