The Red Ring Of Death Is No More?

From IndustryGamers:

Today, IndustryGamers received new survey data from SquareTrade, which claims to be the largest independent warranty provider in the world. The study compared the malfunction rates for all three consoles and found the Wii to be nine times more reliable than Xbox 360 and four times more reliable than PS3. That said, there has been significant improvement with Xbox 360 and the RROD problem. SquareTrade’s data shows that the introduction of the Jasper chipset in late 2008 “has likely solved” the RROD problem.

The Xbox 360 problems seemed to have hit as high as 24 percent of all owners in the first two years of their purchase. PS3 faired better at 10 percent, while less than 3 percent of Wii owners experienced a hardware failure.

Is the albatross of the red ring of death, something that has been a bane in anyone pushing an Xbox 360 product, finally coming to an end   We hope so.

Sony Says Thank You With An Ad

From Kotaku:

How thoughtful! A PlayStation Network promotion wrapped in a thank you note sent to selected folks. Sony, you should’ve have. No, really. You shouldn’t have.

A better idea would have been to include at least a promotional coupon or exclusive demo available to the users you’re emailing. They’ve already proven a willingness to spend on the network, so why risk alienating some of them with a disingenuous message like the one Sony sent

 

Sony Gets A ‘Mac Guy’

Sony’s recently redesigned PS3 came with a price drop to $299, and a look at the future of their message of an all-in-one entertainment device. Their marketing has centered around somewhat eccentric commercials that portray PS3 as an experience, but in this economy, Sony is shifting to showcase the value of owning a PS3.

From Ad Age:

The character of Kevin Butler is part office drone, part smart-ass customer-service rep in the new style of ads that are more feature- and benefit-driven than any previous PS3 work. Nine creative executions with Kevin Butler at their center will address the different capabilities of the now-almost-3-year-old video-game console, pointing up everything from Blu-ray-movie playing to wireless connectivity. The tagline is “It only does everything.”

Peter Dille, senior VP-marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America, joked that Kevin Butler is “the Shell answer man at Sony,” changing jobs and swapping out ridiculous titles in each ad.

“Humor, and especially irreverent humor, has been part of the PlayStation brand for a long time,” Mr. Dille said. “The price move [to $299 last week] to us is only half of the story. … We believe [the new ads] will work hard to reposition the PS3 for a more mass audience.”

The new commercials showcase Kevin Butler (played by actor Jerry Lambert) in a series of customer service discussions with everyone from a rumor-mongering blogger to a concerned girlfriend that doesn’t understand why her beau hasn’t hooked his PS3 into the Internet. His response to the latter? What s wrong with him?!

This is head-and-shoulders above Sony’s previous marketing campaigns for PS3, and ties together the new price in a great way for increasingly budget-conscious consumers. Take a look at a couple of the videos below:

 

Guitar Hero Brand Undergoes Tweaking

From Pentagram:

Today, Guitar Hero releases Guitar Hero 5, setting the stage for the next evolution of Activision’s business growth: the introduction later this fall of Band Hero and DJ Hero. This required the company to reexamine its overall brand identity for the first time. Activision enlisted Pentagram to assist in this effort.

The original Guitar Hero logotype expressed the brand’s heavy metal roots. Idiosyncratic with a vengeance, it became more and more complicated with the introduction of successive game versions. The extension of the “Hero” brand to new platforms, including Band Hero (a multiplayer game featuring a broader range of pop music) and DJ Hero (a new turntable-based experience where the player spins and scratches songs in unique mixes), called for a redrawn logotype that could consistently work across the range of product types.

What do you think of the new logotype? You can see a comparison here, and we’d love to read your comment below.

 

 

Rock Band Hits The Bar Scene

Rock Band is a great game, but it s just a little bit better when people get a little loose with some liquid courage. That s why Harmonix’s new effort to bring Rock Band to bars across the country is a fantastic idea.

Bar owners interested in the program are asked to sign up at RockBand.com/BarNights for a package that includes use of Rock Band promotional materials and logos, promotion of the bar s events on the Rock Band site, and, more interestingly, access to the game’s full catalog of over 800 songs.

We’ll keep track of this, but it s a great way to get in front of the consumers who have put the music genre on top and may have forgotten about games like Rock Band in recent months. First round’s on us.

Prepare For Video Games To Overtake Movies, TV

From Barron’s:

The videogame industry’s opportunity, to hear Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Bobby Kotick tell it, is nothing less than a chance to vanquish the film and television industries, a process that is unfolding now and could be realized in five years: “I view the medium as having the potential to eclipse film and television,” he asserted in a telephone interview from his office in the heart of the world’s entertainment capital. (Activision Blizzard is the only videogame company that is so situated.)

His industry will get its chance, says Kotick, when the next generation of hardware makes it possible to master the difficult art of facial animation, bringing characters to life and providing an emotional connection that allows for better storytelling and character development — what film and TV deliver today. The notion is not as far out as it might seem, as anyone with teenagers can attest. Already, videogames have begun providing an interactive and physical experience, with systems such as Nintendo’s Wii and games like Guitar Hero, that go well beyond anything on film and TV in terms of audience interaction and participation.

Video games have already made their impact on pop culture, with game-based movies Prince of Persia, Bioshock and Halo making regular headlines on Variety and The Hollywood Reporter as they get developed.

Considering the strides made in creating all-in-one entertainment platforms with Xbox 360 and PS3, we tend to agree that there’s a lot of unrealized potential there. It’s just a matter of having the right games and hardware at the right price points, and with the right marketing to expand the audience.

The Nintendo Wii shows it s not enough to just engage the hardcore, but to try and open up a mainstream consumer in ways that are still unrealized by Microsoft and Sony. The strides of the latter two companies are admirable with Blu-Ray and digital distribution, but until there s a low cost console that focuses on, say, the Netflix/Facebook/Twitter integration on Xbox 360, Kotick’s words will go unproven.

Massive Announces Massive In-Game Ad Deals

From Joystiq:

Microsoft’s in-game ad company, Massive, has announced that it will be providing ads for several major publishers this fall, namely THQ, EA and Activision. Massive will supply ads for EA’s sports lineup — including Madden NFL 10 — and Need for Speed: Shift. For Activision, the company will provide ads for the many upcoming Hero games, including Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero and Band Hero, as well as Tony Hawk Ride and Blur. There will also be ads in THQ’s MX vs ATV Reflex as well as its smash hit UFC 2009: Undisputed. Also, expect ads in Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Conviction — projected on the walls, perhaps — when it launches next year.

You can take a look at all the details on their official page here, with an interesting deal with Blizzard and the revamp Battle.net probably kicking off with the hotly-anticipated Starcraft II. Recent integrations include a summer-long Sprint campaign for 1 Vs. 100, and in-ring and banner ads in the latest edition of EA’s Fight Night.