Season 2 Of The ‘Hunt The Truth’ Podcast Is Coming In September

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At San Diego Comic-Con on July 10, the Halo 5 panel, “Hunt For the Truth: Following the Trail of the Halo 5: Guardians Story” featured 343 Industries’ Kiki Wolfkill moderating, panelists Ian Kirby, Morgan Lockhart, Frank O’Connor, and Ayzenberg’s Creative Director Noah Eichen. The panel examined the storytelling in and around Halo 5: Guardians, bringing new insight into the mysteries surrounding the Master Chief and sneak peeks of what’s yet to come.

The ending of Halo 4 and Master Chief’s questioning what it means to be a Spartan were among the first topics covered during the panel. This led the discussion into the story for Halo 5 – the most epic game 343 has created in terms of scale. The levels are larger and the story is more layered and intricate. Halo 5 is also the first game where co-op is built not only into the gameplay but into the narrative fiction. Attendees got sneak peeks of upcoming content and also got to hear an excerpt from the Hunt the Truth podcast.

Frank O’Connor and team have built an extended fiction for the Halo universe, allowing them to delve deeper into the characters. This includes stories, New Blood, Last Light, Hunters in the Dark, a three part animated series called Halo: The Fall of Reach, and the Hunt the Truth podcast. With such an intricate story spanning different media, Frank mentioned the importance of communication and working on the fly. Producing a podcast was new for 343 but Frank mentioned that they were “excited to explore the podcast space” with a cool story. Since even Noah Eichen and the Hunt the Truth podcast team were un-spoiled for Halo 5, they created an “everyman” main character in Benjamin Giraud who would ask the same questions the audience would have.

As the panel closed, 343 teased that there are more mysteries to unravel before the game’s launch on Oct 27 and announced that season two of the Hunt the Truth podcast will launch in September. While they wouldn’t give much away, fans were promised that they would see a different side of ONI.

Comedy Central Brings Fun Experience To All At Comic-Con

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Comic-Con 2015 is happening all weekend long, and fans from all over the world are flocking the halls of the San Diego Convention Center to check out star-studded panels and buy all the latest “geek” gear for their home. However, considering the event sold out in a matter of an hour earlier this year, there are those attendees that simply can’t get in and enjoy what it’s all about. Don’t worry, fans — Comedy Central has you covered.

The popular Comedy Central announced today that it is holding its own special ComedyCentralCon, which will be help today and tomorrow at the San Diego Wine and Culinary Center (200 Harbor Dr. #120). The event is open to both badge holders and the public alike, who can drop by and check out a number of activities based on popular and upcoming shows.

Shawn Silverman, Comedy Central Vice President, Brand Marketing spoke to [a]listdaily about the #ComedyCentralCon event.

First off, what gave you guys the idea to hold an event outside of San Diego Comic-Con Did you want to give something back to the fans that couldn’t get into the show, or . . . 

Fans are always our top priority and main focus so we wanted to create an event that would be free and open to the public as a big thank you to them for all of their support and passion. We always aim to create experiences that allow fans to get up close and personal with their favorite Comedy Central franchises and we strive for our events that are fun, interactive, sharable, and showcase Comedy Central’s sense of humor.

What kind of attendance are you expecting for the show today? It looks like there’s a lot going on.

Last year’s event was a huge success. There was a line to get in from before we even opened and it only grew as the day went on. A few thousand people played in our Moonbeam City laser tag arena last year which is even more impressive when you factor in that each game was about 10 minutes long and only eight people could play at a time. Based on the demand from last year we decided to extend the hours of #ComedyCentralCon this year and we will now be open from 11am-8pm on Friday and Saturday. We also focused on creating an experience that would allow more people to play all at the same time. Mini-Golf offered the perfect opportunity to have multiple teams playing simultaneously with a constant flow of people cycling through from hole-to-hole so no one will have to wait idly in line for very long.

How does this year’s event compare with previous events your team has held outside of SDCC

We launched #ComedyCentralCon a few years ago at SDCC as just a small daytime party where fans could come meet and hang out with some of the stars on our shows. We quickly found ourselves in a situation where we had to expand the event in order to accommodate all of the fans showing up, so we decided to turn it into a 2 day experience at a much bigger venue with lots of fan activities. Last year was our first year to do an immersive all-day event that included celebrity autograph sessions, a GIF booth and it was anchored by an incredibly cool black light laser tag arena that recreated the city from one of our new animated franchises, Moonbeam City, which premieres September 16th.

This year we are doubling down on #ComedyCentralCon. With so many amazing CC franchises on the air right now, we really strove to create an experience that could showcase many of them while still celebrating each of brands individually. Mini Golf felt like a great way to tie everything together to accomplish all of our marketing and promotional goals, spotlight our incredible talent, and create a free interactive event for fans to experience. Each hole represents a different CC franchise and we focused on bringing key elements from the show or the marketing campaigns to life and using them as obstacles within the course.

  • Broad City — The city of New York plays such a big role in the show so we wanted to bring a piece of home to SD with us. The subway entrance doubles as a great obstacle and upon getting the ball in the hole, a bong will blow out smoke.
  • Review — In Review, Forrest MacNeil reviews life experiences, even if it kills him. We used stars from Forrest’s patented Five Star rating system as obstacles for our course. Getting a hole in 1 will get you a 5 star rating on this hole! Review is back for Season 2 starting on Thursday, July 30 at 10/9c.
  • Another Period — The Bellacourts were heavily involved in designing this hole ,but they ended up getting drunk on Cocaine Wine and sent one of their Butlers to work it for them. The course is littered with “Cocaine Wine” bottles and there are actually 2 holes on this hole, 1 huge hole for the Bellacourts to ensure they get a hole in one (at which point their butler will lift the tray off the hole) and another standard size hole for the help and peasants.
  • Why With Hannibal Buress — The key art for this campaign features Hannibal’s face wrapping an entire building with Hannibal himself is walking out of the building through a small door at the bottom, so using that door as the passageway to the hole was a no brainer. Hannibal will be stopping by our event to play a few rounds and might even heckle a few fans as they try to get a hole in one.
  • Key & Peele — The K&P hole features a motorized revolving door — just like the one featured in all of their Valet Sketches. The ball must pass through it and will then be shot out and down a ramp towards the hole.
  • Workaholics — We recreated the roof of their house where the guys spend lots of time smoking and drinking as our obstacle. The hole is also littered w/beer pong cups, just like their front yard.
  • Inside Amy Schumer — As Amy said, “2015 is the year of the ass” so we brought our key art for this season to life and created 3D “butts” as obstacles that players will have to navigate around to get the ball in the hole.
  • Moonbeam City — After the success of our Moonbeam City laser tag arena at COMEDYCENTRALCON last year, we had to find a way to bring Moonbeam back to SDCC for year two. We worked closely with the show creators to design this hole and re-create the city itself.

Beyond Mini-Golf, we also have a GIF booth where fans can step into a scene with the stars of their favorite Comedy Central franchise and make it look like they are up close and personal with the stars of each show.

We also have an incredibly cool 360 degree Drunk History booth that we think the fans are going to love. The custom built boothrotates 360 degrees while someone stands inside and tries to stay on their feet. It’s more challenging than it sounds and can make even the most coordinated person look like a drunken mess. Personal videos are captured of each participant which they can they share on their desired social platform.

On top of all that we’ve added a prize wheel this year where fans will have the chance to win prizes from virtually every Comedy Central show on the air.

And last but certainly not least, stars of multiple shows including Workaholics, Drunk History, Another Period, The Meltdown, WHY with Hannibal Buress and Moonbeam City will be stopping by to meet fans, sign autographs, and compete against fans on our mini-golf course.

We’re very excited to bring all of this to life this year and can’t wait to celebrate with the fans!

More Details
People who drop by for the con will be able to take part in a nine-hole miniature golf course, featuring holes based on shows like Moonbeam City, @midnight, Inside Amy Schumer and Key & Peele, along with a photo booth that allows attendees to get pics with their favorite stars from shows like Broad City and Another Period. There will also be a prize wheel offering fun little collectibles, as well as stars from shows dropping by for autographs, although a specific schedule wasn’t given.

The channel will also host a special episode of The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail later this evening at the American Comedy Co., featuring the best in live comedy entertainment.

Although Comedy Central will also be hosting panels at the event — announcing its new animated series Moonbeam City with Rob Lowe and discussing other shows like Another Period and Drunk History — it set up this exhibit for fans not fortunate enough to get into Comic-Con — and they’re likely to drop by and have fun. More examples of the holes in the mini-golf course can be found below — and the Workaholics hole definitely looks like fun.

This is just one of the many events taking place outside Comic-Con for non-badge holders to enjoy. Ubisoft opened up an Assassin’s Creed Experience right across the street from the Convention Center, where fans can check out the game and try their luck at an obstacle course; and Nerdist Industries has teamed up with Legendary Networks to host a Conival, featuring a number of stars and activities, including a special laser tag arena that ties in with the forthcoming game Battleborn from 2K Games. More details on that event can be found here.

How Facebook’s New Pricing Model Is Changing Things

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Facebook is ready to take its advertising model to the next level with a new business plan.

Introduced earlier this week via the company’s official blog page, the Cost-Per-Click program is intent on helping advertisers get a better idea of how ads perform against their pre-set objectives.

In the blog entry, Facebook explained a number of reasons for the change, explaining that its “ad offerings have become increasingly tailored to helping advertisers meet their objectives.” Once it goes into effects, “advertisers who care about link clicks are likely to see better return on advertising spend, since they’ll be paying for only the most valuable outcome,” said the post.

But what effect will this have on companies in the long run Many feel that it will help increased Facebook’s ad sales, as well as the creative side of the site, especially when it comes to marketers that have branding on their minds.

Adweek recently reported that Keywee CEO Yaniv Makover, among others, feel that this will be a change for the better. Spending increases “will be significant,” according to Makover, especially with packaged goods-based companies and automotive brands. “Now that Facebook CPC actually refers to cost per website click, brands will feel like they are comparing apples to apples,” added Makover. “They are going to be spending more money on Facebook.”

In addition, he added that “the new CPC rates are going to be a lot higher compared to the old CPC. So if you were paying five cents for a click, now you will be paying around 16 cents.”

There’s more to the business model, though, at least according to Chicago-based digital marketing consultant David Deal. “Focusing on click-throughs will make Facebook more valuable so long as Facebook can deliver targeted audiences to brands. It’s not enough for Facebook to drive more traffic to a website. Facebook needs to consistently deliver well-defined and desirable audiences.

“The change in Facebook’s pricing configuration is further evidence that social media is morphing into a direct-response play for brands,” he continued. “We’ve already seen Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest introduce buy buttons recently. Likes and shares are less important than commerce.”

Omer Shai, chief operating officer for Wix.com, also added to the conversation. “This change will help draw even more direct-response marketers to Facebook since it purifies the traffic-acquisition process and guarantees that every dollar spent on (the platform) will now lead the user to the funnel marketers are promoting,” he said.

However, this will bring about more ad creativity, which is just what the doctor ordered for some companies. “Think about it, if you’re trying to lead users into the funnel and avoid paying for social actions, you’ll probably use very clear-cut creative now with this change,” said Shai. “I’m sure we’ll start seeing ads that are really pushing the boundaries.”

Deal also added, “The focus on click-throughs will pressure brands to make more effective creative ads on Facebook. Compelling people to visit you or buy from you is more challenging than convincing someone to simply like your ad. Brands will need to work harder to benefit from direct-response ads.”

Here’s hoping that the CPC will be a beneficial program to advertisers and creative types alike.

CMO Pete Arden Talks Disruptor Beam’s Future

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Community-centric game company Disruptor Beam made a few waves this week by hiring new chief marketing officer Pete Arden to the group. Pete brings many years of experience to the mobile company, having worked on titles like Guild Wars 2, Aion and EVE: Valkyrie.

But what can people expect with Arden joining the team We recently had a chance to sit down and speak with him about jumping into the mobile market with Disruptor Beam, as well as what to expect from the future — including Disruptor Beam’s forthcoming mobile game Star Trek: Timelines.

Pete Arden

What is it about the company — or the games that it produces — that drew you in?

It was both. The prospect of returning to the startup world after spending the past several years at a number of large MMO publishers was frankly very attractive. And Disruptor Beam has everything I look for in a startup: great products, a super smart, energetic team, a dedication to serving its players and their passions, and a culture that both supports and challenges its employees. As for the games, I’ve been a dedicated Star Trek fan since childhood, and in the fantasy genre, it really doesn’t get better than Game of Thrones. It’s a joy to be able to work on two of my favorite It’s every single day.

What do you feel is the most challenging part about successfully marketing a good mobile game?

Success in the mobile space depends so much on breaking through the clutter and simply getting noticed. By developing titles using well-known, much-loved properties like Star Trek and Game of Thrones, Disruptor Beam has a natural advantage in that we don’t have to work nearly as hard to establish a baseline of brand awareness.

What sort of plans does Disruptor Beam have in place for marketing Star Trek Timelines?

Well, one part of our plan that’s very exciting to me is working with veteran actor John de Lancie, better known as “Q” from Star Trek: The Next Generation. In addition to providing voiceover narration in the game, John has actually been involved in guiding the game’s storyline, and has also agreed to help us promote Star Trek Timelines in a number of interesting and novel ways. He’ll be appearing with us on stage at this year’s Star Trek Las Vegas convention in August, for instance, where we will have a major presence demoing the game to the thousands of hardcore fans gathered there. Having an ally and spokesman like John really demonstrates Disruptor Beam’s understanding of its audience and what they’re looking for in their entertainment.

What do you think about the state of mobile games in general?

I’m fairly new to this part of the industry, so unlike some veterans, I’m still a bit wide-eyed and optimistic about mobile and its potential. Seeing how Disruptor Beam is really pushing the envelope of what’s possible in a mobile game like Star Trek Timelines —  from the quality of the storytelling and game design to the immersive, almost cinematic 3D starship battles — it feels like there’s still a huge opportunity for high-quality titles to succeed and bring even more players into the space.

In addition, Jon Radoff, CEO of Disruptor Beam, jumped in to answer a quick question . . .

How is Disruptor Beam planning to change the landscape?

Since our founding, our goal has been to disrupt the industry through our products, but also how we do business day-to-day. On one hand, we’ve tried to steer away from strict paid customer acquisition to grow our games. We’ve instead focused heavily on community and have strived for a more grassroots and organic growth around our games. It is the IP we are working with, and the existing huge fan bases around those properties, which has allowed us to reach that goal. In addition, we’re self-publishing Star Trek Timelines. We see the traditional publishing model as somewhat broken, where studios are basically just outsourced R&D shops. Although we’re one of a small number of mobile game startups that is taking the self-publishing route, we’re the only one that has made community and fan-engagement the core of this strategy.

Star Trek Timelines should release later this year for mobile devices. The trailer is below.

Web Video Is Blurring Lines For Business and Editorial

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Television and print have their usual restrictions when it comes to news reporting, but web video doesn’t. That may sound like a less restrictive practice, but, in fact, certain sites can run into problems with this, based on who ends up calling the shots for what goes up, according to Digiday.

The New York Times has seen its struggles in the video department, recently shaking up staffing with the departure of managing editor Bruce Headlam and general manager of video Rebecca Howard, to pursue other roles. This leads to the question – who should be taking charge in video production, editorial or business

Digiday went on to talk to three different outlets, including The New York Times, about examples on how to get around this.

First off, there’s The New York Times. While video business was on the rise with 15 channels in a production slate and a number of new original series, there was consistent tension. It seems that an executive should have been placed in charge to oversee all aspect of the video business. Said the executive (who spoke on anonymity), “Video has a marriage to the (editorial) experience but has a standalone opportunity beyond that. There very well may be editorial folks out there who can do it, but threading that needle between issues like production costs, distribution and even managing the balance between text and video, and still being able to run a fully scaled operation is, I think, beyond what I’ve typically seen coming out of editorial.”

Next up is Meredith’s National Media Group, which has seen its fair share of business as well. Its video division is headed up by vice president of video production Laura Rowley, who said, “You have to have somebody who understands editorial, advertising and the dynamics between the two – of what the revenue picture looks like and how that translates into the kind of production costs you can put into place.”

Meanwhile, video ad sales run separately to Meredith senior vice president Marc Rothschild, though Rowley also oversees branded and native video content. “Every media organization has that tension,” Rowley said. “One of our strengths is that our culture is very collaborative. Editorial understands where the line is and pushes back when they need to.” At the end of the day, editorial dictates the video that is produced because each magazine brand’s editors know their audience best.

“I’ve also never had a conversation where the advertising side said, ‘Hey, can we run a feature on this advertiser ‘” For that, Rowley said, there’s a separate branded-content unit on hand to assist.

Overall, this business structure works well, as Meredith draws 60 million views per month from the United States alone.

Finally, there’s the Huffington Post, which is led by general manager Nathan Brown with some assistance from editorial director Danny Shea. Both agree that there’s a need to include both editorial and business on the video side.

“The way to make it work is to have a true partnership and not just say it’s a partnership,” said Brown. “What skills and knowledge I don’t have, Danny does, and vice versa.”

“It’s a hybrid role,” added Shea. “If we were just running it from the editorial department, it wouldn’t succeed. If Nathan were running it without the editorial department, it wouldn’t succeed.”

Brown ultimately runs the division, but Shea keeps in contact to make sure that business and editorial continue to be balanced within it. “Business’ job is to look at the big picture – how do we explore new formats, distribution of content, etc. – not the granular, day-to-day operations of video,” added Brown. “You just have to be open to a really fluid model. You can’t be inflexible. I’m saying buzzwords, I realize that, but being protective of the past will always get in the way of the future.”

Added Rowley, “It’s like Ghostbusters – you don’t want to cross the streams.”

Certainly food for thought for those looking to grow their video and editorial business…

Apple’s About to Revolutionize Mobile Gaming

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Apple introduced its new Force Touch technology earlier this year with its new Macbook, and this technology is about to make its way into the new iPhones and iPads, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal (as reported by The Verge) and elsewhere. While this rumored development hasn’t attracted much attention, the long-term implications for gaming and the game industry as a whole are profound. When iPhones and iPads with Force Touch become the standard, mobile gaming can really make inroads on many genres currently limited to PCs and consoles.

What is Apple’s Force Touch technology Essentially, it adds two key elements to touch pads (and soon, to touch screens): pressure-sensing and haptic feedback. Right now touchscreens only detect where you’re touching it, and how long you maintain that touch. Yes, you can also have multiple fingers touching the screen, and the screen can also track movement (like those swipes you use in Fruit Ninja, or how you pull back the slingshot in Angry Birds). What current touchscreens can’t do is sense how hard you are pressing, but Force Touch adds that extra dimension by placing pressure sensors under the screen.

Force Touch adds more than just pressure-sensing, though — the haptic feedback uses precise vibration to give a convincing illusion that you have clicked the screen. The Taptic Engine (also used in the Apple Watch) can simulate other sensations as well, and can fool you into thinking the trackpad is moving. The combination of the pressure-sensing and the haptic feedback opens up immense possibilities for game designers.

Why is Force Touch so important for gaming Because one of the criticisms of touchscreen games has been the lack of feedback in the controls, which makes it very difficult to create certain game genres on touchscreens (like fisrt-person shooters). Keyboards, mice, and videogame console controllers let you input commands to a game without the need to take your eyes of the screen. You quickly learn where the right buttons are, and thus games like Call of Duty or League of Legends can keep your attention focused on the screen. If you need glance down to see where a button is, you’re probably dead in that instant.

Now imagine an iPad or an iPhone where you can have touchpoints on the screen (even user-defined or adjusted) where the haptic feedback can keep you aware of where your fingers are. Moreover, you can use the pressure sensitivity to alter your game input — switching from burst to autofire, for instance, or engaging an afterburner for extra movement. You could be playing fast action games without having to pay close attention to your fingers, which would make popular game genres (sports, FPS, simulations) much better on mobile than they currently are.

The marketing implications are equally important. First off, Apple is reportedly asking suppliers to build 90 million new iPhones before the end of the year — if they sell that many the new iPhone instantly becomes one of the most popular game devices of all time, with an installed base about the same size as the Xbox 360 or PS3. In three short months. Throw in another 15-20 million iPads on top of that, and by the end of the year there are over 100 million mobile devices with this capability. By the end of 2016, it would be more than double that number.

Don’t forget that these new iPhones and iPads will have even more powerful CPUs and GPUs, giving them gaming power greater than the Xbox 360 and PS3, and in some ways more powerful than the Xbox One and PS4 (producing higher resolution images, for one thing, like CSR Racing 2). Imagine a Mario Kart that’s just as fast, and prettier, than what you can play on a 3DS. Or a FIFA Soccer or Madden Football with the fast action you enjoy on consoles.

Now take the implications one step further. It’s clear Apple is very interested in bringing out a new Apple TV with much more powerful graphics and a full App Store, along with its music streaming service and an array of video viewing options. The missing part, for game companies, is the controller. That’s typically a $50 item for a Bluetooth controller, which would drive the Apple TV well past that sweet $99 price point they are aiming at. And why would Apple do that if a significant part of the audience wouldn’t be immediately interested in a controller

Ah, but what if Apple could give you a very good game experience with your iPhone or iPad as your game controller, used with the Apple TV If you didn’t have to look down at the iPhone or iPad, the Apple TV could deliver any console game genre you like. Yes, a full regular controller would be better, and of course the hard-core gamers could buy one. But even hardcore gamers would enjoy being able to play multiplayer games with a group of friends without having to buy extra controllers.

Force Touch technology holds the potential to turn mobile devices into full-range gaming devices, with no need to say “well, but there are certain genres you can’t really do well” any more. Moreover, with Force Touch in place on iPhones and iPads, the new Apple TV becomes an impressive challenger indeed to the existing console market. No, it won’t be able to touch the number of polygons an Xbox One or a PS4 can deliver, but then again it would only be $99.

So brace yourselves for a revolution in the gaming market, as Apple bids to make mobile a strong competitor to to most of the leading game genres, if not all of them. And, in the process, creating an even bigger market for core gaming. It’s going to be an interesting year ahead.

Trailers Lead On YouTube, But Do They Lead To Ticket Sales?

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by Evan DeSimone

A new study released on Google’s public insights portal “Think With Google” reveals that, like everything else on the web, movie info is moving to mobile. Over 35 million hours of trailer footage were consumed on YouTube’s mobile app over the second quarter of 2015, which amounted to an 88 percent increase over the previous year. The study also found that over 74 percent of all moviegoers research showtimes and 54 percent of searches for movie times and tickets are conducted on mobile devices.

While the number of movie goers utilizing the internet is climbing, it’s not entirely clear if all that digital engagement is really leading to ticket sales. Terminator Genisys currently occupies the number 4 spot on YouTube’s summer movie trailer leaderboard. However, when the film opened last weekend, it filled fewer seats than either month-old Jurassic World or three-week old Inside Out, which didn’t even make it into YouTube’s top 5.

Terminator Genisys isn’t the only recent film with a box office debut that didn’t match its YouTube. The trailer for Disney’s Tomorrowland hit big with over 11 million views, but the movie itself made only made $41 million when it opened over Memorial Day weekend, which was disappointing given the film’s $190 million budget. Similarly, the 2014 Godzilla reboot narrowly outpaced X-men: Days of Future Past in views, but took in $80 million less at the box office than the mutant heroes in its opening weekend.

Check out all 5 trailers here

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Gaming Videos Grab $3.8 Billion, 80% From Ads

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The battle for the attention of gamers is reaching new heights, as the worldwide revenue is projected to reach $3.8 billion this year, according to SuperData. The worldwide audience for gaming related video (both streaming video and recorded video) I 468 million people, and it’s projected to grow significantly in the next few years. Gaming video content earns more on Amazon-owned Twitch than on YouTube thanks to revenue from subscriptions and donations, SuperData noted. Advertising funds almost 80 percent of broadcasting, according to the report.

SuperData, the leading provider of market intelligence on playable media and digital games, today released its report Gaming Video Content Market Brief 2015 on the worldwide market for online videos and live streams related to gaming. Valuing the total market at $3.8 billion in 2015, the United States has seen a tremendous rise in the number of people who watch gaming video content online, from 86 million in 2013 to 125 million this year. By 2017E, the report anticipates the total addressable market for this type of content to reach 790 million. (Download the full report here.)

Key findings in the report include:

  • Gaming video content is worth $3.8 billion globally. Today 486 million people tune in to walkthroughs, trailers, live streams and other gaming video content made by fans and publishers.
  • Advertising revenue and corporate sponsorships bring in $2.9 billion in US revenue for 2015E. Advertising accounts for 77 percent of revenue earned from gaming videos, with content creators earning $890 million through paid subscriptions and donations.
  • The top 10 game franchises on YouTube earned a combined $4.7 billion in 2014. Sixty-nine percent (69 percent) of viewers watch trailers of upcoming releases while personality-driven videos sustain the popularity of individual games and franchises.
  • YouTube draws more viewers, but Twitch earns more money. YouTube is the largest platform for gaming video content, but Twitch claims the highest market share by revenue (43 percent) because of monetary contributions from hardcore gamers. New video platforms are spurring innovation, but only command around 10 percent of viewership.
  • American livestream viewers donate an average of $4.64 a month to content creators. Approximately 44 percent of livestream viewers pay for subscriptions, spending $21 each month on paid content. Single donations to popular broadcasters have reached upwards of $30,000.
  • Sixty-five percent (65 percent) of viewers who identify as hardcore gamers watch live streams, and a third watch eSports. Last year, 27 million people watched the League of Legends 2014 World Championship while only 12 percent of casual gamers watch eSports.

SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen spoke with [a]listdaily about the report and some of the insights that can be gleaned from it.

Joost van Dreunen

Where do you see the biggest growth ahead for gaming video content, geographically, in the next year or two Will Asia gain faster, or will North America still lead ?

I think it’s going to be the U.S., because that’s where most of the advertisers will congregate. I suspect the eSports category will do really well in Asia. There are channels out there on the same level and size as Twitch, and those will continue to grow, but they tend to be more genre-specific. In absolute audience numbers it’s very likely you’ll see more of the developing markets do well. Latin America, for instance, or even a Russia. Each of these geographies will grow in its own regard for some reason.

What’s amazing is how gaming has really taken over new media like streaming. It seems like there’s a feedback cycle that’s expanding interest in gaming, which expands interest in game streaming and videos, which then expands interest in gaming. Will this continue, and for how long How far can this grow?

In the short term, absolutely, If we step out of gaming for a second, this is how audiences behave online. A lot of people who watch a TV show do this while they are sitting on a message board or a social network, live-commenting on the show. Going online and wanting to share with other people, or uploading a video right after an episode is very fundamental to the contemporary experience for media consumers. They want to share it, they want to show that they like it, exchange views on it, and so on. If you pull it back to gaming, this is a fairly recent that gaming has entered into mainstream consumption. Like you say, there’s a feedback loop that’s going to continue to build the gamer culture. In the short term that will happen. I n the longer term, this will just become another staple, just like you have Star Wars fans. The audience is very much topic based — they’re interested in a particular activity, and there are going to be tastemakers and leaders. The feedback cycle is going to crystallize into a few opinion leaders.

Will the emergence of mobile gaming that’s more core (like Vainglory) mean that mobile will become more important as a streaming and video source, not just as a viewing platform?

Yes, but I’m not really sold on mobile as having massive appeal for core gamers. Vainglory is doing fine — they have a strategy that says we’re growing this organically and slowly, but the question is that how it is now or is that an outlier Is the first of how life will be after this or is this an anomaly in the industry It might actually be that mobile may be much more of a video and streaming source. You have Meerkat and Periscope on the outside of gaming. The difference is that I’m not seeing the monetization in the same way. On the Twitch platform, it’s much easier to embed and integrate advertising. On mobile, I don’t know how you can do that — it might have audience, but I’m not exactly sure how you can embed advertising. Will there be a PewDiePie on mobile I don’t know. You can reach millions of people, but I don’t think you can monetize them as easily.

It seems pretty clear that game developers should consider how a game they are designing can work with this trend in gaming video. What are key factors to incorporate in a design to maximize its potential for sparking gaming video production?

That’s a good one. I think that gamers are tech-savvy enough to not really care. Making games appealing enough for people to stream or make videos about is not really the big obstacle. Games that are popular as eSports were not necessarily designed to be viewed. We will soon see a new generation of games that are specifically designed for viewers. What should people do Visual simplicity . . . it has to be immediately obvious for the audience. If I’m flipping channels on my TV, within a second I know exactly what I’m watching — a sitcom, sports, reality TV, a commercial. For videogames it’s going to be the same. You already see a lot of this. The MOBA and FPS genres have an obvious set of visual conventions around them. If they want to address a huge audience they shouldn’t be too experimental. You want to stay in genre conventions visually, but also offer something unique.

What’s the best way for brands and advertisers to take advantage of this explosion in gaming video? What brands are doing it really well?

In the same way the industry at large is shifting from a core audience to a mainstream audience, gaming video content is transitioning. From game trailers and gameplay videos I think we’re now entering a space where it’s more celebrities and influencers. From a spectator perspective, a PewDiePie can do whatever he wants. He doesn’t have to be beholden to brands. That’s good for him, because he’s authentic and real, but that can be a slippery slope for brands — handing over your brand to a guy you can’t control. There might be some resistance to that kind of model. When comes to brands that do it well, I think Coca Cola with eSports, Intel, for them it’s an obvious bet because they want to connect to this audience. To reach this these affluent tech-savvy audience you have to go for these kind of channels. To take advantage of this, you have to target these people. If you look at it in traditional ways with traditional rules you’re going to miss an opportunity. It’s the brands that really take it further, that really make an effort to understand their audience, they’re going to do well. An Intel, a Mountain Dew, a Coke, they’ve been at it longer so they are at an advantage as well.

Microsoft HoloLens Transforms The Way We Learn

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Since announcing their ground-breaking mixed reality device, the team behind the Microsoft HoloLens has been hard at work exploring the possibilities of holographic computing. Through a partnership with Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Microsoft has created a working demo that shows how HoloLens could be used to transform the way we teach anatomy and prepare future generations of doctors.

“By creating simulations with the HoloLens that lets students have an experience where they can fail – that would be the best way to learn because really we don’t allow people to fail too much in real life medicine,” said Dr. Neil Mehta of Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner College of Medicine.

On July 6, 2015, Microsoft announced the launch of the Microsoft HoloLens academic research grant program, which offers awards of up to $100,000 towards the development of holographic applications for education.