Fewer Deals Are Being Made In The Games Industry

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Deals are often made in the video game market, mainly with key acquisitions or partnerships that allow new franchises to shine, or older ones to flourish.. That said, this new article from VentureBeat indicates that some of these deals haven’t been happening in the gaming industry as often.

The site’s numbers indicate that total deal value, including investments, mergers and acquisitions and new IPOs, fell 82% from 2014’s statistics, and that games investments as a whole also fell 35% from the previous year. Mergers and acquisitions dropped 74%, and the IPO market is also in lowly figures.

Previous numbers from the last quarter indicate that these deals dropped 90%, with the total market for game exits reaching a 93% drop without take-privates, according to the article.

More specifically, in dollar sense, the drop in deal value could see a huge loss for this year, going down as far as $4.3 billion in total, compared to $24 billion in the previous year. The market hasn’t seen that low a number since 2007.

In terms of investment, over $700 million was put into games for the first three quarters, mainly across mobile and technology sectors, followed by console and PC.

Meanwhile, Chinese MMO game developer Perfect World and mobile games company CMGE, both of whom were delisted from the market after mergers, continued to clean up with $1.2 billion in games deals. However, this is still a drop over last year, which including acquisitions of Mojang (of Minecraft fame) by Microsoft, Twitch by Amazon and Oculus VR by Facebook.

That said, there’s still time in the remainder of the year for big deals to be made with partners, and there’s hardly any sort of deathknell on the video game industry, which continues to thrive in PC, console and the mobile front. In fact, the Chinese tech and gaming giant NetEase announced a $2.5 million investment in the startup developer, Reforged Studios. But the drop in “big deals” is noticeable, although we’re certain we haven’t seen the last of them.

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‘Halo 5: Guardians’ Launch Brings Together Fans For A Global Celebration

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With events happening today in cities like London, Hong Kong, New York and more and a six hour long live broadcast on YouTube, the excitement for Halo 5: Guardians is at fever pitch. The launch is the first of it’s kind– a truly global event that intends to bring together fans worldwide to join in the big countdown to 12 am EST, when the game officially goes on sale in North America.

Millions of our fans around the world are waiting in anticipation of the launch of Halo 5: Guardians, so we wanted to do something special for them and launch a video game in a way that has never been done before, said Aaron Greenberg, head of games marketing for Xbox in a blog post.  We are excited to stream the Halo 5: Guardians launch exclusively through YouTube so fans can share in a New Year s Eve-like countdown moment together.

In addition to the YouTube stream and events in select cities, there are special events for fans in all Microsoft stories, where the event will be streamed and with a $25 purchase, fans can get an exclusive game poster and a chance to get hands-on with the game early. There’s even a sweepstakes for a trip for 2 to visit Seattle and tour both Xbox and 343 studios.

“Halo 5: Guardians is the game we have always dreamed of making, and it was important to us that Halo fans in every corner of the world could join us in an epic-scale launch celebration, said Bonnie Ross, corporate vice president and head of 343 Industries. Whether they tune into the live broadcast on YouTube or come out and celebrate with us in person at one of our global fan events, we hope Halo Nation will help make Halo 5: Guardians the biggest game launch in Xbox history.

Audience Engagement Matters Most On Social

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When it comes to making a vital social media marketing campaign, outreach is vital. It not only improves upon awareness of the brand in question, but also provides the possibility of growth for audience engagement, according to eMarketer.

A new study conducted by Ascend2 (via eMarketer) indicates that, from the nearly 300 professionals polled, nearly two thirds stated that audience engagement was the most crucial factor. There are others to consider as well, including increased brand awareness, lead generation and website traffic, but without consumers on board, it’s all for naught.

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The chart indicates this level of importance, with increased audience engagement getting 64%, followed by increased brand awareness (54%), lead generation (41%) and website traffic (35%). Audience size and search rankings took up the lower part of the rankings.

Tactical effectiveness plays a part in all this, with 82% of these professionals stating that creating compelling content is the best way to go about this.

This isn’t just for social media, but also with video, which is becoming more and more accepted in channels like Twitter and Facebook.

That said, the road to getting overall social media success isn’t quite as easy as it looks. Half of those surveyed stated that the inability to measure ROI was a big obstacle when it came to getting results, while others noted that the lack of in-house skills and resources, a shortage of actionable insights and the absence of aforementioned tactical effectiveness also serve as hills to get over.

But not everything is on the negative side. Another chart shows that U.S. companies utilizing social networks for marketing purposes will continue to grow slowly but surely over the next few years. In 2013, it showed that 86.2% of companies were taking part. This year, it rose to 88.2%. It’ll reach almost 90 percent by 2017, coming in just under with 89.4%.

The full report can be found here. It’ll definitely be news to those trying to find a way to grasp what’s most effective with using social media for promotion.

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Vine’s Top 10 Gaming Brands

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More video games are taking to social media to advertise than ever before. While many games have official Twitter and Facebook accounts, some have also made an impact on Instagram, too.

But let’s not forget about Vine. Although its short, six-second, looping video format might appear constraining, it’s becoming an ideal place for companies to advertise  upcoming games and reach millions of viewers. Here’s a countdown of the ten most popular game companies and brands you’ll find on Vine today.

10. Nintendo

Splatoon continues to get a lot of love on its official Vine channel, as shown below.

9. League of Legends

League of Legends draws in millions of players globally, and the game’s official Vine channel sees plenty of game highlights.

8. Treyarch

The developers behind the Call of Duty: Black Ops games keep a large audience with its daily antics and Black Ops III teases.

7. Infinity Ward

Another Call of Duty developer, which created the Modern Warfare saga, has its fair share of Vine popularity, including eSports tournament coverage.

6. DOTA 2

Still one of the most popular MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games out there, DOTA 2 still draws a strong crowd on Vine with its cryptic, humorous videos.

5. Xbox

Microsoft’s Xbox Vine channel has been quite busy lately, particularly with teaser videos leading up to the release of Halo 5: Guardians.

4. Call of Duty

With over 900,000 loops, the Call of Duty Vine page continues to go strong. New videos should post shortly in time for Black Ops III’s release.

3. EA

Although EA’s Vine channel has been suffering from some neglect, older games like Titanfall continue to be popular.

2. PlayStation

With over 700,000 loops, the PlayStation channel continues to see quite a few plays, especially with its look at “classic” PlayStation videos.

1. Ubisoft

Ubisoft promotes its Vine channel heavily, loading the channel with videos devoted to its recently launched Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Just Dance 2016.

Challenges Arise In Adopting New Marketing Tech

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While marketing technology continues to grow in more convenient ways for companies, there are a few obstacles getting in the way of adoption – namely the lack of a devoted budget and difficulty putting an implemented system into place.

A report from eMarketer discusses a July 2015 study by Walker Sands that shows that while marketers are ready to adopt new marketing tech, the budgets allocated may be holding back investment. The results show that more than half of U.S. marketers feel that they company doesn’t invest the necessary amount into the technology, while 42% state that the current technology being used isn’t quite up to date, or isn’t providing the efficiency needed to get the job done.

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Budget seems to be the biggest pain point with adopting these new services, with 69% of those polled indicating that to be the case. Difficulty of implementation and integration, internal resistance to change and lack of executive buy-in also play parts as well.

When it comes to learning about new marketing technology, nearly a third of marketers take cues from colleagues and others in their industry, with a majority citing that these recommendations are influential when deciding what to go with.

The full report can be found here.

 

‘Fallout 4’ Promotion Brings Beer And Cheers

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One of this fall’s most anticipated games is the sci-fi themed Fallout 4, which promises to be bigger and better than any of the best-selling entries in the series. The publisher, Bethesda Softworks, is going all out with team-ups and promotions for the game, which happens to include including its own line of beer.

Fallout 4 beer may be on its way to a fridge near you, according to Polygon. The alcoholic drink is a promotion between Bethesda and the Carlsberg brewery, offering a light-colored pilsner lager “with a refreshing zesty hoppy taste and a floral aroma.” A 12-pack is currently going for £29.99 pounds, and is expected to ship right before the game’s release.

However, there is a catch: the drink is currently only for sale in the U.K., with no plans for U.S. distribution. That seems like a loss, especially considering the popularity of craft beers in the U.S.. That’s not to say it’ll never arrive, so there’s always hope.

Bethesda has been offering a number of Fallout-based collectibles to fans in anticipation of the game’s release, most of which can be found on its devoted store page. These include a limited edition Vault-Tec Industries single rotation watch, a collectible The Art of Fallout 4 book, t-shirts, hoodies, and a wired Xbox One controller, which sold out a few days ago.

On top of that, the promotion of the game has been rolling along at full speed, including an impressive live-action trailer (shown above) and a special Xbox One bundle that includes a copy of the game, along with a downloadable version of Fallout 3, which is due to launch on November 10th.

Considering how frenetically previous entries in the series have sold (Fallout 3 shipped nearly five million units and Fallout: New Vegas rounding out near $300 million in overall sales), Fallout 4 should have no problem being an imminent success this holiday season. Let’s just hope that Bethesda gives this beer promotion some considering over on our shores.

Fallout 4 releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on November 10th.

Brands Go Big On VR

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With headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Sony’s PlayStation VR (formerly Project Morpheus) all releasing in 2016, companies are bracing themselves for the potential realities of virtual reality, and how to best use the technology to promote their brand. VR could change the way we work, play, and interact with each other. According to a report from the consulting group Tractica, VR spending by consumers could reach $21.8 billion by 2020. Meanwhile, Digi-Capital, a different consulting group, released a report that ups the spending estimate to a whopping $150 billion by 2020 – upending mobile. Meanwhile, Business Insider predicts that 26.5 million virtual reality headsets will be sold over the next five years.

Whether it’s augmenting reality with digital information, or being transported to all-new spaces (like inside a food sorting machine) with virtual reality, it’s clear that different brands want to be associated with this growing form of cutting edge technology. The reason being that these experiences provide opportunities for consumers to engage with products like never before.

Movies and TV shows seem ready to take advantage of what virtual reality has to offer with the experiences like the Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension VR Demo, The Hunger Games VR experience, and the John Wick VR game among others. Virtual reality lets fans engage in fantastic worlds that they see in movies, making the link between the two an obvious one.

The sense of engagement and immersion makes for an unforgettable experience that companies want associated with their brands. Red Bull is promoting an air race experience, where participants take part in the high-speed motorsport by strapping on an Oculus Rift headset. It’s all the thrill of being in the cockpit without needing a pilot’s license. Landmark Entertainment is looking to get a Virtual World’s Fair online by 2017, where consumers can experience and shop from spaces around the globe without leaving their homes. Similar experiences were mentioned by CEO Mark Zuckerberg when Facebook purchased Oculus VR for $2 billion last year. An article from TechCrunch states that “VR can and will revolutionize brand/consumer interaction.”

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However, we can’t forget that virtual reality is a completely untested field, and its widespread adoption is far from guaranteed. Even with research like the December 2014 report published by Walker Sands (via eMarketer), which indicates that “two-thirds of U.S. internet users said they would be interested in virtual reality, and 63% said such technologies would change the way they shop.”

The report further states that 35% of people would change over to online shopping instead of going to brick and mortar stores because virtual reality would give them “a more realistic feel of a product.” However, that is counter-balanced by how 37% of respondents “couldn’t imagine the technology having an effect on their shopping experience.”

eMarketer also mentions research done by Economist Intelligence that states that marketers aren’t ready to for virtual reality, as both virtual and augmented reality ranked at the bottom of the list of impactful marketing trends by 2020. But that hasn’t stopped companies like The North Face (an outdoors clothing retailer), Mountain Dew and Merrell footwear from producing their own virtual experiences (shown above) to promote their products. Even The New York Times has partnered with Google on a virtual reality project by packing a cardboard VR viewer in with the November 8th print edition, so that subscribers can watch the a virtual reality film called The Displaced, using smartphones.

Ironically, it looks like the best way for to get more consumers comfortable with virtual reality technology and online shopping is by having VR experiences in the stores themselves, further contributing to the obsolescence of brick-and-mortar retail. Fashion company Tommy Hilfiger recently announced a VR shopping experience, superior to what can be had online, that will roll at select store locations. Furthermore, some of the movie VR tie-ins mentioned earlier can only be experienced at select movie theaters.

Virtual reality has a ways to go before we can expect to see mass adoption, but marketers are already seeking creative way to engage with audiences and associate brands with memorable experiences.

CLIO Key Art Awards Showcase Entertainment Marketing’s Finest

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Last night, the annual CLIO Key Art Awards brought together 1,200 attendees to celebrate entertainment marketing’s finest.

“This is an industry that continues to evolve, as every year the newest ideas and techniques are introduced,” said Nicole Purcell, president of CLIO.

Taking home those coveted shiny trophies this time around with some big wins: Microsoft Studios/Xbox, Game Publisher of the Year, FX Networks received the honor of Television Network of the Year and Warner Bros. nabbed Studio of the Year.

Ayzenberg also emerged with 8 statuettes for work on the Halo HUNT the TRUTH campaign, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter V and Microsoft’s “Jump Ahead” E3 Trailer.

The Halo HUNT the TRUTH campaign alone won numerous awards, for creative content, sound design, copywriting and innovation.

“HUNT the TRUTH has been an incredible collaboration between Ayzenberg and Xbox; an immense amount of passion and creativity has been exhibited which is now garnering the recognition it deserves,” said Kate Fisher, Social Media Marketing Manager at Xbox. “22 episodes, six hours of audio content, 34 custom images, key art, fan engagements. It all adds up to an award-worthy execution.”

“I’m incredibly proud of this campaign and everything we’ve accomplished,” said Noah Eichen, Creative Director at Ayzenberg. “This was by far the most challenging yet creatively rewarding campaign I’ve ever worked on. The passion and reverence for the brand as well as the drive the team has displayed throughout has been inspiring. Whether it’s the fan feedback or accolades, I think the results speak for themselves.”

Click here for a full list of Clio Key Art Award winners.

noah eichen ayzenbergAyzenberg’s Noah Eichen had his hands full at the CLIO Key Art Awards on October 22nd.

Images via The Hollywood Reporter

Multiscreen Video Viewing Habits Are Changing

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With the rise in streaming services from Netflix, HBO and other channels, coupled with the sheer convenience of being able to watch from almost anywhere using a mobile device or tablet, it’s no wonder that multiscreen video viewing is becoming more common.

A new report from Millward Brown, (via eMarketer) indicates that video habits are moving. Even though a majority of consumers still enjoy watching shows on a TV, there’s a noticeable shift to the mobile side.

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The chart shows that, based on daily time spent viewing video across different devices, live TV still has a total of 32% overall, with about 66 minutes of daily viewing. Smartphone viewing takes a close second, coming in with 45 minutes spent and 22% overall. On-demand TV isn’t far behind, ranging around 37 minutes with 18%, which is also tied with time spent watching video on a computer. Finally, tablets also have a notch in the market, coming in with 20 minutes and 10%.

The biggest group that continues to watch TV, according to the report, is 33 to 45 year olds. However, smartphones have a much younger demographic, ranging in the 16 to 24 year old group. They consider this their core video platform, but also spend a good amount of time watching live and on-demand programs, particularly on laptops.

The report also shows that 52% of mobile users spend their daily Internet and video viewing time on mobile phones. That’s a stark difference compared to the 21% that watches on computers, and 27% on television.

Digital advertising also played a part in the report, with 19 percent of users indicating they’re fine with digital video ads, which is an expected part of the experience, especially on Hulu. Meanwhile, over a third of mobile users worldwide stated that they would watch more digital video ads if they had some form of humorous hook to them, or if it were a brand that they already have interest in.

Another study from Unruly, conducted back in July, indicated that 81.4% of U.S. internet users usually skipped or muted video ads to get to their wanted content. While it’s still a viable way for marketers to advertise their product, it’s clear that new methods are needed in order to keep consumers interested.

The report sums up with how, even though television is still a strong medium for viewing, mobile is definitely on the rise. With that, digital advertising has its strengths, but marketers need to do more with its brands and its writing in order to keep its audience engaged.

‘The Hunger Games’ Enters Virtual Reality

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Fans of The Hunger Games saga will find out the fate of Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Katniss Everdeen, when the final movie releases on November 20th. However, some will be able to experience the movie and book franchise in a more interactive way.

Earlier this month, Samsung unveiled its the Hunger Games Virtual Reality Experience in New York, introducing a few lucky fans to a special VR program that put them right into the troubled fantasy world. The demo featured a number of events, including the ability to join Katniss’ rebel army and hunker down into District 13, or simply paying a visit to the Capitol Gardens with President Snow before the arrows start flying.

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As reported by Moviepilot, Lionsgate worked hard with Samsung to create an unprecedented virtual reality experience, so fans would really feel like they were in the midst of the popular movie series.

Colin McGreal, designer and ReelFX director for the experience, talked about how the effort was worthwhile when it came to creating it for die-hard fans. “The CG and VR artists we worked with are used to working in video games but like this more,” he said. “They’re like, ‘This is great! We want to keep pushing the envelope.’ Instead of a game where you run around shooting people, we’re trying to give a cultural and emotional experience.”

The demo, which lasts around six minutes, presents a number of events that show the transformation of Katniss from the Capitol’s selection in The Hunger Games to the Districts’ leading heroine, the Mockingjay. It immerses users into a world where they can experience every major event from the demolishing of Panem to the final showdown with President Snow.

Those who want to try the demo out for themselves can do so at various Best Buy locations, which will be hosting it as part of a presentation for Samsung Gear VR devices.

This isn’t the first time that a movie studio has worked with a virtual reality presentation to deepen the experience. Several San Diego Comic-Con demos in the past revolved around popular films like Pacific Rim and Into the Storm. More recently, Paramount announced a special promotion with AMC Theaters featuring a demo for a forthcoming game based on its Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, which hits theaters tomorrow.