An unnamed analyst estimated that BioShock Infinite cost $100 million to make and another $100 million will be spent on marketing expenses. Even if that number is high-balled, a 200-person development team working on a project for over four years can easily push a budget into tens of millions of dollars.
As has been noted by the NPD, the sales of retail products has been diminishing for the past few years, putting pressure on both developers and marketers to put their best foot forward in making a game a success. As Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine said, “It’s getting harder to ask someone to spend $60 on something that’s merely a good effort.”
Tencent paid out $330 million for a 40 percent stake in Epic Games. The maker of the Unreal Engine added two representatives from the Chinese internet company where the investment was announced in June 2012.
“In June 2012, Tencent made a minority investment in Epic Games, purchasing approximately 48.4 percent of outstanding shares of Epic stock, equating to 40 percent of total Epic capital inclusive of both stock and employee stock options,” said Epic founder Tim Sweeney. “As part of the investment, two Tencent representatives joined Epic’s board of directors, in addition to the three directors and two observers appointed by Epic. We’re thrilled to have a world-leading partner in Tencent, who gives Epic unique access to the Chinese market as we head into the next chapter of our 21-year history as a leading independent developer.”
According to SportsStream only 40 percent of college basketball teams in this year’s NCAA “March Madness” tournament have both a Facebook and Twitter presence. The app maker is saying that the lack of effort is a lost opportunity for the schools and their fans.
SportsStream has a reason to make fuss about it. It’s an iOS application that provides what it describes as a social second-screen experience for sports fans and teams. With college sports, the developer works with their athletic departments to deliver information through its app to fans during games.
Bob Morgan, SportsStream co-founder and CEO, recently told Mashable that school athletics are making a mistake on social by not differentiating between their most popular sports and teams.
“Without team specific pages, fans may become annoyed by news from sports they aren’t actually interested in.”
Morgan used the example of a basketball fan getting weary of hearing about how the swimming team is performing during March Madness. He noted schools don’t have resources and budgets to run robust social channels, akin to what fans expect from pro teams. Still, he thinks they’re missing the opportunity.
“While activity certainly reaches its peak during championship runs, fans have a personal connection with their favorite teams and staying connected year-round is an imperative — not just during March Madness,” Morgan told Mashable. “They want to know what’s happening with their teams on things such as new recruits, scheduling updates and community outreach. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are easy ways to get the word out.”
To see which teams aren’t on Twitter and Facebook check out the Sports Stream infographic entitled “Keeping Social Sanity During #MarchMadness” here.
Hollywood director James McTeigue is best known for his dark visualization of dystopian novel V for Vendetta in the film of the same name. He also second unit directed The Matrix Trilogy and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. He knows a thing or two about gamer culture infiltrating films.
On Monday, March 25, McTeigue will take the stage at [a]list summit San Francisco to talk about the power games have to deeply engage their audiences, and how the young medium continues to influence films and filmmakers. It’s a topic he covered briefly in a video interview with us late last year.
[a]list summit San Francisco looks at what it calls “The New Rules of Engagement.” It’s how creative methods of content marketing are now part of the game marketer’s arsenal, from new approaches to videos to the still growing influence of social media and the rise of eSports. The lineup of speakers crosscuts traditional and digital game publishing. Senior marketers from stalwarts such as EA, Square Enix and Warner Bros. join those squarely in the digital space, such as Sony Online, Wargaming and Trion. For this summit, [a]list is partnered with Game Connection, the hugely successful networking event for game publishers and developers now in its tenth year in the US. This year, Game Connection runs March 25-27, once again taking over the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. The [a]list summit portion of the event is a full day of speakers and panel sessions scheduled for Monday, March 25. Capping the summit will be a ceremony for the winners of the [a]list-sponsored Game Connection Marketing Awards. Those who register for [a]list summit SF also get access to the full lineup of sessions being offered by Game Connection America on Tuesday, March 26. (Register for “Conference Pass” here.)
The agenda is as follows:
Opening Keynote: The Future of Game Marketing Greg Short, CEO, EEDAR.
Panel: Let the Games Begin.
The growth of eSports as a force in experiential game marketing is undeniable. The largest events now rival live sports. Despite the investment and resources they need, there is precedence that these programs are effective in generating mass awareness and genuine fandom. This panel gathers those who have successfully organized eSports events to discuss how to approach strategy, goals and execution.
Panelists: Caleb Fox, Head of eSports, Wargaming. Mark Donovan, President, Xfire. Moderated by Kenna Ranson, Marketing Director, Xfire.
Panel: Leading with the Right Trailer.
Trailers are the original ‘original content’ tactic for marketing entertainment. Debuted 100 years ago by Lowe theatre ad manager Nils Granlund, they are now as much a part of game marketing as films. Nowhere are they more important than that first glimpse at announcement. In 2011, the completely unknown Dead Island took gamers by storm with a CG trailer. This panel looks at the right approach to game trailers, looking at the merits and the right timing for CG, live action and game play.
Panelists:Richard Scott, Executive Producer & Managing Director, Axis Animation. Rasmus Hoejengaard, Director of Creative Development, Crytek. Nathan Kitada, Director of Operations, “The Game Station” at Maker Studios. Moderated by Gary Goodman, Principal, Creative Director, Ayzenberg Group.
Panel: Using Games to Sell Games.
Branded apps, augmented reality games, incentive-based social sharing programs – more and more game marketers are using these to lure fans to their games. This session explores the effectiveness of digital engagements, whether online, on your smartphone or elsewhere, and how to discover the right approach based on your product and target audience.
Panelists: Craig Mitchell, Brand Manager, Warner Bros. Tuhin Roy, CEO and Founder, Fanzy. Karl Stewart, Global Brand Director (Tomb Raider), Square Enix. Lori Neubauer, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft Xbox. Moderated by Calvin Lui, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Unified.
Panel: Games as Community, not Commodity.
Games as a service can be a misnomer, given that the core experience is entertainment. The real shift taking place with these types of games has less to do with how they are defined as a commodity. Like sports, it is more about how they engender fan community. This session looks at how the focus in persistent and multiplayer games should be on the lifecycle of the player and strategies for community engagement, not just community management.
Panelists: Jaap Tuinman, Director of Social and Community, Electronic Arts. Linda Carlson, Director of Community Relations, Sony Online Ent. Elizabeth Tobey, Director of Community, Trion Worlds. Moderated by Dennis Fong, Raptr.
Closing Keynote: James McTeigue
James McTeigue, V for Vendetta, The Matrix Trilogy, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, speaks about the power of entertainment to engage gamers.
Daryl Dixon has long been a fan favorite on The Walking Dead TV show and soon players around the world will get to find out more about his personal story before he came to Atlanta. Daryl will start off on a quest to recover his overbearing brother Merle and find a way to survive in a world overrun with the undead. Setting the stage is the game’s official launch trailer, produced by Ayzenberg for Activision and Terminal Reality.
Editor’s note: Newzoo and Distimo have released monthly mobile game data for February 2013, listing top worldwide games and publishers for iOS App Store and Google Play. Peter Warman, CEO of Newzoo, contributes his analysis.
The top five [iOS] publishers remained unchanged this month, with Supercell still claiming the top spot with only two games in the top 200 list. Mobage have climbed from number thirteen to take the number eight spot. Natural Motion saw the most dramatic drop, falling eight places to 19. There are three new publishers on the list – Funzio Inc who debuted at number fourteen, NamcoBandai Games at 18 and LocoJoy Ltd at the bottom spot.
Rovio dropped out of the top 20 as their paid game strategy gives them highly fluctuating revenues. Three of the top 20 publishers have only one game in the top 200 list — Mojang, Playtika LTD and LOCOJOY.
The top 5 iOS games also remained unchanged in February with Clash of Clans from Supercell Taking the number one spot, once again followed by King.com’s Candy Crush Saga, and in third place HayDay, also by Supercell. There were few dramatic changes in the list, with Puzzle and Dragons dropping to the bottom of the list from number fourteen. Three new games entered to take positions 16, 17 and 18.
Source: Newzoo and Distimo. Rankings based on gross sales.
Source: Newzoo and Distimo. Rankings based on gross sales.
GungHo Entertainment continued their run at the top of the [Android] publishers list with 5 games in the top 200, and its game Puzzle and Dragons still topping the Top 20 Games list. Naver is once again in second position, claiming seven games in the top 200 and the number two spot with LinePop.
Last month’s top performing publisher, Mobage, remains at number three on the list. Newcomer WeMadeEntertainment has jumped from number 15 to 4 with only one game in the top 200 list.
There are three new publishers on the list this month — 4:33, Actoz Soft and NHN Corp. We can see some overlap between the Google and iOS lists with big names such as Kabam, Zynga, King.com, Naver and GungHo Entertainment featured on both.
Puzzle and Dragons was the best performing game in terms of revenues for the third month running, with publisher GungHo Entertainment at first position in the Top 20 publishers list. LinePop took the next spot. WeMadeEntertainement’s title debuted at number 3.
Once again, the Google Play games list is almost completely dominated by Asian games. Candy Crush Saga is the top performing Western game at number 6 on the list. The Simpsons: Tapped Out from EA debuts at number 20.
Source: Newzoo and Distimo. Rankings based on gross sales.
Source: Newzoo and Distimo. Rankings based on gross sales.
As an interesting insight, China now generates twice as much iOS spending as Germany, and it’s just behind the UK. [We forecast] China will surpass the UK in iOS game spending in March following huge growth in February – almost 30 percent in the short 28-day month. Â Japan still outspends China nearly two to one on iOS games.
The Final Hours of Tomb Raider is a cross platform app experience (iOS, Amazon Apps and Steam) that takes you behind the scenes at developer Crystal Dynamics to chronicle the four-year development of this series reboot. Journalist Geoff Keighley interviews the creative team and unearths never-before-seen concept art and videos to showcase what ended up on the cutting room floor. Complete with photos, interactive experiences and other surprises, The Final Hours of Tomb Raider is the ultimate insider’s guide to the reimagining of the Tomb Raider universe.
Monte Cook, Brian Fargo, Colin McComb, and Kevin Saunders, the creators of Torment: Tides of Numenera recently participated in an AMA on Reddit. They were also joined by superfan Steve Dengler.
One of the more humorous parts of the Kickstarter from the inXile Kickstarter projects has been the “kid publisher” interactions. Fargo says that while it’s obviously not a one-to-one recreation of what happened, its based on real conversations.
“Pretty much all of my talks with the kid publisher are steeped in reality,” said Fargo. “Yes I did have publishers that offered to spend marketing dollars for me so they could have the publishing rights for Wasteland 2. I explained that we had a killer sales force of RPG players and didn’t need what they were offering.”
“And it is often expected that you should just wind your team down at the end of each game and that is a crime,” he added. “It is bad for the brain trust and horrible for the families. There were many people that questioned my decision to start another KS campaign before the first one was complete but I had a logical reason and a method I used for years. I figured I would state my case to the backers and let them decide. And thankfully they agreed.”
Dengler answered a question on why Torment was worth $100,000 to him instead of, say $20 or $1000. “Technically $110,000, since I also pledged at the $10k level,” he noted. “The short answer is that I wanted to help make a spiritual successor to something I consider to be one of the greatest games ever made. I see Torment as a great work of literature, just expressed as a game. People spend huge amounts of money on works of art all the time and then hide them away in their houses. This will be a great work of art that will be open to anyone that wants to engage with it. And that is pretty awesome.”
“Also, remember that nobody was sure that the game would hit its goal, let alone go on to push $3 million. At $3 million, the extra $100k is not a major factor. But if the game had just barely hit its goal, the extra money from me and Brian would have made a very substantial difference in the final quality of the game. It would have been the difference between ‘pretty good’ and ‘great’. Now the game is going to be simply amazing. Legendary.”
McComb also revealed the history of why Torment was the new title for inXile and it all began with a retrospective on Eurogamer. “It actually started with a PST retrospective on Eurogamer. Bertie Purchese asked some PST team members to be on the show for a podcast, and we spent some time reminiscing,” described McComb. “When it concluded, I told Mr. Avellone that he should tell Brian that I would totally be available for writing WL2. Brian apparently liked my work on that enough that he thought I’d be a good bet to lead a new Torment creatively. At the same time, Chris introduced Kevin to Brian, and I (being a total prima donna ;)) insisted that Adam Heine be on the team because Adam said he would love to do it. Then it was just a matter of getting Numenera licensed, and here we are.”
When Fargo was asked if a studio could be sustained long term by Kickstarter, Fargo responded, “I do think it can be a valid long term strategy so long as you can prove that you can deliver the goods and have an open communication about things. No doubt the dynamics will continue to change but crowd funding is here to stay.”
Valve has launched an Early Access Platform on Steam, which will allow users to play games currently in development. This is a reflective of a new trend in games, where developers gain valuable insight from the community and gamers can play games early.
“A lot of games are already operating as ongoing services that grow and evolve with the involvement of customers and the community,” said Sean Pollman of Kinetic Void developer Badland Studio. “Greenlight helped us raise awareness for Kinetic Void, and now Steam Early Access will let us continue the development of our game while gathering crucial feedback, input and support from the Steam Community.”
Valve is starting off the program with 12 titles in various stages of development with prices that range from free to over $30. While Valve is starting off slowly, eventually games will be able to grant Early Access after being approved by Steam Greenlight.
