Top 10 Ways To Attract Attention To Your Booth

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10. Big images

Don’t shy away from indoor billboard’s calling attention to your product.

9. Wrestling, brother!

If you can have a celebrity associated with your product show up, all the better.

8. Free coffee!

People love consumables, and considering the price that vendors normally have, anything you give for free will be appreciated.

7. Photo ops are always nice

People will like up to get special pictures taken (especially with blonde twins)

6. This.

I don’t think any further explanation is required

5. Free car washes

People have got to park somewhere, so why not shower them with (bikini babes don’t hurt).

4. Take over a building

Nothing says ‘big’ like having your product overlooking a major thoroughfare.

3. Let people interact

People come to cons to be involved, so if you let them indulge they’ll remember positively!

2. Have a tank!

Seriously, these tanks were just awesome.

1. Realistic statues and panoramic displays

Gears of War 3 hit a sweet spot with its booth, and not just because it was a hot game, but also because its set up drew attention whether you meant to be there or not.

 

App Store Tops 15 Billion Downloads

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Apple has announced that the App Store has seen over 15 billion apps downloaded to the over 200 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices worldwide. There are over 425,000 apps today offered, with including 100,000 native iPad apps.

In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen, said Philip Schiller, Apple s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.

iPad provides us with an unparalleled mobile device for creating gorgeous, immersive games, said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games. Infinity Blade has been a runaway hit with customers around the world and we couldn’t be more excited about our success on iOS devices.

Facebook Chat: How It Can Benefit Your Business

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Facebook recently made a big to-do about the fact that it has partnered with Skype for video chat. There’s good reasons for businesses to try and use it too, along with the fact that many of them are already on the site.

Facebook has more than 750 million members, writes Tony Bradley. With a pool of contacts that deep, you can be almost certain that whoever you want to speak to is out there–and because people spend more time on Facebook than any other online destination, odds are fair they’re online and waiting for your video chat. It would almost be more difficult to find contacts who aren’t available.

While Facebook video chat may not allow multiple people right now, the price is right (read: free). It can also be used right now to potentially engage with customers. Some things are just done better face to face. Some people are more productive when they can engage eye to eye, notes Bradley. But, you don’t have to be physically in the same room to accomplish that–you can use Facebook video chat. Traveling to meet someone face to face takes time–whether it is down the hall to visit a co-worker, across town to meet with a customer, or around the world to negotiate with a supplier. Trips beyond the office building also incur additional costs such as airfare, lodging, meals, etc. Facebook video chat is a click away.

Source: PC World

Casey Anthony Trend Ends Up In Entenmann’s Ad Tweet

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After Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murdering her daughter, Twitter immediately went ablaze about the verdict. Entenmann’s took advantage of one of the trending topics by tweeting, “Who’s #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want ”

Needless to say, Entenmann and the social media company Likeable both apologized. “The truth is, our team was leveraging the trending topics and moving so fast they neglected to see what the hashtag was related to, said Likeable CEO Dave Kerpin. It was obviously insensitive, and on behalf of the entire Likeable team and our client, Entenmann’s, I’m sorry. Please know that I am working on refining our process to ensure that this does not happen again.

Wry jokers on the internet quickly created a parody account @EntenmannsPR which posted, “The only thing your dad will smell in the trunk of your car is our delicious donuts! #notguilty,” and, “Safety tip kids: Never go swimming after a whole box of chocolate donuts. You’ll drown in deliciousness! #notguilty”

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Holy Terror Coming September ’11

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The long delayed Frank Miller comic Holy Terror finally emerged and is announced for September 14. Coming out just in time for the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks it will be the first work of Legendary Comics, the publishing arm of Legendary Pictures (who will also work on a movie project based on the property).

Holy Terror finds Frank at the top of his game, said Legendary Comics editor-in-chief Bob Schreck. A fast paced, biting commentary on our uncertain and volatile times, told with some of the most gut-wrenching, iconic images he’s ever produced.

Originally conceived as a story where Batman takes revenge on al-Qaeda for the 9/11 terror attacks, DC quietly separated themselves from the project. Miller redid the concept, which now stars a hard-edged vigilante named The Fixer who uses guns.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

BioShock Designer Says Game Makers Need To Get On The Daily Show

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While AAA games try to have mainstream appeal, there are often blank spots of coverage for almost any large game release. Irrational Games’ creative director Ken Levine was a bit surprised to find out during a focus group that a bunch of guys were unfamiliar with BioShock.

“We had a room full of college students, in some fraternity in some state school somewhere this is about a year ago and they had never heard of Bioshock. None of them. Not a single one,” said Levine. “I think as an alpha gamer you assume that, ‘whether you’ve played Bioshock or not, you’ve heard of it, right ‘ These guys had never even heard of it.”

Levine contrasted the way games were marketed as compared to blockbuster movies. “I mean, how many times have you seen images of Transformers ” he asked. “Whether you want to or not you’ve probably seen it 15 or 20 times . . . We’re making products that cost however many millions of dollars and have the potential to have a large audience, but . . . to get people who aren’t alpha gamers there’s a whole different kind of activity that you have to undertake.”

The BioShock Infinite designer thinks that part of the problem is that game designers need to get out there and hit the talk show circuit. “That isn’t just about buying ads. It’s the places you can reach [new people] . . . We need to be on mainstream shows, we need to be on NPR, we need to be on The Daily Show, we need to be in those places talking about what we do, mused Levine. “We’re still ghettoized as game developers, and Spike TV is a great place in the middle, but we really need to think about how do we reach out and talk to people so you don’t have a room full of college kids saying, ‘I’ve never heard of that damn thing.'”

“You can’t find a more impressive set of guys than Ray and Greg from BioWare – they’re medical doctors, they’re MBAs, they run this company, they’re brilliant game developers, but I haven’t seen them on The Daily Show, noted Levine. “It’s not their fault. It’s our fault. As an industry we need to think of ourselves differently. We need to think of ourselves that way and present ourselves that way . . . We have a responsibility. People like me, like Cliff [Bleszinski], like Ray and Greg, have a responsibility to educate people who don’t think of games. Like the people booking those shows.”

“A lot of it is getting the guys that book those shows past their own lack of knowledge and their own discomfort about games, he added. There’s no material reason why a Tim Schaffer isn’t going to be as good a guest as some guy who wrote a book that sells 15,000 copies. But there’s a natural discomfort that the bookers must have, and part of our job is to get in front of those people and say, ‘Hey, we’re out here, we’re doing cool stuff, and we want to speak to a broader audience as well.'”

Source: Gamers with Jobs

LG CEO: ‘Era Of Dedicated Handheld Gaming Platform Is Over’

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LG has thrown down the gauntlet to the PS Vita, 3DS and other portable consoles the launch of the LG Optimus 3D in Korea. The 3D capable phone comes pre-installed with three 3D Gameloft’s titles, including Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, N.O.V.A. and Let’s Golf! 2 with 14 more available from the mobile game studio over the next three months.

“The era of dedicated handheld gaming platform is over,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Today’s smartphones have the horsepower to compete with the best portable gaming devices and LG Optimus 3D is our proof. We think 3D is the natural next step in portable entertainment and LG is eager to throw its hat in the ring with the Optimus 3D and Gameloft’s ‘must-be-seen-to-be-believed’ titles.”

The most recent data shows iOS and Android devices capturing a growing part of the portable gaming market by revenue,” said Michel Guillemot, President of Gameloft. “With the next generation of smartphones offering 3D capabilities, the bar has been raised to a new height. On the Optimus 3D, we’re able to offer our most popular titles to an entirely new audience at very competitive price points.”

Mass Effect Movie Panel At Comic-Con

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One of the surprise announcements by Legendary Pictures was that their Comic-Con lineup will include Mass Effect. The production studio picked up the rights to the game series in May 2010 right when interest was starting to increase in the franchise after the release of Mass Effect 2.

The panel for Mass Effect at Comic-Con will include the game’s producer Casey Hudson along with Mark Protosevich who is writing the movie screenplay. A teaser for the upcoming Mass Effect 3 is also likely to be involved.

Neverwinter Emerges From The Forge

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Neverwinter is an MMO game, though confusingly it is something of a rival product to the already existing Dungeons & Dragons: Online. Take your first look at the game below for what’s apparently a more story driven adventure.

 

Catherine: Thing Of Nightmares

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The game world of Catherine is all about a strange curse killing men in their sleep. Vincent must confront the reality that every time he goes to sleep he’s in a fight for his life.