Big Ten Network Set To Air ESports Tournament From PAX East

ESports are settling into national television broadcasts more than ever. ESPN is finding huge success with its mainstream eSports coverage and its Heroes of the Dorm tournaments, and TBS will soon air a series devoted to Counter-Strike competitions. And soon, Big Ten Network will be getting in on the action.

Yahoo Esports has reported that the network will air a tournament between two top League of Legends teams next Monday, after it takes place this weekend at PAX East.

Ohio State and Michigan State will take on one another in front of live fans at PAX East, and the Campus Series semifinals and finals will also take place. This means greater exposure for both Riot Games’ hit title League of Legends, and the collegiate eSports gaming scene in general.

Michael Sherman, collegiate lead for Riot Games, explained why the partnership was so ideal: “The reason we went with the Big Ten, because of the 14 schools in the conference, 13 of them have League teams, and five of them made it into the Campus Series. As a partner, they were an obvious choice.”

However, instead of prepping players more for pro league play, Sherman explained how Riot was focused more on the collegiate competition itself. “We view this as a parallel to (the Challenger Series). Collegiate by no means feeds into LCS or Challenger and isn’t meant to replace Challenger. Collegiate is just another level of play. There are students who want to take competitive play seriously, but really want to drive home on their degree. This is their opportunity to do so.”

“I think the actual details of how this folds into each other is something that we’re going to be working out over the next couple of years,” he added. “I think what this really is is a continuation of driving League of Legends as a sport. Conferences being involved and collegiate sports being involved as a whole is just another level of play that drives League to being a sport.”

Whether or not this will lead to more eSports-related programming on Big Ten has yet to be seen, but it’s an excellent start.

Those that wish to tune in sooner can do so, as the tournament will be aired all weekend long, starting on April 22nd at noon EDT on both BTN2Go and Lolesports.

Why Comic-Con’s Shift To VOD Could Be Good For Brands

When it comes to exclusives, no show does it better than the San Diego Comic-Con. The event, which brings in thousands of fans every year, is a huge draw for many film and television studios to showcase upcoming products to its adoring fans. Sadly, online fans don’t get much of a taste of that, outside of possible videos that may be posted weeks or months after the event, or they may turn to illegal video downloads and streams. But there could be big changes on the way, with an opportunity for those that can’t get to the show to still take part in it.

Comic-Con International (which will take place on July 21–24) has announced that it is working on a VOD platform, which will allow fans to check out panels and special events that they would otherwise need to be in person for. Although it won’t be livestreaming (any panels aired would be on a sort of tape delay), it will bring a heavy amount of content to those watching.

Brands can take part in this format by not only adding advertising to the channel itself, but also hosting the content. Several studios “have their own marketing plans” already, and prefer to “control their assets,” said Seth Laderman, executive vice president and general manager of Comic-Con HQ, the official name of the project.

Speaking with IGN, Laderman explained how the project could be a place to “help promote everyone.” It would eventually be up to the studios to see what content goes online, including exclusive film footage and whatnot.

“So there will be studios that are going to want to engage our audience and spread everything out through that, but other ones that are going to want to keep it closer in their own platforms, and I think that’s perfectly fair,” Laderman noted.

The platform’s appeal shouldn’t be limited to big studios, as smaller panels would also get a great deal of exposure. “I still want to get a camera in the smallest rooms because they may not have the broadest audience out there,” he said. “But it’s still an important part of what Comic-Con is and I want to be able to allow everybody to see everything.”

The Comic-Con HQ platform is set to launch on May 7th across both web browsers and mobile devices.

More studios are taking advantage of Comic-Con’s wide exposure. TBS aired many episodes of its hit talk show, Conan, last year from the event, including exclusive Funko Pop figurine giveaways and highlights from various films, including X-Men Apocalypse. Syfy has recently announced plans to air a nightly event with highlights from its upcoming shows and movies for audiences to see from a livestream.

“Our goal with Syfy Presents Live From Comic-Con is to give everyone the experience of being on the convention floor, at the events, or just walking through the frenzied streets of the Gaslamp District… with hundreds of thousands of their closest friends,” said Heather Olander, senior vice president of alternative series, development and production for Syfy.

It sounds like a prime opportunity for companies to get on board, whether their product relates to Comic-Con related franchises or not. It’s almost sure to be a big hit, considering how millions of fans tuned in to illegally posted content from the show last year.

Case in point: Warner Bros.’ first trailer for Suicide Squad found so much exposure through these illegal posts that it relented and posted the full official trailer online days later to avoid compromising the quality of the product. So the demand from Comic-Con fans is definitely there. Now it’s just a matter of seeing what livestreaming and VOD does for it.

Tom ‘Syndicate’ Cassell Sees Virtual Reality As Future For ESports

 

Endemol Shine Beyond’s Smasher Network has launched the second season of the American adaptation of Legends of Gaming. The show, which is produced at YouTube Space Los Angeles with Pizza Hut as the title sponsor, pits eight of the nation’s top YouTube gamers in a six-round tournament featuring 24 video games.

Contestants this year include Legends veterans TmarTn (4.6 million subscribers) and Terroriser (1.4 million), who both participated in the U.S. edition’s first season, as well as new players Reckless Tortuga (1.2 million), Gassy Mexican (1.5 million), Moo Snuckel (1.6 million), Misses Mae (400,000), mcsportzhawk (500,000), and TheZombiUnicorn (200,000).

The U.K. version of Legends of Gaming has attracted nearly 70 million views since launching in 2014, and is the region’s fastest-growing gaming digital channel. In addition to the U.S. and U.K., the Legends of Gaming format has successfully launched locally in France, Germany, Chile and Brazil.

Tom “Syndicate” Cassell, who has 11 million YouTube and Twitch subscribers, has competed in both the U.K. and U.S. versions of this show over the years. Now he’s the host, and the new series is being broadcast in virtual reality through the YouTube mobile app and Google Cardboard. He talks about the future of eSports in this exclusive interview.

LOG_Syndicate_0524-CHow did you find success in reaching your audience on YouTube?

I first replied to every single comment possible and got to know them as individuals. I asked them to share it with friends and family. I even got to the point where I started Skype and added a lot of people and told them about a new video. So, it was my personal way of letting them know a new video was out.

What role did eSports and competitive gaming play in growing your subscriber base?

My involvement with eSports has been awesome. I’ve had the pleasure of being involved in four seasons of Legends of Gaming. In the first season, I absolutely sucked. Thought I would have some sort of skill, but turned out not to. Also, in the first season of the American Legends of Gaming, I sucked at that one. In the second season in the U.K., I started stepping up my game. In the fourth season I’ve been a part of, the second season of Legends of Gaming America, I’m now the host. So, I get to put my amazing talents to rest and leave it to the others to wish they were as good as me.

What are your thoughts on the rise of eSports into the mainstream?

I’m really excited how mainstream eSports is getting. It’s growing each year, if not every damn month. The revenue generated from it is incredible. The players are winning normally from it. Smite had a tournament at one point where each person involved in the winning team took home one million dollars each. I have quite a few friends who are involved in eSports, especially friends who own some of the top tier teams, so it’s really exciting to see them growing and taking over stadiums worldwide.

How have you seen Legends of Gaming evolve since you were first involved in the U.K.?

The way I’ve seen Legends of Gaming evolve since I’ve been in the U.K. has been pretty simple, to be honest. The scale of production hasn’t increased massively, but what has streamlined is the time it takes to make it. It’s been done before, now with season one and season two, especially with the mid-season they just had. So, everything just runs like clockwork. Production was super smooth, super professional and everything was organized. It was really nice just to go in, get the job done and leave at the end of the day.

What are your thoughts on the adaptation for the U.S. audience?

The adaptation for the American audience for Legends of Gaming is that Americans do everything bigger and better. That’s just how it is. The sets are bigger, the cameras are bigger, the people are bigger, so are the televisions. Yeah, Americans just like to do it one step beyond.

What’s new with this online series this year in terms of format and games being played?

One of the biggest changes this year is that I’m actually the host, so no more playing games for me, which is unfortunate. But there’s always a host in every season, so it was a pleasure to take that role on. It’s still the same format as having players versus other players in teams and eventually the competition will head to 1vs.1, which will be awesome. Another change is that instead of having a coach this year, the players will no longer have a coach for their team and it’s pretty much up to them to carry their own weight, so good luck to them!

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How has fan feedback impacted this series?

The fans really enjoy seeing familiar faces return to the series. As nice as it is to have a whole new cast, it’s nice to have someone familiar to come back to. For example, people behind me are really excited for season two in the U.K. as well as seeing me host in the U.S. So, it’s nice to have familiar faces to keep it like that. It’s nice to have that familiarity with some of the players so it doesn’t feel like they’ve been abandoned by people they’ve loved and once watched, and it’s a natural progression to be able to introduce new people into the new season.

How do you see this series tapping into the popularity of eSports?

Two words: Rocket League.

How might this type of online show be a gateway into eSports for the more casual gamer?

This is a really good way for people to get into more competitive eSports or competitive gaming in general because this is genuinely just a good group of people and good friends playing against each other in a competitive environment. If this is even a percentage of what eSports is or could be, it might open their eyes to be like, “Hm, I might check out an ESL or MLG match,” which again is great for the industry and great for us. Hopefully if fans enjoy what we do, they’ll enjoy what they do and come back for season three.

What are your thoughts on eSports graduating to real sports stadiums around the world?

I think I’m right in saying that eSports has just been picked up at the Olympics, and this is super new and random, but when I was at the gaming awards show, they talked about how the Olympics is going to get involved in eSports. If that’s the case, then that is absolutely incredible that eSports is going into major, major sports, especially with companies such as ESPN picking on up eSports teams and hosting desks. At the end of the day, it just means more money is coming into the franchise and a larger audience is coming on board, so it’s great for us as community.

Where do you see eSports five years from now?

I see eSports filling stadiums like it’s already doing, but with a much more engaged VR audience at home.


Photo credit: Endemol Shine Beyond USA

Ubisoft Takes People Behind The Scenes In Video Series

Ubisoft has released a nine-part behind-the-scenes video series but it’s not about what they’re working on, it’s about who’s working on it. Thirty-nine team members were interviewed from across the company spectrum.

With Ubisoft dominating March video game sales with Tom Clancy’s The Division and Far Cry: Primal, this new series of interviews illustrates the joys and challenges of working on an award-winning team.

The series covers 9 facets of working at the company—consumer engagement, technical art, project management, online programming, marketing, level design, IT and gameplay programming.

“These videos aren’t meant to give you a peek at the next big Ubisoft game,” the developer explains on their blog. “Rather, they’re meant to put a face on Ubisoft employees and the work that they do to help make games a reality. You’re getting a three-minute sample of their lives and the challenges they face in a fast-paced industry that’s constantly changing. More importantly, you’ll see how working in a creative and collaborative environment produces solutions to the unique problems present in the gaming industry.”

While showing fans how much the company cares about them, Ubisoft also fosters excitement about what it would be like to work there. Although it’s not uncommon for an employer to create recruitment videos, creating an entire series that appeals to both fans and potential applicants is quite a feat.

Insomniac Explains The ‘Ratchet And Clank’ Video Game And Movie Synergy

Ratchet & Clank originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002 and introduced the video game world to the unforgettable duo (a mechanic named Ratchet and his robotic friend, Clank) and their comical adventures across the galaxy. Meanwhile, reoccurring characters like Captain Qwark ended up being the duo’s ally or adversary, depending on the adventure. Almost fourteen years and eleven games (not including the spin-offs) later, we saw the two come together again for the first time in the new Ratchet & Clank game that released this week, which retells the story of the original game.

However, instead of being a straight remake, remaster or reboot—as video games are often fond of doing—the team at Insomniac Games has taken a completely unique approach. The release of the game roughly coincides with the premiere of a first Ratchet & Clank movie, which hits theaters on April 28th and features an all-star cast that includes Rosario Dawson (Sin City; Marvel’s Daredevil), Paul Giamatti (Straight Outta Compton; Billions), John Goodman (Argo; Monsters Inc.) and Sylvester Stallone (Rambo; The Expendibles). Insomniac developed Ratchet & Clank based on the events from the movie, making it a game that’s based on a movie… that’s based on the game. If that concept makes your head spin a little, then you might be in just the right mindset for Ratchet & Clank‘s brand of humor.

[a]listdaily sits down with Chad Dezern, studio head at Insomniac’s North Carolina studio, creative director Brain Allgeier, and chief brand officer Ryan Schneider to talk about how the video game and movie are tied together, and what new adventures await in this retelling of a classic story.

How does it feel to make a Ratchet & Clank game based on a movie that’s based on the game?

Ryan: The game is out, it’s doing terrific, the reviews have been outstanding and it’s hard to find copies of Ratchet & Clank in stores. So, that’s always a good sign. The film comes out in just over two weeks, and we’re encouraging everybody to fill theaters so a video game movie will be number one at the box office.

How much inspiration does the game draw from the movie?

Chad: Well, we say it’s the game based on the movie based on the game, and we’re half tongue-in-cheek, but it really is the truth. We made the [original] game for the PlayStation 2 back in 2002, and it was translated to a feature film. The feature film and game share one writer, T.J. Fixman, so they have a similar script in the early-going and they both share story beats. They’re both kind of our ultimate take on Ratchet and Clank’s origin story. The two of them were real back-and-forth collaborations to build it together and make sure they work as a cohesive whole.

Brian: One of the funny things is, is that it is a re-imagination. So, the best way to frame it was through the view of Captain Qwark. That’s our opportunity for Qwark to kind of bend the fiction and tell it his own way. That’s how we could make the game work very well with the over-arching mythology, starting from the first game up to the movie. This is Qwark’s view and perspective. We have an opportunity to visit a lot of the earlier planets that were featured in the original game, and at the same time, introduce new sets, characters and locations from the film.

What convinced you to make a game that retells Ratchet and Clank’s origin?

Chad: We love Ratchet & Clank and its universe, and we felt it was a really good time to introduce it to a new audience, and apply everything we’ve learned over the years making games. We have this rare opportunity to go back and improve the way shooting feels. If you played the original Ratchet & Clank, you’ll remember that it’s a little hard to shoot sometimes. We were still learning the basics of third-person shooting mechanics.

We also cleaned up Ratchet and Clank’s origin story, making sure that any minor inconsistencies were smoothed out. Looking at what we can do with the visuals these days was also a big incentive. We’ve always wanted Ratchet & Clank games to look like a CG film, and for the first time, we could make that a reality.

We also love making those [Ratchet & Clank] games, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm around here for them, so it was a really easy decision to make one.

Brian: I think also the fans’ enthusiasm has not waned. I’m just shocked at how a lot of people who played the original game, back when they were 10-years-old or so, are now in their mid-twenties. So there’s a lot of love out there for Ratchet. It’s been really cool seeing how the franchise has grown in terms of everyone’s collective consciousness of it. I remember telling people I was working on Ratchet & Clank back in 2002, and they were like, “What’s that?” Now everyone knows what it is. It’s really exciting to come out with a big movie and game at the same time. We’re really proud of both of them.

Has it been a challenge to develop a game that helps promote the movie, but doesn’t spoil it?

Chad: [Laughs] It’s been a normal amount of challenge—they’re all painful. It’s always a challenge to come up with a good macro-design. This one might be a slightly different process than normal because we had a lot of story beats to consider and had to work out the proper pacing.

Brian: Yeah, the Qwark framing was a great device and it helped loosen things up a bit. We had a few scenes where we were painting ourselves into a corner showing a movie scene, but we had a chance to get Qwark in there to narrate over it and bend the fiction a little bit.

It was a bit of a back-and-forth act, because we had moments when the movie would come up with scene, and we weren’t sure if it would be a final scene that needed to be incorporated into the game. But it was great, how we could collaborate with Rainmaker and Blockade to flesh out a coherent game and film.

Chad: Sometimes we would make concept images of a location, find out they’ve been realized in the film as a set, then we would analyze the set back in the game to match it as closely as we could. At times, the game and film are sharing assets, and really this is the first generation where that sort of thing is possible.

What cross-promotions do you have planned between the game and movie?

Ryan: Yes, there has been heavy emphasis in collaborating with Sony and Focus. There have been a lot of group meetings on how to do that. You’ll see it in video content. For example, if it’s a film-related asset, you might see “Play the game,” with a motion graphic at the end. Then, if it’s a game asset, you’ll see something at the end to encourage people to see the movie on April 29th.

We’ve been very involved with the planning stages of what gets executed on the Focus side of things. Focus has been active on participating with PlayStation for their executions as well.

Given the long history of the franchise, has promoting the new game been different from past ones?

Ryan: The movie certainly helps, and it gives us a giant “elephant in the room,” so to speak, that encourages all other sources to sit up and take notice a little more. But by-and-large, it’s been the same kind of challenge you’d expect from promoting a game in general. It’s just that we have the added clout of a film behind it.

Why do you think Ratchet & Clank has such a long-lasting appeal?

Brian: From my perspective, Ratchet & Clank is a special franchise because of how it blends humor and heart. At the same time, you’re blowing up the galaxy with all sorts of crazy and hilarious weapons that you’re not going to see anyplace else.

What was the most important thing you tried to keep in mind while retelling the origin story?

Chad: I think the biggest thing was, “What do fans remember from the original game? What are the important sacred cows that we have to preserve?” There are certainly some narrative twists that we wanted to be consistent within the film and game, but there are some big moments, like the Snagglebeast and the lava level of Gaspar. There were a number of key levels we knew that fans would miss if they didn’t come back. So, the tough part was picking out which ones those should be and figuring out how to integrate them with the film.

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How would you say the new Ratchet & Clank compares to the original?

Chad: With Ratchet & Clank, we really wanted to modernize the game so that it hits on all of those key points people remember and scratches that nostalgia itch. But also so that it feels great to play for modern audiences. For new players, it goes toe-to-toe with the best games out there right now. For returning players, it doesn’t feel like a big step backwards, causing them to remember how frustrating games used to be.

Brian: When Ratchet & Clank first started out, it was a platformer with weapons, and it has evolved into being more of a shooter platformer. The big focus became the weapons, so being able to circle-strafe, side-jump and fire at the same time has been something we’ve been polishing and improving over the years. I was shocked, when I went back and played the original Ratchet & Clank, at how it was really hard to shoot anything. Then I realized that back then, it was focused mainly on melee and jumping. Weapons were kind of a nice addition.

Chatbots Have A Bright Marketing Future

After Facebook’s F8 developer conference, the technology everyone is talking about is the chatbot. These are interfaces inside of a messaging app, and some are projecting that they could be the new way people will interact with businesses and brands. Done correctly, chatbots let you interact with a business inside of a messaging app to send text messages that will order things, get information, or enhance the brand experience.

The chatbot is an alluring prospect to marketers looking at the difficulty of getting users to spend time with branded apps. The reality of the smartphone is that while people may download plenty of apps, they generally spend most their time in a few apps—one of which is almost always a messaging app of some kind. If people aren’t likely to hang around in your branded app, why not find a way to engage with them in the apps where they do hang out? Enter the chatbot. The technology is being eagerly pursued by Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and other tech companies.

“Every brand that you can think of will have to have a bot to engage with their users, to enable them to communicate with them and find them,” said Beerud Sheth, CEO of Gupshup. “It is going to affect every brand and every business. It is going to happen very quickly. I expect a bot explosion by the end of this year.”

Of course, it’s not always easy to create a chatbot, and creating a chatbot that not only works well but has the desired effect on the audience is far from a trivial effort. With platforms like Facebook Messenger opening up to development, the floodgates are being opened, though, and many companies are undertaking the effort to create a chatbot.

“In a world where messenger apps have surpassed social networks, companies need to expand their digital presence to these greenfield pastures,” said Ivar Chan, Kik’s developer evangelist. “Products have yet to fully realize how messenger bots can rocket their engagement rates, community and build strong distribution channels.”

Where messaging apps have been even more firmly established than in the U.S. is China, and you can see the rise of the chatbots for marketing use there. Many brands already have chatbots in WeChat, and that shouldn’t be a surprise when mobile devices are the standard way people use the Internet in China. “I’m hopeful that messaging will create the next-generation platform for mobile app distribution,” said Uber’s Andrew Chen.

Privacy Is An Issue

The chatbot is performing in a messaging app, and users expect some degree of privacy when they are messaging with their friends. By extension, users may well find it a bit disturbing if a chatbot knows too much about them—or reveals too much about them to others. Marketers will need to be aware of how users might be feeling while messaging, and make sure that chatbots don’t become creepy or inadvertently obnoxious (as we’ve seen in a recent chatbot test where the AI chatbot was led astray by malicious intent from some users).

Efficiency Is A Chatbot Driver

One of the main reasons that chatbots have become a trend is that they are vastly more efficient for users than wading through a mobile website (or worse, a website designed for a desktop viewed on a mobile screen). Searching for just the right menu item or FAQ can be a painful experience—who among us hasn’t spent far too long trying to find something on a mobile device, only to give up and make a phone call or head to a website on a PC?

For marketers, the message is simple: make sure your chatbot helps a user, hopefully in a substantial way. A chatbot that’s just cute or funny will quickly lose its charm if it’s not enormously useful. Chatbots can be optimized for low engagement time and high repeat use, or for the opposite case where you heighten the narrative content and don’t expect a great deal of repeat use. Of course, you would like to think you could create a chatbot that’s got high engagement and has users coming back again and again, but that’s going to be a difficult goal to reach.

Brands Are Embracing Chatbots

Some iconic brands are already hopping onto the chatbot bandwagon. Mattel has worked with San Francisco company ToyTalk to create a chatbot version of Barbie, which can interact with fans. Uber and Facebook announced a partnership last fall to let users order up an Uber ride through Facebook Messenger. An interesting use of a chatbot on Kik was built for the release of a horror movie, Insidious: Chapter 3, using one of the characters in the movie, Quinn Brenner. “When you’d text Quinn Brenner, she would give you some hints of what’s happening, but after a while, the conversation would taper off just like a normal text conversation,” said Chan. “You wouldn’t have the full experience in one sitting, rather over the course of a few days. Teenagers loved it.”Barbie Chatbot

Kik has been working with many different brands to build chatbots and generate brand engagement, and the results have been good. Comedy website Funny or Die used Kik to build engagement through a chatbot, letting users share in-app GIFs. That led to users following Funny or Die directly. “It took about three months to get to 1.5 million chatters,” said Funny or Die VP of marketing and distribution Patrick Starzan, “compared to the two or three years it took to get the same number of people on social networks.”

What The Future Holds For Chatbots

With Facebook getting behind the chatbot revolution in a big way, we can expect to see the technology being adopted much more widely. Some are predicting chatbots could be the next app revolution, spawning a new wave of user engagement on mobile. The technology isn’t limited to a particular platform or types of purpose, and we could see chatbots used for virtually everything. The technology is particularly well suited to mobile, though, and to voice interaction. We’re going to see plenty of work being done with chatbots to make it easier than ever to order goods and services, and to engage with brands in a variety of ways. This is one tool every marketer needs to study in order to add it to future strategies. The future of the chatbot is wide open right now, and those that lead the way may reap outsized benefits for their brands.

Twitch Delivers A ‘Final Kick’ Promotion With Gerard Piqué

Twitch has teamed up with a number of companies for unique promotions, including Old Spice and its Nature Adventure and eSports with Coca-Cola. Its latest one features renowned soccer player Gerard Piqué, who will “kick it” with a mobile game called Final Kick.

The event is set to kick-off on Monday, April 18, from 10:00-11:00 A.M. PDT, and will have the defender for FC Barcelona and the Spanish National team livestreaming Final Kick alongside FIFA Twitch broadcaster Castro_1021. The session will be aired on Piqué‘s devoted Twitch channel.

Co-sponsored by Amazon Underground (the publishers of Final Kick), the event is the latest to feature an athlete showing his video game prowess, as Piqué has his own game development company, Kerad Games.

“Over this last year, more and more athletes have been showcasing their love of games on Twitch,” said Eric Brunner, who heads up the athlete initiative for Twitch’s Partnership team. He has a few years of MLS experience under his belt, having played for seven years. “We’ve seen MLB, NFL, NBA and UFC stars all using our platform to connect with their fans, so having a soccer star like Gerard Piqué launch a channel really illustrates the diversity of athletes who are embracing social video.”

Athletes pairing with Twitch in the past have paid off, including Kyrie Irving, NBA and 2K Sports teaming up for a previous shoe promotion.

Yahoo Launches Android App Devoted To ESports

Last month, Yahoo launched a new eSports channel, which covers tournaments and events in great depth with reports, blogs, video commentary and more. Now, it’s taking that coverage to the next level with a new mobile app that will enable fans to watch the action on the go.

The company announced the introduction of the Android app on its blog page, explaining how it will let fans to “use the schedule to find upcoming matches and set reminders, easily see live stats on our match pages, watch live or past games, and much more.”

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In addition, the app will feature content from personalities such as Andrea Rene, Travis Gafford and Dylan Walker, who will discuss upcoming eSports events and results. All of it is accessible through an easy-to-use menu system so that fans can get quickly to the tournament coverage they want.

iOS owners won’t be left out in the cold, as Yahoo confirmed that the eSports app will be available for that platform at a later time.

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This is a strong move for Yahoo’s eSports initiative, and it helps the company bolster a larger audience through mobile devices.

3M Using Science And Technology To Solve Problems For A Better Planet

 

The current world population is 7.3 billion. By 2050, it’s expected to reach 9.7 billion, according to the United Nations.

3M wants to combat the proliferation of people posing challenges in the coming years by consistently using science and technology to look for creative solutions in solving the planet’s problems—all while never losing focus on the big picture.

At SXSW last month, the company’s main mission was to help people understand the impact 9 billion people will have on the planet through an art installation highlighting the importance of collaboration in addressing global issues. They also wanted to help visitors understand how they can radically reshape toward a more sustainable future.

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“The goal is to start a dialogue on how each of us plays a role in improving the planet through collaboration and ingenuity,” Penny Wise, chief branding officer at 3M, told [a]listdaily.

Wise joined [a]listdaily to talk about how 3M is working toward driving global change.

How are you engaging with people for a better future?

I’m amazed by ideas and depth of discussion around important issues. The next step in our brand platform is to engage in dialogue, challenge people on ideas and create different kinds of experiences from what traditional companies normally create. We’re one company, but it’s about all of us as individuals who want to make a difference. We’re the ones who can improve lives by using science and technology to make the future better. By 2050, there are going to be 9 billion people on the planet. We don’t want it to be a dark and horrible place and experience.

What educational tools are you using to accomplish this?

We still do traditional media, but we’re using a lot of digital and social activations in order to engage. We’re thinking about content in a very different way—where it’s less about the features and benefits of products and more about the utility and big picture, and the steps they can take toward solving problems. We want to provide the solutions.

How is the audience responding for a call to action for social good?

We hear positive responses like, ‘I didn’t know 3M did that,’ and ‘I’m now interested in the company.’ Engagement is really climbing through our digital and social channels, with dramatic increases in our Twitter and Instagram following. So people are definitely listening, watching and responding. Our outreach has been very effective.

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3M is a legacy company that our parents and grandparents might best identify as the Scotch tape company. How did the brand evolve to become much more than that? What’s in store for the future?

That’s a really great question. I think what’s interesting for 3M is that 80 percent of the company is actually B2B versus B2C. So, our most famous brands like Post-it Note and Scotch tape are our consumer-facing brands. But our challenge is to tell the broader story of 3M technology and science, and how we improve lives. The brand is founded on science, which allows us to leverage the technologies that we have. That positions us really well for the future because we are going to help people solve the big problems. I think we are making great strides of telling that story and showing our depth.

How is science and technology a part of 3M’s overall business strategy?

Well, we can’t give away any secrets. The core DNA of our company since our inception is science. We have an amazing roster of scientists. They take our technologies and apply them in different ways to create the products and solutions. To give you an example, we have Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced (ACCR), which replaces traditional power lines. You can push twice as much power through that same line to meet the needs of cities. The future is to make a difference with people, and in the planet, and how we’re going to drive change.

How are you educating people to help make a change in society?

There is so much that 3M does that you can’t be able to put it all in one place to be able to share it with people. We make over 70,000 products. It’s about ‘how do we pick the ones to highlight? How do we share more? And how do we do it in a compelling way and create with purpose?’ Our brand platform 3M Science Applied to Life gives us the framework to tell our story in a cohesive, unified way that we haven’t done before. Now, we’re telling our story louder than we have before, because we have a strong story to tell.

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With such a robust product line, which one would you like 3M to be associated with the most?

The nostalgia in me says says there are two founding technologies for everything that has evolved over time—abrasives and adhesives. Having said that, that’s one of 46 technology platforms, and it’s just like a drop in the bucket considering all of the things 3M does. We’re so much more than what we started from. We’ve been able to cross markets that other companies have not.

How can people collaborate with 3M’s efforts for a better planet?

Each individual can do one small thing each day—like recycling junk mail, or buying fruit with a bump or a bruise—to make a difference. It’s really the simple things. For our customers, the message is: ‘Let’s talk. Let’s understand what your issues and problems are. And how can we work together to help bring solutions to make a difference.’ And it’s not just us. It’s us and other companies—everybody—uniting to make a difference. Take a step back from the big picture and find something you’re passionate about. We don’t want to dictate that for you. We understand people are already doing this. We just want them to realize the impact they can have. It’s your future.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan.

 

NPD Numbers For March Reveal Dominance By ‘The Division’

The NPD Group has released the video game sales numbers for March 2016, and while it showed some decrease over last year, there were still plenty of highlights—especially for those who enjoy Ubisoft’s latest release, Tom Clancy’s The Division.

Total video game sales for the month reached $964.1 million, which is a slight drop-off from last year’s $968.4 million. However, physical software saw a huge jump to $425.8 million, an eight percent increase from 2015’s $395.4 million.

Part of that success was due to The Division, which released in the earlier part of the month and became March’s most successful title. Ubisoft also took the second-place spot with its first-person adventure Far Cry: Primal, while Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD remake took third. Rounding out the top five are Grand Theft Auto V and EA Sports UFC 2.

The NPD Group’s Liam Callahan provided plenty of other insight from the report:

Tom Clancy’s The Division had the best launch month for any Tom Clancy title to date, having sold 40 percent more than the next best-selling Tom Clancy title, March 2008’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (when adjusted for number of days sold within the month).”

He added, “Stemming from strong launches of Tom Clancy’s The Division and Far Cry: Primal, Ubisoft is the number-one software publisher for Q1 2016, with a unit sales increase close to 130 percent, and a dollar sales increase of over 200 percent.”

Callahan also noted a 36 percent growth in software unit sales for consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. He also points out the popularity of both accessories and digital cards.

“On a dollar basis, March 2016 video game accessory sales rose by nine percent over March 2015, making March 2016 the highest-selling March on record for video game accessory sales.

Three types of accessories continue to propel overall accessory sales in 2016: Video Game Cards, Gamepads and Headsets/Headphones; all experienced double-digit growth in March 2016 vs. March 2015, and have sold $82 M more in Q1 ’16 versus Q1 ’15,” he added. “March 2016 marked the best March on record for Video Game Cards for both units and dollars, exceeding last March (the second-best March ever) by 20 percent in units and 16 percent in dollars.”

Callahan noted that, as a whole, “Combined sales across hardware, physical software and accessories in March 2016 were flat to last March as growth in physical software and accessories offset the 19 percent decline in hardware sales.”

Although March numbers were flat, sales are likely to see a rise over the next couple of months, with big titles like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Doom and Mirror’s Edge Catalyst set to arrive in May.