Netflix Taps Wii Audience

BY

After months of waiting, today Netflix officially launched on Nintendo’s Wii. Netflix subscribers who own a Wii can order the necessary disc required for streaming free of charge. The Wii has the largest installed base of the three gaming consoles, so this is a big marketing opportunity for Netflix to win over some new consumers.

“More than 28 million people already use the Wii console to play games, stay fit and have fun,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “Now they have another reason to use the system every day – to enjoy great movies from Netflix and other video content.”

“Launching Netflix on the Wii home console marks a significant advance in the evolution of our service,” said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. “Wii has created immense consumer excitement and has meaningfully altered the consumer electronics landscape. Bringing Netflix to Wii catapults us toward our goal of being ubiquitous on the connected devices most popular with consumers.”

Mario Creator Promises His ‘Best Is Yet To Come’

BY

Shigeru Miyamoto has already created some of the greatest brands and most marketable properties in video games (and arguably in any entertainment medium). And yet, the man behind Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Wii Fit, Wii Sports and more believes he can produce even better results in the future.

Speaking to GamesTM, as reported by MCV, Miyamoto commented, “In the past five years I’ve been working on such unusual titles like Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort. Ten years ago I could never have been able to imagine that I would be making games like that. That’s why I can say that the best is yet to come to me.”

One thing we’ve learned over the years is to never doubt Miyamoto or Nintendo. He’s not perfect, but he and Nintendo seem to have a keen understanding not just of gameplay but also marketing and how to appeal to a wide audience.

Google Testing Tablet Computer

BY

Apple’s iPad is a hit, and it seems that it may be the first drop in a deluge of tablet style computers. For one, rival Google is apparently working in secret on a tablet computer of their own that will be part of a larger push by the company into new areas.

“Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, told friends at a recent party in Los Angeles about the new device, which would exclusively run the Android operating system,” writes Ashlee Vance. “People with direct knowledge of the project who did not want to be named because they said they were unauthorized to speak publicly about the device said the company had been experimenting in ‘stealth mode’ with a few publishers to explore delivery of books, magazines and other content on a tablet.”

Source New York Times

Internet, Social Sites On The Rise With All Consumers

BY

Nearly half of all Americans over the age of 12 are members of some sort of social network according to a survey by Arbitron and Edison Research, an increase from 24 percent just two years ago.

“Social networking has become a part of mainstream media behavior,” said Tom Webster, VP of strategy and marketing at Edison Research.

While the percentage increases the younger you go, 51 percent of American adults have personal profile pages. This makes social networks a vital component of any ad campaign, and certainly game marketers have been paying more attention to social marketing of late.

“The use of social networking sites has expanded beyond younger consumers, with substantial numbers of Americans over the age of 35 now using social media,” said Bill Rose, SVP of marketing at Arbitron.

When asked which medium was the most essential, 42 percent choose the Internet, compared to 37 chosing the television, 14 percent choosing radio and five percent citing newspapers. Still, the importance of radio cannot be understated, and it represents another medium for marketers to tap. “Americans continue to hold radio in high regard, with nearly eight in ten saying they plan to listen to as much AM/FM radio in the future as they do now – despite advances of technology,” said Rose.

Source: MediaPost {link no longer active}

Tiger Woods Ad Provokes ‘Confusion’ And ‘Skepticism’ In Consumers

BY

Tiger Woods’ first Nike ad since returning from his public humiliation over various affairs certainly generated buzz, but not necessarily positive reactions. HCD Research said that favorability of the Nike brand fell from 92 percent to 79 percent as a result of the ad.

Additionally, some 29 percent of viewers said they were less likely to purchase Tiger Woods-related products after seeing the ad, compared to six percent who said they were more likely. The top emotions the ad conveyed were confusion and skepticism followed by sadness and disturbing.

Some ad executive at Nike no doubt thought they were being really clever with the ad (which features a voice over from Tiger’s deceased father Earl) but it doesn’t look like it hit the right notes. It’ll be a touchy issue to feature Tiger in ads while memories of his unfaithfulness are still fresh.

Source: MediaPost  {link no longer active}

Conan O’Brien Looking To Be ‘Very Funny’ On TBS

BY

It was announced today what Conan O’Brien’s next stop at late-night will be, and it won’t be Fox like many suspected. It will, surprisingly, be TBS.  While the funnyman was in talks with everyone from Fox to Microsoft for Xbox Live, TBS ultimately had the best offer.

“In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable,” said O’Brien. “My plan is working perfectly.”

O’Brien was initially reluctant to occupy the 11 p.m. slot that George Lopez had been in, until Lopez called and asked him personally to come on TBS. Lopez Tonight will now air at midnight.

“I can’t think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in,” Lopez said. “It’s the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy.”

Conan O’Brien tends to attract a younger demographic than other veteran talk show hosts, and that could be a prime target for gaming marketers. Jimmy Fallon has already made great hay out of hosting game designers and having world premieres, including this week with Epic Game’s Cliff Bleszinski.

“For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television,” TBS president Steve Koonin said. “Now, with a young audience and a growing late-night lineup, TBS is set to be the choice of comedy fans for years to come.”

3D Puts Hollywood At Crossroads, Says Dreamworks Executive

BY

3D is one of the most hotly debated subjects in Hollywood, with some considering it the next big thing and others thinking it is just a fad. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg sees the potential in 3D for movies but he thinks that shoddy conversions could really hamper the medium and ultimately make the ads proclaiming “See it in 3D” have much less impact.

“I think we are at a genuine crossroads. Today, 3D in theaters offers probably the greatest innovation and opportunity for movie makers, studios, exhibitors and, most importantly, the consumers, of anything that’s come along in several decades,” said Katzenberg. “I think people have really misunderstood what my anxieties have been about in these last few weeks. We had the largest 3D release platform for Dragons than any movie today. It’s not been about losing 3D screens for Dragons.”

“So the issue of Clash of the Titans is actually not about theater (capacity) and theater access, it is about (what) that movie represents — a different experience. And in my opinion, one that, if replicated, and becomes the standard, is the end of 3D,” he continued. “We’ve seen the highest end of (3D) in Avatar and you have now witnessed the lowest end of it (in Titans). You cannot do anything that is of a lower grade and a lower quality than what has just been done on Clash of the Titans. It literally is ‘OK, congratulations! You just snookered the movie audience.’ The act of doing it was disingenuous. We may get away with it a few times but in the long run, (moviegoers) will wake up. And the day they wake up is the day they walk away from us and we blew it.”

Source: Variety

On-Demand Generation: How to Reach Them

BY

While media companies may think that the younger generation of consumers, weened on things like bit.torrent and YouTube, aren’t willing to pay for content, that’s not entirely true. What is demanded by new consumers is having their content everywhere, on-demand.

As a group, the young adults spend nearly eight hours a day consuming media, so they’re clearly a ripe audience for marketers. Some advice for reaching them includes the fact that they want instant gratification, whether it’s downloading songs, DVRing TV or looking up info on the Internet. They will also pay when given the right options, such as with iTunes. Finally, the younger generation has grown up with high quality technology, so they demand no less from their digital content.

The full report is available at  Ad Age {link no longer active}.

F.E.A.R. Reborn In New Trailer

BY

We recently brought you first word on the announcement for F.E.A.R. 3 and how WB Games is wisely leveraging John Carpenter’s expertise and horror brand to boost the game’s profile. Now the first teaser trailer for the game has been released. Put together by Ayzenberg (the folks who publish this newsletter you’re reading now), the video perfectly sets the mood for the horror vibe that the F.E.A.R. franchise is establishing. Occasional in-game clips are interwoven with scary live-action scenes. Check it out below, courtesy of GameTrailers.

{video link no longer active}

ndo Wii

Saw 2 Not For The Squeamish

BY

Warner Bros’ F.E.A.R. 3 isn’t the only horror video game announced this week. Konami has unveiled Saw 2, another game based on the popular Saw horror film franchise. While the movie series seems to have jumped the shark a while ago already, Konami is hopeful it can still leverage the property. The game sequel is set between the second and third movie, and is slated to launch this fall. This newly released trailer certainly gets the blood flowing… literally. If you don’t want to see someone’s eyelid cut open with a blade, then don’t watch the video below (courtesy of GameVideos).

{video link no longer active}