Planetside 2 Case Study

What is Planetside 2?

Planetside 2 is a remake of the original Planetside game which was not too successful. The game is in the MMORPG genre is a a first-person shooter where players can choose which league they play in. The game focuses on mostly multiplayer as the game was designed to be played be with others and eliminate other players.

What genre does the game belong to?
The game belongs to the MMORPG genre.

Planetside 2 developer/publisher:
Planetside 2 was developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment.

When was it launched?
Planetside 2 was launched on the PC platform on 20/11/12 and it was later launched on the Playstation 4 sometime in 2014.

How does the gameplay work?
The gameplay is free-form which means a player can move anywhere in the area of the map that they are playing. The main purpose of the game is to compete with other players on the map and be a productive as possible.

What is the story or narrative to the game?

The main narrative of the game is about a wormhole that was discovered by the humans and the main objective is fight the extraterrestrial life that was discovered in the wormhole. 

Business model

How much does Planetside 2 cost to play?

Planetside 2 retailed at the standard price of £39.99 in stores on the release date but as the game got older the price went down dramatically and can be purchases today as low as £9.

What does a subscription offer to players?
A subscription  offers players  discounts on in-game purchases but also increases the amount of xp they receive when they play the game.

What can the in-game currency be used to buy?

The in-game currency can buy weapon load-outs, armour and special abilities.

The in-game currency is in-game experience and can be used to unlock...

Why do some players dislike games in which users can buy additional weapons or health?

It may be because of the fair disadvantage of new players that have joined the game and therefore may not be able to level up as quickly because players have better equipment etc.

The three factions

The Terran Republic: A government seeking for revenge that has quick fire weapons and large tanks.

The Vanu Sovereignty: Freedom-fighters that are heavily loaded with armour but not as fast in reloading time (mostly likely snipers and light-machine guns)

The New Conglomerates: A group of evolved humans that specilize in technology and use it to their advantage to kill other factions. 

Planetside 2: Target audience

Gender: Male

Age: 13-19, 24-35

Social class: In education, middle class, lower class.

Employment: Self employed, waiter, office work.

Location: Cities

The Terran Republic: 24-35

The Vanu Sovereignty: 24-35

The New Conglomerates: 13-19

Psychographic groups:

The Terran Republic: Labourer

The Vanu Sovereignty: Labourer

The New Conglomerates: Middle manager, Student