How Will Your Rule Your Online Empire?

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A new Facebook connected personality test to coincide with the launch of Age of Empires Online asks players, “How will you rule ” A short, Flash animated quiz will ask the user to decide what type of ancient ruler (Greek or Egyptian) they could be. Fans can jump in and get started or see how their friends did on the quiz. Each question challenges the user to answer either multiple choice questions or make visual choices to decide what kind of ruler they could become. Fans are first asked to choose between a slab of Egyptian marble or a Greek vase to begin their journey and then challenged to describe what they see in the drawing of a man in a cart being carried along by a horse. Is this a warrior eager to spill blood or a missionary eager to pacify the pagans? With each question, fans will become rulers and their vision becomes keener. Screenshots and gameplay capture are populated throughout the quiz to solidify the user’s choices and final choice as a ruler which may help influence their in-game choice once they download and register to play Age of Empires Online. Developed by the Ayzenberg Group, a targeted media campaign and a full cinematic onboarding video are creating new rulers across the globe.

 

Greetings From Planet Nexus!

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The highly anticipated, long awaited MMO from Carbine Studios, WildStar has launched a new website just in time for Gamescom. Developed by the Ayzenberg Group, the site plays off of the cartoony yet stylish in-game art by using key imagery from the game to relay the game’s style and distinct look. Fans can sign up for beta and explore the worlds, features and current WildStar media. An ongoing developer blog keeps the community in-touch with news as it happens and an online fan kit contains all of the screenshots, wallpapers, icons, concept art, banners and logos needed to create your own WildStar fan site. Sign up now for updates from Facebook, Twitter or YouTube or register for the beta itself.

XCOM ARG Looks To The Sky

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What is Citizen Skywatch? {link no longer active} A new website, Facebook page, Twitter {links no longer active} and YouTube account under the mystery name has launched speculation across the connected web. At roughly 3 p.m. EST on 8/15/11, the Citizen Skywatch Twitter feed was updated with the following message: “URGENT TX: Citizen 19 in N Calif reports strange weather phenomena. Details to follow.” Take-Two has announced that Citizen Skywatch is an ARG linked to XCOM that will be playable at Gamescom this week. At the time of reporting, someone named Citizen One has been reporting that an invasion has begun and that the skies are filled with the shadows of an unknown enemy whose origins are “impenetrable, its purpose inscrutable, its methods – incredible”! An official Citizen Skywatch bulletin board {link no longer active} has been launched acting as a central forum to enable all active members to present new information and “engage in deep discussion regarding emerging theories”. Two incidents have been reported as well, both on the website and on Twitter regarding the observation of aerial phenomena reported by the CHP and a bizarre isolated electrical storm reported via radar by the Air Force. Stay tuned to find out more and see what pops up in the A/V Repository and Recruitment docs.

Feature: Age Of Empires Forged Online

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Age of Empires Online is a step for the franchise away from the past of PC games, with retail sales tied to disc releases, and towards the future of PC games that are downloadable and free-to-play. Coming with this new philosophy is a brand new aesthetic for the game, much more stylized than the series has ever seen before. We talked with Mike Stout, Group Product Manager of Xbox Product Marketing at Microsoft, about the graphics, the gameplay and the trailer made by the Ayzenberg Group.

[a]list: How will you look to educate users of Age of Empires Online‘s new F2P nature?

Mike Stout: We will communicate through community, a full-fledged marketing campaign and constant communication through media coverage.  Beyond that, we want our customers to try it.  Trial and word of mouth will help our customers best understand the tremendous value Age of Empires Online brings to the table.  With over 40 hours of free play out of the gate, we will do whatever we can to encourage customers to try the game.

[a]list: How has the transition in developers forced the new team to refocus on the game?

Mike Stout: Transition to GPG was part of the plan to help polish the game and handling all new content packs. We haven’t refocused our marketing efforts.  The vision from the beginning is being realized and we are thrilled to have GPG on board.

[a]list: What reception have you gotten to the Ayzenberg-produced CG trailer?

Mike Stout: Rave reviews! The video does a great job showing the overarching storyline as empires battle one another for power and really helps entice a new player to get in on the action.

[a]list: How will you be looking to promote the game online?

Mike Stout: We will promote the game through a worldwide, multiple phased media campaign that covers both online and print over the next several months.  As you might expect, we will invest in known enthusiast properties, but will also invest in other networks, helping bring new customers into the game. AgeofEmpiresonline.com will be the central source for information, which will also be supplemented with our social and community efforts.

[a]list: How important is it to convey the fact that Age of Empires Online has a new persistent element with the traditional RTS gameplay?

Mike Stout: We know from research that the market continues to evolve.  Persistent elements are an important part of Age of Empires Online,” and one we believe fans will embrace.

[a]list: The aesthetics for the game are somewhat stylized whereas previous “Age of Empires” titles had coloration that was more “true to life.”  What was behind the decision to make this change?

Mike Stout: The new aesthetics allow the game to perform better over the long haul – this includes faster load times and adds a new charm to the game. And, while there is a technical rationale behind the decision, we also believe this art style provides a fresh face to an established franchise, a key criterion in “re-launching” the franchise.

[a]list: Mike, thanks.

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Played Age of Empires Online? Like the CG trailer for the game? Join the discussion on Facebook.

Gaming Single-Player ‘Gone In Three Years’ Says Game Consultant

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Games are increasingly becoming connected experiences, even those where players mostly play by themselves. Game consultant Mark Cerny recently said that the prevalence of the internet means that traditional offline experiences might be going away.

“I believe the traditional single-player game experience will be gone in three years,” said Cerny. “Right now you sit in your living room and you’re playing a game by yourself – we call it the sp mission or the single-player campaign. In a world with Facebook I just don’t think that’s going to last.”

“We’re already seeing the wall starting to crumble a bit,” he said. “Demon’s Souls, even though on one level it’s a single-player game, as you’re walking through the world you’re seeing the ghosts of everybody who died in that world via the internet. You can leave messages for them. They can leave messages for you. There’s actually a boss you fight in that game which is controlled by another player. We’re talking five, 10 years out. I believe three years from now, if you aren’t doing that, you are being criticized in your reviews for your lack of innovation.”

Source: Eurogamer

Sony Not Focused On PS4, Looking To PS Vita Launch

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Rumors have abounded that Sony is prepping the fourth PlayStation for release in a couple years time. However, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan dismissed any rumors that Sony would have to respond to Wii U.

“All I’m focused on right now is making the most of PS3,” he said. “We’ve over 50 million PS2’s installed across our PAL territory, and as you’ve heard yesterday we’re up to 22 [million] on PS3, so there is a long way to go. That’s all we need to focus on for now.”

Ryan is much more focused on the PS Vita and its launch, saying, “It’s obviously a top priority. We’re going to launch early next year and it’s critical that a marketplace the size of ours has a successful launch, installs a lot of product, and that we publish all the great games that we have [lined up for it],” said Ryan. “The quality of the content available at launch far exceeds anything we’ve had on any platform [at the same stage], not just PSP. Marketing great content is much more straightforward than marketing content that perhaps is not so great. Secondly, come the fall [2012] you’re going to see the heavy guns from the third party community coming to the platform, giving us additional momentum for the Christmas selling season.”

Source: CVG {link no longer active}

Online Video TV Ad Model Becoming Viable

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The internet has had difficultly in getting advertising to take off, partially as a result of most content being offered for free for many years. However, a study by FreeWheel shows that the model used by television providers for the past several decades is taking hold.

An analysis of 11.3 billion online video views and 6 billion ad views demonstrated that users were willing to sit through commercials during long-form programming. A 22-minute sitcom or 44-minute drama will see 94 percent of users watching during a standard ad break; shorter clips of things like sports highlights and music videos see just 59 percent of users sitting through ads.

“The content with the largest ad loads have the highest completion rate, so it’s fairly clear that consumers are willing to make that compromise,” said JoAnna Abel, the vice president of marketing at FreeWheel. “If you want to watch professionally created, rights-managed content without having to pay a subscription fee, you’re going to have to watch a few ads.”

This lesson is key, since a quarter of users will immediately drop a video if confronted with something like a pre-roll. “It’s a cultural thing. You have people with digital DNA over here with spending on online video, and then you have TV buyers and TV strategists with their GRPs and Nielsen currencies over there,” Abel said. “It will take time for all the artificial barriers to come down, but the [two sides] are definitely learning to cooperate.”

The study also revealed that over 80 percent of mobile video views are on Apple devices. The iPad has particularly been embraced, with ABC and HBO announcing they had developed on-demand apps for the iPad, as have MSOs such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cablevision. “Given the consumer enthusiasm for the platform and the fact that the TV industry is coalescing around it, the iPad is going to be the next third screen,” Abel said.

Source: AdWeek

Microsoft Thinks Kinect Can Top Christmas 2010

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Microsoft had a hugely successful Christmas in 2010 in no small part due to the Kinect being one of the fastest selling electronics devices ever. Still, Microsoft marketing director Michael Johnson thinks that the company can best that effort this year with their new game offerings.

“We think we can [top last Christmas] because this year what we’re trying to do is a combination of continuing to innovate and have new things, plus big IP like Disney and Star Wars,” said Johnson. “By bringing in new entertainment properties it makes it so that we’re not just going after the hardcore gamer – we have great games for them – but we’re not just going after the broad customer either. We have a full range of experiences for the full range of customers.”

“There could be a very near future where somebody buys an Xbox 360 just for entertainment – because using your voice to engage with entertainment is something that they want to have,” he added.

Source: CVG {link no longer active}