Kill for a Pencil is an 8-bit arcade-style interactive game built on HTML 5 Canvas for tablet, mobile and desktop. You’re Jon Scraper, an adman desperate to get a pencil as you navigate the streets of ‘Madville,’ on your way to the show. On the way, you have to fight off famous ad icons like the Marlboro man and Green Giant.
Facebook is looking to have a valuation of somewhere around $96 billion. This would set a record IPO for a tech company, pushing past Google’s $23 billion valuation in 2004.
Being valued at nearly $100 billion would make it rival the current market values of more established companies like Amazon.com and McDonald’s despite having a fraction of the revenue and profit. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has a stake worth as much as $18.7 billion.
A large part of Facebook’s challenge is convincing marketers that ad spending leads to sales with things like “Reach Generator.” “The bigger issue [with Facebook] is the core business,” said Morningstar analyst Rick Summer. “There’s still no good understanding for what advertisers are paying for.”
Source: WSJ
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will have one of the most ambitious advertising campaigns in the history of the gaming industry. It started with a video on YouTube channel FPS RUSSIA that got five million views, then was followed by a documentary video about the future of warfare and the first trailer debut during the NBA Playoffs.
“As Call of Duty moves to the near future, it’s critical that we first establish that this isn’t science fiction,” said Activision CMO Tim Ellis. “This game presents a plausible, credible near future which has been meticulously researched. We used the marketing to root the game’s near future setting in the authenticity for which the brand is known.”
“The FPS Russia video was the first step. Secondly, we needed to reinforce the fiction by leveraging our collaboration with respected experts Col. North and Peter Singer,” he added. “These steps were vital as we culminated in the payoff last night with the first gameplay trailer that demonstrates Treyarch’s new vision for Call of Duty.”
Bethesda Software has confirmed that there will be an Elder Scrolls MMO game. Under development at ZeniMax Online Studios, the game will be set a millennium prior to the events of Skyrim and will focus on three different factions.
“We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted,” said director Matt Firor. “It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.”
Source: Game Informer
It’s been a busy day for Nexon, which began with word that they are working on a potential distribution deal with EA for the FIFA series. Now the company has announced that it has hired Makoto Iwai and promoted Eundo Chae and Min Kim.
Iwai will handle much of the day-to-day on corporate strategy for Nexon America, having come from jobs at Namco Bandai and Sony. Chae will lead Nexon America’s game service joining Nexon Co., Ltd. out in Korea, and Kim helped establish Nexon America in 2005 and will now oversee all live game operations, marketing, public relations and community for Nexon America.
There is often a notion among investors that large companies are better suited to deal with economic downturns. However, a new study says that smaller organizations that focus their efforts on sustainability may win out in the long run.
For instance, a study by the Global Alliance for Banking on Values said that during 2007 to 2010 sustainable banks had higher levels of growth in loans and deposits and better Returns on Assets with comparable Returns on Equity than the world’s 29 top Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions. Sustainable banks fund a much larger portion of their total balance sheet with customer deposits than GSIFIs, a sign of financial stability.
Sustainable banks averaged over 70 percent total deposits to total assets vs. about 41 percent on average for GSIFIs in 2010. That same year, sustainable banks averaged close to nine percent equity to assets compared to under 6 percent on average for GSIFIs. When one talks about growth rates in loans, deposits and assets from 2007 through 2010 sustainable banks on average had net income growth of 64.62 percent; by contrast to average net income growth for GSIFIs was minus 6.72 percent.
“These banks demonstrate decades of responsible banking and a consistent commitment to productive economic activity,” wrote the Global Alliance. “They have increased their activity during the present recession, expanding their lending to small and growing businesses in particular. … The evidence of their success suggests a renewed emphasis in public policy, and by investors, on sustainable banks, could provide the long-term path for responsible banking necessary to support a more just, environmentally sound, and sustainable economy.”
Another report on hotel energy and carbon efficiency by Brighter Planet on the majority of hotels in the U.S. by the Brighter Planet said that, “budget hotels are generally more efficient . . . The average upscale hotel uses 25% more energy per room-night than the average budget hotel. [However] the majority of upscale hotels are cleaner than the dirtiest budget establishments.”
The top 5 hotel chains, in terms of energy and carbon efficiency are Vagabond Inns and Red Lion Hotels and Inns (both mid-range) and Red Carpet Inns, Travelodge, and Scottish Inns (all three are budget). Westin Hotels & Resorts, Embassy Suites Hotels, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, AmercInn International, and JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts were at the bottom of the efficiency list and all are upscale chains.
“Hotels are growing less and less efficient. Modern hotels use significantly more energy per room-night than their older-vintage counterparts, and the energy they use is dirtier,” concluded the report by Brighter Planet.
Source: Brand Channel
Lima Sky has hired Eric Karp as the company’s new chief licensing officer. The veteran of Mind Candy will work with Fremantle Media Enterprises to license Doodle Jump to other partners.
“There have been endless opportunities to license Doodle Jump,” said Lima Sky’s Igor Pusenjak. “However, we held back because of concerns about uneven product quality. With the right curators now in place, I can’t wait to show the world the amazing new Doodle Jump products.”
“It’s no secret that Doodle Jump is the last untouched powerhouse brand that has emerged from the world of smartphone gaming and apps,” said Eric Karp. “Three straight years at the top of the charts and over 40 million downloads is the result of a carefully developed content strategy. Lima Sky listens closely to its millions of Doodle Jump fans. It’s crucial that ‘Doodle’ and company find their way into the real world in the right way.”
Zynga has confirmed that more branded goods will be coming to Draw Something. The NHL has already joined the list and Zynga has tested the waters with Doritos, KFC and Nike.
“People loved to draw the Colonel and bags of Doritos,” said Dan Porter, Zynga’s VP-mobile and New York general manager.
It is believed that real-world rewards will be added by brands for doing well in Draw Something but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Source: Ad Age
Funzio has revealed that Kingdom Age has seen 1 million installs on iOS devices since releasing April 19. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, Funzio saw three apps in the Top 25 Grossing category on the App Store, more than any other company.
Kingdom Age has also seen more than 20 million battles fought between players in just a couple of short weeks. Also, in five days, more than 90 years of total time was spent playing the game between all the players.
The Army thinks that video games are important for training the soldiers of the future. However, it has resulted in over-estimating the capabilities of some young soldiers – in a recent exercise, it took soldiers one-third longer to complete a mission than it did their avatars.
“We were honestly quite shocked at the difference” between how soldiers would perform in the virtual world versus in real life. We had kind of an ‘aha’ moment that we really needed to dig into this more,” said Col. Anthony Krogh. “If your thumb-eye dexterity as an X-box player is better than mine, you’re going to appear to be a better soldier than I am.”
“The beauty of the Army is that we test our soldiers on a regular basis – how they run, how they use their weapons. We now have a digital system that manages that,” Krogh says. “[Today, game designers are linking digitally stored physical fitness and shooting range scores into the avatars and the games themselves] so that if you’re really heavy or shorter than the soldier next to you, [you’ll] be able to tell.”
Giving the example of an expert marksman/gamer who was overweight, he said, “If he went and ran 1,000 yards and came back, he’ll go from being the best to the worst marksman.”
The Army is planning on having avatars reflect the physical capabilities of soldiers, and that will teach them to function in groups along with deal with enemies that adapt. There could also be records kept to help see what good and bad habits soldiers are doing to help reinforce the right behaviors.
Citing an example from Hurricane Andrew, Krogh says that NPCs could potentially react differently based upon details like whether or not you have guns drawn during relief efforts. “Some units took their weapons, another unit I was in chose not to,” he notes. “I show up with water, ice, food, and people approach me and my soldiers. Other units who carried their weapons were viewed as security forces – people gave them a wide berth, even when they were bringing water. They are not reinforcing how you behave and how [the way] you’re postured changes your environment.”
Source: Christian Science Monitor
