The Decade’s Game Changers

Yahoo Games says where science has come short with what we expected by 2010 ( flying cars ), videogames have managed to make the 2000s their greatest decade.  The site has picked their top ten games of the decade, basing the list on quality, influence and sales, among other considerations.  The list is as noteworthy for its thoughtful selections as it is for its inconsiderate omissions.  (Editor s note: the task of picking ten games over ten years, in every genre and on every platform, is not an enviable one.)

Check out the game changers at Yahoo! Games {link no longer active}.

Trend Horizon For Digital Marketing

Writing for Ad Age, Dynamic Logic s Ken Mallon and Millward Brown s Duncan Southgate have put together a rundown of digital marketing trends in the coming year based on insight provided by researcher Millward Brown Futures Group.  Part one covers the top five trends, with five more to follow.

In this piece, the pair looks at the evolution of online display, the growth of mobile and mobile-centric apps such as location marketing, the broadening opportunity for marketers in casual and social games, and the maturation of viral videos into a valuable and effectively measurable tool.  One useful insight provided upfront: these innovations and their ongoing evolution as effective marketing and communications tools don t affect one fundamental of branding: the need to be engaging and relevant.

Read more at Ad Age. {link no longer active}

Crop Of Delayed Films Hitting Theatres In 2010

Writing for NY Times, Michael Cieply covers how a surprising number of major feature films got delays of as much as two years and are now just hitting theatres.  Cieply says the delays were mostly strategic moves by the studios.  Some films are affected by last year s writers strike.  In other cases, it s been a common reshuffling for films to either avoid or enter the fray in the period leading into Oscar season.  Still, Cieply says the number of delays is unusual, with 16 of 28 films scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2010 put in the can in 2008 or earlier.  So is the caliber of some of the movies, with Martin Scorcese, Matt Damon and Ethan Hawke vehicles among those getting the lag treatment.  Cieply gives insight into what led to the decision for some of the highest-profile films in the don’t-open-’til-2010 crop.

Read more at NY Times.

Final Fantasy Shatters Japan Sales Record

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII has become the first game to sell more than a million units on PlayStation 3 in Japan, and it reached the milestone in a single day.  As reported in Business Insider, the game moved more than a million units on launch day to break the PS3 record.  It has since doubled the lifetime tally for previous PS3 record holder, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4, moving more than 1.5 million units in its first four days on shelves.  Business Insider says the game also helped sales of PS3, with Sony s console setting its own weekly sales record in Japan with more than 245,000 units sold last week.

Read more at Business Insider {link no longer active}.

No Baggage Fees, Yahoo!

Yahoo picked up baggage fees for travelers at two San Francisco area airports as part of a marketing stunt, reports Ad Age.  The company sent representatives to San Francisco International and San Jose International airports to execute the stunt and managed to get coverage on local TV.  Yahoo called the move one small act of kindness.   Ad Age sees brilliance in a marketing stunt based on messaging that Yahoo is making “navigating the world simpler and cheaper.”

Read more at Ad Age {link no longer active}.

GameTrailers ‘GotY Awards 2009’

GameTrailers has their look back at the year that was with their Game of the Year Awards 2009.   The site picks their winners in more than 20 categories, with each getting a video featuring the nominees and listing off why they deserved distinction.  It s as much a best of list for the year as it is series of critical briefs of what set certain games apart in their genre, game play styles and production value.

See them all at GameTrailers.com {link no longer active}.

Environment Trailer With A Punch

Sega is showing that it s figured out the formula for its combo license Alien vs. Predator.   Put the audience through sequences of suffocating fear, then punctuate with mayhem and gory action.  Their latest video for the game uses that formula to good effect, taking what initially starts as an environment trailer it s even titled as one but ends up being so much more.  The nifty treatment of the tagline at end is noteworthy for its hint to what defines the game play.

Watch it at GameTrailers {link no longer active}.

Gutting The Playfish deal

Writing for Edge-Online, Alex Wilshire conducts an extensive interview with Playfish chief Kristian Segerstrale.  Wilshire digs into what led up to the EA acquisition and what each company hopes to get out of the partnership.  At one point he asks Segerstrale if the approach by EA so soon after it had announced missed earnings and layoffs made Playfish nervous.

Read the full interview at Edge-Online {link no longer active}.

3D Videogames Summit On The Horizon

Events company Unicomm and former Hollywood Reporter publisher Bob Dowling are organizing a summit for 3D games, reports Edge-Online.  The organizers say the summit is in response to the growing potential for 3D games as stereoscopic 3D TVs make their way into people s homes.  Unicom head John Golicz says he expects a deluge of 3D products unveiled at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show.  The 3D game summit is slated for April 21-22, 2010, in Los Angeles.

Read more at Edge-Online {link no longer active}.

Namco Bandai Expands Digital Offerings On Consoles

Namco Bandai is looking to increase its offerings of current and classic games on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, reports Edge-Online.  The publisher says it is bringing more content to both console nets, with PSN getting new PSP games and classic PS1 titles from its library.  It didn’t specify what XBL would be getting.

Read more at Edge-Online {link no longer active}.