These days every game has some sort of basic promotional website, usually just featuring some screenshots, videos, information and a plea to like or follow the game on social networks.
Well, LucasArts has “used the Force” to create something that goes far beyond to help promote the upcoming release of Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. The site essentially becomes an interactive game unto itself where you can control a clone and jump and shoot on-screen using your keyboard.
The original Tron is one of the oldest movies that veers in the direction of the gaming medium. Games, however, are looked at in a different light by Hollywood, if you ask Tron’s creator, Steve Lisberger, who came up with the idea from Tron over 28 years ago.
“I like the fact that the games in some ways are a visual and a narrative test bed for Hollywood, where some of the more far-out ideas can be experimented with on a somewhat smaller scale than having to ratchet them all the way up to a film like Tron: Legacy,” Lisberger said. “I think that’s a good relationship between games and films.”
Of course, in an ideal world, both the game and movie for a particular property will help to cross-promote both mediums. “Games and movies are very different experiences and it’s great to have one leverage the other into the home theater environment. I think there’s room for both and I can’t wait to play the Tron game in 3D myself,” said Tron: Legacy director Joe Kosinski about Disney’s Tron: Evolution game.
Source: Disney
Square Enix has some of the most beloved game franchises, especially for RPG fans. Now the Japanese publisher has launched an online manga store to offer fans electronic editions of popular Square Enix manga series, such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater.
The U.S. version of the manga store will kick off with four titles, available at the special sale price of $5.99 for a limited time. The first update is scheduled for January 11, 2011 and new titles will be added bi-monthly after January.
The publisher said it “aims to provide a global audience with easy access to localized versions of its popular manga titles through streaming. Also, through cooperation with regional localization/publishing companies, SQUARE ENIX will endeavor to promote both print and online versions of its manga titles globally. Furthermore, it is the company s aim for the official online distribution service to serve as a deterrent against illegal downloading and piracy.”
Check out the store for yourself to get the latest information on new Square Enix manga.
A few years ago, many industry analysts forecasted all sorts of grand numbers for the in-game advertising sector. The reality, however, is that the market just hasn’t seen a ton of growth. EA’s general manager of free-to-play, Ben Cousins, talks about the stagnant in-game ad market and the rapid growth of micro-transactions.
“We actually aren’t getting much from ad revenue at all. The in-game advertising business hasn’t grown as fast as people expected it to,” he said, adding that “micro-transactions are a far better bet. If you think about how fast the virtual goods business has grown in the last year or so, it s been much quicker and become a much more reliable source of revenue.”
Referring to the upcoming release of Battlefield: Play4Free and last year’s free-to-play Battlefield Heroes, Cousins noted, “We hedged our bets. We thought we d do in-game advertising and virtual goods sales, and one of those took off really fast and the other hasn t really taken off at all.”
Cousins added that in-game ads need to be carefully planned out to succeed. “I think it’s more about specific deals where you can tie the content in, he said. We did a deal with Dr Pepper for Battlefield Heroes, where if you buy a bottle and scan in the code you get an exclusive outfit. That kind of deep integration will work, I think, but I m not convinced that we’ll have billboards in games and things like that. Maybe those days are over.”
Source: Edge {link no longer active}
This is definitely one of the cooler examples of real-world marketing we’ve seen. 56 iPads were put together in such a way to make up the “world’s largest iPhone” at London’s St. Pancras International station. Shortly thereafter, the iPads were given away to celebrate the iPad release of Crystal Dynamics’ Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.
Source: Kotaku
Newzoo has released its 2010 Total Consumer Spend report, which shows that the total gamers wallet has only seen a minor decline of 2 percent since last year. That’s because there’s been a surge in online and free-to-play gaming, helping to compensate for the drop in console game spending. Newzoo found that the total consumer spend on games in the U.S. in 2010 is at $24.7 billion.
Our data shows consumers are not simply moving away from console games, but spreading their budget across more platforms. Their choice of game genre and platform depends on time, place, social setting and the need they are seeking to satisfy at that moment,” said Peter Warman, MD of Newzoo. “There is no longer such thing as a typical casual or core gamer, as on average, consumers play games on more than 3.5 platforms and more than 85 percent of all gamers spends time on casual game platforms. Games are clearly becoming a more integrated part of people’s lives and social activities. The current variety of platforms and game genres combined with the low entry barrier of free-to-play games will ensure further growth in western countries and even more so in emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia.
Source: IndustryGamers {link no longer active}
L.A. Noire has some of the best face animation ever seen in a game, and it wasn’t done with standard mo-cap alone. A new technology captured an actor’s facial performance from all angles.
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We’ve all seen the first trailer for Uncharted 3 by now (and if not, you can right here!), but what sort of work was put into making that excellent reveal trailer? Find out for yourself below.
One of the more elaborate fan mash-ups in recent memory, Modern War Gear Solid, continues with part three. More parody is involved, and an even more epic part 4 is set up!
Recently, the second Humble Indie Bundle released with the hopes of raising money for charity. The results have been tremendous, with revenue driven equating to over $1 million so far.
The outpouring of support has come from over 130,000 gamers, with the average purchase price being $7.53. Markus Persson, the developer of Minecraft, has even ponied up $2,000 for the cause.
It’s $85 worth of content going for whatever you want to pay… if you like indie games please visit http://www.humblebundle.com/.
