Music in video games is often taken for granted, which is completely unjustified. In his paper, Bongiovanni explains that videogames soundtracks often represent one of the main selling points since it is critical to make the background music both memorable and as unobtrusive as possible. Thus, the author posits that soundtracks contribute largely to the feeling of nostalgia that a range of people has toward video games. Although the lack of focus on the other constituents of the videogame experience can be seen as a weakness of the stud, the detailed analysis of how the soundtrack helps to form the feeling of nostalgia in gamers is crucial to understanding the subject matter. The article was instrumental in understanding how video game nostalgia develops.
The concept of nostalgia is often mentioned when talking about media and especially the type of media that is inherently tied to people’s childhood, such as books, movies, animated films, and video games. Kalinina explains the mechanism of developing nostalgia, stating that the feeling is so powerful that it can be used for therapeutic purposes. The specified article provides the basis for understanding how nostalgia develops and what factors affect its intensity and overall impact. Although the focus on the focus of the study could be seen as quite dispersed and slightly chaotic, the evaluation of the tremendous impact that media has on the development of nostalgia can be used to build the basis of the argument for the nostalgic value of the commercial.
In his paper, Keogh offers a slightly different stance on the subject at hand, showing how companies capitalize on the feeling of nostalgia by exploiting an already existing franchise by introducing new elements to it and updating it based on new or emergent social trends. Moreover, the paper shows how different types of media, namely, an animated series and a videogame, can be combined to create an innovative product that will take the target audience by storm. Using an example of Pokémon as one of the most recognizable brands ever produced by Nintendo, the article demonstrates how nostalgia can spur a surge of public interest toward a product and create a significant stir around a newly developed product. Therefore, Keogh’s research can be incorporated into the basis of this paper as the source of examples and essential evidence.
Since video games are inherently linked to childhood or adolescence in most people, they hold a very powerful nostalgic value for those that played them as children. Explaining that the specified memories could be defined as remediated, namely, as idealized and, therefore, easy to shape, Sloan points to the fact that creating media based on the specified type of nostalgia makes it very easy to manipulate buyers. As a result, the efficacy of marketing increases exponentially. Even though the author explicitly focuses on “far Cry 3,” the outcomes of the analysis apply to any nostalgic videogame or, for that reason, any nostalgia property, in general. Therefore, this article can be used to examine how nostalgic and sentimental memories and emotions are formed, convincing people to buy anything related to a particular videogame that they played as children.
Wright takes a slightly different approach to the issue, analyzing how nostalgic movie scans be used in promoting video games. Despite the change in the relationship between the two key variables, the main message and, notably, the outcomes of the analysis remain the same. Namely, the application of key elements of nostalgic entertainment evokes the need to purchase advertised products in general audiences. The article can be used to analyze the general trend regarding nostalgia as a marketing ploy.
Works Cited
Bongiovanni, Pippin. “8-bit Nostalgia and Hollywood Glamour: The Modern Autonomy of Video Game Audio.” Music on Screen, 2017, p. 159.
Kalinina, Ekaterina. “What Do We Talk about When We Talk about Media and Nostalgia?” Medien & Zeit, vol. 31, no. 4, 2016, pp. 6-15.
Keogh, Brendan. “Pokémon Go, the Novelty of Nostalgia, and the Ubiquity of the Smartphone.” Mobile Media & Communication, vol. 5, no. 1, 2017, pp. 38-41.
Sloan, Robin JS. “Videogames as Remediated Memories: Commodified Nostalgia and Hyperreality in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Gone Home.” Games and Culture, vol. 10, no. 6, 2015, pp. 525-550.
Wright, Esther. “Marketing Authenticity: Rockstar Games and the Use of Cinema in Video Games Promotion.” Kinephanos: Journal of Media Studies and Popular Culture, vol. 7, no. 1, 2017, pp. 131-164.