Audience Reception of the Marketing of Japanese Role-playing Games: Comments on English Trailers of Shin Megami Tensei V
Hakala, Pyry (2023)
Hakala, Pyry
2023
Master's Programme in Game Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-05-18
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202304254309
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202304254309
Tiivistelmä
Games developed in Japan are a historically notable part of the game industry. The genre of Japanese role-playing games has been studied increasingly in recent years, but there are still gaps in the field of study, such as angles related to fandoms formed around the games. Similarly, video game marketing, which includes trailers, has not received much scholarly attention, despite its importance in the industry. This thesis examines the marketing of Shin Megami Tensei V, a Japanese role-playing game, to English-speaking audiences, and how those audiences react to trailers on YouTube in the comment section. The main research question is: How are the English trailers of Shin Megami Tensei V received by their YouTube audiences? The aim is to uncover issues related to culture, fandom, and communication on social media platforms.
A total of 150 comments across the comment sections of three trailers were analyzed using thematic analysis. The method was chosen due to its compatibility with this type of data, such as its usefulness in qualitatively finding and tracking trends among a large dataset. Comments were studied, assigned codes, and finally combined into themes by the author.
This thesis identifies three main themes in the comments: First-timers vs. Veterans, Characters, and Demons. First, connections and tensions in the Shin Megami Tensei media mix are brought up by newcomers to the main series and its older fans. Second, the human characters of the game are commented on, with interpretation and expectations focusing on their role in the story. Third, the recruitable creatures of the game called demons are discussed, as users were excited about their favorites appearing in the trailers, as well as how they looked visually. Commenters mostly included fans, either those of Shin Megami Tensei or other Japanese media, and the reception to the trailers was positive.
A total of 150 comments across the comment sections of three trailers were analyzed using thematic analysis. The method was chosen due to its compatibility with this type of data, such as its usefulness in qualitatively finding and tracking trends among a large dataset. Comments were studied, assigned codes, and finally combined into themes by the author.
This thesis identifies three main themes in the comments: First-timers vs. Veterans, Characters, and Demons. First, connections and tensions in the Shin Megami Tensei media mix are brought up by newcomers to the main series and its older fans. Second, the human characters of the game are commented on, with interpretation and expectations focusing on their role in the story. Third, the recruitable creatures of the game called demons are discussed, as users were excited about their favorites appearing in the trailers, as well as how they looked visually. Commenters mostly included fans, either those of Shin Megami Tensei or other Japanese media, and the reception to the trailers was positive.