Twitch Signs Global Brand Ambassador, Prepares For E3

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Twitch has come a long way when it comes to representing itself with original programming, engaging livestreams and a variety of content. Now, it’s got a global brand ambassador on board to help spread awareness.

Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, a fighting game champ that has dominated the Street Fighter scene for years, announced on his stream (http://twitch.tv/daigothebeastv/) this past weekend that he has become Twitch’s first Global Brand Ambassador. Although he will continue to livestream on his channel every week (and continue his partnership with Red Bull), the deal enables him to help expand knowledge and presence of Twitch, particularly with the fighting game community.

Daigo 2“I want to engage with my fans and the players all over the world,” Daigo noted. “Twitch has long been a supporter of the FGC (fighting game community), and I could not find any better platform to engage with the players at the global level.

“As Twitch’s Global Ambassador, I will continue creating entertaining moments with viewers. I hope to be their inspiration as much as they are a big inspiration to me.”

Daigo will be in attendance at this year’s TwitchCon, which takes place September 30th-October 2nd in San Diego, which is a considerably bigger venue than the previous year’s show.

In the meantime, though, the company is putting the focus on the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which takes place next week in Los Angeles. The company recently revealed its livestreaming schedule for the event, which includes all the major press conferences, as well as an exclusive Nintendo Treehouse event and highlights from the show floor throughout each day. Various gaming talents and hosts will be on hand, including djWHEAT, Jon Carnage and Alex Corea.

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With the event, Twitch is bringing back its Co-Streaming functionality, which was a big hit with the community last year. It enables users to host their own official E3 streams through their channels so that broadcasters and viewers can both enjoy a more personalized experience of the event. About 35 percent of viewers watched E3 2015 via a Co-Stream, so it’s likely to be just as big a feature this year.

The company has also paired with T-Mobile to host multiple remote Co-Streams around the globe, with partners including RocketBeansTV (Germany), Twitchkr (Korea) and Alexelcapo (Spain), among others. “They will be commentating in their native languages as they interpret and showcase E3 in their respective countries,” the blog notes.

E3 also marks the fifth birthday of Twitch, which initially launched at E3 2011, so it’s easy to see why it’s such a vital event for the company. That, along with the signing of Daigo as Global Brand Ambassador, shows that it’s certainly ready for big things to happen.

To get further insight into Daigo’s signing and E3, we chatted with Twitch’s director of global events Amy Brady.

What makes Daigo such a key choice as a Global Brand Ambassador for Twitch?

Twitch has long been a supporter of the fighting community and he is one of the community’s most popular players, so there was a natural fit. He also wants to strengthen his connection with the community, stating “By sharing my skills and knowledge, I hope to help the entire community to level up. The stronger you are, the more fun you can have.”

Will there be more roles for key talent such as this with the company? 

We are growing very fast and hiring across the company for all levels and positions. Recruiting is actually one of our biggest challenges right now. Employment opportunities are currently listed here.

Twitch has a huge variety of programming planned for E3. How will the team able to balance it all out?

The toughest part about our E3 stage shows is the heavy demand from publishers of all sizes, and not enough time in the day to accommodate everyone. We addressed this a little bit last year by introducing our Day Zero broadcast that kicks off the day before our official Day 1 broadcast. This year we took things to an all-new level with our Pre-Pre-Show which adds another day to the mix.

Is there anything you’d like to expand upon with future E3 shows?

It’s too soon to say if a Pre-Pre-Pre-Show is needed, but based on how so many publishers and developers are amplifying their presence with livestreams, you never know. We’re also quite proud of our “Co-Streaming” initiative in which we essentially give the content to our broadcasters, who can choose to commentate over the official E3 content, should they choose. It’s a way for Twitch broadcasters to bring the real-time content to their communities while wrapping it in a format that makes sense for them.

The second TwitchCon will be hosted in San Diego later this year. With Daigo and a large number of talents expected to attend, what are the team’s expectations for the event?

TwitchCon 2016 will build on our success in 2015, while staying true to its roots: the community. We learned a ton in 2015, and this year will be bigger, better, and even more fun for viewers, broadcasters, and developers alike.

Kobe Bryant Might ‘Consider’ Dropping A Dime Into ESports

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Kobe Bryant recently called it a career with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the future first-ballot Hall of Famer is still keeping busy by working with a roster full of brands—as evidenced by his new Ghostbusters promo, pitching Copa America for Fox Sports, and his involvement with 2K Sports. Bryant is featured as the cover star for the upcoming NBA 2K17: Legacy Edition, and it looks like the video game has given him a taste for more—specifically with eSports.

Speaking with USA Today, Bryant expressed interest in competitive gaming.

“I think people are really interested in watching people problem solve. It doesn’t matter what industry. People are very fascinated by that—seeing the struggles people go through and how they overcome it,” he said. “I think this was just a matter of time before it caught fire. To be able to sit and watch a performance on TV and watch how the gamers are figuring out those challenges amongst themselves, you can’t help but be interested.”

Bryant was then asked if he would possibly invest in eSports, as peers like former teammates Rick Fox and Shaquille O’Neal have done.

“It depends, depends if the right opportunity comes along, and I feel like it’s something that we should invest in, and if it’s something we feel like we could add value to, then yeah, that’d be something that we’d consider,” Bryant said.

Bryant is an integral part of 2K Sports’ promotion with NBA 2K17, which also recently announced that it would be hosting a new service called 2K Streamcast, where players compete in a Pro-Am for a $250,000 cash prize.

Kobe is a first-rate pitchman and veteran of the video game industry, as evidenced by his previous cameos for Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, as well as having his own Nintendo 64 series Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside. A potential eSports collaboration with 2K Sports would make total sense for the Black Mamba if he ever felt so inclined.

For now, Kobe is enjoying life away from the hardwood, but don’t be surprised if he runs a fast break right back into it via video games.

How ‘Stellaris’ Reached For The Stars And Won A Galaxy Of Players

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Paradox Interactive, famous for popular strategy games such as the city builder Cities: Skylines, the history-themed (and very complicated) Europa Universalis series, and the hilarious fantasy action role-playing Magicka franchise. The in-house developer, Paradox Development Studio, recently ventured to where it had never gone before with the deep space strategy game, Stellaris, which went on to outshine all other Paradox titles.

In Stellaris, players are challenged to explore and colonize the reaches of space, working alongside or against alien species, in an effort to become the dominant power in the galaxy. The game launched to high praise, with 68,000 concurrent players on its first day, dethroning the previous record holder, Cities: Skylines. But that wasn’t the only record that it broke. Stellaris sold over 200,000 units within 24 hours of its release, making it Paradox’s fastest selling game ever.

Various promotional campaigns have contributed to Stellaris’ success, including a Cookie Clicker-like mini-game called Project Augustus, where players are challenged to click repeatedly to help power a small spaceship to its destination and unlock bonus items for Stellaris. As an added incentive to pick up the game, Paradox offered to copy all the names of pre-order customers to a USB drive, which would then be sent into low orbit via a weather balloon “to let drive-by extraterrestrials know who among us are the most enthusiastic to explore space and meet new friends.”

[a]listdaily speaks to Henrik Fåhraeus, game director of Stellaris, and creative director of marketing, Steven Wells, about Paradox’s trek into space, sending a list of names into the upper stratosphere, and how it got so many fans excited about experiencing grand strategy on a galactic scale.

Paradox Interactive
Henrik Fåhraeus, game director for Stellaris

Paradox Interactive doesn’t develop or publish many sci-fi games. What convinced it to release Stellaris?

Henrik: We have always wanted to do both a space game and a fantasy game. Although we love history, there is something liberating about working with a “tabula rasa.” By taking a stab at the 4X genre we also hoped to make a truly accessible game (at last!), which would help us reach new groups of players and draw them into our type of complex gameplay.

How did you grow awareness of Stellaris before it launched?

Steven: We had a rather large marketing campaign by Paradox Interactive standards, but the short of it is we created a three-phase marketing campaign focused on key assets, such as trailers, streams, events and community support, all of which attempted to convey Henrik’s vision statement, “Explore a vast galaxy full of life and wonder.”

What inspired the Project Augustus mini-game promotion?

Steven: The game was inspired by games like Cookie Clicker or the Steam Summer Card Clicker Game. We didn’t want to simply make a worse version of any specific gameplay element of Stellaris, so we decided to move away from it completely.

What are some of the challenges in promoting a sci-fi themed strategy game?

Steven: The sci-fi strategy space is very crowded (pun intended), so the key challenge was standing out and conveying uniqueness. The Paradox Development Studio brand did much of the work for us with Stellaris, but we simply focused our messaging on the parts of the game that were relatively unique, such as the early focus on exploration/surveying, the random event chains, and the variety of species.

How did Paradox come up with the promotion to send the names of pre-order customers to space?

Steven: For a while, we toyed with the idea of sending a rocket into space to celebrate the launch of Stellaris. We also wanted to think of something new to offer players that wouldn’t require developer time. As a joke, someone suggested offering our biggest fans future space burials at a pre-set price. This joke, combined with the high cost of sending actual rockets into space, pretty quickly morphed into the final idea of sending a balloon with our pre-order customers out into space.

What would you say helped Stellaris gain success so quickly?

Steven: The most obvious reason is Stellaris being the first of many Paradox Development Studio grand strategy titles, with their dedicated fan base. I think there were more people that felt passionately about Stellaris—on both the developer side and the publisher side—than any campaign in recent memory. When you have a great game like Stellaris, with its veteran design and development team, combined with so many people keen on spreading the message from the publishing side, it becomes easier to get it out there.

Nokia Technologies Exec Discusses Disney Deal, Evolving VR Livestreaming Opportunities

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Nokia Technologies continues to expand its Hollywood client list with its $60,000 Ozo professional virtual reality camera. The company has worked with studios such as 20th Century Fox, which helped design the camera, and Walt Disney Pictures, which recently signed a multi-year deal with Nokia to provide the equipment and VR technologies to support the creation of special VR content.

Livestreaming is the latest addition to the camera’s capabilities. Nokia demonstrated this technology at the May 23rd red carpet premiere of Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. Pink sang a livestreamed performance to kick off the premiere, which fans could watch on YouTube 360.

Paul Melin, head of presence capture at Nokia Technologies, talks about the evolving virtual reality livestreaming business in this exclusive interview.

How has your Disney deal been progressing?

We have a three-year deal to collaborate on VR experiences with their properties. The latest event was the premiere of Alice Through the Looking Glass. We had both a 360 degree red carpet experience, but also a concert that Pink performed that was captured with three Ozos and livestreamed in 360 degrees to YouTube 360. It was a proof-of-concept of the capabilities for direct-to-consumer livestreamed content on existing social media channels, which is something our customers want.

How quickly were you able to deliver the taped 360-degree content?

We did a rapid turnaround of the concert and we had the full 3D concert in VR with special audio at the after party later that evening.

We have a real-time stitching solution that allows us to livestream VR, which we demonstrated at NAB (National Association of Broadcasters). We had our own booth on the show floor and a stage in front of the NAB hall. We had on-going performances captured with three Ozo cameras that were sent to our booth at the conference and shared with our partners.

How did you work with Disney on The Jungle Book?

There were a few Jungle Book VR projects. Some were computer-generated, but Disney’s The Jungle Book Experience used our Ozo cameras to deliver interviews with actors and directors, and then we had one camera set up on the red carpet of the film. Disney promoted these videos across its social media and on Facebook 360.

Is there any limitation to the amount of cameras you use on a red carpet or at an event?

The Alice experience was more extensive with the three cameras. We only used one camera on The Jungle Book. We were at another event with seven Ozo cameras recently. The number of cameras is not the limitation.

How do you see your cameras being used by Disney and other studios moving forward?

There’s tremendous demand for red carpet coverage, so we can enable all of our customers to do the same type of livestreamed capture. The experience is great for customers. After these first experiments, we’re moving ahead with the software development to make 360-degree livestreaming broadly available in Q3 of this year. But we’ll continue working with selected customers at multiple events to make these live experiences possible right now.

How else do you see this livestreaming being used outside of red carpets?

There’s a lot of demand for live experiences in sports, music, and news. We will be running livestreaming tests in all of those segments in the near future.

How are you seeing early customers use the Ozo cameras?

There’s a great amount of experimentation going on. One of our customers has been shooting lots of nature and documentary content. One of the key benefits of the VR experience is taking cameras to places that are difficult to experience otherwise.

There’s a lot of experimentation with narrative in entertainment experiences. In many cases, it merges gaming and CGI and 360-degree video. It’s evolving quickly and we’re seeing non-linear and hybrid experiences where the VR content can be experienced as part of the broader entertainment experience.

How has distribution of the cameras been expanding?

We have reseller channels in multiple countries opening up. The Pioneer Program has allowed customers who are willing to share some of their content with us to get access to Ozos at a favorable price ($15,000 off retail). We’ve had dozens of applications for this program.

How does this program work?

The terms of the Pioneer Program on our website. The key is that if the company agrees to give us structured feedback in using the Ozo and they share with us one minute of content that we can use to engage with the community, they’ll get a discounted price.

What type of demand are you seeing from brands and advertising in VR?

We’ve seen great demand from the advertising and brand experience sector. A lot of early experiences by Hollywood studios are being funded from the marketing department because the audience is interested in this emerging technology. VR experiences can drive engagement and excitement around a film or a product or a store. The retail and brand ad experiences are among the most active sub-segments we’ve seen to date.

What impact do you see the launches of Sony PlayStation VR and Google Daydream later this year having on the ecosystem?

Google has been an early believer in VR, and the more investment we see from major companies like Sony, Google, and Facebook, the quicker we can evolve the industry.

What role do you see mobile VR playing in this landscape moving forward?

Mobile is definitey a big target for most of our customers. On mobile, because of the limitations of positional tracking as a gaming platform, some of our customers see video being even more important than for the home console.

How do you see the length of VR content evolving?

Most of the VR content today is short-form, which is very understandable given the state of the market in terms of user experiences. A lot of the short-form content is being integrated as part of broader experiences, where you may not be in 360-degree video for a long time, but you’ll pop in and pop out. It remains to be seen what the final length will be. But early research is that people can lose track of time in VR, promising for long-term usage of new media.

‘Rocket League’ Scores Big With Free Content

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It’s easy to see why so many players love Rocket League, a video game that combines the thrill of racing with the strategy of sports, as the general idea is to knock a ball into a goal using all sorts of crazy driving tactics. But what’s really amazing is how successful the game has become even though the developer is giving away most of its content free of charge.

Forbes reports that revenue for the game has picked up tremendously over the past few months. Last December, it had grossed $70 million with four million copies sold, and now that number has ballooned to $110 million, and five million units sold. Its launch on the Xbox One platform almost certainly helped, but it’s still quite a win for a game that owes much of its success to being offered for free to PlayStation Plus subscribers when it first released.

“Our numbers are actually going up, not down,” said Psyonix vice president Jeremy Dunham. “Which is not very common for a game that’s ten months old.”

The game has garnered quite an audience between both eSports pro players and casual fans, with 15 million playing the game since its release last July.

Again, the complete surprise is with its business model. Although there are a number of premium cosmetic items, such as licensed vehicles from Back To the Future, Gears of War and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, most of the updates are provided free of charge. But free content isn’t stopping the developer from gaining a hefty profit.

“We just want people to have options,” Dunham explained. “Where they can buy things that they think look cool that don’t negatively or positively affect their gameplay experience. We want people to express themselves, and so all the other items that we’ve done that do affect gameplay, like new maps or new modes, we give away for free. We don’t want people to feel like they’re not included in something if they don’t give us money. We want it to be the opposite.”

It’s certainly paying off, as approximately five million players continue to be active with the game, even months after its release. “One of the things you see in a lot of multiplayer games,” Dunham explained, “is that over time usually the player base gets smaller and smaller as more and more DLC is added to the environment, because fewer and fewer people are buying those items. Since we only sell cosmetic items and cars we aren’t cutting anyone out of the equation, and that’s why our numbers are actually going up month after month after month. Our active player base has been increasing for five months in a row.”

For example, the company released a new Hoops mode, where players try to slam a ball into a virtual net. Although the update was free, the game also released licensed NBA flags that players could attach to their cars for a small fee… which sold like crazy.

The company also continues to make strides with its community, having recently introduced a cross-play compatibility feature for Xbox One and PC, so players can take on one another no matter their platform. PlayStation 4/Xbox One cross-platform compatibility is still being discussed, but Dunham notes that “it’s one that we hope to deliver one day.”

And Psyonix isn’t done yet, as it has plans for future content down the road. “I think that’s one of the key elements in keeping a community healthy and going is not trying to create exclusive clubs where only certain people can play,” Dunham says. “We’re a community-based game so we want as many people to experience it as possible.”

As long as fans keep coming back with fun content and a strong community, Rocket League will continue to score big.

How Top Publishers Are Taking On E3 2016

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) remains as one of the most recognizable video game events in the world, with thousands of journalists from around the world flocking to the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 14-16. This year, the convention will also host a public event called E3 Live, at the LA Live entertainment district, where publishers will present games from the show floor to thousands of attending fans. According to statistics released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which hosts E3, this year’s event will have an even greater emphasis on mobile games and AR/VR games.

However, the most talked about events are the various pre-E3 press conferences, which happen before the show floor opens. The biggest announcements, demonstrations and surprises all happen there. However, publishers appear to be very secretive this year, perhaps more so than in the past, in revealing what they plan to present—instead relying on rumor to stir up hype. So, without delving too much into speculation, these are the ways E3’s top presenters plan on making a huge impression at E3 2016.

Electronic Arts

EA took a decidedly unique approach this year by breaking away from E3 to host EA Play, a public event that puts “players first.” Attendees will be among the first to see new game announcements and try out demos. Those that cannot attend the live events at The Novo at LA Live (June 12-14) or the Hammersmith Apollo in London can still help themselves to announcements, reveals and behind-the-scenes content as it is livestreamed.

Of course, there will be plenty to see, as EA will showcase one of its most anticipated games, Battlefield 1, with a live 64-player battle that will be livestreamed after the pre-E3 presentation on June 12. Some of the other high-profile games that are expected to be revealed at EA Play include Titanfall 2, Mass Effect Andromeda and three EA Sports games, including Madden NFL 17 and FIFA 17. Although a sequel to last year’s hit Star Wars Battlefront isn’t expected to release until 2017, and the untitled Star Wars project in development by Visceral Games (Dead Space series; Battlefield Hardline) won’t come out until 2018, it’s still likely that something Star Wars-related will be revealed at the EA pre-E3 presentation.

Sony

The PlayStation 4 has a ton to show-off this year, especially given how the PlayStation VR is launching in October and pre-orders have already sold out. That means that we should be looking forward to an in-depth reveal of Robinson: The Journey. Furthermore, Activision will not be attending E3 this year, and is instead promoting top games like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare through Sony’s booth, and addition details about the newly announced Skylanders Imaginators should also be present. That’s just the start, as Sony has plenty of highly anticipated games in the works, including The Last Guardian, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and No Man’s Sky, all of which made huge impressions at last year’s E3.

Fans can watch it all unfold on the big screen, as Sony will once again bring its pre-E3 presentation to select movie theaters across the US and Canada on June 13. These events give for PlayStation fans a chance to come together and celebrate their favorite console. But those that can’t make it to theaters won’t be left out. The entire press conference will be livestreamed to PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles alongside other sites and apps.

Nintendo

Being the first E3 without the late Satoru Iwata, Nintendo is looking to play things relatively safe by focusing only on the new The Legend of Zelda game during its livestreamed presentation. This is despite the fact that there’s a ton of buzz around the much-rumored NX console, the new Pokémon Sun and Moon games releasing in the fall, and how Pokémon GO is expected to hit mobile devices this summer. Then again, the E3 floor plan shows that Nintendo has booked a tremendous amount of show floor space, 30,000 square feet, exceeding the size of Microsoft’s booth and is second only to Sony. That seems like an extraordinarily large space for the sake of a single game, suggesting that some surprises might be in store, but it’s more likely that much of it will be taken up by the Treehouse Stage for livestreaming and events while attendees get an in-depth Zelda Experience.

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Bethesda

Given the tremendous success Bethesda saw with its pre-E3 presentation last year, it’s no surprise that the company will be doing it again this year. Last year’s show included some spectacular reveals, such as announcing Fallout 4 one week before the show, and the surprise launch of the mobile game, Fallout Shelter. It’s likely that Dishonored 2, which was announced last year, will be the big focus of the presentation, followed by plans for additional Fallout 4 content that’s expected to come out later this year. A first-look at Doom‘s add-on content, as detailed in the game’s Season Pass, is also very likely. As for all-new games, Bethesda is playing it close to the chest. If last year was any indication, we’re not likely to learn about new game announcements until the last minute.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft’s official E3 website doesn’t reveal too much about what to expect from the company that’s still riding high off the record-breaking success of Tom Clancy’s The Division (which will be turned into a movie), but there are currently a handful of games that are confirmed to be shown. They include the competitive melee battle game, For Honor, Ghost Recon Wildlands, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and the Eagle Flight VR experience. The social VR game, Werewolves Within, releases this fall, so it should also be among Ubisoft’s showcase.

As for new announcements, rumors of Watch Dogs 2—a sequel to the 2014 game that featured a hacker taking control of Chicago’s electronic infrastructure—have been simmering for quite some time after its development was mentioned in a February earnings call. It seems that the company originally meant to keep its announcement under wraps, but sent out gift boxes to various YouTube personalities without instructions to keep their contents a secret. The packages included a pair of Watch Dogs 2 branded Ray-Ban sunglasses and case, an assortment of pins, and a t-shirt proclaiming the return of the fictional hacker group, Dedsec. Afterwards, there was really no point in pretending any longer, and Ubisoft confirmed today that Watch Dogs 2 will be shown at E3.

2K Games

Although 2K has only confirmed a handful of games that will be shown at E3—Mafia III, Battleborn, Civilization Revolution 2, and the recently announced Civilization VI— Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive (2K’s parent company), promised in a May interview that “We will be there in a big way.”

There are certainly plenty of rumors to support a big presence at E3, including the possibility of a Red Dead Redemption 2 announcement from Grand Theft Auto developers, Rockstar Games. Some speculate that there could be a remaster or remake of the original Red Dead Redemption to go with it. However, we can’t know anything for certain until 2K shows us what going big is all about.

Microsoft

Of all the companies presenting at E3, Microsoft is among the most tight-lipped. We know that an unnamed Forza game will be there, which is almost certain to be Forza Horizon 3. Gears of War 4 will also surely be shown, as will Crackdown 3, Scalebound, ReCore, and Sea of Thieves, which were all announced at previous E3 press conferences. Additionally, audiences are bound to see more HoloLens gaming, particularly from the special version of Minecraft revealed last year. Many believe that a new Xbox One model or two will debut—which is a theory that’s backed by a recent $50 price drop for the existing console—along with two new streaming devices, but nothing is known for certain. But, at the risk of delving too much further into speculation, Microsoft is likely to discuss additions to its Xbox backward compatibility feature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZo2sL38KmY

 

Andy Miller Details ESports BioSteel ‘Bench’ Deal

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NRG continues to do things differently in the world of eSports. More specifically, the team is at the forefront of integrating traditional sports thinking into the nascent professional video gaming landscape.

Andy Miller, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings and founder and chairman of NRG, has entered into an NBA-style “bench” sponsorship deal with non-endemic company BioSteel Sports Nutrition. Similar to how NBA teams sell sponsorship of the team bench, player towels, and water bottles for a brand (usually a sports drink), NRG will promote BioSteel across its League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams.

“BioSteel is a major sports nutrition company for performance athletes,” Miller said. “They work across a lot of sports and individual athletes from baseball, golf, and basketball. Because we’re basketball owners and we have athletes like Shaq, A-Rod, and Jimmy Rollins as investors—we brought in a company that knows player health.”

Although there’s no official “bench” in eSports, and teams play in different venues across multiple leagues, BioSteel will be prominently featured and cross-promoted by NRG teams and players.

“Our guys will walk in with their towels and drinks, where it’s appropriate,” Miller said, noting that Valve’s rules for CS:GO are much more lenient than Riot Games’ for League of Legends. “When players leave the arena, they’ll have the product with them for post-game interviews. Some of the guys are fanatics about the product, others don’t use it. We’re not going to force it on anyone. When they do streaming, the folks who use it will talk about it. And it will be part of our gamer hub.”

The deal actually came about because NRG’s League of Legends player Lucas (Santorin) Larsen used BioSteel products religiously.

“Santorin is a healthy and handsome Nordic man who works out all the time,” Miller said. “When we signed him a few months ago, he made a video and sent it to me suggesting we get them as sponsors. He uses their products because they’re all-natural with no caffeine, so he can focus on a match and then go to bed that night and recover. I contacted the CEO and he was so taken by the video that we began talking and put this deal together.”

Miller said this deal is important not only as a new sponsor entering the eSports space from traditional sports, but because the product recognizes eSports players as the athletes they are.

“The global explosion of eSports is remarkable,” said John Celenza, CEO of BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. “By mirroring a partnership familiar to mainstream professional sports, it is an authentic participation for BioSteel in a new sports industry. We acknowledge the immense skill and level of influence that an eSports athlete possesses in their demanding practice and performance and are unified with NRG in promoting athlete health in eSports.”

To further acknowledge athleticism in eSports, BioSteel will inaugurate Santorin into Team BioSteel, a group of athletes from a spectrum of traditional sports that serve as role models for player health and are supported by BioSteel. He’ll have a link on the company website with his stats and workout routines and other information.

“We’ve been doing nutrition with sports psychologists and BioSteel is coming down and doing a day of training to educate players on how to take care of their body and mind at the same time. That’s a big theme for us.”

Miller said social will be part of the BioSteel deal. Select players will stream and talk about the health benefits of the product. They will also create videos like a “Day in the Life of Santorin” that will get into his physical workouts and fitness routines.

Melissa Brooks, co-owner of NRG, said the BioSteel deal will extend beyond the fitness and health of the teams, and out to the community of fans.

“We’re thinking of ways over the next few months to educate the community and give them access to the product,” Brooks said.

NRG’s CS:GO team is now a Top 20 team in the world, so they’re receiving invitations to events around the globe.

“We moved into a giant, beautiful house in the Hollywood Hills and they have what they need from a coaching, nutrition and health standpoint,” Brooks said. “We had a happy training camp, and I think we’ll show good results.”

The BioSteel deal is one that Miller believes will continue to expand over time.

“We’re adding more teams and athletes, so we’ll begin our relationship with these two games and teams and extend the deal as we grow,” Miller said.

AWE Founder On Why Augmented Reality Is Already Huge In Business

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The Augmented World Expo (AWE) is celebrating its seventh year this week in Santa Clara June 1-2. The conference, which features 200 speakers from companies such as Intel, Google, NVIDIA, Boeing, The Void, UploadVR, Huawei, Nokia Technologies, and WEVR, has attracted over 200 exhibitors and 4,000 attendees from around the globe.

The show has already seen news in the virtual reality and augmented reality space, including Re’Flekt’s unveiling of its 360-degree video platform REFLEKT360; ScopeAR’s launch of WorkLink, the first smart instruction creation tool that enables non-technical staff to produce highly interactive augmented reality instruction and training materials; and a $20 million Series A funding round led by Fosun Kinzon Capital for VR and AR tracking technology company uSens.

Ori Inbar, executive director of AWE, was co-founder and CEO of AR company Ogmento, which later became Flyby and was acquired by Apple. That technology is part of Apple’s internal push to develop a consumer AR product.

Inbar is also founder and general manager of Super Ventures, which is investing $10 million in AR startups such as Waygo and Fringefly. He talks about the evolving AR and VR industries in this exclusive interview.

Can you talk about Ogmento and what you learned about the AR business from that company?

On the one hand, you can’t underestimate timing. We started in 2009, way before the hardware was good enough and had to do massive education of the market about this new technology. But on the other hand, AR is hard and it takes time to master, so if you are looking for the promising startups check out those who started really early and didn’t give up—as they will be the industry leaders of tomorrow.

How have you seen AWE evolve over the last seven years?

It started seven years ago as an insider conference with 300 attendees discussing ideas and a vision for the industry. It grew into a massive industry event with 4,000 attendee and 200 exhibitors, where major deals are made with Fortune 1,000 companies.

What role does AWE play in the ecosystem today?

We like to think we help accelerate the industry. Many of the leading AR startups in the market today such as Blippar, Daqri, and Vuforia were born and raised with AWE.

How big is the augmented reality business today and how do you see it growing over the next five years?

The AR industry today is nearing a billion dollar business, and according to Digi Capital, it’s predicted to grow to over $100 billion in the next five years. The level of investments in AR and VR has ballooned this last quarter to $1.5 billion.

A lot of press coverage these days focuses on virtual reality, thanks to Facebook. How do you see companies like Microsoft and Magic Leap impacting awareness of augmented reality moving forward?

There are more than two dozen AR glasses companies shipping products today, including Microsoft, Intel, Epson, Lenovo, and Sony. And soon all giant electronics players will have no choice but to join the game. Apple is working on its own version, which will probably ship when the market is ready for mass adoption in one to three years.

How big of a role does AR play in business and enterprise today?

2015 saw many AR pilot projects with dozens of AR glasses successfully deployed in Fortune 1,000 companies across manufacturing, aerospace, oil and gas, pharma, education and training, and healthcare—demonstrating significant business value in improving productivity, safety and accuracy, and reducing cost and risk. In 2016 we are seeing these pilots transitioning to departmental deployments with hundreds of employees using AR glasses to work better. This has attracted hundreds of AR startups to shift their focus towards the enterprise where they see immediate revenue and investment opportunities.

What are some examples of business AR that will be on display at AWE?

The most prevailing use cases are remote technician assistant and warehouse picking. Check out the agenda for a full list of Enterprise Use Cases.

Also, there’s a great list of Enterprise Use Cases that will be demonstrated at AWE.

What opportunities does AR open up for businesses?

AR opens up three very broad areas for businesses to work in new ways:

  1. Hands-free real-time contextual information: this covers everything from factory workers getting information on where things are, through to surgeons documenting a procedure.
  2. Interactive 3D: many industries rely on working with digital 3D objects such as Industrial designers, architects, engineers etc. AR will provide a way to work directly with and visualize those objects without the need for $100,000 rooms.
  3. Remote collaboration and support: the ability for AR to allow remote experts to assist and visually guide a remote field worker gives the ability for large field service organizations to reduce their truck roles and employ lower skilled workers, thus lowering their costs. The same technology will also allow us to help our grandparents get their printers working by digitally showing them what to do rather than explaining over the phone.

What opportunities do you see with AR in gaming?

 HoloLens has demonstrated games that can be played while interaction with your room. However, it’s not the primary focus for AR glasses.

When do you see AR impacting consumers with affordable devices they can use?

AR is already impacting users today on smartphones—apps that can translate street signs or menus from Chinese to English in real-time (Waygo), or mobile apps that can visualize furniture in your home before you buy it (Cimagine), or gives you information about a building in front of you by just pointing to it (Fringefy). AR smart glasses are starting to show traction among consumers in niches such as sports (skiing, biking, motorcycle helmets). We believe it will hit the mainstream consumer market in three to five years.

How do you see VR and AR living together as technologies in the future?

AR and VR are Siamese twins; they are attached at the hip, but currently have lives of their own (they apply to different use cases today). However, they share the fundamental technology, hardware, and skills, which is the reason we bring them together at AWE. We believe together, we can accelerate both industries.

Do you see these technologies just blending down the road into a mixed-reality?

Yes, eventually these technologies will converge into a single platform. As a friend of mine (Avi Barzeev) explains, VR is for your dreams (eyes closed) as AR is for your reality (eyes open). Although they are currently being used very differently, AR and VR already have significant overlap in displays, input devices, 3D tech, tools, skills, etc. It is essential for these communities to work together which is what we are doing with AWE.

Gamma Labs Founder On How Intel ESports Will Help G Fuel Brand

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Gamma Labs has partnered with ESL to make G Fuel the official energy drink of the 11th season of the global Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tour. The new season, which will have a prize pool of over $1 million, kicks off in Shanghai on July 31 and includes stops in Oakland, Gyeonggi, and Katowice. Each event features Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), StarCraft II, and League of Legends tournaments.

In addition to becoming the league’s official energy drink, G Fuel will also present MVP awards at each event, provide custom trophies to each recipient and have sponsored booths and product samplings at each stop over the course of the season. The MVP trophy presentations will be presented prior to the finals, at peak viewership. The season 10 finale had two million peak concurrent viewers, and 35 million unique viewers. This represents a 25 percent and 32 percent rise, respectively, compared to last year’s corresponding events. This highlights the exponential growth both the industry and IEM are experiencing as Season 1 topped out around 500,000 video sessions, and Season 10 hit a staggering 132.3 million video sessions.

Clifford Morgan, CEO and founder of Gamma Labs, explains what eSports opens up for his energy drink brand in this exclusive interview.

How has Gamma Labs explored eSports over the years with Optic Gaming and other teams?

When we first started testing the gaming market about three years ago, we worked with Optic Gaming and several other teams that have experienced tremendous growth since. We ended up having the best relationship with Faze Clan, so we focused our efforts on building a solid partnership with their organization. Since that time, we have moved the key members of Faze into a house near the office, sponsored two of the team members for Visas, and even came out with a flavor of G Fuel for them, Fazeberry. This relationship has helped us build strong roots in the gaming community, and has served as a good foundation for our brand to grow. Faze is now the #1 most watched gaming organization in the world, and the fastest growing. Cumulatively, their organization gets over 200 million YouTube views a month.

How have you seen eSports evolve over that time?

ESports has evolved tremendously since we entered the space. This is still the early stages of evolution though, and the landscape will continue to evolve over the next few years. With eSports entering the Olympics, competitive college gaming (like the PAC-12 announcement), and public television broadcasts (the debut of ELeague on Turner), the idea of professional gamers being regarded as professional athletes is just starting to penetrate the mainstream market. When I see savvy people from outside the space investing in the industry—like Mark Cuban’s recent minority purchase of a competitive team—it validates that eSports is the future of competitive sports.

Why did you decide to work with ESL on the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), one of 18 leagues and tournaments they work with?

We felt the IEM partnership was a great fit for us for two reasons. We ship G Fuel to over 80 countries a month, and IEM’s season 11 directly overlaps some of our largest developing markets. More importantly, we believe G Fuel is the future of energy drinks. As consumers continue to become more health conscious, they are looking for products that will deliver more energy, without the chemicals typically found in canned energy drinks. G Fuel is the new technology of energy drinks—portable because of its powder form, just mix it with your own healthy water source, effective because of our use of quality ingredients, and sugar-free. Intel is one of the largest and most respected technology companies in the world, and we believe the future of energy drinks doesn’t come in a ready-to-drink can.

What do you feel separates IEM from other eSports competitions?

After my recent trip to Katowice, Poland for the Season 10 finale, I would have to say the quality of their production, which is also a direct result of the high caliber of people they have on their team. I’ve been backstage for UFC pay-per-view events, but IEM’s production was even more impressive. Since multiple games are being played, they have several events happening simultaneously. As a result, they have many teams of people that work cohesively together and it’s pretty impressive to see it in real-time. That, and the 34 million unique viewers that watched the event.

How is G Fuel being integrated into this event?

We’ll have tradeshow-style booths at each event so spectators will have an opportunity to taste all the flavors of G Fuel and bring home samples. This interaction is great for our brand, as people that try our products tend to become customers. Sampling only provides access to the people on-site, so the larger penetration is through digital content. We will be included in all the digital advertising prior, during, and post event. This gives us an opportunity for spectators to watch some of our unique content, and familiarize themselves with the brand.

What does the global nature of this touring tournament open up to G Fuel and how big of a global reach does Gamma Labs have?

Currently about one-third of our business is international. Our gaming roots are in console games (Xbox and PlayStation), but the bigger market is clearly in PC gaming. As we penetrate the PC market, we will continue to gain exposure and grow the business globally. We are preparing G Fuel labels in Korean, Chinese, and German, and we’re preparing to open our first overseas distribution center in London.

What separates G Fuel from the other energy drinks involved in eSports?

Unquestionably, the brand integration. Our customers are also fans of our brand. They interact with our influencers, collect tubs and shaker cups, and help spread our message. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen with any other brand. Last year, a high school senior had his yearbook picture taken holding up a tub of G Fuel! Every single day I get messages from aspiring gamers or kids that idolize our influencers, and this type of engagement is something that can’t be established with other brands that may have more money. The vibe or aura that surrounds Gamma Labs right now is truly incredible, and I believe that advantage will help us continue to gain market share.

What role do you see energy drinks playing in eSports with the pros as well as the fans?

ESports is going to continue to get more competitive, and the games are going to become more physically demanding. Wearable technology will eventually lead to competitive games that require both dexterity and athleticism. The PAC-12 announcement seems to open the door for NCAA competition. When the top colleges start offering scholarships to the best gamers, parents will need to reconsider how much time their kids spend practicing. To compete at the highest levels, people will need energy and focus. At the same time, they will be disciplined, just like any other athlete, so health and nutrition become a big part of training. G Fuel is the healthiest, most effective energy formula on the market. Racecar drivers put the best fuel in their cars so they can compete at the highest level. ESports competitors and fans rely on G Fuel to give them the competitive edge.

What does livestreaming open up for your brand as the season progresses?

G Fuel has been involved with livestreaming for quite some time, so this is not a new experience for us. In addition to some of our top YouTube influencers, we have many of the top streamers as brand ambassadors. Twitch revolutionized the streaming business over the last few years, and I see them as the industry leader for the foreseeable future. I see our involvement and exposure continuing to grow in the livestreaming space, and I can see that extending to handheld games from smartphones, not just PC.

How else is Gamma Labs connecting with eSports fans outside of this ESL/IEM activation?

We have an ongoing sponsorship with UMG, we are The Official Energy Drink of the New York ComicCon and Chicago ComicCon, and we have a few other things planned that we haven’t announced yet. We also sponsor many other teams and players outside of ESL/IEM, as well as YouTube and Twitch influencers. I think it’s important to mention that while gaming is a huge part of our customers’ lives, our demographic also requires energy and focus for their non-gaming activities. Whether it’s studying for an exam, writing code until the sun comes up, or going mountain biking, people need energy and focus. G Fuel provides a healthy source of energy to our consumers, without the sugar, crash, or chemicals typically found in energy drinks.

E3 2016 Numbers Reveal Changing Video Game Landscape

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo is just over two weeks away, and dozens of companies are preparing to showcase new games and peripherals at the event. In addition, the Entertainment Software Association is also ramping up a separate public event, E3 Live, which will feature a number of these reveals for fans to see first-hand.

This year’s show will be quite a big one, and to help explain just how big it is, the ESA has revealed a number of statistics, including the growth of virtual reality and augmented reality, along with projected attendance numbers:

  • 66 companies will make their debut at E3 this year, including Shacknews, Starbreeze Studios, T-Mobile and Monster.
  • Along with E3 Live, this year’s show will be all about the “prosumer,” with thousands of video game fans getting direct access to the show.
  • Over 90 E3 exhibitors will have presence in the mobile space, up from 70 the previous year. They will be featured in the show’s Online and Mobile Game Pavilion, and more mobile companies are expected to join in the years ahead.
  • 53 exhibitors will feature virtual or augmented reality technology this year, nearly double the amount of the 27 featured last year.
  • One-third of E3’s exhibitors will be international companies, which marks the global growth of the computer and video game industry.
  • More than 2,000 products will be featured at the show, an increase over last year’s 1,600 products. 130 products will make their debut during the week of the event, with a number of surprise reveals.

The company also revealed the following numbers regarding industry trends and innovations:

  • With numbers provided by the NPD, the video game industry has managed to generate more than $23.5 billion in revenue last year, with the latest growth attributed to software sales ($16.5 billion for the year).
  • Digi-Capital notes that the AR/VR market will exceed $150 billion by 2020, with video games being a huge driving factor.
  • Eight of the top 10 paid apps through the Apple App Store are games, and its category makes up 74 percent of the store front’s overall revenue. That’s a smaller number compared to Google Play, with 90 percent of its games making up its overall revenue.
  • Cloud gameplay will reach 66 million U.S. households by next year.
  • The gaming audience has changed quite a bit over the past few years, with the ESA and AARP reporting that 41 million Americans age 50 and older are gamers, while three-quarters of gamers age 50 and above play on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, 43 percent of gamers age 60 and older also play daily.
  • 62 percent of parents whose children play games also do so, taking part in sessions with kids at least once per week.
  • Gamers like to share play experiences with others, as 54 percent of gamers play with others, either online or in-person; while 51 percent take part in multiplayer match-ups on a weekly basis.

E3 will place from June 14-16.