Alibaba Investing Big In Youku Tudou

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China’s biggest home shopping group, Alibaba, is looking to expand into the home media market.

The company has purchased a $1.22 billion stake in China’s online video market leader Youku Tudou, to help heighten the user experience. The deal lets them pay approximately $1.6944 per share.

“Alibaba’s investment will strengthen Youku Tudou as China’s largest online video platform and further differentiate our services and user experience. It will help us continue to build an immersive cultural entertainment platform that integrates online and offline entertainment,” said Victor Koo, chairman and CEO of Youku Tudou.

“This is an important strategic initiative that will further extend the Alibaba ecosystem and bring new products and services to Alibaba’s customers,” added Jack Ma, Alibaba’s executive chairman.

Alibaba is on the verge of introducing an IPO worth around $150 billion, so this push into media entertainment could be a great move for the company. And Alibaba’s fortunes strongly affect Yahoo!, which owns a substantial chunk of Alibaba stock.

Source: Variety

Nintendo Plans Long Promotional Race

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Nintendo isn’t content on just advertising like crazy for Mario Kart 8 upon its initial release. According to MCV, the company intends to advertise for the game throughout the end of the year.

The game, releasing on May 30 in the U.S., will see a huge launch campaign at first, and then continuous TV and online advertising through the following few months. It will also be the focus of a social media program designed around the nostalgia of the series.

“To herald the launch of the most hotly anticipated Wii U title to date, we will have marketing activity pre-launch as well as post-launch moving through the summer and into peak season,” said Nintendo UK brand manager Roger Langford. “For the first time in HD, Mario Kart 8 introduces original course designs that highlight the game’s new anti-gravity feature, which allows players to race upside down or up vertical surfaces. This adds a whole new dimension to the racing.”

There’s no word yet on Nintendo of America’s advertising plans, but expect it to be equally energetic about the sequel.

Source: MCV UK

Windows Phone Struggles Continue

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Even with Microsoft taking control of Nokia’s device business this week, it’s going to be a rough climb for the company on the mobile front.

A report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has indicated that Microsoft’s Windows Phone model is doing best overseas, but still not great. The device only accounts for 8.1 percent of smartphone sales in the 12 weeks leading to the end of March, across the top five markets in Europe. This includes the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

Meanwhile, Android continues to dominate with a whopping 70.7 percent in sales, while Apple is in a distant second with 19.2 percent, mainly on the strength of the iPhone 5 models. Apple dominates in Japan with 57 percent of smartphone sales.

In other markets, the numbers are even more critical, as the Windows Phone only accounts for 5.3 percent of sales in the U.S., and just under 6 percent in Australia. In China and Japan, it’s lingering just around the 1 percentile.

Here’s hoping things pick up for the company over the rest of 2014.

Source: TechCrunch

Hulu Plus Adds Console Remote Control

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Always looking to expand convenience to its customers that view its programming, Hulu has announced that it added a new feature to its mobile applications, which will allow users to control video streaming through their game consoles from their mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones.

This app now connects with the Hulu Plus service on both of Sony’s PlayStation consoles, 3 and 4, as well as the Xbox One from Microsoft. It will detect any game consoles that are running the service nearby, and then press the “cast” button to share videos from their devices to their televisions.

In addition, users can take advantage of a number of other functions, as they would through the regular Hulu viewer. These include pausing, rewinding, and seeking during programs, all through their mobile app.

Source: TechCrunch

Fashion Marketing With ‘Watch Dogs’

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Menswear brand and e-tailer Frank & Oak has partnered with Ubisoft to cross-promote the new Watch Dogs game through an exclusive line of limited edition clothing and accessories. Taking cues from the Watch Dogs universe, the 12-piece capsule collection bears a dark and mysterious near-future aesthetic. The distressed v-neck pocket tees ($32), printed denim shirts ($55), waffle henley ($42), black canvas pant ($65), patterned sweater ($65), and French terry hoodie ($65) feature raw and worn details and textures; and the crew neck tees ($32), baseball cap ($35) and military canvas duffle ($115) boast subtle Watch Dogs graphic details for the growing number of hardcore and casual gamers.

Ethan Song

Ethan Song, co-founder and CEO of Frank & Oak, explains why video games offer a unique opportunity to connect fashion with digital consumers in this exclusive interview.

[a]list daily: Can you talk about your brand?

Ethan Song: Frank & Oak is the simplest way to shop the latest trends in menswear, with quality designs and integrated lifestyle content. As a vertically integrated brand, we design, manufacture, and sell a new curated collection of premium clothing and accessories each month.

[a]list daily: What’s your retail footprint in North America?

Ethan Song: We sell across North America through frankandoak.com, and recently opened Atelier Frank & Oak, a shop and community space in our native Montreal. We only sell directly to our customers in order to create a unique experience for each individual.

[a]list daily: How big is your online customer base?

Ethan Song: We have over 1 million members — and growing.

[a]list daily: Why did you decide to get involved with video games

Ethan Song: As a next-generation brand, we’re constantly inspired by the digital world. This collaboration was a chance to combine three things we’re passionate about — fashion, art, and technology — and speak to the interests of our technology- and gaming-focused customers.

[a]list daily: What is it about Watch Dogs that appealed to your brand?

Ethan Song: We found the themes tackled in Watch Dogs — the importance of information and the digital world in near-future society — really interesting and relevant to the now. Our brand is, in part, about innovation, and we’re always interested in working on projects that don’t follow typical convention. 

[a]list daily: How have you worked with Ubisoft on this clothing line?

Ethan Song: We worked with Ubisoft’s creative directors early on in the project, and viewed initial versions of the game to fully understand the themes and aesthetic of the Watch Dogs universe. When it came to actually designing and producing the clothing, we had full creative freedom.

[a]list daily: How does the design connect with the video game world of Chicago?

Ethan Song: The Capsule Collection — like the chaotic game metropolis that is Chicago — has a dark and mysterious near-future aesthetic. Dark shades, and worn, faded, and functional details captured that feeling.

[a]list daily: Do you have a sense of how many of your customers are gamers?

Ethan Song: Through research and ongoing conversations with our customers, we know that many of them are interested in technology, and gaming specifically. Today, gaming isn’t only for a younger audience — it connects across all ages, genders, and generations.

[a]list daily: Why do you think we don’t see more clothing deals like this around big video game launches?

Ethan Song: Fashion trends are often inspired by relatable or aspirational pop culture icons — The Beatles, Mick Jagger, James Dean. As video games move in this direction, I think we’ll see a shift toward clothing inspired by the digital world.

[a]list daily: What role do you see this game playing in generating new customers?

Ethan Song: Many of our existing customers share a deep-rooted interest in technology and gaming, and as a next-generation digital brand, we’re sure our approach to e-commerce will resonate with Watch Dogs fans.

What Not To Miss At LA Game Conference

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Coming up this Thursday is the LA Games Conference taking place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is looking like quite a turnout. For a one day event, giving attendees a hard time scrolling through very long speakers list is a good sign. Even still, we felt it our duty to highlight our most anticipated panels. If you haven’t yet gotten your tickets to the event, it’s not too late! There will be registration at the door the day of if you happened to miss out on the pre-registration rate. Have a look-see at the full agenda here.

9:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
View from the Top: The State of the Game Industry

The LA Games Conference kicks off strongly with a panel discussion featuring Scopely’s Walter Drive, Rovio’s VP Mikko Setala, president of Tapjoy, Steve Wadsworth, and Chris Early of Ubisoft. The question at hand is of course gaming’s transition into the digital future and there is a plethora to be said on the subject.

PANELISTS
Walter Driver, Co-Founder and CEO, Scopely {link no longer active}
Mikko Setala, Executive Vice President, Rovio Entertainment {link no longer active}
Steve Wadsworth, President, CEO and Board Member, Tapjoy {link no longer active}
Chris Early, VP, Digital Publishing, Ubisoft {link no longer active}
Moderator: Liam Callahan, Director, Games Industry Analyst, NPD {link no longer active}

11:55 a.m. – 12:35 p.m.

MONETIZATION TRACK

The Evolution of Digital Pricing Models Across Consoles, PC and Mobile/Tablets

Sometimes the best way to look to the future is to get a full grasp of the past. This panel will endeavor to discuss evolving digital pricing models and will talk about feemium, freemium, premium and so on.

PANELISTS
Jason Enriquez, Director, Business Development & Global Communications, Glu Mobile {link no longer active}
Chris Donahue, Co-Founder, Elevate Partners {link no longer active}
Chris Mahoney, SVP, Strategy & Marketing, Lockwood Publishing {link no longer active}
Rick Sanchez, VP, Product and Marketing, OnLive {link no longer active}
Moderator: Nate Nanzer, Vice President, Frank N. Magid Associates {link no longer active}

1:45 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.
Game Marketing Leadership Roundtable

It is highly advised to not let your lunch run too long to miss this panel. To be discussed: how these leading game execs market games today and how they anticipate these techniques changing in the future.

PANELISTS
Bryan Buskas, SVP, Performance Advertising, AdColony {link no longer active}
Jonathan Anastas, VP, Global Mktg, Digital/Social Media Head, Activision {link no longer active}
John Koller, VP, Marketing – Home Consoles & Handheld Platforms, PlayStation (Sony Computer Entertainment America) {link no longer active}
Steve Fowler, Head of Global Marketing, ArenaNet {link no longer active}
Moderator: Mike Vorhaus, President, Magid Advisors {link no longer active}

5:05 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
To Live and Indie in LA: Indie Game Development in the Southland

Southern California isn’t all sunshine and beaches… well, maybe. But those things are definitely creating fertile ground for an indie game scene in LA. Of course, it also has its challenges.

PANELISTS
Kellee Santiago, Head of Developer Relations, OUYA / Co-Founder,thatgamecompany {link no longer active}
Spencer Yip, Director & Founder, YummyYummyTummy {link no longer active}
James Liu, Founder, CEO, Writer, Developer, BoxCat Games {link no longer active}
Mariel Cartwright, Lead Animator, Lab Zero {link no longer active}
Moderator: Jamison Selby, VP, Games bspot and Board Member, IGDA Los Angeles {link no longer active}

Machinima Shows Ken And Ryu

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Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist looks to do for the Street Fighter franchise what Mortal Kombat Legacy did for the Mortal Kombat franchise. Check out the teaser trailer for Ken Masters, one of two students of ansatsuken looking to prove his worth.