WildTangent Games App Launches

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WildTangent has unveiled its new WildTangent Games app and games service. This game app will let players experience TV, music and Facebook all in the same place.

“Our new games service will be an entirely new arena for both game players and the game developers who create great experiences for our consumers,” said Sean Vanderdasson, senior vice president at WildTangent. “We’ll continue to offer games tailored for all members of the household as well as our unique free/rent/own model. Now, however, developers of all types, including social developers and those whose games include digital items, can benefit from inclusion within our service.”

“We’ve been conducting focus groups and researching the game play behavior of our consumers, and believe we’ve created a service that will be enjoyable for our consumers as well as fruitful for game developers,” Vanderdasson continued. “Some new game formats like social games and flash games with digital items can be challenging to monetize. We’re bringing our digital currency and top advertising partners into the mix so our game players can now choose whether they’d like to receive a digital item as a ‘gift’ from a relevant brand, purchase digital items with WildCoins or choose other options. We believe we’ve created a great experience for everyone.”

Vanderdasson added that WildTanget is actively seeking feedback on the new service. The company plans to take suggestions in mind when it releases the full version of the service.

Hitman Posters Tease 2011 Release

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 When a series is well established enough, you can use simple imagery more effectively to convey a message. A couple of concept posters (which are no longer on the graphic designer’s website where they originated) convey a few simple messages: Agent 47 and the Hitman franchise will return in 2011.

Source: Kotaku

Cheetos Goes To War

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Games and Facebook connections are becoming increasingly popular with brands as a way to promote products. Cheetos is doing it by not only having a game on their site, but also connecting to other sites around the internet.

Their game, set up as a conflict between crunchy and puffs, allows players to play an action/strategy game attached to various sites the ad is running on. To find out more, visit battleofthecheetos.com.

Oberon Media Sets A Blaze

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Oberon Media has launched its Blaze platform, designed to let casual game publishers bring social games to Facebook, web portals and mobile phones. This will allow social game developers to both reach the Facebook audience while reaching a larger web audience.

It s a game-changing platform, said Ofer Leidner, chief strategy officer at for Oberon. It tears down the wall between social and casual games. Our partners gain access to an exciting array of games that use social integration to generate traffic and increase revenue. And consumers are able to access all their favorite social and casual games in one place. It’s a win, win, win solution for everyone.

Source: VentureBeat

Kevin Butler Imitation Ad

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It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in which case, TV3 just paid Sony Computer Entertainment America the highest compliment. For their Monday night programming, they’ve created a spot that clearly rips off a Kevin Butler ad, which is included for comparison’s sake.

 

The Social Network Trailer: Become A Fan

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Facebook is one of the most used sites on the internet, and the story behind its origin has been made into a movie. Called The Social Network, the first full trailer for the flick makes deft use of Radiohead’s Creep sung by a choir.

Coke And Pepsi: Diner Ad, Take Two

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In an attempt to revive the competitive spirit between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the former has launched a take off on the ‘Diner’ ad from 1995 (included below for reference). This time, however, the conflict between two soda delivery truck drivers stems from the zero calorie Pepsi Max and Coke Zero.

Thor Verily Comes To Games!

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Sega today announced that they have plans to make a game based upon Marvel’s Thor. Described as a spectacular, epic-scale original third-person adventure, Thor: The Video Game will have players utilizing the power of the storm while wielding the Mjolnir hammer when it releases in 2011.

We are proud to be bringing Marvel s Thor to his first solo video game adventure, commented Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and Sega America. Thor: The Video Game will finally bring the immense power of this iconic hero to lifelong fans, and introduce the God of Thunder to a whole new audience as a true Marvel Super Hero.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are described as being cinematic gaming experiences, while the Wii will have stylized graphics and motion controls. The PSP will have a style comparable to the Wii and the DS version will be a side-scrolling action game.

2010: Year Of Mobile Ads Finally?

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Google’s mobile search volume has increased fivefold since 2008 and the company’s click-to-call mobile ads do 6-8 percent

better than search ads without a number or URL associated with it. We re seeing lots and lots of search activity on smartphones, said Mike Steib, director of emerging platforms at Google.

Smartphone users used the search function 62 percent more in the first quarter of 2010 than they did in the last quarter of 2009. Search on Android phones has grown 300 percent in the first half of 2010, and Steib indicates that tens of millions of people make searches through Google on mobile devices each week, generating hundreds of millions of searches.

Click-to-call ads, which add phone numbers to ads, are becoming increasingly popular. Such campaigns with location extensions or URLs increase 8 percent in average clickthrough rates, and campaigns with phone numbers perform 6 percent better than mobile ads without an extension. Local advertisers were added to click-to-call ads four months ago, which is likely increasing their pull.

As for Apple’s iAd, Steib thinks that it will be a great potential option. While publishers will no doubt want to take advantage of iAd, they will want choices in a diversified mobile market.

Source: Mashable

Raptr Looks To Become Facebook Of Gaming

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Raptr today unveiled Version 1.0 of its universal gaming social network. Over a million users tried out Raptr during its beta, which allows for cross network communication and a universal buddy list.

“We learned from our experience with Guitar Hero that it’s a lot more fun to play games with friends than alone,” said Kai Huang, co-founder of Red Octane and co-creator of Guitar Hero. “By making gaming more of a social experience, Raptr is doing for all games what Facebook did for social games.”

“Over the last two years we have gotten great feedback from our users that has helped us create a service that meets the needs of a more connected gamer who plays games on multiple gaming platforms,” said Dennis Fong, Founder and CEO of Raptr. “With the release of Version 1.0 we hope that gamers will be able to connect with their friends easier and make gaming even more fun for everyone.”

Users can download Raptr for free at http://raptr.com.