CBS has teamed up with Entertainment Weekly to bring readers the first ever in-magazine video ad.
After opening the insert for the new CBS fall lineup, a small video window starts playing with the cast of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, complete with audio.
Definitely viral, definitely cool. We’re picking up an issue tomorrow. (Just dunno if we’d watch The Big Bang Theory regardless).
Well that s a wrap. The 2009 [a]list summit has come to a close and what an event it was. We learned that wine can be used as a bargaining chip for IGN ad rates, Resident Evil 5 was actually set in Calistoga CA. not Kijuju and the origins of the Xbox actually started with a silly string fight in the Excel testers workspace. Well… only one of those is partially true, can you guess which?
From all of us here at Ayzenberg Group we want to thank all of you that attended and participated this year. We could not have done it without you. In particular I want to thank our esteemed panelists, speakers and moderators. The content this year was top notch and that can directly be attributed to the quality of speakers we were privileged to have this year.
For those of you that were fortunate to attend this year s event we also would like to extend our thanks. You brought enthusiasm, professionalism and participation that helped elevate this year s conference. And to those of you reading this that missed out on the event this year, you missed a good one!
Over the course of the next few weeks we will be releasing highlights of the talks and sessions from the [a]list summit 2009 right here on the [a]list daily. Look for an addition to the site on the right hand side. These highlights will be video clips from each of the days sessions and showcase our top learning s from them.
So to all of you that made this year so successful, THANK YOU. And for those who enjoyed it drop a note to Mr. Ayzenberg so he is encouraged to do it again next year!
Thanks,
Steve Fowler
V.P. Strategy
At this week’s Gamescom, Sony announced a myriad of developments, from the creation of a new design for the PlayStation 3 to a multitude of games and peripherals for their home and portable consoles.
One thing that didn’t make so much of an appearance? The words PlayStation 3.
Ever since the terrible design decision to go with the Spider-Man font for it’s PlayStation 3 branding, both in games and on the console itself, PlayStation 3 has had quite a hard time getting consumers really interested in the machine.
We’re not laying blame just on the branding, but the rebranding efforts that are going on are a great step in the right direction. Amongst the changes:
– Junking that horrible Spider-Man font
– Focusing on the term PS3 instead of PlayStation 3
– Making the multi-colored PS logo, unchanged in 15 years, a sleek chrome
– Having a classy look to the start of their Gamescom videos, with colorful laser lights that exude the cutting edge
Now if only they stopped with the accented “PlayStayshon” bumpers, we’d be all good.
Announced at this year s E3, the Sony Motion Controller is PlayStation s answer to the Wii remote and Microsoft s upcoming Project Natal. The wand made an updated appearance at this week s Gamescom, bringing with it a look at some new software examples and a couple of swipes at the competition.
The Gamescom trailer shows off an updated version of the archery game shown at E3, a horror game where you control a flashlight to see where you re going, a fighting game with swordplay and more.
If you have a keen eye, you ll notice Sony taking swipes at both Microsoft and Nintendo. Notice that Pinata halfway through the video being bashed A not so veiled reference to Microsoft’s family series Viva Pinata.
Nintendo gets the brunt of the sniping, with lines like? In real life, people don’t just move sideways, that s why our motion controller reads your position in full 3D, and Gone are the days of just standing there waving your arms around. Meow! They also had to sprinkle a nod to PS3 s HD capabilities, for which Nintendo has no answer.
This motion controller fight is getting a little nasty, and we ll see how the companies market against each other as new products start shipping. We ll have our popcorn at the ready.
From Kotaku:
An MTV Games/Harmonix spokesperson e-mailed Kotaku a statement this morning denying the existence of the SingStar Fab Four edition, which was reported by British gaming news outlet MCV earlier this week. SingStar, for those who aren’t familiar is Sony’s successful karaoke game series, which has seen numerous themed editions around the world.
“Contrary to the rumored reports, there is no Singstar: Beatles software product. There is only “The Beatles: Rock Band” hitting shelves worldwide on 9/9/09 on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii in which players can play as a singing game or as a full band game.”
We were informed that the company is considering special microphone packs […]
Disregarding the Singstar rumor bit, we think it would be a stroke of genius to have a microphone-only package for The Beatles: Rock Band.
If the sight of plastic guitars and drums give you thoughts of cluttered living rooms and broken dreams, a version that provides enough for a lead singer and backup may be more accessible than the normal pack with all that fake equipment.
It s one of those ideas that seems so obvious, and we hope they go this route for gamers who just don t feel the need to (fake) rock out.
FIFA 10, the world’s bestselling soccer game, had a feature-filled trailer on display at Gamescom. Amid all the footy action was a nifty feature that allowed gamers to map their faces onto the player models in the game.
This is a great feature to have as games (and media) become increasingly interested in personalization. The FIFA series is also where a lot of new features are tested and then make it around to the other sports games like Madden NFL and NBA Live.
Check it out at around the 54 second mark.
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Activision has told CVG at Gamescom that there’ll be be no multiplayer beta for Modern Warfare 2. You may remember that the first MW game had a huge open beta test that you could say was a massive success in bringing people round to Call Of Duty’s multiplayer options. But it looks like there’s no need to do that this time round.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare kicked off a public beta a few months before its release date, allowing gamers who received a promotional code to log onto the game and have some time with Infinity Ward’s multiplayer masterpiece (it s still on the top three active Xbox Live games).
Why would Activision not have a public beta of Modern Warfare 2 after all the successful hype and press received by the first game s beta Marketing for the game this early has huge potential to get interest up to a fever pitch for its November release.
We figure it s because Call of Duty 4 and 5 (World at War) cotinue to occupy two of the top three spots in the weekly Xbox Live active games lists, and both games have significant DLC still being churned out (World at War recently released its third map pack just weeks ago).
Still, it would have been great to see all of these Call of Duty fans going absolutely bonkers for a chance at getting a beta code. Next time.
The big news out of the Sony press event at Gamescom was the announcement of a new PlayStation 3 model.
Sony has a history of releasing slimmer versions of their systems, with both the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 having slim models three-four years into their lifespan. This redesign comes just shy of PS3’s third birthday, but is most instrumental in allowing Sony to make a profit on each unit sold without continuing with the bulky design it launched with back in 2006.
The new system will be released around the world on September 1 (Japan on September 3), and will have no new features, though it comes stocked with a higher-capacity 120GB model (current base models come with 60GB).
While we re actually not that impressed by the system s new look (that plastic looks a little cheap, but we have yet to see it in person), this is definitely the right direction for the third-place Sony.
Below is SCEA’s President and CEO Jack Tretton showing off the new goods (sans that dumb Spider-Man font that graced the original).
Sony is launching a Minis brand on the PlayStation Store that will be home to inexpensive, bite-sized games playable on PSP and PSP Go.
From Joystiq:
The lineup will launch on October 1st, the same day as the PSP Go. […] Sony plans to have 15 snacktivities ready for the PSP Go launch, though 50 games are slated for the rest of 2009. A few titles mentioned during the company’s GamesCom keynote include Tetris, Field Runners, Hero of Sparta and Minigore.
Field Runners, Minigore and the rest are currently iPhone games, although they won’t be strict ports as the Sony systems do not have touchscreen capabilities. We love the Minis idea and brand, and reported on rumors about this on Monday.
The new PSP Go is meant to be an addition to Sony’s portable line, not a replacement (as seen by today’s announcement of two new colors for the PSP lineup), but at $249 the price of entry is a bit steep. Sony tried to soften the blow today with some news that it would be giving away a free copy of Gran Turismo PSP to each owner who registers their system between October 1 and 10.
Unfortunately, the offer only stands for European consumers, although we’d be shocked if that (or a similar) offer doesn’t make it to American shores before the system’s October 1 release date.
We still think $249 is far too high a price point to effectively market the PSP Go, and the inclusion of a $40 game is welcome news. We actually think they need a couple more goodies to really make this a must-have unit.
Still, every little bit counts, and we ll keep you posted to how SCEA responds to requests for a similar U.S. program.
