Category: Video Game

Introduction

This report presents high visibility for marketing of Video Game Delivery Project. To initiate strategies in marketing of Video Game, the company will decide to develop a web based application by ABC CORP and this application is customized to meet the requirements of the project. Moreover, the project manager will also work with Edsy’s top consultant to assist in the marketing of Video Games to schools.

The purpose of this report is to develop the scope of the project. The rest of the report is organized as follows:

To develop a work breakdown structure (WBS). The structure of WBS is based on project charter, scope statement, and other relevant information relevant for the project.

In addition, the WBS is used to create Gantt chart for the project.

Finally, the report covers a strategy for scope of verification, and change control for the project.

Scope of the project

The report examines the scope of the project which embraces the products characteristics, product requirements, and deliverables.

The product to be marketed by the company is Video Game. This product can be used for leisure time for primary school pupils and high school students. Typically, many school pupils enjoying playing video games during the break time, and in designing the project, the company decides to make use of ABC CORP specializing in software application to develop the products for the company because of the thought that products designed by ABC CORP will have professional outlook and will have more market values. The overall company budgets for the project are $500,000, which covers the hardware, software costs, and overall consulting services.

To deliver the products, and to ensure that the products reach the target markets, the company will use Eddy’s top consultant to assist in the marketing of Video Games to schools.

Work Breakdown Structure for the project

The work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project consists of designing and marketing of Video Games for the company. This consists of project charter, scope statement, and other relevant information such as planning, costs, resources, and changes that needs to be initiated during project implementation.

In WBS, the project chart is essential for the Video Game project and this consists on the following:

• Project Title: Designing and Marketing of Video Game
• Project Manager: John Allen
• Project Objectives: To initiate Video Game Delivery Project and market the product to primary and high schools. The costs of hardware and software, and overall consultancy are estimated to $500,000.
• Approach: To make use of ABC CORP for software application.

To make use of Eddy’s top consultant in assisting with marketing of the products.

To make use of team members for the project implementation.

To develop cost estimation for the project plan. (Schwalbe).

Table 1: Roles and Responsibilities. (Schwalbe).

Apart from charter, it is essential to provide the scope statement for the project, which elaborates the objectives of the project in detail. Typically, the Video Game Delivery Project is essential because of the realisation by the management that Video Game is becoming high demand in the primary and high schools. The overall budgets for the project are $500,000. The company will outsource for professional consultants and a software developer for the implementation of the project. ABC CORP will help in software development for product marketing. Management will also use make of Edsy marketing consultant for overall target market delivery.

Apart from project manager, various team members will help in the implementation of the project plan. The entire project is shown in Gantt chart. (Schwalbe).

Gantt chart for the project

This section provides the entire project task for Video Game delivery project. The entire project task is represented by a Gantt chart. The Gantt Chart consists of project initiation plan, planning and executing and all these are illustrated in Gantt chart in fig 1.

Illustrating the project with Gantt chart represents overall project from the beginning to the end. However, it is essential that the project gets approval of the stakeholders by scope verification.

Scope Verification and project changes

To achieve overall acceptance of the project, management will ensure that customers accept the products. The strategies for initiating the scope verification are that the products will meet customer’s requirements. This by ensuring that customers inspect the products and approve the products before launching the products for marketing. In addition, part of the overall plan is to ensure that changes are processed, and managed according to the laid procedures. (Schwalbe).

Conclusions

This report presents a high visibility study for the Video Game delivery project. The report highlights project scope, WBS, Gantt chart for the project, and scope verification and project changes.

Work cited

Schwalbe, Kathy, Information Technology Project Management, Cengage Learning, Fifth Edition, 2007.

Introduction

This paper seeks to write a business plan for a video game stores in St Charles or Jefferson country in a high traffic, multi-store mall. Case facts provide that discussion with accountant produced an estimate of the project of cost of putting up the store with as start up capital of $200,000. The amount will be used to purchase the cost of video machines, other store equipment and inventory of videos for sale. The same amount as well as the periodic earnings of the business will be used to pay insurance, loan amortizations and the salaries of two employees. Since it was also provided that the owner has $50,000 of savings that will be invested, the balance of $150,000 will be financed via bank loan. To pursue therefore the project a business plan that will convince the bank to extend a loan of $150,000 is needed. This paper will therefore prepare a business plan supported by projected financial statements for the next five years to convince the bank to approve and extend the loan to the owner.

Analysis and Discussion

Name and nature of Business

The name of business will Johnny’s Video Games and will cater to different customers who may want to spend an entertainment or their leisure inside the mall. The business entity will be ready to comply with regulations in the area by securing the necessary permits and paying all registration fees and taxes in order the make the business legal.

Capitalization

The start up capital will be $200,000, and $50,000 will be finance via investment by the owner with cash while the $150,000 will be borrowed from a local bank.

Projected Income Statement

The business will have projected revenues of per year and projected net income that will be favorable to the business. Sales revenues are estimated to be not less than $400,000 per annum for the next five year and with modest increase every year. The level of cost and expenses including taxed in relation to sales remain not more than 90% for the next five years hence the net profit margin at a tax rate of 30% is to be at least 13% every year for the next five years. The complete income statement could be found in Exhibit A in the Appendices.

Projected Balance Sheet

The projected income statement is believed to cause increase in profit and will maintain the good financial condition of the company in balance sheet. In the projected balance sheet, effect of the borrowing and the affected accounts would appear as shown in Exhibit B. The company’s liquidity for the five-year period would be evident for the company to be able to meet its maturing obligations. The projected cash flow of the cash in the balance sheet will appear positive for the next five years and will show that the company’s profitability in will be good enough pay for operating expenses and the amortization of the $150,000 bank loan that will have to be paid for five years. Liquidity is evident since on the average the current ratio would be about above 1.0 for the next five years. Debt equity ratio would also show the company would be stable for the next five years since on the average the ratio is less than 1.0. See Exhibit B for the ratios.

Management Plan

Since the company would be primarily managed by the owner, the latter would be in charge of all the functional areas of business as a finance office, as a marketing officer, and as a general manager who will supervise the two employees that will help in running the business. The manager and owner in one person would be motivated enough because profitability would be very attractive since the same business would be able to sustain the personal need for living expenses during the five year period. It is the company’s policy to take care of customers by providing them the best quality product as the most affordable price while providing the best support service that may be extended under given circumstance.

Marketing plan

The company will make the necessary promotion in the opening of the store to make the store known to customers. This include making introductory price for certain products while at the same time rendering personalized service to customers in dealing with their complaints about the company products. Since the video game stores is located in the mall where there are many people, there will be no much cost for advertising since the place would involve many customers to easily visit the store. The company would allow warranties to products sold and the owner will have to establish good relationship with suppliers of company goods so that long-term relation would also be established also with customers in delivering the quality product they deserve.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The projected financial statements all point the viability of the projects since the company is profitable as shown by the net profit margin of above 10%. It is also liquid because it will be able to meet its obligations for the next five years and will be able to pay off the loan of $150,000 while allowing the owner to withdraw a monthly income of $3,000 as his salary for operation the business and as an alternative for the salary that he would have earned had he continued employment. Every stakeholder including the owner, the creditors, the employees, the government and the customers would be benefited as a result of the putting up the business because needs and wants are identified to be satisfied while the interests of the others.

Works Cited

Massie, J. Essentials of Management, Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1987.

Meigs and Meigs, Financial Accounting, McGraw-Hill, New York, USA, 1995.

Introduction

Product life cycle is an important aspect that shows the stages and the sequence of the product in the market. In that regard, every product has a particular life cycle, which advantages might go beyond positioning the product’s position in the market and predict its destination. One of the most important advantages of the concept of life cycle can be seen in the sphere of marketing, where if used as a tool it allows adjusting the strategies, including marketing, based on the known or the predicted stages of the product life cycle. Following the aforementioned, this paper analyzes the importance of the product’s life cycle as a marketing tool, in the field of video game industry, specifically companies such as Sony Computer Entertainment, and Microsoft.

Literature Review

The product’s life cycle usually consists of four main stages, i.e. introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Accordingly, the duration of the cycle, although can be predicted, it can be influenced by external factor that shortens or extend that period. The role of marketing, in that regard, is changing the technique according to each stage of the marketing to adjust to the challenges and the opportunities of each stage (2007). Thus, by monitoring and controlling the product’s life cycle line or curve, the company can have important insights about each stage, and the marketing adjusting its position according to such insights.

Research

The industry of video consoles is a specific sphere where marketing and the life cycle of the product, game consoles are closely interrelated. Considering the aforementioned companies, there are examples in each of the company’s products that demonstrate the implementation of the concept of the product life cycle. Taking the example of Microsoft with their previously released console Xbox in 2001, and the successor in 2005, the life cycle was less than four years. Considering that, “Video game consoles and software move from the introduction stage to the maturity stage in five years”(Kerin et al., 2003), it can be seen that the decision to drop the product and switch to the next was based on the early decline stage. Thus, the marketing department saved the marketing costs of continuing Xbox promotion, and introduced the new one earlier than their competitors.

A different approach can be seen in the example of Sony Entertainment System, where their console Play Station 2 was released in 2000, and the successor Play Station 3 in 2006. The company prolonged the maturity stage of their first console by differentiating their console and releasing a cheaper and slimmer version, and encouraging customers to switch to their offering. Thus, the company acknowledged the timing when the products exceeds the demand, and thus offered basically the same product in a new shell and with reduced price to attract new buyers. Even with a newer console out in the market, the old product is still selling well and offering new looks. In that regard, marketing could use the product life cycle to mix the products, plan the next release, and adjust the curve of the product to delay the decline stage.

Conclusion

It can be concluded through the provided examples that using the product’s life cycle, the company can adjust its marketing processes to either shorten the life cycle and switch to another product, or maximize the profit from the existent product and delay its decline. Nevertheless, the advantages are not limited to such purposes, where additionally, product’s life cycle can help the company to time their marketing campaigns to achieve maximal results.

References

1. (2005) Shortages spoil Xbox 360 launch. BBC. Web.
2. (2006) PlayStation 3 sells out at launch. BBC. Web.
3. (2007) The Product Life Cycle. Net MBA. Web.
4. COLLINS, D. (2009) The advantages of the product life cycle concept. Dave Talks.
5. IGO (2002) Xbox Retrospective: All-Time Top Xbox News. Gamer 2.0. Web.
6. KERIN, R. A., HARTLEY, S. W. & RUDELIUS, W. (2003) Marketing : the core. McGraw-Hill/Irwin series in marketing. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
7. SCEJ (2007) PLAYSTATION®2 (SCPH-90000 SERIES) COMES IN A NEW DESIGN. SCEJ.