World Of Warcraft Rolls Out In-Game Selling

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World of Warcraft has taken one more step towards becoming a fully free-to-play (F2P) game. Blizzard has implemented a cash shop in the game where players can seamlessly make purchases without leaving play. The news was broken by a Blizzard representative on the game’s forums.

The new in-game cash shop will feature items such as special paid mounts and pets. The purchase of such items previously had to be done outside of the game. For some players, the convenience of buying mounts in-game could prevent them from going to third-party sites, which has been a popular practice. The new WOW shop also includes items that aid player progression, such as boosted EXP items and lesser charms of good fortune.

The shop will roll out onto Asian servers for player testing and eventually make it to the US and players in other regions. WOW is already F2P for the first 20 levels but once in-game transactions are fully tested and implemented, Blizzard could switch the game to full F2P, a move that could bring back players and help stymie player erosion.

Source: GI.biz

Pong.com Is Pinterest For Flash Games

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While mobile and social games have grabbed much of the attention over the past few years, browser-based Flash games still have an audience as well as a number of determined developers. Enter Pong.com, a new way to discover and share Flash-based games. Pong (which stands for Pin Online Network Games) will act as a ‘Pinterest for Flash games’, allowing users to pin, or in this case “Pong,” games to their dashboard where they will have constant access to them. Users will also be able to follow other Pong accounts, in which case they will also have access to all of the games that have been “Ponged” to their account.

Among supporters of Pong is none other than legendary Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, who sees its potential to invigorate the Flash-based browser game business model.

“[It’s] a fun and exciting breakthrough that I believe will revolutionize the online Flash gaming world,” Bushnell said in a statement.

While the user end of Pong is focused on ease of finding and playing Flash-based games, the business end is designed to be a boon for developers. All of the games on Pong are still hosted on the developers’ respective websites, meaning traffic goes where the game makers want it to, and all of the ad revenue from the games goes to the developer. When a developer doesn’t have a 100 percent fill-rate on ads, Pong will add its own roll of ads, which in turn helps fund the site. Pong says it expects to have its own ad network in place at a later time.

GameStop’s online hub Kongregate.com has seen substantial success in the realm of Flash-based gaming. Pong is showing that Flash-based gaming still has an audience, though it could use a shot in the arm as a new business model.

Source: TheNextWeb

Sci-Fi Fan Favorites On Social Media

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Recently, entertainment social data firm Starcount compiled an intriguing list of the most popular science-fiction films of all time on social media. From the classics such as the 1958 thriller The Blob and the Star Wars trilogies to this summer’s special effects frenzy Pacific Rim, Starcount is showing how the science-fiction genre has remained one of the most popular and fan-driven film genres.

While the firm’s methods are rooted in data, the subject matter inspired it to take a different approach with how their findings are presented.

“We took inspiration from the glitziest award shows in the world and sorted the films into categories, then worked out who was top in each — what we found was very interesting,” said the firm.

In a surprising finding, Starcount found that the most highly anticipated science-fiction release of this summer, director Guillermodel Toro’s Pacific Rim, is already more popular than the combined social audience for this past spring’s sci-fi blockbuster Oblivion, which starred Tom Cruise, as well as director Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming epic Elysium. Pacific Rim has managed to draw 200,000 more Facebook fans than the other two films combined.

Here’s the breakdown of Starcount’s ‘best sci-fi on social’ winners:

Best Animation

Monsters vs Aliens is the most popular sci-fi animation ever with nearly 2 million Facebook likes — that’s the same number as half of what the film made at the box office during its opening weekend in the UK.

Best TV Show

The most popular science-fiction television show of all-time is Doctor Who, which has over 3 million Facebook likes and 3.5 million YouTube views.

Outstanding Social Performance on an Asian Network

Although shadowed by the overwhelming success of Avatar in 2009, Moon has been a huge hit in China and leads all science-fiction films on Chinese networks with over 600,000 fans on Tencent Weibo.

Best Sequel

Talked about nearly 250,000 times on Facebook and with over 200,000 Twitter followers, Iron Man 3 is the most popular sci-fi sequel ever and the third most popular science-fiction film of all time.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The 1971 classic, A Clockwork Orange, is the 22nd most popular science-fiction film of all time with 2.3 million Facebook likes — astonishing considering that it is at least twenty years older than most of the other films we looked at.

Best Actor

47 million Facebook likes and 36 million YouTube views, the combined equivalent of The Independence Day budget, make Will Smith the most popular sci-fi actor of all time — it’s hard to imagine The Men in Black trilogy and Independence Day without him.

Best Actress

Known for her starring role in Transformers 1 and 2, Megan Fox is the most popular sci-fi actress ever to be on social media. Fox boasts 42 million Facebook likes and nearly 1 million Twitter followers, despite having only tweeted 29 times — that’s 34,482 followers per tweet.

Best of 2013

Having already made the list once, Iron Man 3 is back again. With 15 million Facebook likes and over 200,000 Twitter followers, the third installment of the Iron Man trilogy is the most popular science fiction film of 2013 so far.

Best Science-Fiction Film of All-Time

Winner of three Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and two Golden Globes — Avatar is the most popular sci-fi film so far this century, as well as all-time, with over 42 million Facebook likes and 14 million YouTube views.

Surprised by any of the winners Tell us which movies or actors you would add in the comments below! 

Source: SocialTimes

Mobile Ad Revenue Spikes

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As the global population increasingly acquires smartphones, advertising is also becoming more effective on mobile. According to new data from the US Interactive Advertising Bureau and IHS, worldwide mobile advertising revenue reached a staggering $8.9 billion last year. The firm found revenues were up 82.9 percent up from the year before, thanks in large part to the boom in smartphone usage worldwide.

With that global growth, the prominence of mobile advertising and the number of users clicking on ads are rising rapidly, as is revenue from search advertising. The report found that about $4.7 billion of ad revenue in 2012 came from searches, a 111 percent jump over 2011.

In breaking down mobile ad revenue by region, Asia-Pacific accounted for just over 40 percent with $3.55 billion dollars. North America was not far behind with just under 40 percent and $3.52 billion.

Source: GigaOm

This Week’s [a]list Jobs – July 10

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[a]list daily is now your source for the hottest job openings for senior management and marketing in games, entertainment and social media. Check here every Wednesday for the latest openings. To see last week’s [a]list jobs click here. 

Here are this week’s [a]list jobs:

  • Playdom/Disney Interactive, Sr Manager, Online Marketing Manager (San Francisco Area)
  • J!NX, Marketing Strategist (Greater San Diego Area)
  • Ayzenberg Group, Social Media Art Director (Greater Los Angeles Area)
  • Ayzenberg Group, Business Development for Broadcast (Greater Los Angeles Area)
  • Gameloft, Global Key Account Manager (San Francisco Area)

 

Brand Takes Advantage Of Jay-Z’s Twitter Frenzy

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Yesterday Jay-Z broke the internet by spending an entire day responding to random questions on Twitter.  The influential rap star isn’t known to be active on Twitter, where goes by his real surname Mr. Carter. It was a Q&A that was as amusing as it was unexpected.

The rapper not only exploded the head of every person he responded to, but favorite brands of “Hova’s,” as he calls himself now and then, were getting shout outs as well. Turns out, Mr. Carter is a major fan of the Quaker Oats cereal Cap n’ Crunch. This tweet laid the foundation for a prime textbook example of a company getting social media right.

The breakfast brand reacted swiftly to the compliment with a witty response referencing one of Jay-Z’s biggest hits, and made a pun out of the new album title in an hashtag.

 

In fact, the Cap’n has been getting himself quite a bit of buzz lately. This past spring, the Quaker Oats cereal brand cast its mascot as the host of a YouTube talk show, “The Cap’n Crunch Show.” More recently, he came under fire for lying about his rank, since his cartoon uniform actually is that of a commander’s (oh, the internet). The controversy ended up on CNN, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Cap’n Crunch capitalized on the absurdity of the situation and released an “official statement” (see below video), poking fun at the fact that he is indeed just a cartoon, and that people are ridiculous for taking things so seriously.

 

For now, the Cap’n can rest assured that he is in good standing with Queen Bey’s (a.k.a. Beyonce’s) hubby, and for at least today, he has one less problem than he did at breakfast.

Source: Digiday

Game Journalist Ryan Davis Passes Away

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The game industry is dealing with the unexpected death of Ryan Davis, co-founder of popular game site Giant Bomb.  Davis’ death came just days after his wedding. While no cause of death has been revealed, the tragedy of the timing around it has strongly impacted the game community, many of whom knew Davis through his years of work reporting on games. He had a large online presence because of the Giant Bombcast video he hosted every week to review games and discuss industry news.

Davis was an editor at GameSpot when he and colleague Jeff Gerstmann left the game site under very public circumstances. They eventually co-founded Giant Bomb in 2008.  The site grew rapidly.  In 2011, Time magazine named it one of the top 50 websites of the year. Giant Bomb was acquired by CBS Interactive in 2012.

Tributes to Davis can be found on Kotaku, Polygon, and Giant Bomb.

EA Removes Accused NFL Player

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A court will eventually decide whether former NFL player Aaron Hernandez was involved in someone’s murder. The case against him seems to be strong or just unsavory enough for the sports world to drop him, and do it fast. His former team, the New England Patriots, released him the same day police announced his arrest warrant in late June. Now, EA is cutting him from Madden and NCAA Football games.

While arguably not yet a star athlete, Hernandez was a productive player on the receiving corps of a prolific Patriots offense led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. After just three years in the NFL, Hernandez’s standout play earned him a $40 million contract from the Patriots and made him a staple on fantasy football rosters. There’s no doubt that he was a favorite target for anyone who had him on a Madden team.

According to Bleacher Report, the ruckus with his likeness still being in EA’s games started when a fan unlocked an achievement in NCAA Football 14. Hernandez isn’t playable in the game but a photo of him from his days as a Florida Gator is featured as an unlockable item. The fan tweeted the pic, setting EA in motion to quickly announce that Hernandez would be removed from NCAA Football 14 via a patch and assure everyone that he’s not playable in the upcoming Madden 25.

“We made a decision to remove Aaron Hernandez from Madden NFL 25 and NCAA Football 14. Because NCAA Football 14 was finalized prior to our decision, Hernandez’ image still appears in the Nike Skills Trainer. However, he is not in the game, and anyone who unlocks that particular Nike Skills Trainer reward will receive an Alex Smith Ultimate Team player item instead. The image of Hernandez will be removed via a Title Update in the near future,” EA said in a statement.

EA’s decision comes days after the Patriots held a free jersey swap for anyone who bought a Hernandez one at the team’s official Pro Shop in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Star Citizen Crowdfund Hits $14 million

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Chris Robert’s Star Citizen continues to collect money from fascinated gamers, breaking the $14 million dollar mark and showing no signs of slowing down. Roberts says that Star Citizen will be the world’s first crowdfunded AAA game. The scope and technical prowess of the game certainly look like it may live up to that billing.

Roberts has been talking directly with consumers during the course of the game’s development. The team is encouraged to go online with fans and show off the latest bits and pieces. Roberts feels it’s very motivating for the team to see immediate appreciation of their efforts, and it keeps the excitement level up with fans.

The continuing rise in the amount of money dedicated to developing this game means that Roberts can continue to add to its scope, which in turn has been creating more excitement. It’s a virtuous feedback cycle. Roberts has taken to video to explain some of the features of Star Citizen, and to describe how the economy will work in the game to generate more adventures for players.

Source: Roberts Space Industries

 

Facebook To Become Mobile Game Publisher

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Facebook’s strategy for mobile is taking a playful turn. The company is toying around with becoming a mobile game publisher and is currently working with a small number of developers to market and distribute their games.

Facebook has had success in making money from games on its online platform, a trend that the once-giant social game maker Zynga helped establish with free-to-play games such as FarmVille and CityVille. Neither Facebook nor Zynga have had the same success in mobile. The great majority of mobile games are currently being purchased in app stores set up by Apple and Google, where each take 30 percent of all digital purchases. Facebook is hoping that by becoming a publisher it can sidestep the game platform play that worked well for it online, but where it is well behind Apple and Google on mobile.

For the time being, Facebook is focusing on working only with small independent developers. Its publishing model revolves around helping games with marketing and reach to have a chance at becoming a hit. It’s not currently funding development or tweaking the games it signs in major ways, as major game publishers are wont to do.

Outside of Google and Apple, Facebook will also be going up against a number of heavy hitters on the mobile publishing side such as Chillingo and King. It certainly has the resources and reach to help its games compete, and may in turn even establish games as a steady source for revenue outside of what it makes from its ad vehicles.

As for developers, they will have to play the same game they do anytime they’re faced with signing an outside publisher.  There are disadvantages such as of giving control of IP, and of course giving up revenue.  The upside is the promise of a bigger audience for their games.  Just how helpful Facebook will be in that regard in the mobile space remains to be seen.

Source: TechCrunch