CES 2017: Carnival Gamifies Cruise Industry With New Wearable Medallion

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Carnival Corporation kicks off CES 2017 with its first-ever press conference and booth. The world’s largest cruise company, which has 10 brands, is showcasing Ocean Medallion technology. The 1.8-ounce wearable disc, about the size of a quarter, will make the cruise experience more engaging for Princess Cruise passengers beginning this November aboard the Regal Princess. The first Medallion Class ship will be joined by the Caribbean Princess and Royal Princess in January 2018 and March 2018, respectively.

The Ocean Medallion is the brainchild of John Padgett, chief experience and innovation officer at Carnival Corp. Padgett has been developing this new seamless chip, which includes a proprietary real-time artificial intelligence genome to make recommendations for each passenger, since 2014. Padgett is the man who spearheaded Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ MagicBand technology, which launched in 2013 and allows guests to use a single wearable to interact in Disney’s Orlando resorts and theme parks.

Padgett told [a]listdaily that he’s taking that Disney concept to another level, thanks to advances in new technology like Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC). The Medallion blends that technology with a proprietary Internet of Things layer through the Ocean Compass, a digital experience portal that acts as an ocean concierge.

“Using a MagicBand or an iPhone to pay for something requires you to hold something up against the reader, but the Medallion never comes out of your pocket or purse,” Padgett said, discussing how the technology works. In addition to enabling guests to open and lock doors automatically, purchase merchandise, services, food, beverages and excursions without any swipes or taps, Carnival is creating an array of interactive gaming and other personalized entertainment experiences for the Medallion.

“Gamification is a big part of our strategy,” Padgett explained. “One of the original drivers behind the cruise industry was casinos. While casinos are still casinos, gaming is a much bigger space. We view casinos as a function of gaming. When you have a digital layer around everything, everything can be gamified.”

Guests can use the Medallion to access Ocean Play, which offers a variety of casual and social games that can be played anywhere, including the guest stateroom on a large TV. “You can play the same game or similar game from the casino on any mobile device,” Padgett said. “You can turn off the gambling component to any game, and even play non-gambling versions on shore at any time even when you’re not on a cruise.”

Carnival has developed a story-based game around a pirate king and queen conspiring to steal your virtual money. Games will be spread across all the different physical spaces of the ship. As part of being retrofitted for this new technology, 4,000 interactive portals will be installed on each of the ships to open up new ways to interact.

“We’ll have everything from 24/7 bingo with virtual bingo cards, to multiplayer social games, to avatar-based engagements,” Padgett said. “The ships will also offer a poker passport, where the Medallion will track engagement across different experiences on the ship will unlock digital cards on a guest’s Compass, and at end of the day, they can play that hand.”

Gaming also will connect with the new Tag Along program, which allows passengers to create a custom digital avatar that shows up in certain spaces on the ship like in glass, on atriums and in the stateroom, as well as on smartphones, tablets and PCs when on or off the ship.

“We’ve gamified the Medallion to show guests that there’s a digital dimension to the experience,” Padgett said. “That experience has been designed to live persistently across smart devices before, during and after the cruise. In addition to being able to access games on mobile devices any time, Carnival will offer guests access to its Ocean Network of original content.

Over time, the Medallion will expand even further beyond the ship, airport and cruise terminals. Padgett envisions that Carnival’s private islands will be equipped with interactive portals and later public ports of calls will interact with the wearable device. “I could see a Bejeweled-style mobile game where you have to go to physical retail jewelry locations on shore to see physical jewels that are then unlocked as part of the video game,” Padgett said. “Our location-based services are best in the world.”

The Medallion will essentially eliminate the points-based loyalty programs that many cruise lines, airlines, hotels and other travel industries utilize.

“The reason you collect all these points in today’s world is because there’s some experiential activity and because you’re loyal,” Padgett said. “We’re less about categories and more about a linear slope. The more you engage with the Medallion, the better your experience is. We don’t need to have an artificial reward.”

CES 2017: ODG Previews Consumer AR Smartglasses

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CES 2017 kicks off this week in Las Vegas and augmented reality (AR) will be a central theme at the show. Osterhout Design Group (ODG) is debuting a pair of new AR smartglasses that will ship in the second half of 2017 that have been designed for the early adopter consumer marketplace. Both wearables feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 processor, which will open up a variety of gaming, entertainment and work functionality in AR. The R-8 will retail for under $1,000 and deliver a 40-degree view in 720p high definition with a 16:9 aspect ratio and weighs just 4.5 ounces. Additionally, the R-9 weighs 6.5 ounces, will retail for $1,800, and features a 50-degree view in 1080p high definition with a modular system that allows for gaming and other add-ons.

Pete Jameson, chief operating officer at ODG, told [a]listdaily that the Pokemon GO phenomenon will help his company bring smartglasses into the mainstream beginning this year.

“Pokemon GO took AR from early adopters and innovators and brought it into the masses,” Jameson said. “People that had no idea what we do or how we do it are chasing Pikachu around the neighborhood. We put Pokemon GO on the R-7 and superimposed it in the real world with our glasses. From an awareness standpoint, and informing the broader consumer market, it’s been fantastic. It’s similar to the impact Google Glass had with fantastic awareness, but then the reality of the experience was limited.”

Back in 2013, Google Glass was limited by the technology available at the time. “Google Glass was a low resolution static display off your up high and out of your field of view,” Jameson said. “Now picture putting on slightly oversized sunglasses that’s a full mobile computer—like a high-end tablet on your head. It’s Android-based and can do everything a smartphone or tablet can do. And it puts a 120-foot monitor floating in front of your eyes. The image quality is like watching an HD monitor. Our goal is to marry mobile architecture with this visual experience that allows you to experience VR content with no pixels—replicating the cinematic experience at a high level with augmented reality experiences that blend the digital and real world.”

ODG, which just raised a record $58 million in a Series A funding round from companies including 21st Century Fox, Shenzhen O-film Tech Co. and Vanfund Urban Investment & Development, is the first wearable powered by Qualcomm’s advanced processor. That opens up a lot of new opportunities for gaming, along with Android and Unity support. The company will showcase multiple AR demos powered by Vuforia, including the world’s first interactive racing game that combines augmented, virtual and mixed reality.

“We’re going early with these smartglasses at CES is to start and build that momentum in the developer community,” Jameson said. “We’ve already talked to all of the big game publishers.”

Strategically, focusing on Android has opened the door to a lot of games that can be optimized for the smartglasses. In addition, VR games will also run on the wearables. “You can’t take your game and have it run immediately because of the differences in the display systems, so a little work needs to be done,” Jameson said. “But it’s very straightforward and we expect developers to modify games for our glasses.”

Jameson said that if a game is developed with Unity, it will also be a straightforward to port from Windows 10 to ODG’s smartglasses. This opens the door in the future for VR games developed for Microsoft’s HoloLens and potentially Project Scorpio. “We love what’s happening in VR today, where there are a lot of developers creating great content and generating awareness,” Jameson said. “With our front-facing cameras, we’re merging digital content with the real world and taking VR and making it mobile.”

Outside of gaming, ODG will be demonstrating a variety of entertainment experiences from Fox, including an AR Alien experience, as well as Fox News, Fox Sports and National Geographic content. “We’ll have a series of experiences to showcase how these smartglasses would be used from a consumer perspective, from email and web browsing and 360 videos to mobile VR, augmented and mixed reality entertainment, and education,” Jameson said.

Having already become a staple across enterprise, scientific and educational fields with its R-7 smartglasses, ODG is expanding to the consumer market for the first time. ODG will be distributing the R-8 and R-9 globally this year. The company signed a deal in December with China Mobile’s MIGU.

“Eventually, we believe that head-worn devices will replace all the screens in your life,” Jameson said. “However today, R-8 and R-9 are designed as devices that complement your handheld devices, offering a richer and interactive visual experience for specific use cases. The glasses aren’t designed to be worn all the time, but rather to pull out of your pocket to play games, watch movies or use as a hands-free enterprise tool.”

A Look Ahead: Experts Discuss How VR Will Grow In 2017

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The launch of the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR (PSVR) and Google Daydream made 2016 a landmark year for virtual reality, but the technology is just getting started, and there’s still a long road ahead. However, many remain optimistic about the direction VR is headed, so [a]listdaily asked a panel of industry insiders and experts their thoughts on how they think virtual reality technology will grow in 2017. Here’s what they had to say:

“We are seeing two areas of growth emerge for VR in 2017. The in-home PC/console market and mobile VR will remain a niche but a growing one as more AAA content enters the marketplace. Location-based VR, whether in theme parks, malls, arcades, theaters or at events, will also be a significant driver. It really is remarkable to see how much fun VR is in a communal setting. For Lionsgate and Starbreeze’s John Wick Chronicles, we’re attracting huge lines at game conferences and Comic-Cons around the world. VR is a spectator sport in many ways. I think that’s why some major players, including IMAX and Starbreeze, with whom we are partnered, are investing heavily in location-based VR. It’s creating a new revenue stream for content creators and will be a very effective tool for broadening awareness and enthusiasm for VR.” – Daniel Engelhardt, VP of interactive ventures, games and virtual reality, Lionsgate Entertainment

“In all our years of business experience, we’ve never seen the reception or interest in a technology that intersects so many different industries. The biggest entertainment and consumer brands are all interested in virtual reality. We are just at the beginning of what will happen with virtual reality. Think of it as the original brick cell phone—as we’ve seen with mobile phones and other consumer technologies, virtual reality is only going to get better. There has been incredible momentum within the last year and interest in virtual reality is only escalating. We continue to explore every opportunity with unbridled enthusiasm.

“The next two years we will see incredible growth in the adoption of virtual reality. As new flagship mobile phones add chipsets specifically for viewing virtual reality, which is already happening, and our platform is added to gaming systems, we will see adoption take off. As a company, we’re focused on maximizing our expansion into sports and large-scale event broadcasting, remaining open to the possibility of venturing into new fields in the future. We’re looking forward to continually producing exciting entertainment events for passionate, expanding fan bases.” – Danny Keens, VP of content, NextVR

“You only have to look at the media awareness to get a sense of where this is going. There are large predictions and financial publications that talk about how the growth of the industry should be $100 billion+ in less than four years. I think that awareness is driving tech development, and it will very soon drive quality content, but we’re not at a tipping point yet. Right now, we’re moving upward and I think we’re going to see more people get into the game in 2017. The business is going to reach unprecedented buzz by Christmas, and you’ll see the tipping point start to happen when we get into 2018. A myriad of things are going to happen then. The goggles, which are big, clunky things right now, will be streamlined and Bluetooth activated on hardware that’s much leaner and sleeker.

“We need to have the tech revolution continue on hardware, we need to see more producers get into the game, and I think all that will really start to move late 2017 and into 2018. So far, the energy seems to be there and we’re well positioned for success.” – Neil Mandt, founder and CEO, Mandt VR

“New native VR ad formats and questions surrounding metrics will become more complicated in 2017. Determining what an impression is and qualifying consumer engagements in the richer, multi-dimensional, more dynamic VR environments is a challenge industry stakeholders must embrace. We need to think about what counts and why, especially as this sector evolves toward a sustainable, long-term business partly financed by a vital advertising component. In 2017, the VR advertising industry should seek out the forward-thinking publishers and creators, and help them work closely with brands and media buyers to test and discover the best ways to measure people’s experiences within VR environments.” – Vince Cacace, founder and CEO, Vertebrae

“We expect VR to be huge, but mass appeal will be led by VR video consumed through high-end mobile VR devices. Apple is taking a risk by not having a high-end VR solution on the market. The NBA advertises their VR service with images of the Samsung Galaxy Gear. Anyone with an iOS device and an interest in watching NBA games (or other entertainment content) live in VR will be forced to try one of the cheap solutions which deliver an extremely poor experience compared to devices that are optimized for VR such as Samsung’s product. This can harm the initial adoption of VR as well as the brand image of Apple in addition to the risk of losing mobile phone users to Samsung. Chinese manufacturers, Xiaomi and Huawei, have recently launched high-end solutions for the China market that has, similar to Japan, had a high adoption rate of VR.

“VR games are cool and will entertain the enthusiast, but partially because of mismatch in business models (pay upfront entertainment while the whole industry has just moved to games-as-a-service), initial revenues will be limited. It is the natural match (in terms of business models) between concerts and sports, in combination with the mass appeal, that makes us more interested in the VR video space at the moment. If 10,000 people per NBA game from everywhere across the globe put up $10 to watch a game in VR, it would open up a new revenue stream of over $100+ million a year for the NBA.” – Peter Warman, CEO, Newzoo

“I’m excited about the chances of mainstream VR in 2017. Broader manufacturer and developer support for Google Daydream will push mobile VR forward, and the first truly must-have content will arrive for high-end VR. In addition, Microsoft is well positioned to take advantage of the mid-generation console releases to push console VR forward. The Scorpio’s power will be able to play more advanced VR content and competition between third-party HMD manufacturers should lower the cost of console headsets.” – Patrick Walker, VP of insights and analytics, EEDAR

‘Sausage Party’ Director Talks About Serving Up A Sequel, VR and Video Games

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Sausage Party started out as a joke, according to Conrad Vernon, director of the Sony Pictures computer-animated film. Whenever Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen were asked what their next project was, they’d say “Sausage Party.” Then one night, the two—along with writer Evan Goldberg—actually started to think about what that movie would be. They started riffing on ideas about a grocery store where the sausages got out of their package at night to desperately seek buns out to have sex.

The end result was a $19 million R-rated comedy that earned over $140 million at the box office. Vernon, who spoke at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy, talked to [a]listdaily about the impact that success is already having on Hollywood in this exclusive interview.

sausage-party-movieHow challenging was it to convince Hollywood to have an R-rated computer animated movie?

Extremely challenging. Three years’ worth of challenging, and pretty much striking out at every major studio in Hollywood. We went everywhere. We thought people would just be clamoring for this. We had Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill promising to star in it. We had Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg writing it. We had my good friend and co-director Greg Tiernan, whose Nitrogen Studios was on board to animate it. All we needed was the thumbs up and some money and we were ready to go. We would pitch it, and people would laugh and crack up and then say, “I’m sorry, we’re not doing this.” We did this over and over again for about three years.

What role did advances in technology play in allowing you guys to make the movie at a lower budget?

We used all out-of-the-box technology and software and programs. The major studios have major R&D departments that will figure out how to make things better and push technology further. We just wanted to make sure we made it look good. All the advances the studios had made over the years definitely furthered the off-the-shelf software, so it got to a point where you could make the animation look good and the lighting beautiful. All the artistic elements were solid, and then we could make the movie look really good without having to create any new technology.

How did you go about creating these characters?

One of the great things about being able to do it with food products in a grocery store was that everything was a box or a jar, so all we had to do was slap a face on a box or a jar. And then the main characters were a taco shell, a hot dog bun, a sausage; they didn’t have hair. We didn’t want them to look humanistic with knees and elbows and stuff. It started to look grotesque when you did that. So we basically went right back to the old 1930s Mickey Mouse cartoons, with the rubber hose arms and legs and giant funny Mickey Mouse gloves and big flappy Mad Magazine Don Martin feet and make it as cartoony as we can. That did two things: it simplified the rigs, but it also let us explore doing more of a Bob Campett Warner Bros. type of style where we could have wiggly arms and stuff like that—and really get more cartoony and animated with it rather than having to try and make beautifully designed characters act as real as possible.

What did the R-rating open up for this film?

We never looked at it as, “We have to write this animated and then because it’s R we have to make it as dirty as possible.” It is dirty, of course, I’ll admit that, but we didn’t try to make it dirty so that it would be rated R. We just basically wrote a movie that made us laugh and because we have dirty minds to a certain extent—that stuff made us laugh really hard. We didn’t have to cut it out or sanitize it because it was rated R, so we could do whatever we wanted. We were sincerely trying to make a funny movie where you cared about the characters and it had a good story. The fact that we did it with food dictated that we do it in CG because we weren’t going to dress up actors in costumes and do this in live action.

Did the MPAA have any issues with the film?

The fact that it was actual food helped. None of them are wearing clothes to begin with. I mean, we had a food orgy. The MPAA just drew a line at the fluids. They said no chocolate syrup, no ranch dressing, no mustard squirting out. They just said no fluids at all, and so we do have a version of the film where we do use the fluids quite a bit.

What impact do you feel this film’s success will have on broadening computer animation?

From day 1, we always hoped we were going to kick down the door of the idea that animation is only for kids and that there wasn’t an audience for it unless they’re dragged to it by their child.  People go see these movies because they like them. I remember seeing Shrek 2 at 10:30 pm and the audience was filled with adults. I always knew there was an audience for it, but no one really wanted to take the risk that no one would show up. I hope that we’ve shown that there is an audience, that it is viable financially, and that it will give a lot of other animators out there—who might have ideas for films that don’t fit in this little box that the animation industry has been forced into over the years—the chance to tell their stories and make them any way they want.

When you were mapping this out, were you thinking bigger picture in terms of sequels or where these characters could go next?

Yeah, we started talking about a sequel, what it would be about, and what would take place. We finally realized that we’re not going to do a sequel unless we have a damn good idea for it. That being said, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to make more R-rated animated films. We probably will. We have a ton of ideas for other R-rated animated films even if we don’t make a sequel for this one.

sausage-party-movie-2We’ve seen a lot of animated films turned into video games. What would the Sausage Party video game be?

I’m sure we would come up with something you have to collect in each aisle and then go to a place where you would fight a boss. Then, at the end of the game, there will probably be sex between all the food. It would be pretty funny if we actually used 8-bit graphics and the old Atari 2600 sound effects for the orgy. I would love to see Sausage Party turned into a video game. It would be fun. I’m a gamer, so I would like to play it.

We’re seeing Hollywood start to explore virtual reality. What are your thoughts about what that new medium is opening up for storytelling, especially comedy?

I’ve tried VR—it’s unbelievable. The trippy side of me says that I just want to put those goggles on and be in a place. I’ve done it where this guy turned on a little fan while I was in virtual reality and it felt like this beautiful breeze over me because I was on a ship on the water. So it totally trips your brain up.

The key is in making sure that you roll it out the best way it could possibly be rolled out. Don’t jump straight into trying to do something that hasn’t been thought about deeply enough. If you’re instantly going to put movies into VR without understanding it and how it affects people, it might hit the public the wrong way. But if you do VR more like a video game, where people can control how fast things move and people can march forward, backward, or look around and experience it and get used to it, then people are going to be intrigued by it and they’re going to want more. That’s when you can pounce on doing something more with it. Let the technology guide you to where it needs to be, instead of forcing it into something.

‘Resident Evil 7’ Producer Digs Into The Roots Of The Franchise

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After expanding beyond survival horror into globe-trotting action, Capcom has gone back to its roots with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The January 24 release for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR (PSVR) and Xbox One introduces a brand new storyline set in Louisiana. The game also offers a first-person perspective of the scares, which takes the immersion up a level, especially with the PSVR version of the game.

Masachika Kawata, Resident Evil series producer, has been working on this franchise from the very beginning. [a]listdaily caught up with Kawata at Sony’s recent PlayStation Experience event to find out how the franchise has evolved since the original game launched in 1996, and what’s in store for fans in the newest chapter.

What were your goals heading into Resident Evil 7?

Our primary goal was making sure we had a numbered flagship Resident Evil title on next generation hardware and really making sure that we were going back to our survival horror roots and offering the most immersive experience possible.

Can you talk a little bit about going back to the roots of the franchise and what that means for Resident Evil?

If you look at the history of Resident Evil, we’ve evolved the franchise after every three titles. This actually isn’t intentional. It’s kind of lined up with the changing of the game industry and the changing of the times. We felt that the franchise has moved forward in a more action-oriented direction and we figured this would be a perfect opportunity to take RE7 and really go back to our roots—revisit them and rethink what it means.

What did the first-person perspective open up from a horror storytelling standpoint?

The fact that you’re not able to see a character from a distance. You’re actually kind of in the experience yourself. You’re more simulating an experience. That’s something that we were able to take and offer a more intimate story experience.

Louisiana is known as a very haunted place. What inspiration did that setting open up for you creatively?

In terms of the vision that we were going for in with the overall background and the environment, we felt that the setting of Louisiana really meshed well with our vision for our next title.

Did you do any type of research trips down there and stay at any haunted places as inspiration?

I personally was not able to go out to Louisiana, but other staff members went and were able to get a lot of data that we were able to incorporate into the game. Not only were they able to get a lot of different shots of the scenery, they were able to experience a lot of the wilderness as well.

Where do you draw inspiration from when it comes to horror and what scares you?

In terms of general inspirations for entertainment as a whole, we draw a lot of inspiration from movies. As a great example, we definitely drew a lot of inspiration from Evil Dead, and a lot of classic horror titles that we grew up with for the development team as a whole. For me personally, when developing this game, I tapped into just the fear of death. That’s a fear that anyone can relate to and Resident Evil offers you the opportunity to figure out a way to escape death, fight back against your adversary and try to survive one more second. So that was definitely something that we took into account with developing this title—to make sure that that element of fear is definitely there, and a lot of the players still find a means to escape.

How do you go about creating new creatures and adversaries?

In terms of the process of coming up with a new adversary, the first thing that we always want to think of is what kind of experience do we want to offer the user. From there, we ask the question, “How do we offer that experience to the user?” And the easiest way of offering that experience is through some kind of tangible adversary. Then we think about what unique aspects does he have? How do they offer these terrifying experiences? That’s the very general means of how we come up with the enemies in our games.

Does the element of cannibalism, which is part of this new game, scare you?

The conversation of cannibalism is definitely taboo for a human society, so I’m definitely scared of the idea and I think most people are as well. But it’s something that adds to the level of these characters—you’re not really quite sure what they’re going to do. It’s another level of unpredictability that they have. . . the fact that they are unstable and that they’re a little bit distant from regular social norms. That really adds to that little extra attention to the horror that these characters offer. One thing I want to make clear is that cannibalism isn’t necessarily the main theme of this title.

What impact did having a Western writer involved in working with you have on the story, especially with the setting being in Louisiana?

The base script was still written by the Japanese development team. The benefit of having a Western writer come in was the fact that we were able to make sure that it fit within Western norms a little bit better, to make sure that dialogue flowed a little bit better. It’s a little more natural. It’s things that people would actually say, so it adds to that realism that we were really trying to strive for.

Why MediaMation Is Building A Network Of Interactive ESports Theaters

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MediaMation has built a network of one-hundred-and-fifty 4D motion theaters around the world and is adding ten new theaters in a month. While the primary use of these MX4D Motion EFX Theaters—which feature seats that are programmed to match the on-screen action and special effects to impact all the senses—is for watching movies, Dan Jamele, CEO of MediaMation, told [a]listdaily that he’s building a new network for eSports competition.

“We’re focusing on micro tournaments, not the big playoffs,” Jamele said. “We have an avid audience of gamers that want to do something like this. We won’t compete with ESL’s 20,000 seat stadiums, but there are other players that push the regional, collegiate and weekly competitions that give players a place to go.”

Jamele is currently in talks with Riot Games and other developers about this new eSports opportunity. “We’ll have options for clients for micro eSports tournaments with full spectator motion as you’re watching, providng a network of venues for eSports,” Jamele said. “We’re hoping to have an announcement in Q1 2017 to open a flagship location, and with that comes a lot of gravitas.” A typical MediaMation theater has 100 to 150 seats, so there is great opportunity for regional eSports, gamers compete locally.

What separates these theaters from the Regal Theaters Coca-Cola has used in recent years to host League of Legends Worlds viewing parties is that they’re interactive. The motion control seats feature front air and water blasts, leg and neck ticklers and seat poppers, while overhead effects like wind, rain, snow, bubbles, scene and lightning strobes are timed to the action. While Coke currently focuses on watching pros play, MediaMation is offering a network for amateurs and college players to compete in front of an audience.

Theaters have experimented with eSports in the past. On August 23, 2015, ESL and By Experience, in association with Fathom Events, brought the ESL One Counter-Strike: Global Offensive finals from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany to cinema screens across the US and around the globe in over 25 countries. The companies also created exclusive behind-the-scenes content for theater goers, but that event hasn’t been repeated.

On September 21, 2015, Canadian theater chain Cineplex Entertainment bought 80 percent of Canadian eSports company, WorldGaming, for $10 million and invested an additional $5 million into developing an eSports league for its theaters. At the time, Pat Marshall, vice president of communications and investor relations for Cineplex told Fortune, “The eSports audience is an audience that comes to our theaters, but maybe not with the level of frequency they may have in the past. This is an opportunity for us to increase that frequency.”

Riot Games recently partnered with Super League Gaming to bring the City Champs amateur League of Legends competition to theaters in 12 cities by the end of Q1 2017, with plans to grow to 20 cities by the end of next year. Super League is also launching City Rec in 2017, which will allow anyone to come into theaters and play League Unlocked.

The latest company to enter the world of big screen eSports is ESC Games, which has launched a 750-square-foot ESC Game Theater in Paramus, NJ with plans to expand around the country. That theater features exclusive casual multiplayer games like Robot Basketball, Astro Beams and Pixel Prison Blues that up to 30 people can participate in at once using wireless touch screen motion controllers within a special effects-filled room.

MediaMation also has further eSports plans. The company recently debuted a new multiplayer ride-based virtual reality game called Ion Torq, which will be available in theme parks and arcades later in 2017. The multiplayer ride, which uses actual ATVs and runs on either Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, features 3D Live’s mixed reality LED screen, which allows spectators to experience a holographic version of what the riders are experiencing inside the VR game.

Nathan Huber, co-founder and CEO of 3D Live, told [a]listdaily that screen open up new opportunities for eSports, and not just for this motion-based rides, but for theaters and even stadiums. “It brings the audience closer to the video game action,” said Huber.

Learn everything you need to know to invest in today’s fastest-growing media channel—Competitive Gaming and eSports on 2.16.17 in Los Angeles. Go to alistsummit.com for more info.

How Console Gaming Evolved In 2016

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It’s been a banner year for gaming consoles, with the newest generation of hardware continuing to set sales records. Sony recently announced that the PlayStation 4 line has sold over 50 million units, with almost 370 million pieces of PS4 software sold as well. Microsoft’s Xbox One line, while behind in overall units, has been the best-selling console in US stores for the past four months, and it shows no sign of slowing down.

We have also seen this year the demise of the Wii U, which has ceased production as Nintendo prepares to launch a new console line in 2017. The Wii U sold little more than 13 million units, and never garnered major third-party support.

Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 continue to sell strongly, as both platforms get a steady release of top games. There has been no lack of solid entertainment for both consoles, and that looks to continue. Here are some of the major events of the year in console gaming:

Consoles Get Mid-Cycle Refresh

This year saw something unprecedented: significant improvement to existing consoles, without shifting to a new architecture and without making current software obsolete. When this possibility was rumored earlier in the year, one of the big questions was whether or not consumers would accept this change. That’s been answered resoundingly, as sales of the Xbox One S have powered it to be the leading console sold in US stores for the last four months. The PlayStation 4 Pro has been well-received by reviewers, though Sony has not yet released sales figures for it.

The Xbox One S is smaller and somewhat more powerful than the original Xbox One, and sports an Ultra-HD Blu-Ray drive in addition to 4K HDR (high dynamic range) color output, at a price of $299. The PlayStation 4 Pro is significantly more powerful than the standard PlayStation 4 (now sold in a slimmer form factor) and sells for $399 while the original PS4 is now priced at $299. Both the PS4 Pro and the PS4 now support HDR output.

Microsoft isn’t done with mid-cycle console upgrades. The company announced Project Scorpio at E3 earlier this year, and it promises to be even more powerful than the PS4 Pro, with support true 4K gaming. That will ship sometime during the 2017 holiday season.

These mid-cycle console refreshes are driving substantial sales of both hardware and software, and giving marketers new features to focus on. Meanwhile, gamers are getting more powerful consoles without losing any of their old favorite games, so it’s a win-win.

Nintendo Prepares For Switch Launch

The Wii U never managed to live up to the Nintendo’s lofty expectations, but the company is moving on. Not only did Nintendo launch some very successful mobile games this year, but after much rumor and speculation, it officially revealed its new console, the Nintendo Switch, set to launch in March of 2017.

So far, Nintendo has kept the information limited about the new console, with one video showcasing the console’s ability to move between playing games on a TV and spontaneously going mobile by switching to the device’s built-in screen when on the go. A reveal with hands-on time for the press is promised in January, which is none too soon for a console that’s planned for March release.

There’s plenty of excitement among Nintendo fans for a new console, as well as for the only official game announced so far for the Switch: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which got a truly breathtaking booth at E3 this year. Nintendo has gotten its fan base prepared for new hardware while shipping the highly anticipated Pokemon Sun and Moon this holiday for the 3DS to keep its fans engaged while they save up for the Switch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5uik5fgIaI

VR Comes to Consoles

One of the biggest additions to console gaming in 2016 has to be the PlayStation VR (PSVR), which brings the excitement of virtual reality technology in an easy-to-use, relatively low-cost platform. Initial sales are less than initially projected by analysts earlier in the year, but Sony hasn’t put a lot of marketing effort behind the PSVR hard yet, perhaps because it is waiting for more games to launch first.

Still, early adopters have been pleased with the promise of console VR. Sony has an impressive lineup of current and upcoming titles, and it has the potential to bring VR to millions of people over the coming year. VR on consoles is only beginning, and it’s sure to have a much greater impact in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swjyD6Sy2t8

4K Gaming Hits Consoles

With the new hardware launches, the hottest trend for consoles is 4K along with HDR, quadrupling the resolution of games along with vastly improving the color output. Many observers believe that HDR is going to have a great impact on gaming, but the situation is still complicated for consoles, given how 4K TVs with HDR support haven’t been widely adopted yet. However, that may soon change, given the huge price drops we saw this holiday. Right now, 4K/HDR gaming is just beginning on consoles—but the impact is already being felt, as games are updated and more players purchase 4K TVs.

The Shift to Digital Distribution

Digital distribution of content has been around for a long while, but as more households get high-bandwidth connections, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 saw a significant increase in digital purchases. More and more full game sales are happening through downloads.

The bigger impact of digital distribution is to make it even easier, and more profitable, to produce additional content for console games. Add-ons are now standard offerings, and we’re seeing more in-game items, free-to-play games, and the whole range of new features being offered. It’s also leading to greater engagement with console titles, as regular updates keep players entertained for the long term. Destiny is a prime example of how digital distribution is transforming both gameplay and marketing, as the game’s dedicated players keep enjoying new content.

2016 has been a great year for consoles, and it looks to be the foundation of more strong years for console gaming ahead.

Then Vs. Now: The Evolution Of Videogame Commercials

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Video games have come a long way from the blocky (albeit addictive) gameplay to the 4K, interactive stories we see today. Just as games and consoles have become more sophisticated over the past few decades, so has the way brands market them. While all campaigns are different and there are exceptions to every rule, let’s take a look at how game marketing has evolved from low-res footage of screaming, teenage boys to high-def, cinematic masterpieces.

Then: Kids Play Together

The first video game commercials focused heavily on how much fun the consumer (and his friends) would have when they played. While gameplay footage was shown, the primary selling point was usually the act of playing itself. Teenage boys yelling excitedly as they watched one another with the controller was a common sight throughout TV spots for Atari and Nintendo.

Now: Everyone Plays Together

Today, the average video game consumer is 35 years old—a demographic consisting of those teenage boys (and girls) all grown up. In fact, adult women now outnumber teenage boys as active gamers, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). As a result, modern video game commercials feature adults more than children.

For grown-up gamers who want to share a bit of nostalgia with their children, Nintendo once again marketed toward having fun with others—this time including everyone in the family, young or old, with the Wii console. Now, with the launch of virtual reality, the challenge has been to market a community experience rather than one person blindly walking around the living room in a bulky headset. Oculus Rift ads in particular feature millennials enjoying a virtual reality experience together and getting really excited like those teenage boys of commercials past.

Then: Game Features Are Explained

Retro commercials often featured a narrator that explained the game or console’s features and selling points. When computer graphics began to evolve, so did the game’s competitive edge—something that continues to this day with photo-realistic rendering and 4K graphics.

Now: Game Features Are Shown

Today, brands create emotional experiences by showing consumers what it’s like to play a game and let them draw their own conclusions as to how it makes them feel. While not all popular games are photo realistic (Minecraft, for example), a lot of them are, which allows brands to showcase their work in a more polished, cinematic fashion.

When it comes to trade shows, publishers like EA, Sony and Microsoft are focusing more on community events and influencers for hands-on demos with new titles rather than solely relying on the press to tell people what’s good or not.

https://youtu.be/cHb_Y6sWPUI

https://youtu.be/-lToAJwHrfQ

Then: Gameplay is King

When marketing Final Fantasy II in 1988, Square Enix touted its infamously long play time as value for its customers.

Now: Story is King

For Final Fantasy XV (which is still insanely long, by the way), Square Enix focused on the game’s story of friendship and battling together, showing gameplay footage for only a moment at the end.

Some Things Never Change

Despite all these changes, some things never do, and for good reason. Live action helps bring game concepts to life . . .

. . . and a little humor can go a long way.

‘Storks’ Producer Brad Lewis Gets Animated Over Films, VR And Gaming

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Producer Brad Lewis has been involved in some of big computer animated films over the years, including Antz, Ratatouille, Cars 2, Storks and the upcoming The LEGO Batman Movie. Recently, he also spoke at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy about the explosive growth of computer animation in Hollywood, where [a]listdaily caught up with him to discuss the new opportunities virtual reality and video games are opening up for creatives to expand their big-screen storytelling.

What was it about computer animation that inspired you to leave the live action filmmaking?

The interesting thing about animation for me is that increasingly, it has become what I consider to be the highest form of entertainment for everybody, from kids all the way up through adults. We strive to put out animation and animated movies that are like the great old clever television features from the ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s. It’s one of the most difficult art forms to tell a really great story. That can mean [different] things for people from three-years-old to 80-years-old, but I love that idea of clever comedy. General entertainment is the thing that we concentrate on more as an industry than other aspects of movie making.

What has computer animation opened up in bringing crazy ideas to life, like having a rat cook French cuisine in Paris?

Certainly, animation lends itself to the impossible idea, but telling a three act 90-minute story with something that has an impossible setup is a great ride for an audience to go on. Nobody came to Ratatouille feeling like, “Oh, I can’t wait to see a rat in a kitchen.” It was the opposite, which is really, “I don’t know if I want to see a rat in the kitchen.” With Storks—you know storks are going to deliver babies, but the question is, how do they make babies? We set up the audience in such a way that it’s going to be something impossible. It’s a stimulating experience as a filmmaker to try to solve those story ideas.

Cars has had multiple video games. How does what the game industry is doing influence the potential for expanding these computer animated universes?

The thing about video games is that they’re becoming incredibly sophisticated as far as their graphics, their characters, and their animation and so forth, which is really exciting. I’ve been in the industry long enough to see it go from Pong to where we are today. Every time I see a new generation of gaming I’m blown away by the quality. That being said, there’s a length to go as far as character and story development, both in video games and in social applications.

It feels like the logical next extension in a way for us to make an animated movie that somebody goes and sees once or maybe sees again on DVD or online. Those characters we work so hard on people understanding their motivations and their personalities—it feels like they should go on and live in new ways. That’s not necessary a sequel and confined to a cinematic experience, even though it’s an incredible cinema experience to start with. I’d love to see that be applied into nonlinear storytelling and social media platforms, as well as game platforms. That could be an even more addictive style of gaming, whether it’s VR or just being able to experience characters in different and new ways.

How do you feel VR helping to extend franchises or explore storytelling?

What has always happened in animation, computer animation, gaming and now in VR (or 3D, for that matter), the technology comes first and the storytelling has to catch up. VR is at the place where people are starting to explore its unbelievable power through immersive high-end graphic experiences. We can do environments and sets that you feel a connection with. There have been some early VR animation that’s beginning to try to take advantage of those. It’s on the cusp of where some very talented filmmaker or filmmaking team will dive in and make an immersive feature-length experience that will be mind-blowing.

storks

We’re seeing a lot of VR shorts early on. What role do you see this medium playing for storytelling?

Typically, shorts are the way we start to understand how the new technology is going to work and what we might be able to do with it. Some of the VR—and I haven’t seen everything that’s out there—is certainly visceral and emotive. I believe that it’s opening the door to show us the possibilities of what we can do once we can really get in there. The other thing that’s interesting in both social and in VR is there’s an active choice the viewer makes. In VR you have the ability to say I’m not confined to just this proscenium. I can look over here. I can divert attention. Now it creates two things. It’s a different art form because in filmmaking, we’re working with a proscenium. We’re telling you through lighting, focus and camera, what to look at and what that means to the story. So, there’s story control once you allow a viewer to suddenly make choices within this environment. VR throws the principles of great proscenium cinematography theater out the door. How do we control the aesthetic experience, if assuming for a moment that we can tell stories that have multiple strands, multiple characters and people can go in a variety of different directions? Can it still be aesthetically beautiful, can we control those elements as well?

What role do you see computer animation playing in Hollywood today?

There’s still a bit of a point of view that animation is more of a genre than it is a medium, and that it has already defined itself as one type of family fare that’s lightly comedic that will entertain people and that’s it. The technology of computer animation and the artists, directors and producers that are involved, are capable of far great things than just that. Hopefully, a movie like Sausage Party, that comes out and is R-rated, can show that it’s not a genre; it’s a medium and that we can make some vastly different choices within that. We haven’t even begun to explore the variety that you can do with the look in these movies. It’s much more versatile. I hope that it will be perceived as that, and that we can still make mainstream movies that can make enough money to justify them. The budgets can come down so those two can converge and there can be greater variety in animation.

How does the decreased budget for quality computer animation allow more creativity?

The tools and the software that animators use are getting faster and easier to use, so people that come out of studying this in university or other art schools are coming out much more highly trained. And the technology is not as expensive as it used to be, so in general production companies are able to get prices down, although it still has to trend farther down to really become viable. The second thing is that the artistry is amazing. There are people that worked on Storks that are fresh out of school that did some of the best animation I’ve seen. It took some great veteran animators a decade to get that level of skill, partly because of the tools and partly because of not having that training early on in school. Across the globe, there are actually small companies that are creating production companies that are doing some really good work. At some point in the next 10 or 20 years, those are going to converge at much lower budgets and at the same level of artistry, or a very high level of artistry.

How is the success of big animated films like Finding Dory, Moana, The Secret Life of Pets and The Angry Birds Movie impacting the industry?

People look at the bright and shiny stuff like, “Oh, here’s a big animated movie. It made a lot of money and everybody fell in love with those characters, so it looks simple and we can do it too.” Studios see the family movie space as an important movie area they want to be in financially. So, it provides inspiration for both studios and companies and artists to get involved in it. But the other side of that is the really good movies that have been done by Pixar, Disney, PDI, Dreamworks, Warner Bros., Illumination and others—they’re really hard to make. The process is so methodical that it’s a very difficult process. It looks like a bright and shiny easy object, and it’s just not at the end of the day, so there’s a little bit of fool’s gold there for people. It comes back to finding people that really understand the medium and are filmmakers that are talented, entertaining artists.

The Rise Of Collegiate ESports

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Collegiate StarLeague (CSL), a division of WorldGaming, has inked a deal with Campus Insiders to cover its college eSports leagues and tournaments in the same way the site covers NCAA football and basketball. CSL has over 1,000 teams from 700 campuses across North America competing in League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), Vainglory and Starcraft II.

Collegiate StarLeague CEO, Duran Parsi, told [a]listdaily that collegiate eSports is a burgeoning subset of the eSports industry. “There’s a lot of maturation that is needed; we’ve seen collegiate teams go from unorganized groups of five friends to being fully fledged athletic teams, complete with full scholarships, to incredibly monolithic student organizations such as Triton Gaming at UCSD or UBC eSports,” Parsi said. “That’s been the coolest thing for me to see.”

Beginning January 16, CSL content will be featured across the Campus Insiders network, which reaches over 100 million college sports fans through various streaming applications and connected devices including Sling TV, Verizon’s go90, Xbox One, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, Facebook and Twitter. Brooks Boyer, CEO of Silver Chalice, owner of Campus Insiders, 120 Sports and the ACC Digital Network, told [a]listdaily that eSports is a natural fit for its always-growing portfolio of high-quality collegiate sports content.

“We’re excited to provide a cohesive space for all of the games, leagues and players in the collegiate eSports space to tell their stories to their fans,” Boyer said. “We have been closely engaged in the rise in popularity of eSports, both professional and collegiate, over the past year and want to ensure the Campus Insiders’ fan base has access to the best content of this kind, when and where they want it.”

The content partnership will also allow Campus Insiders and CSL to collaborate on and create new and exciting live events within collegiate eSports. It will create a unified portal for collegiate eSports content coverage, making it easier for fans to follow their favorite teams as they compete regionally and nationally in these events.

“As the popularity around eSports continues to grow at a rapid scale both at the professional and collegiate levels, our network (Campus Insiders) strives to meet the needs of our audience to ensure that they have the best content possible built around all sports, whether they be conventional ‘stick and ball’ or of the eSports variety,” Boyer said. “Our partnership with CSL affords us the opportunity to keep a ‘close ear’ to the collegiate eSports community and has brought to light the lack of a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things collegiate eSports. As a result, we have responded to this need.”

Since 2009, CSL has awarded over $300,000 in scholarship money to student gamers from around the world. It has over 20,000 registered players across 600 registered schools.

Parsi said CSL is currently the only collegiate organization that provides regular content. “We produce interviews, features, recaps and really focus on the awesome stories,” Parsi said. “Campus Insiders is giving us at outlet for those stories—they’re giving us the resources to do more. One of the ways you’ll probably see this happen is the addition of a lot more video content produced in collaboration with Campus Insiders.”

Boyer said collegiate eSports opens up Campus Insiders to a whole new audience of previously untapped sports fans. “We already have a strong audience within the younger demographic, and this new relationship with CSL strengthens it by increasing our expertise in another area that they (our fans) are interested and engaged in, in a natural and credible way,” Boyer said.

This is part of a growing synergy across traditional college sports and eSports. The Pac 10 has officially added eSports to its collegiate competition. Parsi believes more conferences will get involved in eSports in the near future. “My hope is that the conferences take a measured and authentic approach to getting involved in eSports and don’t simply try to impose traditional sports methods on top of it,” said Parsi. “Gaming is significantly different.”

This being a new industry, Parsi believes there are still steps that need to be taken to ensure continued growth.

“Blizzard cutting other organizations like ours out of hosting leagues for its game is a disservice to the community,” Parsi said. “Its Overwatch League for example, was restricted to one team per school—meaning only a handful of Overwatch players on a given campus were able to compete. The thousands of other players, who could have played in a league like CSL, were left with nothing to do. That isn’t helpful for anyone, so I wish Blizzard would be more friendly to third party organizers who are trying to grow the space together.”

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