Namco Bandai’s online and mobile games division Namco Networks has said more than 23 million apps have been downloaded from its library of games for iPhone and iPod Touch, reports Edge-Online. It said the total represents an average of more than 36,000 apps served daily. The company s current catalogue of titles for Apple s mobile devices include 24 games, with both original titles and franchise-based fare such as Pac-Man.
Read more at Edge-Online.
Nintendo has enlisted Beyoncé for downloadable content for the fashion simulation DS game Style Savvy, reports LetsGoDigital. The publisher is offering five designs from the entertainer s clothing line Deréon that players can download to their DS through a broadband Wi-Fi connection. Nintendo will promote the DLC with two TV spots starring Beyoncé airing on Nickelodeon in the lead up to the network’s Kids Choice Awards. LetsGoDigital did not state a price nor say if the DLC is available for free. The outlet added that Nintendo has had a marketing relationship with Beyoncé since she appeared in ads for the 2009 DS game Rhythm Heaven. Read more at LetsGoDigital.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Microsoft has issued a media advisory for its upcoming Xbox expo X10. The event is Microsoft’s first since it held X06, and then scheduled but ultimately cancelled X07 in 2007. Seattle P-I says games slated to be part of the expo include Halo: Reach, “Splinter Cell Conviction,” “Alan Wake,” “Crackdown 2,” and “Fable III. It’s scheduled to take place Feb. 11 at the Terra Event Center in San Francisco. Read more at Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
EA and Digital Illusions continue the distinct tone they’ve set for the Battlefield: Bad Company series in the sequel s game play trailer. While the setting is yet another visualization of current world order gone awry, there s a lot less drama about it in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. One of the more head-banging tracks from rockers Queens of the Stone Age providing the soundtrack helps set that mood. Maybe EA is setting up their feel good hit of the winter. Worth noting is a hint that the series trademark destructible environments might deliver on a massive, metropolis scale in the sequel.
Watch it at GameTrailers.
There s a bold line between Wedbush Morgan Securities game industry analyst Michael Pachter and stock market prognosticator turned noisemaker James Cramer. The line may have been made finer now that GameTrailers convinced the respected analyst to try his hand at showmanship in their new “Pach-Attack!” program. Take a look at the video and you can almost imagine the type of props and devices Cramer uses on his CNBC show Mad Money showing up on Pachter s set. On the other hand, this could shape up to be a solid platform for getting out news about the business side of games, something the industry is lacking here in the US. In the meantime no promises from the[a]listdaily that we ll feature every episode, but now you know about it. The series launches with the analyst giving a two-and-a-half minute primer on what hurt and helped game industry sales in 2009.
Watch it at GameTrailers.
Keep an eye out tomorrow for the[a]listdaily s take on the most profitable film of all time, including an exclusive interview with Amy Powell, senior vice president of interactive marketing at Paramount Pictures.
Writing for Business Insider, Nick Saint breaks down the business behind MTV Games and Harmonix’s Rock Band Network. Saint delves into the pricing model and development time to create tracks. He talks to those involved about the network’s potential to bring music games out of their slump, and touches on whether the genre’s other big player Activision needs to be worried.
Read the article at Business Insider.
Writing for Industry Gamers, the analyzing minds at DFC Intelligence have penned a report on coming trends in the game industry. Tapping into their archive of research, including analysis they conducted a couple of years ago for institutional investors hedging on Nintendo, the firm forecasts how new devices and changing gamer demographics are reshaping the game marketplace.
Shack News lists this week s videogame releases.
EA and Bioware’s role-playing action game Mass Effect 2 is the week s headliner. Plenty of marketing including hefty TV buys during the NFL playoffs have helped push the sequel. It’s an Xbox 360 console exclusive that s also coming to PC. Wii gets some love from Ubisoft and Grasshopper Manufacture in the quality mature content category with their sequel No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. PlayStation 3 players get Sony and Zipper Interactive s attempt to establish a franchise and a game genre in one fell swoop with MAG a.k.a. Massive Action Game. Also worthy of mention is Capcom’s cameo-fest for the 2D fighting genre in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars for Wii.
Check out the full list at Shack News.
In case you missed it, in which case you also missed the reason Brett Favre Nation is now looking to next season, EA and developer Bioware bought massive airtime during last night s late NFL playoff game. As reported in MediaPost, the game makers’ ad buy during the NFC Championship game between New Orleans and Minnesota included interstitials, traditional spots, and a slot late in the game for a two-minute trailer. EA senior ad manager Dustin Shekell told another news outlet, Marketing Daily, that the effort was to reach an audience during the most-watched, male-oriented, nationally televised program on-air just prior to the game’s launch. MediaPost says BioWare also helped drive an audience to the TV buy. The developer organized a live internet event taking place during the football game and promoted it through Mass Effect pages on Twitter and Facebook. BioWare said the game s social media community numbers more than 5 million registered users. During the internet event developers talked to gamers about their upcoming videogame along with happenings in the NFC game.
What EA and BioWare should be most thrilled about today is that the game was a high-scoring heart-stopper that went into overtime, likely retaining a good chunk of its audience by the time the Mass Effect trailer aired. Mass Effect 2 launches tomorrow. New Orleans plays Indianapolis in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
Read more at MediaPost.
