With a lot of games due for release later this year on PC and PlayStation 4, War Thunder almost looked like it would get lost in the shuffle. However, Gaijin assured that this isn’t the case this time around, as it released an emotional new trailer showing just what kind of action you’re in for when the World War II MMO combat game launches later this year.
A lot of independent games were shown at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Prime event in Seattle this weekend, but one that managed to stand out is the epic role-playing adventure Lords of the Fallen. In this great new trailer, you see a warrior working his way through a frozen wasteland, eventually reaching the Hand of God mountains, ready to take on a massive foe.
Lords of the Fallen is currently in the works from CI Games and Deck 13 interactive, and slated for PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One.
AT&T may have struck upon advertising genius with its latest campaign, which focuses on talking guinea pigs Kim and Carl in a series of new online ads. In the spots, the guinea pigs talk about Digital Life innovations powered by the company, but in a humorous style that fits their characters perfectly. You can see more videos at the link below.
Source: AdWeek
While console players have lots of Bat-action to look forward to this October with Batman: Arkham Origins, portable system owners will also get their shot with the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, which puts Batman in a beautiful side-scrolling adventure where he battles the likes of Penguin and other new enemies. To celebrate the forthcoming release, WB Games released a new trailer, motion-comic style, that shows a prison being overtaken and put “Under New Management.”
The game releases October 25 for PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS.
Nintendo made news last week with two announcements, one widely anticipated and the other a complete surprise. With these announcements Nintendo has laid out its plan for the 2013 holiday season and given us a sense for its long-term strategy.
The announcement that the Wii U Deluxe Edition will be priced at $299 (a $50 drop) has been expected since before Sony announced the PlayStation 4 at $399. Slow Wii U sales this year have had analysts suggesting a price drop, with Nintendo CEO Iwata firmly resisting the idea at every opportunity. Since E3, Wii U sales have not revived even though Nintendo has announced several more compelling games coming soon.
The price drop is not as sweeping as it could have been. Effectively, Nintendo is dropping the 8GB Basic Edition of the Wii U, which never sold very well at $299. For an extra $50 you could get a copy of NintendoLand (a $50 retail price) as well as a 32GB version of the Wii U, so it’s little wonder the Wii U Deluxe Edition grabbed most of the sales. (The extra memory was especially useful since the operating system takes up about 4 GB of space.) From all reports, Nintendo will not be making any money on a 32GB Wii U sold for $299, so the company will be depending on software to bring in profits on that line.
The lineup of Wii U software going forward looks better than it has, with Nintendo preparing surefire sellers like Mario Kart 8 And Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Still, the third-party lineup is thin, and all indicators are that publishers like EA and Activision won’t be putting much effort into new Wii U titles. If you’re a sports game fan, or a shooter fan, or an RPG fan, the Wii U likely won’t offer you many choices in the foreseeable future.
Realistically, the Wii U is not going to sell huge numbers when all of the attention and enthusiasm of gamers is focused on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 this fall. The pricing of the Wii U at $299 is smart, because dropping it to $249 probably wouldn’t boost sales much. There’s not all that much great software to be had for the Wii U still, so Nintendo has less ability to make up for losses on hardware with software profits. Thus, the $50 drop gives the Wii U some necessary psychological distance from the PlayStation 4 at $399, yet keeps Nintendo’s losses on hardware at a minimum.
Nintendo’s ability to succeed with the Wii U is not dependent on achieving status as the number one selling console. What’s important for Nintendo is truning a steady profit from the Wii U and its software lineup, and that’s certainly doable. The Wii U, with some marketing help and perhaps another price drop, should be able to hit GameCube like numbers of 30 million consoles sold. While far below the Wii’s performance, this is still a very solid goal that can generate some healthy profits for Nintendo down the road.
Meanwhile, Nintendo’s surprise announcement was the 2DS, a $129.95 slab-like device that plays DS and 3DS software (albeit without a 3D display). Essentially, the 2DS reduces costs on the 3DS by removing the 3D screen (which people rarely use, from all reports) and simplifying the case by removing the hinge. In a world where smartphones are ever more common among kids, providing a lower-cost way to access Nintendo’s increasingly powerful library of 3DS titles is a solid move that should be quite successful.
The difficult part of the 2DS/3DS line is the nomenclature and the possible confusion it may create in consumers, but some marketing and effective communication to retailers should make this a small issue. “Can it play the new Pokemon game †“Yes, no problem!†That’s really all you need to close the sale, especially when the $129 price tag is displayed. When this device can hit $99 (probably in a year), sales should really take off.
Price is the key marketing strategy here. Sure, the 2DS may not be as convenient for carrying around as the folding 3DS. You can’t slip it into a pocket, for one thing. But that pants pocket is probably already allocated to a smartphone, so this may not matter. What’s really important is that it gives gamers a lower cost way to get into Pokémon or Animal Crossing. Those young adults with fond memories of Nintendo now have an easier way to get their fix.
Third-party support for the 3DS has been strong, and continues to look good for the future. Of course, creating software for the 3DS is a lot less expensive than creating a Wii U title, so this should not be surprising. The continuing stream of interesting games for the 3DS is its vital lifeblood as it becomes the leading console for Nintendo.
Of course tablets and smartphones will continue to command attention from gamers, putting additional pressure on Nintendo to sell handheld consoles. The $169 3DS and the $199 3DS XL will have a tougher time in the year ahead, as tablets and smartphones continue to get more powerful and less expensive. For $199 you can get a 3DS XL, but for that same $199 you can get a tablet with a 7†HD quality screen and the ability to play hundreds of thousands of games as well as surf the Web, play movies and music, and an astonishing range of other capabilities. That’s a tough fight to win. Heading to the $129 price point (and someday to $99) is Nintendo’s best weapon in this fight.
Mountain Dew, a division of PepsiCo, offered gamers a sweepstakes to win Xbox 360 consoles leading up to the launch of Microsoft’s console back in 2005. This year, the soft drink maker has added gamification to the equation, enabling fans to play their way to winning one of over 5,000 of Xbox One consoles this fall every two minutes between November 5 and December 9. The Every Two Minutes promotion (www.Every2Minutes.com) is the company’s biggest video game campaign ever.
“With Xbox 360 we had a groundbreaking sweepstakes where consumers won a console every 10 minutes, but we’re letting users control their own destiny with Xbox One,” said Todd Kaplan, director of brand marketing, Mountain Dew. “People can get codes from Doritos and Mountain Dew products and leverage those codes for points. It’s not a sweepstakes. If you want one bad enough, you gather as many codes as you can and use those points for online auctions beginning November 5 from 9 pm to 2 am. We feel this program is groundbreaking and unique. The scale of the program and the number of Xbox Ones we’re giving out is huge. And we believe the gamification of this program connects perfectly with this gamer audience.”
Mountain Dew is took this gamification into the real world over the Labor Day Weekend at PAX Prime in Seattle. The company announced the program to attendees on Friday morning and offered the 100,000 attendees a chance to win one of 30 Xbox Ones and other prizes like 2014 PAX tickets, Turtle Beach Headsets and Polk Audio SurroundBars by taking part in a QR scavenger hunt.
“PAX is the biggest consumer expo in the U.S. and there’s no better place to launch a program like this then at the center of gaming itself,” said Kaplan. “We gave PAX Prime attendees a chance to win one of six Xbox One systems that will be delivered before release day. They’ll be the first people in the world to play this console. We also gave away 24 Xbox One consoles to attendees. We partnered with PAX to place QR codes throughout the convention center and attendees collected points. Over 1,000 gamers attended the live auction on Sunday with a real auctioneer. The more they engage, the more they can win everything from the consoles to shirts and headphones and even in-game items.”
It was a real world version of the online contest that will launch November 5 and feature over a half a million prizes. There was also a physical DEW and Doritos marketplace in the Washington State Convention Center, which had more than 60,000 items that attendees could get by redeeming their points.
“In addition to the more than 100 codes located throughout the convention center, we used the DEW social media channels to let PAX attendees know that there were a limited number of high-value QR codes located in places around Seattle like Pike Place Market and the Space Needle,” said Kaplan. “People were so engaged in the Every 2 Minutes promotion that they literally ran from the convention center to get them . . . they were gone within five minutes.”
The PAX campaign was a success. In just under three days, PAX attendees scanned the “Every 2 Minutes” QR codes more than 155,000 times.
Kaplan said there will also be an in-game component to the marketing this fall, which allows gamers to collect and bank points by purchasing specially marked DEW and Doritos products. Among the virtual prizes are a Mountain Dew/Dale Earnhardt Jr. paintout for Forza Motorsport 5, a Mountain Dew branded sword and shield for Ryse: Son of Rome, a Mountain Dew Roller Hog for Dead Rising 3 and a Ninja costume in Doritos brand colors.
“Mountain Dew and Doritos have a strong connection to the gaming space,” said Kaplan. “These products are endemically consumed as part of the gaming experience. People are constantly engaged in games and consuming our products. Over the years we have launched limited time Mountain Dew Game Fuel product and had great results. This year we’re launching Citrus Cherry and Electrifying Berry and there will be a special Doritos Gamer Pack made for the ideal gaming experience.”
Although the Xbox One is priced at $499, pre-orders have already been halted at major retailers in testimony to the pent-up demand. Microsoft’s recent policy changes and the announcement of strong support for indie developers seem to be going over well with the fans, and Kaplan as well.
“We feel good about Xbox One,” said Kaplan. “We’ve partnered with Xbox in the past. We think this new console is groundbreaking technology. It will really change the game for gamers this fall and beyond. The next generation of video games opens up new connectivity and we’ve seen an explosion of multiplayer games. The Kinect technology and visual image recognition and how that’s evolved — knowing if you or your Mom walks into the room — is amazing. The graphics and experiences are bringing a more realistic feeling to games. We’re glad to be a part of it. Gaming is a social experience, and our brands are meant to be part of shared experiences.”
With Xbox One pre-orders sold out, this promotion should connect with a large audience. Even those fanboys still upset with Microsoft aren’t going to turn down a free $500 console. And having Xbox One on all of that packaging for this fall and beyond won’t hurt Microsoft as it battles Sony in the next generation console war.
In a somewhat surprising move, Microsoft announced late Monday that it is buying the majority of Nokia’s cellphone business (including its non-smartphone business) along with a ten-year license to Nokia’s patent portfolio for a total of 5.44 billion euros, or over $7.17 billion.
The deal with see former Microsoft exec Steven Elop, current CEO of Nokia, once again become a Microsoft employee as executive VP of devices and services. Some 32,000 Nokia employees will become Microsoft employees when the deal is finalized.
This deal puts Elop in the frontrunner position to become the new CEO of Microsoft when current CEO Steve Ballmer steps down in the next year.
Nokia will continue in business with its remaining goods and services, which is about equal to the business it’s selling to Microsoft. Nokia will focus on its businesses making cellular networking equipment, its Here location-based services, and other “advanced technologies,” according to a statement.
What this deal means to the Xbox division isn’t immediately clear, though it might mean even greater cooperation with Windows Phone in some fashion.
Source: AllThingsD
An interesting marketing campaign from European chocolate maker Milka is based around producing the product differently. The company produced 10 million bars with a ‘missing’ piece (the bars were actually the normal weight, with each square being slightly bigger than normal). Inside the wrapper is a digital code that you can redeem for the missing piece, or send the missing piece to someone. The piece arrives in the mail with a personalized note you entered online. The video explains the process in detail.
Could games give out digital goods with this much meaning It’s an area that deserves more experimentation.
Source: AdWeek
Coinciding with the currency change that took place with its latest system update last week, Microsoft has changed the name of its Xbox Live Marketplace to something new. Say hello to the Xbox Games Store!
Now whenever consumers visit the Store for online purchases, they will see the rebranding while being able to make purchases like before. This retitling will also be in place for the Xbox One when it launches later this year.
“That’s right, (Xbox Live Marketplace) is now called the Xbox Games Store, and will sit alongside the Xbox Music Store and Xbox Video Store,” said a Microsoft spokesperson speaking with Joystiq. “This is to make it easier for consumers to find content both on Xbox 360 today and Xbox One when it launches in November.”
Source: Joystiq
LEGO has seen a great number of successes in video games over the years, including games based on Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars and Harry Potter. However, its next iteration could see the introduction of physical toys onto the market, similar to what Activision has done with Skylanders and what Disney recently did with the Infinity project.
LEGO will launch a new game next summer called LEGO Minifigures Online that will take advantage of collectible figurine, which players can then use in a virtual game to coincide with their release. The figures will be sold in “blind bags” so players won’t know what to expect from their figure purchases, unlike the other games mentioned above.
“We want players to get the same feeling they get from unwrapping a figure as when they get that character in game,” explained Lawrence Poe, executive producer at Funcom, during the game’s first demos at Gamescom.
“LEGO games come with certain expectations of quality – and LEGO has very high values as a company – so Minifigures Online has to reflect all of that.”
The game will release on PC, iOS and Android.
Source: MCV
