Mobile Game Revenue Grows Strongly In 2Q 2014

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Revenue for mobile games for both Apple and Android devices continues to grow, with great interest in a variety of titles, including the likes of World of Tanks Blitz and Minecraft: Pocket Edition. As such, it appears that spending is also picking up quite a bit as well.

A new report from App Annie and IDC, indicates that spending on mobile games has changed quite a bit over the previous year, in a report dubbed “Portable Gaming Spotlight.”

Within this time frame, Android shows an increase of more than eight percentage points in the combined smartphone and tablet user base, where other devices like BlackBerry and Windows Phone have faltered. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Google is playing such a big part in gaming, as 85 percent of its Google Play store is devoted to games.

While both iOS and Android games saw double-digit increases in revenue over 2013, iOS fell a little bit with its year-over-year share of 75 percent of app revenue. Both the App Store and Google Play have games representing just under half of all downloads.

However, in-game purchases are growing. Over on iOS, they’ve gained more than 70 percent worldwide over the previous year, even more so than Android. It also left handheld systems like the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita in the dust, although both of those machines could catch up with the forthcoming holiday season.

Out of all the games on the market, three dominated with ease — Puzzle & Dragons, Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans. Meanwhile, Game of War and Hay Day followed closely behind on iOS, while Monster Strike and The World of Mystic Wiz rounded out the top five on Android.

So where is the revenue jump coming from IDC researcher Lewis Ward believes it’s all in the hardware. “The revenue increase is mostly driven by the increase in smartphone and tablet ownership worldwide,” Ward said via email. “Sure, monetization in select games is up, but overall gamer ARPU (average revenue per user) on combined smartphones and tablets appears to be trending down marginally in 2014 compared to 2013,” he said.

Don’t be surprised if mobile gaming — and the spending that comes with it — continues to increase in the next year.

Source: Recode.net

Google Maps And ‘Destiny’ Go To Mars

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Activision’s epic first-person space shooter Destiny is just around the corner, and with it is coming a huge marketing push, including TV commercials, a song tie-in with musician Paul McCartney, and, now, a curious new partnership with Google Maps that allows players to explore planets when they aren’t playing the game.

Between Google and Activision, a new website called Destiny Planet View has launched, and enables players to explore different planets as part of a tie-in with the game. These include the moon, as well as Venus and Mars.

Put together using Google technology, the site works in a similar manner to Google Street View, allowing users to visit any of the planet’s terrain and look around in a real-time 360-degree view.

In addition, motionless scenes of characters from Destiny taking part in combat will be strewn in to the maps, giving players a chance to keep track of their friends and other first-person shooter fans while looking around. In addition, players can explore for screenshots, character art, 3D models and videos from the game, which help explain what they can expect from the experience.

Although the Destiny Planet View website does enable players to do a bit of poking around and see what the universe is like, a spokesman was quick to remind that the explorable areas are merely “a small slice” of the vast, open worlds that players can check out in the game itself.

Bungie, the developers of the Halo franchise, have been working tirelessly on the game for the past few years, and have promised a gaming world unlike which few players have ever seen.

More details on Destiny Planet View are available in the trailer below.

Destiny will be available in both digital and retail form on September 9th for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

Source: Recode.net

 

Marketers Need Tools To Be Personal

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Trends change within marketing all the time, and one that’s currently hot right now is personalization, as a lot of marketers are using data to create a viewpoint that customers can relate to. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone’s on board just yet.

A May 2014 study provided by Forrester Consulting (commissioned through ExactTarget Marketing Cloud) indicates that, despite the growth in interest in personalization, it’s still rather small, with just 18 percent of U.S. digital marketing decision-makers working to create a personalized customer experience across digital touchpoints as a general goal.

As you can see by the chart, there are some who would consider using certain ideas when it comes to targeting and personalization tactics. 86 percent feel that using personalization and targeting based on broad segmentation and simple clustering techniques to execute campaigns in individual digital channels would be ideal. Closely behind with 83 percent is the idea that it can be used with simple business rules, and campaigns can be executed across digital channels.

However, some tools still need to be firmly grasped when it comes to personalization, such as self-learning analytics that work in real time, machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. Not everyone, it seems, is ready for those tools just yet — but there’s no better time to learn.

The main hurdle is that some execs feel that these technologies aren’t the best when it comes to real-time targeting and making decisions. They fall behind when compared to web analytics and email marketing, sitting on the wayside next to the likes of A/B and multivariate testing tools and next-best offer technology.

Technology does create challenges for marketers, according to a supplementary poll from Experian Data Quality. These challenges emerge when it comes to making a single customer view that creates a representation of the data known by an organization. With the poll, 40 percent of those asked (which includes 24 percent of US data management professionals) believe that the inability to link different technologies together is the biggest challenge, followed by poor data quality and a lack of relevant technology.

It’ll be interesting to see if marketing folks change with the times. It never hurts to evolve a little.

Source: eMarketer

GamesBeat 2014 — September 15-16, 2014

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GamesBeat, a division of VentureBeat, has announced the final roster of participants for GamesBeat 2014 — the sixth annual event on disruption in the video game market. Being held on September 15-16 at the Parc 55 Wyndham in San Francisco, the event welcomes 500 of the leading figures in the industry for two days of panels, fireside chats, and networking.

This year’s theme is “Total World Domination.” Gaming is competing on the world stage to become the dominant medium for entertainment. Will it succeed And will the game business be dominated by blockbusters across all platforms — consoles, PCs, mobile, and online — or will diversity thrive as indies stay strong

They’ll explore these ideas and more at the must-attend, very efficient two-day event with the movers and shakers of gaming.

Our friends at VentureBeat are offering our network a 20% discount on tickets. Register now and save using the code “alist”.

Featured speakers include:

  • Andrew Wilson, CEO, EA
  • Mike Frazzini, VP of Games, Amazon
  • Rick Thompson, Managing Partner, Signia Venture Partners
  • Chris DeWolfe, CEO, SGN
  • Mike D. Gallagher, CEO, Entertainment Software Association
  • Lucy Bradshaw, SVP, Maxis, Electronic Arts
  • Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund
  • John Riccitiello, Investor, Syntertainment
  • Chris Petrovic, Head of Corporate Development & LIcensing, Kabam
  • Bob Mease, Head of Games Business Development, Google
  • Clive Downie, Chief Operating Officer, Zynga
  • Kym Nelson, SVP of Sales, Twitch
  • Will Harbin, CEO, Kixeye
  • Peter Molyneux, Creative Director, 22Cans
  • David Helgason, Co-Founder & CEO, Unity
  • See the full list here.

For more on the vision of GamesBeat 2014, including speaker updates and agenda changes, check out the event site.

 

Miu Miu Collaborates With Miranda July To Launch New App ‘Somebody’

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Artist and filmmaker Miranda July, in conjunction with fashion brand Miu Miu, has created an app called Somebody that works as a messaging service, with a twist of humanity.

The idea behind the innovative app is that a stranger in the vicinity of your friend will deliver a personal message you have drafted, in person. Users can type a message and then choose a qualified person to deliver it based on other users’ photos and ratings.The delivery person and recipient are then given one another’s picture and GPS-based location, so they can meet and the message can be delivered.

The app, developed by Stinkdigital, was released last Thursday by July at the Venice Film Festival with a branded film by Prada-owned Miu Miu, portraying various “typical” scenarios featuring “Somebody,” and all superbly acted. Some are both comedic and over-the-top while others are moving but still hilarious. For example, one of the notable scenes features a waitress reading out a marriage proposal to a woman in the middle of a restaurant.

The short film was both written and directed by July.

Source: Creativity-Online

 

Cookie Monster Gets Sesame Street App

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“Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C!” For years, Cookie Monster has found his way into the hearts of millions of kids (and adults) with his cookie-devouring antics and his goofy googly eyes. He’s also become a bigger star on the mainstream as of late, featured in a number of Sesame Street‘s more recent lampoons of a number of movies, including The Hunger Games.

Now, the big Monster is making his presence known on a new app, Cookie Monster’s Challenge. In the game, geared towards 3 to 5 year olds, players can take part in nine levels and 10 mini-games, learning self-control, focus and problem-solving while playing along with the lovable monster.

“We’ve created a series of fun brain-building games designed to challenge and engage young children and to help Cookie get what he desires the most – a cookie!” said Scott Chambers, senior vice president for Worldwide Media Distribution over at Sesame Workshop. “As children play, they practice important skills that are essential for school readiness.”

The game will closely follow the same school skills as the popular Sesame Street show, which will add new installments of Cookie’s Crumby Pictures to go along with the app. These segments will have Cookie Monster helping kids out with various coping strategies. Elmo the Musical and Super Grover 2.0 segments will also be introduced.

In addition, another game will also be released shortly after Cookie Monster’s Challenge. Titled Abby’s Sandbox Search, the game, which can be found on PBS’ Kids page this fall, lets players play along with letters, sounds and alliteration.

Meanwhile, Cookie Monster’s debut game will arrive on the App Store on September 15. There’s no word on pricing just yet, but it’s likely to cost around the same as, well, a package of cookies. Now that’s something worth certainly snacking on. NOM NOM.

Source: Mediapost

iPhone 6 Could Bring In New Advertising

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We’re just under one week away from Apple’s new showcase, which will take place on September 9th. It’s here that the company is possibly going to show off its new, larger iPhone model, as well as its debut in the smart watch market. However, the bigger focus will probably be on the new iPhone – and it’s something that marketers may want to watch out for.

With the devices reportedly clocking in with 4.7 and 5.5-inch screen displays, there’s greater capacity to creating custom advertising for the device, enabling users to still go forward with their experiences while ads appear somewhere around the screen.

“Folks gravitate to the larger screen, and some think ‘banner ad’, but that’s outdated thinking,” said Gian LaVecchia, managing partner at MEC. “We’re seeing programming delivered through mobile feeds. And there’s going to be a new richness to the canvas.”

Although company plans haven’t been revealed yet, Facebook does intend to launch a custom experience for the new device. Proof of this lies in the Hyperlapse app, which works on Instagram but actually utilizes Apple’s technology.

Changes to the iPhone’s design will actually cause quite a ripple, as more than 40 percent of smartphone users could be affected, according to a report from comScore. With screen adjustment and changes to location tracking in terms of policies, there could be new ways for marketers to work on mobile advertising. The new services around the iBeacon, which has also been rumored for reveal, could also open up new opportunities, such as being able to monitor health and push certain pharmaceutical brands as a result.

“We know pilot programs are taking place, and there’s a lot of activity testing going on with brands and the iBeacon,” said Alan Simkowski, vice president of mobile solutions at GMR. A lot of companies are already trying out said program, with Faberge, Tribeca Film Festival and the Orlando Magic rumored to be on board.

One other interesting note is that the new device could light up with notifications, giving users a reason to check it more often. “With enhanced notifications, it’s even better for brands and retailers,” said Simkowski. “On the brand side, there are opportunities to engage people based on their location if they opt in. Then it’s clear sailing.”

We’ll know more about Apple’s devices next week.

Source: Adweek

What Marketers Can Learn From The Science of Cinema

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Movies have a way of really sucking us in to the experience, whether it’s by superb visual effects, an intriguing story, or some actor’s performance that you just can’t take your eyes off of. However, some moves pull off an even bigger trick – they somehow get you to empathize with certain characters, depending on what’s happening.

Talma Hendler, a neuroscientist with the Tel Aviv University in Israel, spoke about such an occurrence during a recent event hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. One example Hendler used was with Darren Aronofsky’s drama Black Swan, explaining how Natalie Portman’s ballerina character is stressed beyond belief while competing against another dancer for a starring role in a play.

In that time frame, she hallucinates, thinking feathers are poking through her skin, meaning that she actually believes she’s becoming part of the play. “My suggestion to you is that as Nina is getting crazier and crazier, the audience experiences something like schizophrenia,” said Hendler.

Aronofsky was actually on stage with Hendler when she said this, but took it as a compliment. His films have always had some sort of emotional factor about them anyway, whether it was with a mathematician going crazy in Pi or Mickey Rourke’s character pushing himself to the breaking point in The Wrestler.

“We’re always thinking about how to get into an emotional state, moment by moment, and how to bring as much of the audience along with us,” Aronofsky said.

With the study, movies can actually be helpful when it comes to studying the fluctuating emotions in real time, and what’s happening with brain activity as a result. Empathy plays a big part in this, broken into two different halves.

The first is mental empathy, in which audience members step outside of themselves and think about what another person may be going through. The other kind is embodied empathy, in which someone feels a more sudden emotional punch if something is happening to a character on-screen.

Another clip from Chris Columbus’ Stepmom was also used, demonstrating the sadness felt for Susan Sarandon’s character at one point in the movie, with a lot of emotional activity running high.

With actual brain studies as being part of the report, audience members were able to see just what kind of impact was being made with these films, through both types of empathy. However, Aronofsky felt that there’s an alternative interpretation at hand, believing that audience members use mental empathy in terms of trying to contemplate what’s happening. “The audience is going, “What’s happening Is she really transforming into a swan ‘ and they’re slowly discovering that we’re really going to go for it,” he said.

Marketers should be able to see the implications here for creating marketing campaigns that create a greater impact and better engagement.

More details on the report can be found here.

Source: Wired

Cartoon Network Teams Up With Game Creator

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It’s funny how a little KickStarter project can actually find a great deal of success, especially with the right business partner in tow. That’s certainly the case with Pixel Press, an application that got its start on the crowdfunding site, driven by Robin Rath and Josh Stevens.

After it met its funding, the company Pixel Press has gone on to produce its first app, a game creation tool. Now, Cartoon Network is using the team’s services for a new mobile game, one that was well received this past weekend at the PAX Prime event in Seattle, Washington.

Adventure Time Game Wizard allows players to control the show’s two main characters, Finn and Jake, as they thwart enemies through a side-scrolling adventure. The game works in a similar manner to Pixel Press’s Floors app.

Cartoon Network actually stumbled across the company when the Digital team’s partnership manager, Ryan Harwell, found its KickStarter page. Soon after, a partnership was formed.

“Our shows have a unique voice, and we want to carry that to our digital products,” said Chris Waldron, vice president of Cartoon Network Digital’s team. “When we set out to make games, we want to do something new and novel, and the best place to find some of that is through independent developers across the world.”

The move has been beneficial for Pixel Press, allowing the team to show off its game creation tool and possibly move forward with even more developments. Two additional game creation apps, Quest and Tracks, will further showcase what it can do in 2015.

“It’s been an exciting journey for us,” said Rath, co-founder and CEO for the company. “The joy of building a game, working with awesome characters like Jake and Finn, and then putting it out there for others to enjoy. It’s exactly the excitement we want to replicate for all our creators.”

The game should be out soon for mobile devices.

Source: Recode.net

PAX Prime 2014 Recap: Fun For All

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We’ve previously talked about the Penny Arcade Expo shows – PAX, for short – and how this year’s Seattle event, PAX Prime, would be beneficial for all parties involved, including attendees, fans and companies alike. Well, after going through all four days of the event throughout the entire Labor Day weekend, I can easily say that it’s an event that lives up to the hype.

PAX is the sort of event that thrives on its community. You have developers and publishers eager to get its products into the hands of gamers, including Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, as well as “indie” publishers that don’t often get exposure in those circles, giving them a chance to talk to the fans directly. This weekend’s event definitely had plenty of people around to chat with.

Perhaps the biggest highlights from the show were the new announcements. During a lively PAX panel (in which president Randy Pitchford accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and doused himself with water on-stage), new downloadable content for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel was announced; Deep Silver announced the newest entry in its comical action series Saints Row, with this chapter taking place in Hell’s dominion; and Harmonix presented a new music/rhythm shooter for PC called A City Sleeps.

Those who weren’t attending PAX also got to partake in plenty of gaming action. Nintendo hosted a special event for its Legend of Zelda combat game Hyrule Warriors, coming later this month for Wii U, that brought fans out in droves. Harmonix also hosted a special Disney’s Fantasia: Music Evolved area at the Manchester Hyatt, where different songs and play styles could be explored.

And, again, smaller developers found plenty of exposure in the spotlight at the event. James Silva’s new game, the action-based side-scrolling Salt and Sacrifice, looks to be one of the PlayStation 4’s most promising titles. Devolver Digital’s Titan Souls could easily be an adventure game that reminds players of the Legend of Zelda games of old. And the space shooter Galak-Z could be a real head-turner when it debuts in early 2015.

PAX Prime was certainly a success, and fans won’t have to wait long for the next show, as PAX South is set to debut this January in San Antonio, Texas. Bring on the community.

Source: PAX