BMW Drives Forward With Virtual Assistance

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Consumers already know how dependable virtual assistants can be, using their mobile devices to find information with the help of Siri, Cortana and other assistants. Now car manufacturer BMW wants to get in on the action with its own specialized app.

The BMW connected app for iPhone was announced during this week’s Microsoft Build event, which will serve as an always-on assistant for drivers, according to Engadget. The tool is meant to assist on-the-go drivers with setting up appointments, providing notifications for traffic, and more.

While many apps can already perform these functions, BMW’s ConnectedDrive app will pair up directly with its vehicles. As such, it’ll learn from driving routines so it can give directions and tips for the route, along with performing other functions like accessing door locks, flashing lights, or starting it up so that it warms on a cold winter day.

BMW also promised that it will update its ConnectedDrive app with continuous features, although it didn’t detail what would be coming yet.

It’s too early to tell at this point if BMW’s app will be as effective as the popular Siri or Cortana, but it’s a promising move by the automaker. It could be a feature that resonates well with consumers looking to pair up their devices for the ultimate convenience and driving experience.

The Challenge Of Marketing Mobile Games Globally

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Gaming markets can vary. What may work in one particular market doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily fly in another. While some competitive games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and World of Warcraft might have global appeal, they are the exceptions, not the rule.

Not even the mobile gaming market, which is a beast over in China, is an exception to this. But with such a big audience, Western developers are up for taking on the challenge. They just need to figure out what experiences are in highest demand.

For instance, TechInAsia recently reported on the continuing success on The Legend of Mir Mobile. The game still manages to earn anywhere between $92 to $107 million (in U.S. dollars) on a monthly basis, based on massive-multiplayer online (MMO) action. But here’s the thing–it’s not a recent release. In fact, the game is over 15 years old, continuing to be a popular draw after all this time. A lot of mobile developers would be satisfied just having a fifth of that popularity.

“The Legend of Mir Mobile capitalizes on the nostalgia of China’s early PC gamers, the people who were playing this game on PC in Internet cafes 15 years ago,” said Shanda Games vice-chair Zhu Xiaojing, speaking with Sina Tech. “Many of those gamers are now adults with white-collar jobs. They may or may not still be hardcore PC gamers, but virtually all of them own smartphones, and being able to play what many consider a classic game from their youth on a phone is too tempting to pass up. And of course, their enthusiasm has helped attract a whole new generation of players to the game as well.”

How a game is marketed is also very crucial, as something that works well on the Western market may not do so in China, and vice versa, depending on the diverse gaming audience. In a previous interview, Glu Mobile president Niccolo de Masi noted that the company has to tweak certain things to make a game experience work. For instance, Western shooters aren’t that popular in China, and a Chinese brand won’t always find stateside success. But the right partnership and strategy could change that. We Fire, which is a hit overseas, won’t be brought over in its original form. Instead, the game engine will be transformed into something else. “A Western consumer will not know that this is We Fire. They will know it as Frontline Commando or Contract Killer,” de Masi stated.

Simon Hade, co-founder and COO of Space Ape, also expressed similar logic with bringing games over. “Mobile game companies cannot just localize language and launch their game in the West successfully. While features like Gacha [collectible characters] are becoming more widely adopted in the West, games from Asia generally do not directly translate. In order to successfully bring a game to the West, you must invest resources, which takes time and money. The companies and games that invest well will have a better chance to create a top 20 game.

“We’re seeing more and more Chinese game mechanics translating to the West,” he added. “It’s still the case that China, Korea and Japan are each very different markets and a lot of the charts are dominated by local players addressing local tastes. However, it’s feeling more and more like the concepts that work in China are easier to adapt for the West (e.g. Game of War). One big difference is around the pace of content. Chinese players consume content very quickly, and your monetization needs to reflect that behavior in order to make a game viable.”

But there’s still that possibility of connecting with certain content, as Newzoo CEO and co-founder Peter Warman previously noted. “Every global player has an interest in China in some way. It can be as consumer market or as a country that provides new partnerships and investments. From a Newzoo perspective, our partnership with leading Chinese big data company TalkingData is crucial for us to be a true global player. We spoke at their corporate event in Beijing a couple weeks ago that attracted over 2,000 people giving us a unique entry into the market. This is in addition to having data on 800 million iOS and Android smart devices used every month that provides unique insights to Western companies with an interest in the Chinese mobile landscape. I expect there will be a lot more consolidation of Western and Chinese game companies over the coming years.”

As both the Chinese and American mobile game markets continue to thrive with billions of dollars ever year, changes could come to better adapt marketing content for certain games, which could also include development level changes, depending on the games that are being considered.

For now, companies are looking to find new ways to become the next the 15-year old hit, like Legend of Mir Mobile.

‘Tomb Raider,’ Lara Croft, Celebrate 20 Years Of Being Cultural Icons

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the original Tomb Raider released for PC, Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. With it, video game fans were introduced to a bold new heroine named Lara Croft, an explorer who who faced a variety of dangers (including a live T-Rex dinosaur) in a search for lost treasures.

This year, her legacy lives on, thanks to the release of the critically acclaimed Rise of the Tomb Raider, which is a big hit on Xbox One and PC. Square Enix, the game’s publisher, recently announced that it has big plans for Lara’s 20th anniversary, which kick off next month at the PAX East event in Boston.

“Since its introduction, Tomb Raider has held a significant place in video game history, and further cements with this milestone,” said Ron Rosenberg, co-head of studio for the development team at Crystal Dynamics, in a blog post. “We look forward to celebrating with fans, and honoring the iconic Lara Croft with special events, retrospectives, giveaways and other surprises throughout this year of Tomb Raider.”

The original game was a smash success for the then-publisher, Eidos Interactive. In the years following, sequels continued to perform just as well, even though the original developers at Core Design were eventually replaced by Crystal Dynamics, who created the best-selling 2006 release, Tomb Raider: Legend. Since then, the game franchise has sold into the millions. The game was also made into a couple of films, featuring actress Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft.

Lara also managed to leave her mark on real-world culture. She was named “most successful game heroine” in the Guinness Book of World Records on different occasions (including 1996 and 2010); she ended up getting her own stamp in France; she was the first (and only) video game character to appear on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and she appeared on-screen during U2’s PopMart Tour.

Lara 2

Tomb Raider saw several sequels, but it was the 2013 reboot Tomb Raider that brought the franchise back to true form. It introduced the world to a younger Lara as she fought for survival on an enemy-laden island, in the hopes of fulfilling the legacy of her father left. It has sold over 8.5 million copies since its release, making it the best-selling game in the series to date.

That led to Microsoft inking an exclusive console deal for the sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider. The game released in November 2015 with some very heavy promotion, and managed to sell one million copies over the course of the holiday season. Its sales success continued with the game’s release on PC earlier in January.

“Tomb Raider has become a cultural phenomenon over the last 20 years, selling millions of copies worldwide, sparking one of the most successful video game film adaptations in history, and inspiring our amazing fans of all ages,” said Scot Amos, co-head of studio with Crystal Dynamics. “It’s incredible to be part of this legend and to see how much the series has evolved over time, and think about what’s yet to come. Here’s to 20 more years of adventure together.”

Square Enix already has promotions in full swing, offering a free digital copy of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot to those who donate to GameChanger Charity, with plenty of prizes to those who donate in higher amounts.

A special panel titled Lara Croft: The Undisputed Queen of Gaming will be held at PAX East in late April, followed by a special cosplay event where fans can celebrate their own Lara Croft legacy.

Square Enix hasn’t gone into much detail about what it has planned for later this year, as we approach the October 25 anniversary date, but we’re likely to see announcements like the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider for PlayStation 4 come out of E3. There’s also talk of a new movie in the works, with Daisy Ridley from Star Wars: The Force Awakens negotiating for the role of Lara.

Lara just keeps getting better with age.

Why Unity Is The Top Choice For Pioneering VR Development

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Today marks the launch of the Oculus Rift, one of the first premium virtual reality headsets to come out this year, with the HTC Vive to follow in April and PlayStation VR hitting in October. The device comes with two free games (EVE: Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale) and an Xbox One controller bundled together. There are also 30 VR launch games now available to purchase from the Oculus store, which is quite impressive for a new platform. Even more so is fact that over half of them (16, to be exact) are made using the Unity Engine—including the bundled-in Lucky’s Tale.

Unity’s success isn’t limited to premium headsets like the Oculus Rift, as about 90 percent of Samsung Gear VR’s content was made with Unity. Nor do the positive statistics end with virtual reality, since 30 percent of the top 1,000 grossing mobile games worldwide were made with Unity. In fact, games that sport the “Made With Unity” logo are downloaded 1.5 billion times a month.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that so many developers are drawn to Unity, considering how the technology company has done much to place itself at the forefront of mobile and virtual reality development. In February, Unity Technologies hosted the Vision Summit, which united the biggest players in VR to showcase some of the amazing possibilities this new technology had to offer.

Marcos Sanchez, head of global communications for Unity Technologies, said at the time that one of the greatest challenges in promoting VR content is giving consumers a first-hand experience. “Great VR content is already available, but videos and images of VR games and videos don’t quite do them justice,” he said. “To help drive adoption, it’s critical to raise awareness and provide more people demos and access to hardware.”

Since Samsung offered a free Gear VR headset (which normally costs $99) with every Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphone pre-order, we’ve grown closer to getting VR into the hands of as many people as possible. Hopefully, everyone will have a chance to play VR games like Adventure Time: Magic Man’s Head Games, which was developed using Unity for the Gear VR. Additionally, annual upgrade programs hosted by some carriers will help ensure that consumers will always be up-to-date with the latest mobile VR technology.

Now, it’s up to the developers to create compelling content to justify the investment, and many are choosing Unity to make it. When asked why Unity was so popular among VR developers, Sanchez told [a]listdaily, “Unity has always focused on democratizing development by providing developers of all shapes and sizes with a platform that allows them to bring their creative ideas to life quickly and easily. That means taking many of the difficult coding tasks away so that developers can focus on gameplay, storytelling and rich graphics.

“We also provide a host of services from ads to analytics to discovery that allow developers to more effectively monetize their games, increasing their ability to succeed,” Sanchez adds. “Once created, developers can choose from over 25 platforms to export to, including 2D, 3D, VR and AR. That power is why over 30 percent of the games in the top 1,000 grossing mobile games are made with Unity. And, if you’re just starting out, you can download and start creating with Unity for free.”

Sanchez also relates some of the challenges in creating development tools for an emerging technology like virtual technology. “It’s the early days and we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of imagining what virtual reality and augmented reality experiences could look like,” he said. “We’re just learning as a community what works and what doesn’t, because the process of storytelling is different when you move in 3D space. We’ve begun the process by creating an early version of VR scene editing in VR, which really makes sense when you think about it. Our Unity Labs team will be thinking very deeply about not just how developers create content, but how everyone will become creators.”

The sense of exploration falls in-line with what Sanchez said new developers should keep in mind as we enter the virtual reality era. “Mass adoption of VR and AR won’t happen overnight, but it will happen, and it will be driven as much by indie developers pushing the creative boundaries, as by larger more established content and game creators.”

Unity’s chief marketing officer, Clive Downie, also shared his thoughts on VR with [a]listdaily during last month’s Vision Summit, stating that, “People are in exploration mode, and they need to know that that’s ok. There’s a risk and a gamble, and they want to know that this will pay off.” Downie further remarks that all great inventions throughout history have been risky, but they’ve made people’s lives better. He believes that AR/VR will also do so over the course of five years.

Of the 30 games launching alongside the Oculus Rift today, these are the ones made using Unity, and there will surely be plenty more to come in the future.

  • Adventure Time by Turbo Button
  • Audio Arena by Skydome Studios
  • Darknet by EMcNeil
  • Dead Secret by Robot Invader
  • Dreadhalls by White Door Games
  • Esper 2 by Coatsink
  • Fly to KUMA by COLOPL
  • Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes by Steel Crate Games
  • Lucky’s Tale by Playful
  • Omega Agent by Fireproof Games
  • Radial G by Tammeka Games
  • Rooms by HandMadeGame
  • Smashing the Battle by One-Man Studios
  • Vektron Revenge by Ludovic Texier
  • VR Tennis Online by LCOLOPL
  • Windlands by Psytec Games Ltd

Sony Is Bringing PlayStation Games To Mobile Devices

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Nintendo hit a major milestone last week when it released its first official mobile game, Miitomo, developed in partnership with DeNA. The quirky social network game reached 1 million downloads in three days, and that’s just in Japan. Now, Sony wants to follow-suit with its own move to mobile. 

The maker of the best-selling PlayStation 4 console has announced the formation of a new business unit called ForwardWorks Corporation, which will begin operating early next month. Its main purpose is to bring popular PlayStation IPs to mobile devices.

“ForwardWorks will leverage the intellectual property of the numerous PlayStation-dedicated software titles and its gaming characters as well as the knowledge and know-how of gaming development expertise which was acquired over the years with PlayStation business to provide gaming application optimized for smart devices including smartphones to users in Japan and Asia,” the official announcement reads. “The company will aim to deliver users with opportunity to casually enjoy full-fledged game titles in the new field of the smart device market.”

Although specific titles weren’t mentioned, it’s likely we’ll see a number of different franchises make their mobile debut, including Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank, two series that will see new entries on the PlayStation 4 next month. Sony might go with older titles first, such as games originally introduced on the original PlayStation One, like Twisted Metal and Crash Bandicoot. Popular games from the PlayStation Vita handheld console such as Gravity Rush, which was recently re-released on PlayStation 4, are also likely contenders for the move to mobile.

ForwardWorks has not announced what its first game will be, but we are likely to learn more when Sony presents its annual pre-E3 press briefing in June.

This is a big move for Sony, but not a surprising one, especially considering the incredible popularity of Nintendo’s Miitomo.

Study Finds That Millennials Prefer Email

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Marketers may be working to find new ways to reach the millennial audience, but a recent survey conducted by Epsilon indicates that going old-school may be the best route. It turns out that amidst the YouTube, social media and mobile app channels, most respondents prefer plain old email.

AdWeek reported that the company’s recent shopper-behavior study yielded interesting results, with email getting a higher response than social media and other advertising models. In fact, 43 percent of millennials, compared with 32 percent of other shoppers, have said they’ve looked at retailer emails more often over the previous six months.

It’s a bit of a surprise, especially since a lot of consumers utilize email-blocking tools to avoid messages sent by companies, but a good portion of millennials seem to have no problem accepting them.

Other findings from the six-month study include:

  • 51 percent of millennials used searches across brand sites more often than average consumers.
  • Nearly 53 percent of millennial shoppers used daily deals, compared to 38 percent of other groups.
  • Nearly 56 percent used price comparison sites more often.
  • Around 47 percent of the millennial audience printed out coupons for use with purchases over the past six months. That’s higher than the 34 percent of other audiences.

While email may be a bit “old school” compared to other methods, it still seems very effective, and less obtrusive as some other means of advertising.

Image source

Cross-Platform Play Could Be Huge For Consoles

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A sports game about cars playing soccer could change the face of multiplayer gaming as players know it. Last week, Psyonix, creators of Rocket League, spoke with [a]listdaily about the potential of cross-platform play between Sony’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Windows PC platforms, and its impacts.

Speaking with Gamespot, Psyonix vice president Jeremy Dunham explained, “Technologically, everything works, we’ve got it figured out, just a little bit of time to get everything up and running. Right now, excitement is the best way to put it. We just want to get in there and make it happen.

“The only thing we have to do now is sort of find out where we stand politically with everyone, and then it’s full steam ahead to finish the solution that we’ve already started.”

But what does cross-platform play mean in the long run? Dunham goes on to state, “More players, for everyone, means more games, and more games means more participation and community feedback, which we can then put into the game as a whole and not have to worry about siloing off certain features or certain platforms because this version doesn’t have it, or whatever the situation may be.”

A lot of players may think that supporting cross-platform play with both Xbox and PlayStation systems could mean a lot of red tape. But it appears as though Microsoft and Sony are seemingly on board with the idea.

Microsoft already confirmed that it’s fully supporting cross-platform play on Xbox One, with Rocket League being one of the first supported titles, and “an open invitation for other networks to participate as well.” Sony responded with, “PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC on several software titles starting with Final Fantasy 11 on PS2 and PC back in 2002. We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross-platform play.”

This could potentially be huge for players who felt like they were being shut out from their PlayStation 4 friends for owning an Xbox One version of Mortal Kombat XL. It could also be a big selling point for both consoles, compared to other game platforms that don’t support the feature. After all, not everyone is really bred to be a PC gamer, preferring the simplicity of a game console instead. Since both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 offer diverse first-party exclusives, along with third-party hits like Tom Clancy’s The Division, they’re both likely to be huge draws.

For now, the process is going slow but steady, with Psyonix working on its technology to make sure that match-ups go smoothly. From there, Sony and Microsoft are bound to speak more with publishers about the possibilities of cross-platform play.

In the meantime, fans can enjoy Rocket League now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, which will be taking sign-ups for the Rocket League Championship Series eSports event on March 25.

How Syfy Labs Is Making A Splash In 3D Printing

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Syfy Labs is extending its commitment to emerging technologies and storytelling by leveraging its lineup of popular programming into 3D printing by introducing a new line of exclusive models from the network’s original series.

Syfy’s recently launched innovation lab and MakerBot, an industry leader in 3D printing, are unveiling new models like the iconic time machine from 12 Monkeys and the alien skull from The Magicians. Models from shows like the Hunters, Killjoys and Dark Matter will be made available through Thingiverse, home to more than a million 3D designs.

This next wave of 3D models from Syfy’s programming was introduced this past weekend at the Silicon Valley Comic-Con in San Jose, California, as part of the Voodoo Manufacturing Booth.

Matthew Chiavelli, senior vice president of Syfy Digital, joined [a]listdaily to discuss the television network’s commitment to 3D printing.

SVCC Voodoo_SyFy 12 Monkeys

How much did audience engagement impact the decision to expand on the MakerBot partnership? What were the deciding factors? 

We’d always had the intention of expanding our 3D printable offerings to other original shows, and the incredible response from fans has helped us to decide what types of objects people are most interested in printing.

Why did you decide to tap Thingiverse as the go-to source for this activation?

Thingiverse is currently a very robust platform not just for sharing 3D models, but it also gives us a direct pipeline to this growing community of enthusiasts. We now have the ability to easily let our thousand-plus followers know when we release new models or make improvements or modifications to existing ones.

What have been some of the key takeaways since the MakerBot launch at CES?

We’ve gotten a lot of useful feedback from our fans on Thingiverse, and are starting to tailor our offerings to help cater to what people want to see us do. We’ve also modified some of the models to make them easier to print.

How can brands incorporate 3D printing campaigns to further boost audience engagement?  

The nature of Syfy’s content and fan base is such a perfect fit for this technology, so we jumped into this space at a bit of an advantage. Our goal is to engage our fans in new and innovative ways. Looking around our own offices, we saw nearly everyone’s cubicle had some sort of tchotchke (or collection of them) representing their favorite TV show, movie or sports team. We believe that putting the ability to print these items out themselves in the hands of our fans is pretty powerful.

What kind of commitment can people expect with Syfy and 3D printing moving forward?

What we’ve shown at CES and Silicon Valley Comic-Con is just the beginning for us. We have plans to make more printable models from more of our shows as the year goes on.

Samsung President Tim Baxter Says Virtual Reality Is Ready For Primetime

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Minutes after Public Enemy riles up the crowd of SXSW attendees at the Samsung Galaxy Life Fest to the tunes of “Fight the Power” and croons of Flavaaa Flaaav, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban leaves the VIP area and steps to the stage to play part-time emcee.

In a festival that has more headline acts than a newspaper, the party of the weekend is about to begin. Cuban introduces ColleGrove—the new superstar rap duo comprised of Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. The performance will be televised on Jimmy Kimmel Live; the energy in downtown Austin’s makeshift venue is palpable. A sea of cell phones sits in the sky to document snippets of the show, surely to be replayed by each sober soul the next day.

"The Samsung Studio At SXSW 2016"

This brave reporter unearths his iPhone at the competitor’s party and begins to document a few clips for the personal archives, too. That’s when Tim Baxter, president and chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics America, who just hours earlier gave an exclusive interview to [a]listdaily, suddenly stands next to me, and begins teasing the photo quality of my pictures.

Baxter is less than 24 hours removed from releasing the Galaxy S7 and is more than eager to show off some new features. He pleads that we take pictures from the same vantage point, standing side-by-side. I oblige, only to swing and miss three times before pointing out that the mushroom clouds emitted from Lil Wayne’s smoking paraphernalia were clouding my frame—not to mention my frame of mind. Baxter laughs, and the evening goes on when later, his point is further driven home when my selfie with Cuban looks like a shot from an ‘80s TV set.

The night continues when Wheezy pours a bottle of champagne over an S7 to showcase the phone’s new water-resistant features, just like the commercial. The proceedings are a proper homage to Austin’s “keep it weird” mantra.

Baxter and the rest of Samsung were not only in town for fun nights that also featured The Roots and Sia as part of the company’s first Galaxy Life Fest that celebrated the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge devices. The electronics conglomerate unveiled a series of products and activations, but mainly made a strong statement that they’ve bet a sizable stack of chips for a pair of pocket aces they call virtual reality.

“We’re in virtual reality for two reasons: one, we’re an entertainment company. We create big televisions, mobile phones—this is an entertainment-consumption environment we’re living in, so it’s a big part of our business,” Baxter tells [a]listdaily. “The other reason is we think we have some unique technologies that are required for VR with the processors in phones, and our screens. Those two things are vital in the VR mobile space. That helped drive our thinking.”

Samsung made a statement by showing commitment to mobile VR ecosystem solutions the day they announced Gear VR—the undisputed highest-performance mobile VR, with the lowest-latency head tracking, and highest-performance applications with brands and top-tier developers building for the platform. Powered by Oculus, it introduced mass-affordable VR to people who may not have been fully aware of it. They’ve gone on to introduce a suite of substantial stuff, including Project Beyond, the Samsung Milk VR app—a VR content service exclusive to the Gear VR headset, and of course, Gear 360, the world’s first professional-grade automatic 3D virtual reality camera to quickly develop user-generated content. It’s designed to let consumers easily create, view and share their favorite experiences through video- and still-image content. User-generated content is the next big frontier, Baxter believes.

"The Samsung Studio At SXSW 2016"

What has Samsung learned since the Gear VR Innovator Edition was launched a little over a year ago? That people really love VR experiences.

“That really helped give us great confidence and really helped propel us to go deep into VR,” Baxter says. “We understand the responsibility of moving virtual reality forward, and it’s in our best interests. Virtual reality is poised for great, great growth. I’m also a believer that sometimes we overestimate the short-term impact but underestimate the long-term impact. I think virtual reality is going to continue to grow.”

Baxter says he’s most excited in developing and stimulating the content ecosystem to cultivate the mass-market mobile VR space. Enter premium immersive experiences like the VR Coaster, a ride creation for Six Flags Parks, or LeBron James’ exclusive film series. Now, Samsung has over 650 titles available on Gear VR, including documentaries, animations, short films and original programming like Gone. The proof is in the pudding: VR-specific content can drive the market.

“You have to be able to demonstrate, and that’s why we brought out the Innovator Edition to prove the concept, show the promise, which then stimulates the content community. They know brands like Samsung are going to get in (VR) in a big way,” Baxter says. “It’s an example of helping the content community create more content.”

Baxter compares Samsung’s current VR climate to the one the company saw in the transition from analog to high-definition television, or from DVD to Blu-ray—when you’re creating a new format, or new category, and you’re one of the leaders, it’s more than selling a piece of it. Providing an extremely high-quality experience attracts developers and consumers, and that’s a self-reinforcing cycle. He’s quick to note Samsung has endless experience creating new markets, formats and technologies. They’re well aware they have to build the value chain. It’s in their best interests.

“Just think of where virtual reality has come in a little more than a year. We’re committed to this, and we believe in it,” Baxter says while remaining coy of sharing future announcements. “It’s ready for primetime.”

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan.

Are Marketers Afraid Of The Virtual Reality Era?

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Virtual reality is running wild at South By Southwest (SXSW) and Game Developers Conference (GDC), both of which are hosting huge showcases for the technology. Device makers such as Samsung, Oculus, HTC and Sony, are showing off headsets and the huge variety of experiences to be had with them. At the same time, developers are eager to take advantage of the emerging technology.

That said, while the technology is impressive, it isn’t quite winning over everyone, as some marketers are concerned as to how it will work. AOL’s digital prophet, David “Shingy” Shing (pictured above), recently penned a piece on Adweek about how some might have trouble adjusting to this “new world” of media, where there’s little room for the current advertising model as it stands.

Shing writes that most VR experiences will be presented without any sort of context for ads, which means certain companies will need to adjust when it comes to how they can still represent their product while following the lines set for the technology.

“Consumers will be blasting off to far-away planets that may not even have the atmosphere to support ads, and the industry’s concern is that this will leave a barren Tatooine-esque advertising wasteland . . . This shift challenges the thinking behind the entire industry and the current model of the relationship between brands, creative, media and platforms.”

However, in even in the face of a barren ad landscape, Shing still sees hope, and invites marketers to take the problem head-on. Immersive worlds “provide unique challenges to content creators, viewers and advertisers alike, and their radical newness is a bright light that exposes some of the most insidious faults in our industry . . . As marketers and advertisers, we must rise to this challenge. Experimentation must begin now to have a chance at being ready when consumers have lift-off.”

Some companies have gotten an interesting jump on marketing VR. McDonald’s, for instance, has introduced a Happy Meal box that transforms into a VR viewer (although it’s only available in Sweden right now).