Kotick Sees Big Opportunity For Black Ops

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Call of Duty is coming off its most successful entry ever in Modern Warfare 2 and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick wants to keep up the momentum. Despite the fact that Black Ops will be from a different developer than Modern Warfare 2 (Treyarch, not Infinity Ward), he thinks the time is ripe for the game to be even bigger.

“[Call of Duty: Black Ops] is across the board, the biggest investment that we’ve ever made in a launch of a title. And I think when audiences see the product, they’ll see why we’re doing it this way,” he said to investors on a recent conference call. “But the market opportunity is bigger than it’s ever been. The installed base of hardware is bigger than it’s ever been. The product has incredibly broad appeal, but it also has a whole host of functions that are going to be unique to the core consumer. And from that perspective, we feel like it’s the most appropriate Activision product to put these kinds of resources behind.”

X-Men: First Class Director Says People Will Get ‘Bored’ Of Super Hero Films

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Matthew Vaughn, who directed and co-wrote Kick-Ass and is now directing X-Men: First Class, knows a thing or two about comics and comic movies. However, he thinks that the current boom of super hero movies will bust in the near future.

“It’s been mined to death and in some cases the quality control is not what it’s supposed to be,” Vaughn said. “People are just going to get bored of it.”

“I’ve always wanted to do a big-budget superhero film and I think we’ve kind of crossed the Rubicon with superhero films,” Vaughn said. “I think [the opportunity to do one], it’s only going to be there two or three more times.”

“Then,” he added, “the genre is going to be dead for a while because the audience has just been pummeled too much.”

His movie will join Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor and Green Lantern next summer. He believes the torrid pace and unsuccessful projects (like this year’s Jonah Hex and The Losers) will make comic projects toxic.

“It is a crowded room,” Vaughn said “It’s too crowded.”

Source: Los Angeles Times {link no longer active}

Google, Verizon Deny Tiered Mobile Web Plans

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The New York Times recently reported that Google and Verizon Wireless are looking to create pay tiers for Web sites on mobile phones. The two companies came out and issued flat denials to those claims.

“[NY Times] is wrong,” Google said on its public policy Twitter feed. “We’ve not had any convos with VZN [Verizon] about paying for carriage of our traffic. We remain committed to an open Internet.”

“The NYT article… is mistaken,” David Fish, Verizon’s executive director of media relations, on the company’s public policy blog. “It fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. As we said in our earlier FCC filing, our goal is an Internet policy framework that ensures openness and accountability and incorporates specific FCC authority, while maintaining investment and innovation. To suggest this is a business arrangement between our companies is entirely incorrect.”

Source: AdWeek {link no longer active}

Guillermo del Toro Working With THQ – Report

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Guillermo del Toro is reportedly working towards a deal with THQ. The director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy is looking to bring his particular creative vision to video games with a company more and more focused on core products.

Danny Bilson, THQ’s executive vice president of core games, is said to be the main driver behind bringing del Toro on. Bilson has an entertainment background, having co-written the 1991 Disney film The Rocketeer, and he was co-creator and executive producer for the TV show The Flash.

Source: L.A. Times

[a]list summit Shines Spotlight On Game Marketing

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We’re here in gorgeous Napa, California at Ayzenberg’s third annual [a]list summit, which just wrapped up after a full day of panels and a special keynote speech from Atari founder Nolan Bushnell.

The social media experts at Ayzenberg appropriately emphasized the social nature of video game marketing and how those in the industry can adapt to the changing landscape. The summit’s theme this year was CCCP, or Content. Conversation. Conversion. Participation.

Those four key words were touched upon in numerous presentations. David Perry explained his Gaikai business model; another panel dived into the art of selling game digitally; the future of 3D entertainment and gaming was discussed, and more.

[a]listdaily will be bringing you stories and some video interviews from the summit over the next week. Stay tuned!

Feature: Microsoft, Kinect And The Volt

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Last week, we talked with Chevrolet about the integration of the Volt into Kinect Joy Ride and the larger partnership with Microsoft. This week, we got Microsoft’s take on the campaign, talking with Sean Alexander, Director, Product Management, Advertising Business Group for Microsoft.

[a]list: Tell me a little about how this campaign first came about between Chevrolet and Microsoft.

Sean Alexander: Sure, and let me talk about our division at Microsoft first. We are a team that works directly with the Xbox leadership as it relates to ad experience, making sure we put the consumers’ experience first. If you see free downloadable packs on Xbox Live, we have a hand in that. So you can think of us as Microsoft Advertising, but we work with Xbox leadership extensively.

Anyway, it started at Cannes about a year ago; we were showing how you can engage with the consumer across multiple screens and we wanted to show how you could go from a trailer to multiple devices. We wanted a partner who wanted to engage with consumers on Xbox. We had Kinect Joy Ride, and we used that as a jumping off point. They were doing some great stuff with the Volt and they said, ‘Hey, why don’t we connect with this family friendly title ‘ So that became the anchor point, and from there, we made it a multi-screen campaign. The Volt will be ramping up production over the next year, so they’ll be doing a series of events and we’ll work with them to build an end-to-end experience that consumers will see and explore the technology. They’ll be able to unlock the Volt in the game and take place in these metropolitan events where you can see it face to face.

[a]list: Why do you feel the Volt is the perfect car to lead many of these initiatives?

Sean Alexander: If you think about the amount of innovation involved in the Volt… as a consumer, I look at the Volt and see the revolution behind the power-train that powers the battery, creating a fresh look at an electric car. If you think about the vehicles in Kinect Joy Ride, none of the other vehicles are licensed named vehicles. They might be wondering about what the Volt can do for them, and we would like to make it a conversation about the innovation in the Volt. Even if they’re not experienced with the Volt and they can connecting with the car in the game.

[a]list: It seems like Kinect is the leading edge of a technology with a lot of possibilities around the house.

Sean Alexander: We’re keeping the focus for Kinect on entertainment and games right now. It will broaden the appeal of Xbox 360. Where it goes from there is not something we’re discussing right now.

The Volt in Kinect Joy Ride.

[a]list: Certainly, it seems to be a significant movement for Microsoft and the Xbox 360.

Sean Alexander: The first wave was the HD console with games like Halo 3, and now we’ve been working on the New Xbox Experience, with things like Netflix integration. This is the begining of the third generation, with Kinect and games like Dance Central and Zumba Fitness. We think it represents a new age.

[a]list: Talk to me about integration of the Volt into Kinect Joy Ride.

Sean Alexander: We split it up into two phases. The Volt will ship on each of the discs, and 3 GM vehicles will be available to download later.

[a]list: Describe the Pivot technology and why you think that will be key for digital showrooms.

Sean Alexander: Imagine taking a massive amount of information – all makes and models for all vehicles, and if you took all the information for those vehicles and presented it in an way easy to consume. In a few clicks you can narrow it down to what matters to you. It starts on MSN Autos. You can start with the type, like a pickup or hybrid. And then you select things that are important to you, like cost or carbon imprint. There have been images of cars that collapse into a bar chart representing the different cars. Between the experience that Chevy wants to show, Pivot is a great way to display the Volt officially.

Also, and this is just me idly theorizing, if you think about it for sports, it could simplify the massive amount of statistics into something simple; it’d be very useful to sports fans. It’s freely available on the Microsoft website! We’re also working on a new ad unit for Microsoft Pivot. It’s part of a traditional display ad, but now you’re using a combination of technologies.

[a]list: Tell me about the potential for Kinect Joy Ride at Chevy promotional events as not only a way to show off the Volt, but also the Kinect camera itself.

Sean Alexander: One of the things we’re working on is demo pods with Kinects at pop up events. We’d like to have a number of demo pods, so they can test [the Volt] out in Kinect Joy Ride. One of the neater features is the ability to snap a photo of you. If you’ve been to an amusement park and they snap your photo on a roller coaster, we want a similar experience. We want to give something to people that they can bring home.

[a]list: How extensive is the ad campaign on MSN and Xbox Live for the Volt?

Sean Alexander: It’s an act in development, but in its essence, what we were planning to do is a multiscreen campaign, showing off in the Joy Ride title with the in-game integration. You will see the Volt in advertisements on the Xbox Live network, that people will be able to interact with. Windows Phone 7 will also be integrated with the Volt as part of the pre-sale experience.

[a]list: It seems like a large part of your pitch is saying you reach a broad number of screens.

Sean Alexander: It’s a key differentiator, to reach the audience on the screen that means the most to them. The value exchange on Xbox is hard to match. Multiscreen advertising is a unique thing that Microsoft can do, it broadens the potential, fitting hand and glove with what Chevrolet wants to do with the Volt.

[a]list: Thanks Shawn.

Game Center Cut Out Of Older iPhones, iPod Touches

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Apple today confirmed that the Game Center for the iOS will not be supported by the iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod Touches. The multiplayer and social networking tool features a friends system, achievements and leaderboards.

This was revealed to those in the iPhone Developer Program for the third beta of iOS 4.1.  Game Center will still be available on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, the latest iPod Touch, and the iPad.

Source: Engadget