Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication, Technology, and Society
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. James Gilmore
Committee Member
Dr. Kristen Okamoto
Committee Member
Dr. Skye Wingate
Abstract
Two of the most prominent franchises in the video game industry are God of War and Gears of War. These franchises, produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and Xbox Game Studios (XGS), respectively, and their presentation through company blogs offer insight into the franchise management strategies and franchise conceptualizations that their parent companies have. Understanding these franchising aspects furthers knowledge on how these companies, two of the three largest video game producers, engage in franchising behaviors through discourse. Utilizing a framework of the discourse of franchise paratexts, this thesis examines those franchising tactics and discursive frames that the companies use as well as how they compare to each other, due to their market position as competitors. Through a discourse analysis of 49 blog posts (27 from SIE; 22 from XGS) over the last two development cycles (2018-2022), this thesis discovered that while both companies use the blogs as a marketing tool, SIE engages in more artistic and community framing while XGS focuses on product marketing and direct consumer outcomes. As such, their differing frames provide insight into how the franchises are conceptualized: an artistic achievement for SIE and a part of a product line for XGS.
Recommended Citation
Seaton, William, "Making of Wars: Analysis of the Franchise Management of God of War and Gears of War" (2023). All Theses. 4056.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/4056