Valve is unleashing a new mode called Mann vs. Machine that will see six players collaborating to stop a “lethal horde of robots from deploying a bomb in one of Mann Co.’s many strongholds”. It will add loot and co-op play to the venerable Team Fortress franchise!
Dead Space 3 brings Isaac Clarke to the graveyard of long-dead ships that orbits around the ice planet of Tau Volantis. The frozen planet below holds the key to ending the Necromorph plague, but first Isaac must unravel the mysteries of the derelict flotilla above its surface.
Necromorphs, both familiar and not, hide in the shadows of each ship and Isaac faces more danger than ever before. Experience signature Dead Space gameplay with zero-g, cramped corridors and hidden terrors in the deep darkness of a 200-year-old lost expedition.
There’s been a gap between digital marketers and traditional brand managers for years, one dealing with immediate circumstances and the other dealing with researched strategies. With social media combined with agile marketing, both types of messengers can work better together and achieve something great.
That’s what Simon Ward, director of strategic development at Ayzenberg, argues in an article penned for iMedia Connection.
Find out more in this iMedia Connection article.
—
Sign up for [a]list daily’s professional group on Linked In. Join frank discussions and polls on the latest game marketing trends. Get access to exclusive content you won’t see in the newsletter. Click to request an invite today.
Many companies believe that engaging with their customers on Facebook is the ultimate goal of any marketing campaign. It might be more beneficial, however, to engage with customers using smaller, more personal interactions rather than larger company mandated ones.
Get the full opinion at BusinessesGrow.com.
—
Sign up for [a]list daily’s professional group on Linked In. Join frank discussions and polls on the latest game marketing trends. Get access to exclusive content you won’t see in the newsletter. Click to request an invite today.
Online search agencies and their clients may notice the impact that recommendations contribute to paid and organic search engine results. Because of this, it makes sense to run an integrated media campaign around a product launch or announcement in advance of the introduction to gain social recommendations based on specific keywords.
Find out the full story at MediaPost.
—
Sign up for [a]list daily’s professional group on Linked In. Join frank discussions and polls on the latest game marketing trends. Get access to exclusive content you won’t see in the newsletter. Click to request an invite today.
Digital strategies such social marketing will influence at least 80 percent of consumers’ discretionary spending by 2015, according to Gartner. In light of that, The Marketer’s Guide to Multichannel Campaign Management suggests looking towards integrating campaigns like email, social, search, voice, video and more with each other.
Find out more at MediaConnection.
—
Sign up for [a]list daily’s professional group on Linked In. Join frank discussions and polls on the latest game marketing trends. Get access to exclusive content you won’t see in the newsletter. Click to request an invite today.
Wikipad has announced that it passed Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation Certified license program and will feature PlayStation Mobile games. The tablet with a gamepad controller compliments SCE’s plans to deliver the PlayStation-like experience to even more users around the world.
“Wikipad is the first true video game tablet built with an attachable gamepad controller that enables a mobile console experience. As we head into our upcoming launch we are partnering with the industry’s leading players,” said James Bower, CEO Wikipad. “PlayStation’s commitment to delivering innovative entertainment experiences that captivate gamers is unparalleled and we are thrilled to partner with them.”
Sony later announced it had added Asus as a PlayStation Certified partner.
Sony is a vast worldwide corporation with holdings in factories, movie studios and software development. Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai indicates that they’re looking to shift away from manufacturing, a staple of the “old Sony”, and shift more towards entertainment aspects.
“People are moving more and more to the mobile space, so the two keywords, and you’ll probably hear this from everybody: smartphones and tablets,” said Hirai. “Related to that is moving a lot of things to the cloud. That’s why, for example, we felt that it was very important that we acquire the 50 percent of our joint venture in Sony Ericsson and make the cell phone business or the smartphone business a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of Sony.”
“We needed to make decisions a lot faster. In regards to the cloud, one of the things that you probably saw is our acquisition of a company called Gaikai. That is a company that’s going to propel the movement of the video game business into the cloud space very quickly,” he added. “We need to make sure that we continue our success in the entertainment space-in the music space, in the video game space, and in motion pictures. That’s an area where we are profitable, and it needs to continue to grow.”
Source: BusinessWeek
The ESA released their annual research report, “Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry” which said that the average gamer in 2012 is 30 years old and 47 percent of game players are female. Furthermore, 49 percent of U.S. households own a dedicated game console, and those that do own an average of two; the average household owns at lease one console, PC or tablet for gaming.
“Computer and video games have reached a critical mass,” said Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA. “Today, nearly every device with a screen plays games, providing interactive entertainment experiences for a wide diverse population… Their (developers and publishers) innovations drive consumer demand for our products, solidifying our industry’s position as one of the strongest and most cutting-edge sectors in the U.S. economy.”
On the parental side of things, an overwhelming 98 percent of parents feel the ESRB rating system is either very or somewhat helpful in choosing games for their children. 66 percent of parents believe game play provides mental stimulation or education and the top reason parents play video games with their kids is because it is fun for the entire family.
“Although it is the newest of all industry content rating and labeling schemes, the video game industry’s system — the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) — is in many ways the most sophisticated, descriptive, and effective ratings system ever devised by any major media sector in America,” said Adam Thierer, senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.
“What we’re seeing in games is art at a world-class stage design that is almost unmatched anywhere else,” Al Gore, former vice president and co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management. “It has been very exciting to me to see so many ideas that integrate social good and efforts to make the world a better place into games.”
Source: TheESA.com
Sony announced at Gamescom that they will launch a Cross Buy program for PS3 and PS Vita. This means that a purchase of certain PS3 titles will grant a download of the Vita version for free.
“SCEA will have a similar offer for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault,” confirmed SCEA. “Users who purchase the PS3 versions of these titles will be able to download the PS Vita versions of the respective titles from PlayStation Network at no additional cost.”
Sony also announced that it will be launching a Little Big Planet Vita bundle along with a Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified bundle, the latter of which will include a a limited-edition Call of Duty-themed Vita along with the respective game. Finally, it was confirmed that PSOne Classics will launch on August 28, 2012.
