Why Traditional Media Has Entered The Arena Of ESports

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The International Dota 2 Championships are underway, with a staggering prize pool of over $20 million. In 2014, Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship had roughly 27 million streaming views, more than the average viewership of individual games of the World Series and roughly the same as the number of people who tuned in for this year’s NCAA basketball final. Awareness of the eSports phenomenon has grown significantly in the last year alone (36 percent), reaching a billion consumers in 2016.

Traditional media has taken notice of a demand for eSports content by fans and, of course, the estimated $1 billion market revenue. By featuring eSports content on television, networks not only increase their own audiences, but help ensure the success of eSports, itself.

TBS

ELeague

ELeague is a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) league that broadcasts across TBS and Twitch. The league features 24 teams from across the world to compete in two 10-week league seasons annually, which includes a regular season, playoffs and a championship tournament for $1.4 million in prize money. Premiering in May, ELeague videos were streamed on Twitch 4.3 million times from its debut on Tuesday through Friday night and attracted more than 3.4 million new viewers to TBS during its 10-week season. ELeague telecasts airing in the Friday night window throughout the first season led to TBS’ audience composition growing 97 percent in men ages 18-to-34 and 51 percent in men ages 18-to-49 when compared with the same telecast window over the previous month. The second season begins October 7.

ESPN

Sports giant ESPN, which is owned by Disney, took the plunge with a dedicated vertical earlier this year. “We did [an eSports] issue in the spring of 2015, and the response was phenomenal,” ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com editor-in-chief Chad Millman told TIME. “And from there, we said, ‘We need to do an eSports vertical.’ So we spent the next several months thinking about how do we want to cover it, who do we want to cover it, and can we do it with credibility and authenticity so that it serves the audience appropriately. And that’s how we ended up launching the site in January.”

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ESPN continued to up its eSports coverage last month when it televised the Street Fighter V World Championship on ESPN 2. In an interview with [a]listdaily John Lasker, vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN Digital Media, said that since mid-2014, ESPN has distributed about 300 hours of live eSports content, covering Halo, Madden, and Heroes of the Storm. “We’ve been exploring incremental TV distribution,” he said. “We appreciate and understand the existing digital distribution of eSports and where the fan base is and where they’re used to consuming this content. TV provides incremental distribution.”

BBC

For the first time, the BBC will stream highlights from an eSports competition this fall. BBC Three will collaborate with BBC Sport on a broadcast of the League of Legends World Championships in October, using the platform previously used for live sporting events and the Glastonbury festival. Live and pre-recorded video would “sit side by side” with text, audio and social-network commentary, said the channel.

CW

Earlier this January, CW partnered with Machinima for Mortal Kombat: Chasing the Cup, a docuseries that follows competitive gamers as they vie for an eSports championship. “We’re testing to see if this could be ‘sports for CW,’” Rick Haskins, executive vice president of marketing and digital programs for the CW, told Variety at the time. The third season focused on Mortal Kombat X players attempting to win the ESL Mortal Kombat X Pro League Finals.

mortal-kombat-x

The Future Of ESports On TV

Does this mean video games are considered a sport? The debate still remains among athletes and pundits alike. In 2014, ESPN head John Skipper said that eSports are “competitions,” not sports. Former NBA star Rick Fox, who won three championships with the Lakers, firmly believes it’s a sport. Tim Warwood, a former snowboarding champion turned commentator, also told the BBC in 2014 that eSports should stay out of the Winter X games.

“To have kids sitting there looking at computer screens indoors, alongside snowboarding and freestyle skiing and all the rest, it just doesn’t seem right,” Warwood said. “When I was a kid, sport was all about getting outside, getting wet, muddy, out of breath—you’re not going to get out of breath smashing your thumbs on a controller. I just think it’s a bit weird really—but maybe I’m just getting old.”

With the focus of the world on Rio 2016 and the Olympic Committee adding new sports like skateboarding to the Tokyo 2020 games, Dennis Fong, eSports Hall of Fame inductee and founder of Raptr, believes that eSports will inevitably become an Olympic sport.

“It’s going to happen,” Fong told [a]listdaily. “The question is just when, and how long is it going to take? Is it a legitimate sport? Curling is an Olympic sport. Why in the world should a virtual sport that fills stadiums, and has tens of millions of viewers watching the finals, not be in the Olympics? The Olympics is also about money and prestige, not just about sport. When you look at the young global fan base eSports has today, they’re going to find a way to make it happen at some point.”

Tim Willits Explains How ‘Quake Champions’ Was Built For ESports

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ZeniMax Media-owned id Software celebrated 20 years of QuakeCon in Dallas, TX last week. The original QuakeCon was held in 1996, when a number of gamers decided to get together in Mesquite, TX just down the street from id Software. Tim Willits, studio director at id Software, remembers getting an email from the group inviting anyone from the development studio over to the hotel for the first QuakeCon Convention.

“We came to visit and thought it was cool, and then as the years progressed it became bigger and bigger, and then eventually we started helping to manage it, and we started to take over—but it’s still volunteer-driven and volunteer-managed,” Willits said. “And that’s what makes this convention very unique from any other convention in the world.”

The convention remains focused on competition. The bring-your-own-PC LAN party has remained an important part of the convention with over 3,000 custom computers on display. And the eSports tournaments have grown with cash prizes of $50,000.

“The great thing about QuakeCon is it allows developers to talk directly to our fans,” Willits said. “One of the things for Quake Champions is that we held private playtests with the people that are competing in the Quake Live Duel Masters Tournament. They had a chance to beta test the next Quake game before anyone else in the world.”

Willits said that feedback will be important for the development team, as will having a long enough beta period.

“We want to start off small and start adding people to the closed beta because we’re going to have to change something along the way,” Willits said. “It always works like that. It’s in our DNA, and because we have QuakeCon—which is the competitive gaming Mecca—we’re in a good position.”

Willits said Quake Champions will have around a dozen champions in closed beta. “If the game is successful and people enjoy it, we’ll keep adding champions for as long as we can,” Willits said. Additionally, the team is focusing on balance with its characters. “Our philosophy with Champions is that we want to have this rock, paper, scissors concept where there’s always a counter to some ability.”

QuakeCon has always had a long history of being an eSports event even before the word eSports was invented.

“It was always about the competitions, and the sponsors, and getting on stage and being the best in front of the crowd, and winning real prize money from playing video games,” Willits said. “That’s really what eSports is, and Quake was the first, really. That will continue with Quake Champions, which we are steering directly into the eSports market. We want to be the best competitive multiplayer game out there, and we want to use QuakeCon as a launching pad for a bigger tournament. Next year, when we know more about our eSports plans and how we’re going to support tournaments and leagues, we’ll talk about that.”

Willits said id Software is looking at current eSports games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty, but they’re not interested in following the paths of other companies.

“We are going to make the best darn Quake possible, but we are paying attention,” Willits said. “We’ve looked at the other games. There are lots of successes out there. There are lots of great things to look at, but we pioneer, and we’ve always done that. We’re going to continue that spirit, and we’re going to move forward.”

Willits said since they’re still working on publishing the eSports plan, he can’t talk specifics quite yet. But the company is exploring partnerships with established eSports leagues. One thing that bodes well for Quake Champions as an eSport is id’s focus on the PC gaming community, which honors the long tradition for the franchise.

“Quake Champions is PC-only now,” Willits said. “The speed at which we want to play and the precision level that we want to compete with the best Quake players in the world—that is the platform that we need to do. The PC platform is huge. Our focus is on making a tightly controlled and the best competitive multiplayer game we possibly can. We feel that that’s the platform to do it on, and then we’ll continue to grow and push the bounds until we need to do something else.”

It’s been 20 years since the original Quake launched, and while gamers will have to wait until 2017 for Quake Champions, the original first-person shooter has left its mark on the entire industry.

“Quake was probably one of the most influential games to what multiplayer gaming is today,” Willits said. “Most multiplayer games can trace their roots all the way back to Quake, and it’s always been that foundation of fair gameplay and fast responsive experiences. Even the client-server architecture was first developed with Quake in a multiplayer setting, so it’s those roots that run deep and it’s that spirit of the game that has really fueled the industry.”

How Post Proved It Can Push A Pre-Roll Virtual Reality Ad With Fruity Pebbles

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Cereal maker Post is the latest brand vaulting from two-dimensional marketing to 360-degree videos by launching their first virtual reality video as part of the “Yabba Dabba Do” campaign for Fruity Pebbles.

The marketing push—Post produced a 30-second pre-roll ad that runs on cross-platform apps VirtualSky and StartApp—mostly differentiates itself from the branded-VR ether because the cereal brand produced a deliberately guided immersive experience rather than the exploratory ones other companies have often pursued during the recent VR revolution. The video is also equipped with heat-tracking technology that indicates exactly which part of the experience consumers are focusing on the most.

Consumers are eating up everything VR-related. Earlier this year, Kellogg’s also capitalized on the fast-moving VR content train by unveiling a 360-degree experience featuring decorated swimmer Tom Shields ahead of the Rio Olympics.

[a]listdaily caught up with three of the creative forces for Post’s first foray into VR—Oliver Perez, senior brand manager for Pebbles Cereal, Brian Hurley, creative lead at Public Works and Andrew Klein, social experience and custom product innovation at MediaVest | Spark—to discuss its deliberately guided immersive experience.

Why was it critical for Post to begin marketing via virtual reality with Fruity Pebbles?

Oliver Perez, senior brand manager for Pebbles Cereal: We recently launched our “Yabba Dabba Do” campaign, which aims to ignite creativity and fosters the joy of childhood for kids and kids at heart. A bowl of Fruity Pebbles awakens the senses and provides a burst of energy in the morning, and we thought a VR execution would be a great way to bring that sensory overload experience to life. 

Brian Hurley, creative lead at Public Works: “Yabba Dabba Do” is all about tapping into the creativity and passion that surrounds Pebbles cereal. It’s an idea that constantly invites active participation with the brand. The 360-degree video is a fun, forward-thinking way to inspire fans and invite them to participate along with us.

What was the toughest challenge in the VR content creation and production process? What did you learn about VR along the way while putting the piece together? 

BH: First and foremost, there are very few established standards in the VR space. Unlike a typical broadcast production, where the steps to create a piece of content have been well established for years, shooting, editing and finishing a spot in 360-degree requires the team to invent new ways of working. Since the shot is being captured in the round, we can’t use any rigging or lighting the camera can see. Furthermore, we can’t be anywhere near camera, which creates an interesting dynamic between a director and our talent. And you can forget about seeing video playback on set, since it takes hours to stitch the footage together to review. Offline editorial also requires a new approach, since we’re making decisions in the round. What’s great about shooting 360-degree is we can splice different takes together into one scene, since so many cameras are involved. But that adds a lot more complexity to finding the right shots and pacing the cut. Much like an animation workflow, it usually takes many hours to render these decisions into a piece you can preview, which again adds more time to the process. All said, there are challenges, but it’s so much fun to explore this new format for creativity. These are the things that keep us up late at night and motivate us to come to work early—it’s the best part of working in this business.

Pebbles created an edited 30-second pre-roll spot featuring 360 visuals. Why does this work better than the longer storytelling format?

Andrew Klein, social experience and custom product innovation at MediaVest | Spark: A 30-second pre-roll allows us to tell an impactful brand message and be respectful to the audience who is initially planning to view another piece of VR content. The reasoning for the 30-second limit is due to the file size of the content that needs to be loaded into the experience. Anything over 30 seconds in high definition would require additional load time and that could potentially create a less than optimal experience because the viewer would need to wait for the content to download or buffer. That said, vendors such as VirtualSky and StartApp do offer 30-second pre-roll spots with the option to leave the current content and view longer form experiences.

BH: I’m not sure I’d say that pre-roll is generally more effective than creating a long-format experience, but for what we’re trying to accomplish, it’s the right decision. As we launch “Yabba Dabba Do” we need to be in the places where kids and kids at heart are exploring their own creativity. One of those places is definitely VR gaming. Simply put, we wanted to create content that can live in those experiences, instead of trying to compete with them. What’s been so crazy to our team has been how no other brands have tried this already. There was no inventory available for this approach from a media perspective earlier this year.

Why do you think brands are cautious to limiting themselves to shorter VR ads? Is your approach to the format a trend you see more marketers experimenting with?

OP: VR is still an emerging platform and as marketers, we’re still trying to understand the roll VR will play within our broader campaign. One challenge we faced as we were trafficking the spot is how much more difficult targeting is due to how early we are in the adoption cycle of the technology. I think as with any new technology, as this gains wider adoption, we as marketers need to be mindful of how this channel fits within our overall media mix.

How will you be using the data obtained from VirtualSky and StartApp to measure success and engagement? Can you explain the process?

AK: We are looking to see completed view rates and to utilize VR content heatmapping to understand where audiences are looking during the experience. As they see our content, is there a moment or action that draws the most attention during the experience? This data will help us optimize VR creative for future immersive campaigns.

Why is VR turning into such a powerful force in marketing? And do you plan on experimenting with augmented reality? 

AK: VR is currently the only medium that provides full audio and visual immersion, zero distraction and true viewability. Unless the viewer removes the headset, they are fully immersed in the brand experience and story. To-date, Mediavest|Spark is seeing significant increases in brand awareness, brand favorability and even purchase intent from audiences engaging with our client’s VR experiences.

BH: It’s the most immersive creative platform available to connect with consumers, and they already own the technology to bring it to life. It’s not a fad. We are excited to see where it takes us in the future.

OP: The days of VR are still early, especially as a marketing platform. The ability to transport consumers to any kind of experience is what makes this medium so attractive. We are excited to see how this technology continues to evolve.

How will Post continue to leverage interactive promotions in the future?

OP: VR is just one component of bringing our campaign to life. Pebbles is currently on tour with the Pebbles Play tour. We’re teaming up with environmentally sustainable toy company YOXO to inspire young inventors and encourage creativity using recycled materials at several creation stations at each tour stop. We have a replica of a Flintstones Flintmobile where fans can jump in and take a picture, as well as a VR station where they can experience our commercial. We are also sampling Pebbles marshmallow treats.

How is Post using social media, content and other storytelling tools to engage in new ways with consumers? What’s the strategy behind the “Yabba Dabba Do” campaign?

OP: Kids are still our primary target so we want to make sure we are developing fun and inspiring content for them. “Yabba Dabba” Do is all about capturing the spirit of fun and endless possibilities that exists in kids and kids at heart. Through our social channels we strive to reach new audiences and bring that same attitude, whether it’s a quick and simple Fruity Pebbles treat recipe mom can make at home, or giving dads ideas for projects they can make with their kids on a rainy day. We hope to inspire everyone to push the limits of their imagination.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan

Why Facebook Is Declaring War On Clickbait And Bad Ads

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Advertisers love Facebook for its on-board analytics, optional tie-in to Instagram and of course, its 1.6 billion users. While Facebook allows those users to be bombarded with ads, the social media giant has granted additional control over which ads each user wants to see.

“We’ve all experienced a lot of bad ads: ads that obscure the content we’re trying to read, ads that slow down load times or ads that try to sell us things we have no interest in buying,” Facebook stated on its official blog Tuesday. “Bad ads are disruptive and a waste of our time.” Internet users agree and are downright tired of these types of ads on Facebook and beyond. In fact, a recent study shows that 408 million people use ad blocking programs as of March 2016.

Facebook’s updated ad preferences tools allow users to block certain types of ads or certain companies who have added them to a list. Users can even swap unwanted ad topics for interesting ones. For example, if you have no interest in an organic food company but want to see more cats, well there you go, problem solved.

“Facebook doesn’t want to deter its users from spending time on the site, which too frequent and/or irrelevant ads quite often do,” explains Lindsey Buchanan, director of social media for Ayzenberg. “By making ad preferences easier, Facebook is putting the user back in the driver’s seat. They have to. Because at the end of the day, ads can’t survive if there aren’t users to see it. Both are critical mass to Facebook’s ecosystem.”

This way, Facebook doesn’t eliminate ads, but puts the control in the hands of users to make the process more enjoyable. That means it’s survival of the fittest for advertisers, assuming that users actually utilize the new tools.

“When they’re relevant and well-made, ads can be useful, helping us find new products and services and introducing us to new experiences—like an ad that shows you your favorite band is coming to town or an amazing airline deal to a tropical vacation,” Facebook explained. “But because ads don’t always work this way, many people have started avoiding certain websites or apps, or using ad blocking software, to stop seeing bad ads. These have been the best options to date.”

Facebook is also cleaning house on the news feed, creating a filter that targets common clickbait phrases like, “I was shocked when I saw . . .” and “You’ll never believe . . .”

The latest update, rolling out over the next few weeks, will continue Facebook’s pursuit of quality control. The company is handling annoying ads and headlines as a parent would to the temper tantrum of a small child. Louder and clickbait-y content won’t cut it anymore. Either marketing teams and online media outlets deliver engaging and relevant content . . . or be ignored.

AppsFlyer: Mobile Advertising And Retention Dominated By Facebook

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AppsFlyer’s latest report ranks the top media sources in mobile advertising between January and June, 2016. The Performance Index evaluates the global mobile advertising ecosystem through app user growth, retention rates and which advertising platforms attract the most engaged app users.

Facebook remains the top media source for mobile advertising across all global markets, regions and platforms except on Android Europe, where it came in at third place. Unity has made significant strides—rising to the number four spot on global power rankings for both Android and iOS, the number three spot for Android and number two for iOS in APAC countries. Google is also moving up the charts for mobile advertising, up to second place in the power ranking for Android and third for iOS.

appsflyer gaming

As for app retention, iOS and Android had a virtually identical retention score globally. “Slightly different numbers were only evident in North America,” the report notes, “Where iOS retention was 6 percent higher than Android, and in Europe where Android’s score was 8 percent higher than iOS.”

Facebook’s retention score moved three spots up the iOS global ranking, hitting the number two position, while it dropped one spot on Android, landing at number three. Twitter still holds the number two retention spot for Android and rose to number five for the global iOS index, but its global power ranking remains less strong at number 16 and 12 for Android and iOS, respectively.

AppsFlyer noted that video attributes greatly to customer loyalty, “proving that when a player views a preview of a game, there are less surprises, leading to improved retention.” Video networks Vungle, AdColony and Unity all climbed four spots in Android global retention as a result. On iOS, only Unity had a 4-spot climb but overall, video networks performed exceptionally well coming in at number one, three and seven, respectively in retention score indexes.

CNN’s Courageous Studio VP Talks About Square Enix Partnership

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Audiences caught a glimpse of the future last week at the Human by Design conference last week, hosted by Square Enix and CNN’s Courageous studio. The event, held at the Paley Center for Media in New York City, was inspired by the upcoming game, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and its vision of what a society with cybernetically augmented people might look like. The game, which some see as a window into the future, imagines a deep societal divide between ordinary people and those with cybernetic enhancements.

Experts and self-described cyborgs include the avant-garde artist Neil Harbisson, who has an antenna implanted into his skull that allows him to experience colors despite being color blind. Additionally, Steve Mann, who is credited for pioneering High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology for digital photography, spoke about his head-mounted computer, the EyeTap, which grants him an enhanced view of the world (such as seeing radio waves) using augmented reality and other technologies. In 2012, Mann was assaulted in Paris by people who mistook his eyewear for Google Glass, which makes him an ideal person to speak about society’s potentially violent reaction to wearable technology.

Human by Design was livestreamed on Twitch to millions of viewers and a documentary film version, developed by Courageous, is available to watch on Amazon Prime. Square Enix currently has a partnership with Open Bionics to develop a 3D-printed prosthetic arm inspired by the game’s main character, Adam Jensen.

Otto Bell, vice president and group creative director at Courageous (CNN’s in-house brand studio), talked with [a]listdaily about Courageous and how it worked in partnership with Square Enix to make Human by Design a reality and how a video game might shape the future.

How would you describe Courageous and its goals?

I would say that it’s editorially minded. It’s committed to high production standards, ensuring that we meet clients’ objectives and marketing objectives, but we do so in a way that is generally additive to our audience on the Turner Network. Either it provides some kind of utility, it deepens people’s understanding, or it makes them smile.

Otto Bell
Otto Bell, vice president and group creative director at Courageous

How did you partner with Square Enix to put together the Human by Design conference?

Square Enix came to CNN with what I would describe as a fairly standard media brief. They were looking for some page takeovers and some kind of high-impact day of announcement to coincide with the release of their new game, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

The thing is, we’ve got a staff of Emmy and Murrow-winning journalists at Courageous, and they tend to scratch beneath the surface of every creative brief that we get. They started to dig into the story of Mankind Divided, which is set in the future. This installment deals with a world divided between people who have augmented their bodies and those who have not. So when we started to dig into this imaginary world, the guys discovered that a lot of the themes and tensions the game addresses are actually not science fiction. They’re kind of bubbling up to the surface in today’s society.

We’ve got Steve Mann here; he’s the first victim of a cyborg hate crime. Someone tried to pull that camera out of his head. You’ve got Neil Harbisson, who elected to add an antenna to his skull, and he’s a self-identifying cyborg. He sees this as a new organ—a new sense—that he has added to his body. These themes and tensions that the game handles aren’t future tense; they’re present tense. These are things that are happening today.

Once we realized that, we went back to them and said that we could do the page takeovers and traditional advertising, but right now there is a vacuum. There is a wide space that you can fill. There’s no bill on the floor of Congress. There’s no coordinated thinking about the implications of this rapidly developing science and what the ramifications could mean for humanity at large. We said that there’s a larger conversation to be had here, and we should pull together academics, scientists and people who identify themselves as cyborgs and bring them all together. Let’s thrash out some of these thorny questions about medical ethics, weaponization and choice. That’s what brought us here today.

How did the partnership with Amazon to create a Human by Design documentary come together?

The Amazon relationship came together through Square Enix as an important retailer for this upcoming game. I think when Square Enix walked into Amazon and showed them some of the early materials for the conference and talked to them about what they were doing with Courageous, Amazon (from what I’m told) was very enthusiastic about the level of thought Square Enix was bringing to this video game launch. Amazon, upon reviewing some of the early materials, said to Square Enix that if they could make this into a documentary, they’d put it on Amazon Prime. They believe that the conversation has sufficient editorial merit for them to put it on their channel and promote it through Prime Video.

The conference is being streamed through Twitch, but the half-hour documentary that we produced during the run-up to this conference is on Amazon Prime and is being actively promoted on the homepage. That’s not a paid promotion. That’s something that Amazon—after reviewing the content—believed in highly enough to place on their homepage and encourage people to watch it.

The documentary was put together by Courageous people. The same people who put together today’s conference were out in the field researching, meeting the participants and filming their stories.

How do you feel about a video game being a kind of window into the future?

I think a video game as a window into the future is entirely appropriate for the time in which we live. It used to be H.G. Wells and Jules Verne who would author books on imagined futures. Then it fell to great movie directors like Spielberg and Ridley Scott to imagine what the future could entail and what the tensions and challenges that we face as a race could be.

Given video games’ share of market, leisure time and mind, I think it’s entirely appropriate that a video game should weigh in, forecast and imagine what might happen to us all. It’s another art form in a long line of art forms that have looked to the future.

Human X Design Conference, August 3, 2016.
Prosthetic arm inspired by Deus Ex franchise. Photo credit: Courageous.

Given the partnership with Open Bionics to design a prosthetic arm, Deus Ex could be in a position to help shape the future. What are your thoughts on that?

I didn’t decide what Square Enix was going to talk about today in the keynote. They could have talked about their game and shown a bunch of adverts. I’m really impressed that they chose instead to highlight their partnership with Open Bionics because they are literally and figuratively stretching out a hand from science fiction into the real world. The choice of highlighting that partnership is a tasteful and appropriate way into today’s larger conversation. I think the work that they’re doing with Open Bionics is truly additive and it’s changing people’s lives. It’s a profoundly positive example of the fact that so-called branded content can also be great, important and life-changing content.

Daybreak Games Exec Explains ‘H1Z1: King of the Kill’; Transformation Of Organization

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Survival simulation zombie game H1Z1: King of the Kill has been a big boon for video game developer and publisher Daybreak Games.

So much so that at E3 this year, former Lakers star and three-time NBA champion Rick Fox announced that Echo Fox is creating the first-ever professionally created eSport for H1Z1: King of the Kill.

“Beyond my own enjoyment watching H1Z1, which I believe is a tenant of an eSport, because it is viewable and enjoyable to watch, I enjoy playing it, too,” Fox, owner of eSports organization Echo Fox, told [a]listdaily. “We’ve spent a lot of hours talking about where it’s headed as an eSport.”

Fox and company, who have teams competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends, are currently in the vetting process to create a team that will debut at TwitchCon at the H1Z1 Invitational this September.

Originally a Sony Online Entertainment gaming company, Daybreak Games has done a commendable job carrying their own weight largely because of their player-versus-player, high-intensity shooter that pits multiple teams against one another at the same time in a battle royale mode.

Candace Brenner, senior director of global marketing for Daybreak Games, joined [a]listdaily (video below) to detail how they’re reaching today’s consumers.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan

‘Angry Birds Movie’ Producer Discusses DVD And Sequel

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For those who didn’t catch The Angry Birds Movie in theaters, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Rovio Animation are releasing the film on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray 3D combo pack and DVD on August 16. The digital version is already available.

The $73 million computer-animated movie raked in over $345.6 million worldwide, including over $107 million domestically. John Cohen, the producer on the film who previously worked on Hollywood hits such as Despicable Me and Ice Age, believes Rovio controlling the film allowed the video game adaptation to succeed where so many others have failed.

John Cohen
John Cohen, producer of The Angry Birds Movie – Rovio/Sony Pictures

“Rovio is an entertainment company beyond just the development of all of these great games,” Cohen said. “They made a decision to finance the movie itself and stay involved in every part of the filmmaking process. Our executive producer Mikael Hed is also one of the original creators of the Angry Birds games. He was involved in every single step creatively and has a very similar comedic sensibility. It was a pleasure to be able to work with him and the team at Rovio. It’s a contrast to what other game companies have done with movie adaptations, which is option or license their property to a Hollywood studio.”

The Angry Birds games have been downloaded over 3.5 billion times, and that number includes the new Angry Birds Action! game that launched ahead of the theatrical release and unlocked exclusive in-theater content like the alternate ending of the film through an audio code. That ending is now on the Blu-ray. Cohen said the game and the millions of augmented reality Bird Codes will continue through the home entertainment window through products from Lego and at Walmart stores.

“We had great partners on board for the theatrical release, including McDonald’s, Lego, Walmart and Pez with some cool ways to use Bird Codes to unlock cool features in the game,” Cohen said. “It’s amazing to see how that type of interactivity is taking off.”

Fans can unlock more content by syncing Angry Birds Action! with the audio on the Blu-ray or digital version of the movie. The Angry Birds Action! movie integration will also extend to retail where fans can unlock an augmented reality “Hatchlings” selfie feature by scanning Bird Codes on in-store signage.

National promotional partners, including top retail and grocery brands, are teaming up with Sony to offer consumers deals through a variety of brand integrations, including Sonic Drive-Ins, Furniture of America, Mrs. Thinster’s Cookie Thins and Post Malt-O-Meal Cereals.

When developing the film, Cohen said the team wasn’t looking at this as a franchise.

“We looked at it as if it was an original animated movie,” Cohen said. “We had all the great opportunity that comes with awareness of a property of this size. Normally, when you have this type of pre-awareness property, they tend to be a Harry Potter or a comic book series, where every detail is laid out for you. With Angry Birds, there are some key things people knew about the games, but beyond that, it was more or less a blank slate. It was an exciting opportunity to tell an original story that had all of the great awareness and branding that gave us a nice head start.”

Boasting an “A” CinemaScore with viewers under age 25, the Blu-ray features more of the breakout fan-favorite, Hatchlings. Much like the Minions of Cohen’s Despicable Me, these baby birds have taken on a life of their own.

The Blu-ray has a new short film starring Hatchlings characters—The Early Hatchling Gets the Worm—about a baby bird who befriends a worm. The team created a number of short films that are also included. The birds were voiced by the kids of people on the crew, including Cohen’s 2-year-old daughter.

“The concept was to let the kids talk because they really do say the darnedest things,” Cohen said. “We did a Christmas greeting last November and asked them to sing deck the halls. None of these kids knew the words, and as they started to sing it went into this strange direction—and that was all gold for us. We animated this Christmas video and did another fun video for Easter and Mother’s Day that made it on the disc.”

There’s no word on a video game featuring these characters yet, but there will be new merchandise.

“We have discovered that since the release of the movie, Rovio has been approached by many different partners about Hatchling merchandise after the audiences saw the movie,” Cohen said. “A line of Hatchlings stuffed animals and toys and fun things is coming soon.”

The Hatchlings in Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation's ANGRY BIRDS.

While not coming soon (the first film was in development for over four years), there is an Angry Birds 2 coming to theaters.

“We’ve started to develop the sequel,” Cohen said. “As the movie was screening in the final months, we saw it play with audiences of kids and adults in theaters before we were done with it, and people found the movie emotional. We started to think what would the next step of these characters be, and the mythology. What I learned from working on Ice Age and Despicable Me is that when you have characters that have been fleshed out with comedic personalities, you can’t stop yourself from thinking: ‘What would happen if these characters were in this situation or did that?’ That happened with Angry Birds.”

Cohen considers himself a casual game player, although he became addicted to Angry Birds long before the movie project.

“It was the game that I got hooked on and played for hours at a time,” Cohen said. “I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what would it be like if we brought these characters to life. Now I look back at all those hours as research for this.”

Cohen said Sony and Rovio are tapping into the Angry Birds gaming fan base to market the Blu-ray.

“There’s a staggering amount of people who have played the games, or at least have heard of the game,” Cohen said. “There’s such a loyal and dedicated fan community through ToonsTV, which is the No. 1 branded YouTube channel in the world, even ahead of Lego. And of course, there’s the fan community on Facebook with 26 million followers. It’s a passionate community that creates fan fiction and shares content.”

In addition to the movie, Angry Birds Toons: Season 3 Volume 1 will ship on DVD August 16. The set features 13 mini episodes of avian adventures that the whole family can enjoy. Bonus materials include three behind-the-scenes videos and character reels featuring the characters Chuck, King Pig and Matilda.

Op-Ed: How To Market VR Games

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Marketing VR games is about to become a necessary discipline, and it’s not going to be quite the same as marketing games for other platforms. The starting guns have sounded, and we’re off to the races with virtual reality (VR) hardware is shipping for mobile devices, PCs, and soon for consoles. There are already millions of Google Cardboard VR viewers available and more than a million Samsung Gear VR headsets out there. Both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are available, and both of them are likely to sell more than a million units before the end of this year. Sony’s PlayStation VR will hit the console market this October, and will likely sell a million units or more in short order as early adopters flock to get one.

The competition is already in place, and growing every day. Marketing is going to be important to help get attention, especially when discovery mechanisms for VR games are still being built. Certainly, some of the traditional marketing efforts aren’t going to work the same for VR games, so it’s time for some serious strategizing about how to market VR games.

The classic YouTube video in 2D is still useful for VR games, but it’s not going to be giving an accurate picture. You’ll have to step up to 360-degree video in order to give people a better idea of what they will see in a VR game. Advertising across large audiences probably isn’t very useful for VR games, especially when VR hardware is still relatively uncommon. You may try to persuade people to buy VR hardware alongside your game, but that’s a pretty heavy lift when you’re talking about hundreds to thousand dollars.

If you can’t share the experience directly, then you have to share the feelings people will get from the VR game. The issue is similar to how you sell some a trip to an exotic location they haven’t visited before. People will have to go on the trip to realize what special about the experience, but you can share the emotions. Try creating videos of people playing the VR game alongside 2D versions of what they are seeing in the game and include some reaction shots. Include interviews and testimonials from players. Remember that this is cutting edge technology, and people are going to be interested not just in the game itself, but how it was created. A behind-the-scenes documentary about how you made the game will probably get you a lot of attention.

One marketing method that’s finding increasing power with games is the use of social media, and in particular streamers, YouTubers and Facebook video creators. Finding independent voices to talk about the VR game, and show themselves having fun with it, is certainly going to help your marketing efforts. Yes, a 2D video isn’t as engaging as being in VR, but there’s still plenty of excitement to be generated.

Another important consideration for marketing a VR game is its length, because that affects how you market the game. Is this a VR “experience,” as some are being characterized (notably the Final Fantasy XV VR experience) that lasts for about ten minutes? Or is it a relatively long one, like Resident Evil 7 proposes to be? The distinction becomes critical when you describe it to potential customers.

Setting realistic expectations is crucial if you expect a positive response. Failing to adequately prepare that audience for what they get, the negative reaction could be intense. If you are trying to market a VR game that’s hours in length, it’s important to realize that the game will be played in short sessions—perhaps measured in minutes, rather than hours as it might be in a typical console environment. The VR experience is intense, and long play sessions are not recommended. This is not the way many PC and console fans are accustomed to playing games. Marketers will have to make it clear that this sort of play pattern is not what you should expect.

Connections to existing brands are useful, as demonstrated by the intense interest in Batman: Arkham VR. That brand connection has its challenges because the VR game has to support the brand, or at least the expectations the players will have coming to the VR game with the brand attached. Savvy marketers will probably want to conduct some focus groups and substantial feedback from fans about what the expectations are.

In addition to connections to existing brands, social features are very important for giving marketing efforts a boost, whether the game is designed for a single player or multiple players. Being able to share significant images, 360-degree videos, or even 2D videos, is a way for players to become part of your marketing efforts.

The road ahead for marketing VR games isn’t clear at all, but it’s going to be interesting as marketers forge new strategies for this new gaming platform.

2K Partners With Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs For WWE 2K17 Soundtrack

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As they mature in graphics, storytelling and artistic expression, video games attract the attention of A-list actors and top industry musicians. The latest such music star to delve into the world of video games is Sean “Diddy” Combs, partnering with 2K for the WWE 2K17 soundtrack.

“I am a huge WWE fan,” Combs said in an official press release. “I love the intensity and the competition and I wanted fans to feel that energy in the soundtrack for WWE 2K17. While prepping for the upcoming Bad Boy 20-Year Family Reunion Tour, I’ve been thinking a lot about the past and the artists that inspired me. I mixed some of my favorites with some of the best new acts in the game today to create something really special.”

The game’s soundtrack will feature 13 songs from a variety of musical genres, including hip-hop, indie and alternative rock, heavy metal and electronic dance. One such track is Bad Boy For Life by Combs himself as a nice tie-in to the upcoming tour. The album will be published by his music cable network, Revolt Media & TV, and the tracks include:

  • Action Bronson & Joey Bada$$ (feat. Rico Love): “What About The Rest Of Us”
  • Anderson .Paak: “Come Down”
  • Andy Black: “We Don’t Have To Dance”
  • Axwell Λ Ingrosso: “This Time”
  • Black Sabbath: “Paranoid”
  • Bring Me The Horizon: “Run”
  • FIDLAR: “Drone”
  • French Montana (feat. Kojak Black): “Lockjaw”
  • iSHi (feat. French Montana, Wale, & Raekwon): “We Run”
  • P. Diddy, Black Rob & Mark Curry: “Bad Boy For Life”
  • Travis Barker & Yelawolf: “Out of Control”
  • Twenty One Pilots: “Ride”
  • Yellow Claw (feat. Lil Eddie): “We Made It”

WWEWWE 2K17 will be the fourth in a series of licensed video games as part of a multi-year exclusive partnership with publisher, 2K. The company is well-known to video game sports fans, developing similar titles for MLB and the NBA—the latter of which serving as 2K Sport’s debut into eSports.

Sports games such as WWE naturally lend themselves to cross-promotion with the industries they depict—encouraging fans to play the game and selecting popular sports stars to grace the games’ cover. Each year, the cover star is presented to gaming and wrestling audiences with fanfare, giving the athletes opportunities to cross-promote with their followers. This year it’s Brock Lesnar.

Having Lesnar on the cover is sure to be a popular choice with wrestling fans, but it’s not the only promotion that 2K Sports is putting behind the game. In May, it revealed that Bill Goldberg, a popular face from the old World Championship Wrestling days, would be making his debut in the game as a pre-order bonus. Both 2K Sports and the WWE are expected to promote WWE 2K17 leading up to its release, including activities that tie in with SummerSlam on August 21.

As for the game’s soundtrack, 2K’s partnership with the Grammy-award-winning hip-hop artist, producer and entrepreneur offers some valuable cross-promotional opportunities for both sides.  While 2K attracts music fans to its game franchise (or at a minimum, to the soundtrack), “Diddy” is free to promote his Bad Boy 20-Year Family Reunion Tour to WWE fans. The music tour begins August 25 in Columbus, OH, while WWE 2K17 hits shelves on October 11.