Twitter Takes On Live Video With Periscope

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Video apps are becoming more and more popular these days, providing users with many ways to showcase what they’re doing with clips and live video feeds. Twitter, no stranger to sociality with its popular media-based site, intends to get in on this action with a newly launched video application called Periscope.

The app comes on the heels of Twitter’s acquisition of the site in a reported $100 million deal, and gives it access to a service that its millions of users are likely to latch onto, with live streaming support and other features, according to Variety.

“We think it’s a perfect complement to Twitter, which is why we acquired the company in January,” said vice president of product Kevin Well, in a blog post early today.

The app, which is available now for iOS devices through Apple’s iTunes store, allows users to create, edit and post videos up to 30 seconds in length, quintupling the time allowed for Vine videos (six seconds). With it, Twitter hopes to take on the popular Meerkat service, which launched last month to great success with its live broadcasting capability.

With Periscope, users simply need to push a button to activate live streaming, which in turn posts on their Twitter account that they’re broadcasting. “We wanted to create the closest thing to teleportation,” said the team in its recent blog post. “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you some place and show you around.”

Twitter hasn’t figured out the financial side of Periscope just yet, as a business model wasn’t introduced at the time of the app’s launch. Big-name partners could be the golden ticket, as Meerkat currently has the likes of The Tonight Show‘s Jimmy Fallon, who uses the app to show what’s happening behind-the-scenes.

That said, the app could be a “positive game-changer for the company,” according to Rosenblatt Securities analyst Martin Pyykkonen. “Periscope enables live streaming video from mobile and other devices, which effectively can mean personalized live video content delivery over the Twitter platform. We think this could have profound implications for usage/engagement on Twitter and be one other challenge for traditional linear media delivery, as users would spend more time selectively watching live-streaming video from people and subjects that they follow as part of their Interest Graph.”

Early impressions from a number of users indicate that Periscope is very easy to use, and even “addictive” in some cases. But some believe that Meerkat will still take a lot to top, especially considering that it just landed $14 million in funding. David Pierce with Wired said, “Meerkat’s already caught on with some important people, and Periscope isn’t so obviously better that it will destroy the competition on impact. Especially not when the competition has a slight head start. For now, having both Periscope and Meerkat on your phone is easy enough, and as people continue to learn about live-streaming in general, each probably benefits from the other. But eventually, as the apps try to build larger and more exclusive social networks, it’s hard to imagine two live-streaming apps both winning out.”

We’ll see how well the app does over the next few months. For now, check out the sample clip below to see how effectively it works, per TechCrunch.

Russia Gets a Free-To-Play Version of ‘Halo’

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The Halo series has been a popular franchise for Microsoft over the past few years, and that success is sure to continue later this year when Halo 5: Guardians debuts for Xbox One. However, in the meantime, the company has chosen to expand the franchise, this time as a free-to-play title for an entirely new market – Russia.

GamesBeat is reporting that 343 Industries, the developers of Halo 4, The Master Chief Collection and the forthcoming Guardians, will produce the Halo Online spin-off, which will launch exclusively in Russia this spring. The title is currently in early beta testing, and developer Saber Interactive, alongside information technology company InnovaSystems, will operate the game as an ongoing service once it launches.

The Russian gaming market is actually quite huge, and an ideal fit for Halo Online. It currently generates around $1.5 billion in online games, with WarGaming’s World of Tanks leading the charge, and a title like Halo would easily fit in their gaming demographic.

“Halo Online is powered by a highly modified version of the Halo 3 engine and optimized for smooth performance on lower-end PCs,” said 343 in a blog post. “[It] is a learning opportunity for us as we explore ways to welcome new fans to the Halo universe. We’re excited to release a Halo multiplayer-only PC experience tailored for Russian gamers.”

This isn’t the first time that a major publisher has tailored a popular franchise to an exclusive overseas market, as Activision previously released a variation of its Call of Duty series exclusively for China, complete with online play.

With Halo Online‘s release in Russia, the game is likely to cater to other gaming markets, including the Ukraine, Poland and Romania. A report from SuperData Research indicates that spending on games in Russia and its other nations make up about 80 percent of overall spending in Eastern Europe, which actually grew an estimated seven percent in 2014, up from the previous year’s numbers.

We probably won’t be seeing Halo Online outside of the Russian market, mainly for two reasons. Number one, that particular gaming experience is catered specifically to that market, even though its gameplay would certainly be accepted by the hardcore fans of the series. Secondly, and this is probably most obvious, Microsoft doesn’t want to take any focus off of the Halo console releases, especially with Guardians prepping for release this fall. (Activision probably has similar thinking with Call of Duty Online, thus why it remains exclusive to China.)

So, enjoy, Russian fans. This Halo‘s for you.

A Hands-On Approach To Virtual Reality

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Playing virtual reality games is one thing, but playing virtual reality games will full involvement of your body is another.

While experiencing a game like Doom 3: BFG Edition while wearing an Oculus Rift headset and a controller can be thrilling, some players prefer the “full” virtual reality experience, using body tracking to implement their entire selves into the game, so they actually feel more of said experience, instead of “just another game.”

A report from Re/code indicates this, as the site explains that making a mount for the player to wear just isn’t enough for a gaming experience, especially with developers trying to make more involved applications.

With that, Leap Motion has begun work on a new virtual reality-based experiment, one that hand-tracking sensors that implement their usage into certain games and applications. Many OEM’s are already on board with the project, including Razer, which introduced its Open Source Virtual Reality headset earlier this month at the Game Developers Conference.

The original headset, dubbed the “hacker dev kit,” is set to ship this June for $200, although those who want to use Magic Leap’s hand-tracking technology – probably a wise decision when it comes to app development – can opt to pay around $280 instead, even though the price isn’t finalized.

With the technology, Leap hopes to focus more on the virtual reality front. “Reaching into a computer, grabbing an object and having it move exactly as if you touched it – there’s something magical and powerful about that,” said Leap CEO Michael Buckwals about the technology. “VR is now a mature enough market that it probably is our top priority, and it’s because it’s the truest form of that original vision.”

Various types of controls may be used with VR, but CTO David Holz added that hand-tracking really is the best bet when it comes to the ultimate experience in VR. “If you want to play a racing game, having a wheel and pedals is probably going to be the best experience, or if I’m playing a shooter, having some kind of gun thing,” he explained. “But I’m not going to use the gun thing for the driving game. I’m not going to use the driving wheel for the gun game.”

The company has already put an “interaction engine” into play with the hand-tracking software, where users can “grip” onto items in an environment. No word yet on how this will be implicated into app usage, but developers are sure to find a way.

Other OEM’s could partner up with the technology down the road, but for now, Magic Leap simply wants to perfect hand-tracking. We’ll have to see where this goes – virtually – over the next few months.

Media Companies Love Snapchat, and Here’s Why

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In the past, we’ve discussed Snapchat’s somewhat pricey advertising plans, and how some companies were hesitant to jump on board — especially for a daily $750,000 asking price. Lately, though, there seems to be more reasons why companies should jump on board its social program — and most of that comes from its young demographic.

A report from Re/code states that media companies and advertisers alike would benefit from the Snapchat audience, mainly because they’re getting harder to track down in other forms of media. comScore recently posted a report indicating that the user demographic has a strong reach on the social app, with 71 percent of its users falling within the 18-34 age range. Out of those, the number of 18-24 year olds are slightly smaller at 45 percent, but that’s still a high count that shouldn’t be ignored.

The chart above breaks down demographic composition across age groups for all social sites, and, as you can see, the 18-24 range leads by a larger number on Snapchat than on other sites, dominating at 45 percent while other sites range from 15 to 28 percent.

With that, despite paying incredibly high fees to advertise on the site, companies have a better chance of reaching said audience through “flash” ads and other types of programming for Snapchat. And the app’s new Discovery platform makes it easier for certain ads to be seen, making the investment worthwhile.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that more companies are hopping on-board the program — in fact, we suggested in a recent article why brands need to hop on the app’s bandwagon. With its young audience still going strong, and more people discovering both the main app and Discover every day, it’s likely to continue its success. Granted, that could mean even higher rates as its popularity grows, but, as suggested by comScore, investment would be a wise idea when it comes to a campaign’s outreach.

You could say that companies should, ahem, “snap” to it . . .

F8’s Biggest Announcements Today

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GIF Integration Into Facebook Messenger

Perhaps a little surprising that Facebook had announced payment capabilities within the Messenger app a week ago, but today’s big Messenger announcement went to the little image type that could: the gif. Why Because it’s fun.

The Ability To Embed Video

Video is hugely important to Facebook this year as the push to get creators to upload video content native to the platform has the payoff of getting the reach and engagement Facebook can provide. While YouTube has allowed embedded video for some time, making their videos more likely to be distributed by publishers, Facebook is now embeddable too.

For marketers, Facebook video is no longer just relegated to the Newsfeed and can reach more eyeballs.

‘Spherical’ Videos

No regular ol’ videos will do anymore. As we prepare for the inevitable VR takeover, we suspect quite a lot of Facebook videos in the coming few weeks will take advantage of ‘spherical,’ more interactive video. We hope it has more longevity than Hyperlapse.

Facebook App Analytics

Facebook has been integrated into more and more apps lately. Now, a new free tool courtesy of Facebook will allow developers to better understand how users are using them and just how effective the marketing campaigns are. For mobile games, knowing how well your Facebook campaign is acquiring users is crucial.

The LiveRail Ad Platform Expands

LiveRail ads are no longer relegated to just the desktop anymore and are going mobile. This time, LiveRail will support display and native ads, too. Sounds just like another ad platform, Google

Stay tuned for news about Oculus tomorrow and what other interesting announcments Facebook has up their sleeves.
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Vrideo Ready To Tackle Virtual Reality

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With virtual reality ready to make a big splash on the consumer market this year, many video services are stepping up to provide content set to take them into the next dimension. Among these competitors is the L.A.-based start-up company Vrideo, who recently underwent a round of seed funding to push its service to the next level.

Re/code recently reported that Vrideo has huge ambitions, deeming itself “the home of immersive video” in the hopes of becoming the YouTube of the virtual reality market. With this service, interested parties can upload and stream content directly to the channel, allowing those with virtual reality headsets – or regular computers, via the Vrideo website – to view to their heart’s content.

Although the site recently just launched, Vrideo recently acquired $1.8 million in seed funding across various investors, including Lere Hippeau Ventures, Advancit, Betaworks and popular rap superstar Nas. That should help the company boost its video library over the next few months – just in time for when Sony’s Project Morpheus and Facebook’s oft-delayed Oculus Rift finally come to market.

So far, Vrideo’s library is small, and there are mild concerns when it comes to having the right bandwidth and storage costs required to keep it up and running. However, the company appears ready for the challenge that lies ahead.

Accessibility will be important to Vrideo as well. CEO Alex Rosenfeld has stated that video makers won’t be charged for uploading their content, and, for the time being, all content being offered on the site is free of charge. In the future, the company may likely introduce a program where content creators can sell certain clips, and companies could come on board with interactive advertising.

There will be plenty of competition out there when virtual reality finally hits its stride in the consumer market this year, but here’s hoping that Vrideo finds its niche and builds the kind of audience – creators and viewers alike – to make a hearty dent in it.

Image source

New PS4 Update Will Introduce Hard Drive Support

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The new game systems on the market these days are quite impressive, but both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have one hitch that’s hard to overlook – most of the games that are downloaded take a great deal of space, anywhere from 1GB all the way up to 50GB. And considering both of these consoles ship with a general 500GB hard drive, they can fill up very quickly.

However, Sony has recently introduced a solution that will work along the same lines as what Microsoft provided to Xbox One owners a few months ago – the ability to back up data on an external hard drive.

Sony detailed this update in a recent PlayStation Blog post, indicating that it will go live tomorrow and introduce the ability to use a hard drive plugged in to the PlayStation 4 system. Although specific sizes weren’t mentioned, it appears that hard drives anywhere from 1TB to 3TB can be used.

According to Sony, using a hard drive lets users “back-up and restore your hard disc drive data associated with users on your PS4, including settings, saved data, screenshots and video clips as well as games, patches and download data, to and from an external USB drive.”

This is good news for players who, up until this point, were forced to update the internal hard drive on the PlayStation 4 console, which only supports up to 1.5TB in size. With this increase in space, more games can be downloaded, including premium titles like The Order: 1886 and the recently released Bloodborne.

The free update will also provide a number of requested features from players, including the ability to suspend and resume games with the push of a button (even after turning off the system), being able to find friends easier through the “Yukimura” social tools, and improved Remote Play performance.

The hard drive support is the biggest deal, as it allows players to keep their game libraries intact, while making room for new additions. And with more new games, like Shovel Knight and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, on the way, it’s definitely needed.

More details on the update can be found here.

Now Hiring This Week: March 25th

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[a]listdaily is your source for the hottest job openings for senior management and marketing in games, entertainment and social media. Check here every Wednesday for the latest openings.

Read up on 10 ways to be a better employee.

  • RIot Games – Brand Manager (Santa Monica, Calif.)
  • EA – Senior Director, Strategic Planning & Engagement (Redwood City, Calif.)
  • SEGA/Relic – Brand Manager (Los Angeles, Calif.)
  • GSN – Director of Marketing, Casino (San Francisco, Calif.)
  • Ayzenberg – Social Media Intern (Pasadena, Calif.)
  • Ayzenberg – VP, Digital (Pasadena, Calif.)

For last week’s [a]list jobs postings, click here. Have a position you’d like to place with us Email us at pr@ayzenberg.com.

Cinedigm CEO Chris McGurk On Con TV And The Distributor’s Growing OTT Plans

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by: Sahil Patel

Everybody from HBO to AwesomenessTV is going over-the-top. The appeal is easy to understand: As viewers of all ages increasingly demand more control over when and how they can watch their favorite video content, the content owners have to adapt lest they lose the viewers to somebody else.

What’s interesting about the growing OTT craze, though, is who’s getting involved as much as why. It’s not just the major traditional and digital media brands.

Take, for example, Cinedigm, an independent distributor that controls more than — titles. With that kind of library, it makes sense for Cinedigm to launch over-the-top channels like Docurama, which focuses on documentary films and TV series, and Con TV, which focuses on geek and nerd culture.

With Con TV launching just a few weeks ago, we spoke with Cinedigm’s chairman and CEO, Chris McGurk, on the channel launch, its partnership with Comic-Con producer Wizard World, and how Cinedigm is approaching its expanding OTT business.

Read more…

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

 

Nintendo’s ‘Splatoon’ Aims To Change Shooters

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Ask people what kind of shooters they’re playing in video games these days, and they’re likely to rattle off a high-quality – yet mature-rated – title like Call of Duty or Halo, franchises that have managed to sell millions of copies around the world, and should continue to flourish with new entries set for release later this year. But what if a company introduced a game with hardcore shooting controls, but with a theme that would make it enjoyable for players of all ages

That’s exactly what Nintendo will be doing with Splatoon when it releases for the Wii U this May. This third-person action game takes all the familiar components from a competitive shooter, but replaces the hardcore weaponry and explosions with paint. Lots and lots of paint. In fact, it’s easy to say that it’s the video game equivalent of a paintball war, but with a twist.

The goal in Splatoon is to cover as much terrain with paint as possible within the enclosed map. This includes shooting walls, floors and other spaces, before the enemy can cover up the area with their paint. However, there’s an advantage to having more paint around, as players can transform temporarily into squids, moving at a faster pace across a map and also refilling their paint gun at the same time.

Along with shooting the terrain, players can also shoot at their adversaries, “taking them out” and forcing them to regenerate back at their home base. So, to some extent, there are some hardcore shooting elements at play in Splatoon, but instead of over-the-top carnage, players see explosions of paint. In addition, other elements from shooters are featured here, such as super-powered bazookas that can cover a greater area with a single shot, and bombs that act as grenades, splattering paint across a limited area – and, again, “taking out” enemies in the way.

Ever since its introduction during Nintendo’s E3-oriented Nintendo Direct special last year, Splatoon has been building buzz. But when the game made its playable debut at PAX East in Boston earlier this month , people started to take notice. Nintendo set up an eight-person competitive booth – with teams of four taking on one another. Players waited in line for hours on end to get in on the action, and experience this weird yet magical little title that Nintendo is producing. The video below shows just how popular the game was at the event.

The game will have full online support, along with local multiplayer options for those who prefer a “couch” session with their friends. There will be a number of maps available, and players will be able to “level up” accordingly, even earning access to bigger and better weapons, including a giant paint roller that can mow down anything in its path.

However, it’s the unique non-violent approach that should make Splatoon stand out, as both kids and veteran shooter fans should have no problem getting into the competitive spirit of the game, but splatting paint instead of blood everywhere. That should no doubt please parents, while, at the same time, bringing hardcore Nintendo fans in droves to check the game out as well.

Nintendo’s marketing move at PAX East showed an awareness of Splatoon‘s potential, and how the game benefits from hands-on experience and the enjoyment of the spectators. Perhaps Nintendo will continue to put effort into marketing this title, yet another one that could help move Wii U consoles into the market.

It’ll be messy, but Splatoon definitely looks like a game changer for the shooter genre . . . and Nintendo, for that matter.