Op-Ed: Nintendo Needs To Switch Out Sense Of Uncertainty

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Nintendo took a major step on the road to launching the Switch console. It was revealed in a special livestreamed presentation that the console, which allows users to switch from a home television gaming system to a portable one by removing the device from a dock, will sell for $300 on March 3. The company tapped into its 33-year gaming history in hopes of bringing a sense of nostalgia to the event by recounting all the past consoles and how they moved the industry forward. The Switch is said to have the DNA of all that came before it. They showcased the console’s major features in addition to several other announcements, including new games, a premium online service (similar to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold), and third-party developer support.

But in contrast to the general enthusiasm felt by critics and audiences when the Switch’s announcement trailer first released in October, impressions from the official reveal have been mixed. Some commended the Switch for its unique features, which bridge the world of home console entertainment and the mobile market. Others were disappointed with the slim selection of launch titles and relatively high price point for what many see as a secondary console that complements owning a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One—both start at $300.

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It appears Nintendo is out to please almost everyone, which might explain why the little Joy-Con controllers have so many features, such as “HD rumble,” an NFC reader for Amiibo, and infrared scanning. This is clearly a system that both casual players and gaming enthusiasts might enjoy, but gatherings and parties deserve special emphasis, given the portable nature of the Switch and how it was party games like Wii Sports that brought the Wii console to its heights of popularity. Although newly announced games such as 1-2 Switch and Arms have the potential to catch on as party games, it’s unclear whether either one will see the same kind of popularity that Wii Sports did. Aside from having to crowd around a small screen to watch the action, it’s also unclear at this point whether a battery life that ranges between 2.5 and 6 hours, depending on the game, will be enough to satisfy gamers.

The slim collection of launch games isn’t helping matters, either. While the announcement of Super Mario Odyssey made a huge impression on audiences, the game isn’t expected to ship until at least the fall, which means that it won’t necessarily be able to take advantage of the momentum established by Super Mario Run on mobile devices. Most agree that Splatoon 2 is shaping up to be a fun shooter that may even be picked up as an eSport, but it won’t release until months after the Switch launches.

Furthermore, even though third party publishers have committed to the Switch, games such as FIFA are already available on other consoles. Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim might have been a greater win for Nintendo if it weren’t a five-year-old game that had a remastered edition launch for other platforms last fall. The fact that most games, including original ones such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2, don’t have a release date may hamper the enthusiasm for the console.

All this means that Nintendo will essentially have to pin all its hopes on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the game that will appeal to its core fan base while showcasing the console’s capabilities. This in turns leads to a host of other questions, such as whether or not one game—even one with Zelda in the title—coupled with a few casual party games is enough to convince consumers to pick up a Switch when it launches. Even if it does, one can only guess how long the game will keep players engaged before they decide to move on.

Reggie Fils-Aimé, president and COO of Nintendo of America, said that the company has learned from its past mistakes with the Wii U, but it is still sticking to its reputation for “doing its own thing.” That approach has helped it break into the mobile space with the social app Miitomo and the endless runner, Super Mario Run, but it is one that has often left fans wondering about consoles and games instead of championing them.

Nintendo Switch TabletopNintendo would do well to reveal more details about its online service, which will be free for players from March to sometime in the fall. The service will support a connected mobile app and will offer one free SNES or NES game a month with the subscription—some upgraded with multiplayer. Given the steady growth of digital sales and subscriptions over the past year, coupled with the tremendous success of the NES Classic Edition, a service that draws heavily from the company’s gaming history to keep players engaged is almost a sure win. Much will rest on pricing, and Nintendo must address whether digital Wii U purchases will carry over to the new system, but this feature may have a greater chance of generating enthusiasm than its portability, the handful of party games, and HD rumble controller capabilities can create.

In other words, Nintendo should go back to its original plan of using its incredible sense of nostalgia as a foundation while it builds a game library and proves that the Switch is a must-have console for livening up gatherings. We can hope that the Switch does significantly better than its predecessor, the Wii U, but it will need a stronger and clearer marketing message to convince consumers that it’s worth getting.

10 Brands That Are Using Games For Fan Engagement

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Think gaming is just for endemic brands? Think again. From sports to TV—8-bit to virtual reality—these brands prove the power of engagement through video game marketing.

Gatorade: Serena Williams’ Match Point

Snapchat’s first multi-level video game ad made its debut in August, just in time for the 2016 US Open. Serena Williams’ Match Point offered 22 levels in retro, 8-bit graphics that was playable on Snapchat, ESPN Discover and its own dedicated website. The game celebrated Williams’ career and all the wins that led her to the 2016 US Open and her 22 Grand Slam singles titles, hence the number of levels.

Serena Williams 1

Under Armour: It Comes From Below

Athletic brands are keen to attract the 14-to-22-year-old demographic, a target audience that spends a lot of time on Snapchat. Following the release of Under Armour’s It Comes From Below ad campaign, a tie-in game was created for Snapchat that challenged fans to navigate Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton through a forest of obstacles. Users were encouraged to beat their previous score, as well as share the game with friends. In the first day running ads for It Comes From Below, 20 percent of Snapchat users swiped up to play. Those who did spent an average of 78 seconds playing the game and 19 percent of users who played shared the game with one or more friends, per Snapchat.

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Paramount Pictures: Jack Reacher: Never Stop Punching

Ahead of its October 21 release, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back received an 8-bit tribute game called Never Stop Punching. The objective of this “endless runner” is simple: just do as the title implies. Jack Reacher: Never Stop Punching may not have a plot to speak of, and technically you can just jump over enemies without hurting anyone, but this marketing shows a delightful ability to parody its own source material.

Lionsgate: John Wick Chronicles

John Wick: Chapter Two hits theaters February 10 and to mark the assassin’s return, Lionsgate and Starbreeze Studios will release an all-new, VR game series for HTC Vive. The first chapter of John Wick Chronicles, called An Eye For An Eye, casts players as Wick himself, but don’t expect a direct movie adaptation.

“The VR experience has a separate plot line, so it’s not necessarily tied to the movie. However, it’s played out in the same universe, so you will meet with characters from the movies,” Almir Listo, global brand manager at Starbreeze Studios told [a]listdaily from the New York Comic-Con show floor where it was demonstrating the first chapter of the game. “We don’t want to shy away from the message of the movie, and want to make sure John Wick Chronicles builds on it and empowers the [film].”

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Netflix: A Netflix Original Game

The streaming media giant has released an endless runner game in which players can assume the role of one of four characters from popular Netflix shows: Stranger Things, Orange Is The New Black, Marco Polo or Narcos. The game, playable online, challenges users to navigate their respective character through environments related to his/her show, jumping to avoid enemies and collecting items like frozen waffles (Stranger Things) or roosters (Orange Is The New Black).

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KFC: Kentucky Fried Football Challenge

Continuing its ongoing football-themed marketing strategy, Kentucky Fried Football Challenge is an interactive game on Instagram that invites users to play football from the restaurant’s profile page. A page of thumbnails creates an image of a football field, along with a “start here” tab. Users can select the play they want to run from the caption area and are directed to a football field with a marker showing how far the ball progressed down the field. Users then watch a replay of the gain or loss before choosing their next move—repeating the process toward scoring a touchdown.

kfc-football-game-hed-2016

Champs Sports: Secure The Bag

“Secure The Bag“—DJ Khaled’s catch phrase about staying on track with one’s goals—has become a new boot from Timberline and also a retro-style video game of the same title. In Secure The Bag, Khaled has missed the big Timberland boot launch so his only logical option is to hop on a time-traveling jet ski to make things right. (Seems legit.) Steering the DJ through a number of time periods fraught with dangers, users collect boots and fend off enemies like “Veloci-rappers” and robots on hoverboards. The game is available on its own dedicated mini-site ahead of the boot’s launch on January 25.

Jacksonville Jaguars: River City Rollers Pinball

Believed to be the first NFL team to create its own video game, the Jacksonville Jaguars started it all with an 8-bit game last year called Duval Dash. Using the same formula as aforementioned titles like Jack Reacher: Never Stop Punching and Secure The Bag, players must navigate an endless runner scenario, jumping to avoid obstacles and collecting items along the way. Next up is River City Rollers, a pinball game launched on the team’s Jaguar Arcade sponsored by Bud Light.

“Jaguars Arcade was designed as a means to engage with our brand while enjoying a challenging and fun digital experience,” said Steve Ziff, the Jaguars vice president of marketing and digital media, via ESPN. “Our goal is to reach Jags fans of all ages, and we look for this to be a key entertainment asset to grow the relationship and interact with them all year long. We will continue to create and develop more digital and mobile offerings in the future.”

River City Rollers

Warby Parker: Worbs

This easy-going little time-waster appeared on eye wear brand, Warby Parker’s website last August. The game is part of a partnership with game developer and online publisher, Kill Screen to create a new pair of glasses called Burke. The object of Worbs is to group like-colored orbs together in order to eliminate them for points. While the concept is simple, the game quickly gained a reputation for being quite relaxing and addictive.

killscreen-warby-hed-2016

Detroit Pistons: One-On-One

Premiered last month, the Detroit Pistons’ game invites anyone to a virtual challenge of one-on-one. The live-action game was filmed using a number of possible scenarios based on how the user reacts to “quick time events,” in which players must hit certain keys at just the right moment to achieve a desired outcome. Users go head-to-head against Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Each of the players is also pushing the game on their social media channels with a link that starts One-On-One against that particular player.

The free game is monetized through an eight-second “spark” ad by Dodge and revenues are split evenly between the Pistons and the game’s developer, Interlude.

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These forward-thinking brands utilize frontline marketing to reach their audiences in a new and entertaining way that encourages social sharing. Just as professional athletes continue to invest in the budding world of eSports, non-endemic brands are using video games to expand their reach like never before.

Twitch Hires VP Of Commerce; Viacom Appoints New International CEO

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Amazon and Twitch make some major moves as other companies lose CEOs and welcome new ones. Here are some of the major job moves from the past week.

The Amazon-owned livestreaming platform, Twitch, has hired gaming industry vet Matt McCloskey as its VP of commerce. In this role, McCloskey will help content creators grow subscriptions in addition to creating new engagement opportunities for game developers.

When asked what drew him to the position at Twitch after a long career in game development, McCloskey told [a]listdaily, “the combination of Twitch and Amazon offered an opportunity to transform how entertainment is distributed and consumed. Since I love empowering game and video creators, it is deeply aligned with my passions.”

Amazon has reportedly hired Jamil Ghani, former SVP of strategy and innovation at Target, to run its Amazon Prime membership business in international markets. While at Target, one of Ghani’s chief tasks was to figure out how to find new growth opportunities in an Amazon-dominated sales environment.

Viacom Inc. announced the appointment of David Lynn as the president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks. In this role, Lynn will manage and oversee all of Viacom’s media networks and related businesses outside the US. Additionally, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish recently set a three-year contract with an annual compensation package valued at $20 million.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced that she will be exiting the board after the company sells its core business to Verizon and changes its name to Altaba. She is joining co-founder David Filo and four other directors who are stepping down from the company.

John MacFarlane, co-founder of the smart speaker company, Sonos, has resigned from his role as CEO but will remain on staff. Patrick Spence, who has been with the company for four years, will become the new CEO.

Theme park company, SeaWorld Entertainment, announced that Denise Godreau has joined as its new chief marketing officer. Godreau has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and entertainment industries, driving global brand strategy, digital marketing and technology, and revenue generation.

Nordstrom has named Geevy Thomas to the newly created position of chief innovation officer. Thomas, who was recently the president of Nordstrom Rack, is charged with finding ways to better serve customers by integrating its retail stores with digital and mobile.

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises recently named Monica Gil to the newly created role of executive vice president of corporate affairs. In this position, she will oversee the company’s corporate communications, government relations and community relations efforts. Additionally, she will manage high-priority initiatives across all Telemundo Enterprises business units.

Rosemary Mercedes has been promoted to executive vice president and chief communications officer of Univision Communications. Having already served as the company’s interim head of corporate communications, Mercedes will help define the overall communications strategy for the company, which includes the Univision Spanish-language broadcast network, Fusion cable network and a group of digital sites under the Gizmodo Media unit.

Karina Kogan has joined Turner Broadcasting’s TBS and TNT as SVP of digital media and products. In this position, Kogan will oversee TBS and TNT’s Atlanta-based digital team and the Los Angeles-based content-marketing team, in addition to collaborating with the networks’ innovation team and counterparts across Turner to build digital products across platforms.

Twenty-First Century Fox has brought on Liba Wenig Rubenstein as its SVP of social impact. Rubenstein formerly worked at Tumblr, where she oversaw pro-social commitments and programming initiatives.

Otter Media, the digital-video venture started by the Chernin Group and AT&T, has appointed Billy Parks the of executive VP of creative and content strategy. While in this role, Parks will oversee creative and production for AT&T Hello Lab, a collaboration between AT&T and Fullscreen Media’s Strategic Content Group that connects digital influencers to fans through original content, live experiences, merchandise, albums and more.

Supermarket chain, Tesco, has hired Alessandra Bellini as its as chief customer officer. She begins on March 1 and fills the marketing role left open by Robin Terrell after his resignation last year amid an accounting scandal.

The UK government recently announced that the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, David Clementi, will be the next chairman of the state-owned network, the BBC. Clementi will take up this role beginning April 1.

Brian Selander announced that he is stepping down as EVP at Whistle Sports (an ESPN for non-linear programming) after having served the company for four years. He will be moving to venture capital firm SeventySix Capital as entrepreneur in residence.

The Tribeca Film Institute, a non-profit arm of the company that runs the Tribeca Film Festival, has promoted Amy Hobby to the role of executive director while former staffer David Earls returns to serve as managing director. Hobby will lead the organization that oversees a variety of nonprofit initiatives, including Tribeca All Access artist development program and filmmaker labs in regions including Latin America, Europe and Asia.

UK-based game publisher, Team17, is putting the £16.5 million ($20.2 million) investment it received from a private equity firm last September to good use by making a series of new hires. Justin Berenbaum, formerly from 505 Games, joins as head of publishing and business development for Asia and the Americas. Matt Benson has been hired as the company’s new business development manager. The company has also hired several additional developers.

Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Loving VR, Skipping Ads And Other Must-Read Marketing Stats

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This week, Nintendo finally released details on its Switch console and marketers received a whole lot of new statistics. Let’s take a look at how long millennials watch YouTube ads, how the VR industry is doing and what skills are ranked the most important to marketers.

Gaming

Square Enix has announced that combined shipment and digital sales for Final Fantasy XV topped six million units. While this doesn’t mean all units have been sold to consumers, it’s a good insight into retailer demand for the popular franchise. The publisher initially shipped five million units upon the game’s launch in November.

Meanwhile, Rocket League now has over 25 million players, Psyonix reported, with over a billion matches played since first launching in July 2015.

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VR Looks Ahead

Thanks to the emergence of VR headsets into the consumer market, a new report by Research and Markets, “Global Gaming Simulators Market 2017-2021,” forecasts the global gaming simulators market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent between 2017 and 2021. According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is gaming simulators integrated with VR headsets.

“VR creates an immersive environment for the gamer and enhances the gaming experience,” the report explains. “It allows gamers to be completely involved in the game without getting distracted. VR headsets can act as a substitute for expensive LED screens. The increasing integration of gaming simulators with VR headsets will drive the growth of the gaming simulator market. With the growing penetration of VR headsets, consumers have become more aware of the functionality and usability of the headsets. Therefore, consumers will be more comfortable using VR headsets for gaming.”

It’s true that consumers are not only familiar with VR headsets, but 83 percent of consumers said they have a positive attitude toward VR, up from 72 percent last year. According to a new study by ReportLinker, the number of consumers who said they are very familiar with virtual reality almost doubled between September of last year and January. The study by ReportLinker comprised a survey of 700 US adults in January 2017 and the same survey of 600 adults in September 2016. One quarter (25 percent) of consumers said they have tried VR after the holidays, up from just 5 percent in September.

Sixty percent of consumers who have tried VR believe it creates a positive view of brands, according to a new study by YuMe. The report entitled, “Seeing Is Believing” revealed that 86 percent of consumers have heard of immersive technology like VR, AR and 360-degree video, while 29 percent of consumers have tried it. Sixty percent of those surveyed believe VR can help create engaging experiences, while 53 percent believe the same of 360-degree video.

Research by Tractica, meanwhile, shows that VR content will overtake VR hardware for revenue generation in 2018. According to the market intelligence firm, revenues generated via the sale of head-mounted displays are expected to have almost doubled by 2020, while VR content is expected to grow six-fold to reach $14 million US by 2020.

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Looking Smart

Twenty-six percent of US broadband households now own a smart home device, up from 19 percent at the end of 2015, according to a report by Parks Associates. Another report by the same firm reveals that 60 percent of smart watch owners and 48 percent of fitness tracker owners subscribe to a paid streaming audio or music service such as Apple Music, Spotify or Pandora One. The study finds that consumers with wearable technologies are more likely to subscribe to streaming music services, while 69 percent of non-owners have no subscription at all. Among all US broadband households, 33 percent have a paid streaming music subscription, up from 26 percent in mid 2015.

Data Monsters

Is data analysis more important than social media skills? Seventy-two percent of marketers say yes, according to a new report by ad tech provider, Blue Venn. The report, “Customer Data: The Monster Under the Bed?,” incorporates research from 200 US and UK marketers and reveals that 27 percent rely on IT departments for data analysis. Behind data analysis, 65 percent of marketers consider social media to be a vital skill to have, followed by web development (31 percent), graphic design (23 percent) and search engine optimization (13 percent).

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Social Is Life

If you can’t go more than a few minutes without checking your favorite social media site, you’re not alone. Sixty-nine percent of US adults are now social media users, according to the latest data from Pew Research Center. The research found that 86 percent of those ages 18-through-29 use social media, but that number drops with increase in age. Eighty percent of those ages 30-through-49 use sites like Facebook or Instagram, followed by 64 percent for ages 50-through-64 and 34 percent for those 65-and-older.

Brands go where the consumers are, and companies spent 65 percent more on advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest in 2016 than in 2015, according to a new report by social ad provider 4C. Instagram experienced the most growth in the past six months according to the findings, attracting 138 percent more sponsored posts.

Millennials: Disney . . . “Yes.” Ads . . . “No.”

Disney ranked the most intimate brand among millennials, according to MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2017 Report, followed by Amazon and Netflix.

“Disney resonates with this age group because they grew up with the brand. It has kept up with their changing interests and now includes popular franchises like Star Wars and Marvel. Disney is also a mainstay for young families,” stated Mario Natarelli, MBLM’s managing partner in a press release. “Interestingly, five out of the top 10 brands for millennials are in the media and entertainment industry, which we believe reflects the prevailing mood of escapism and the need for respite.”

While the magical world of Disney appeals to today’s millennial audience, they aren’t too keen on YouTube ads, it turns out. A study by online survey platform LaunchLeap found that 59 percent of millennial internet users watch ads only until they can skip it. Despite a majority of respondents displaying a desire to skip the ads, only 11 percent were blocking YouTube ads via an ad blocker. Surprisingly, 29 percent of US millennials reported watching YouTube ads all the way through.

Nintendo Tapped Into Its “Entertainment DNA” For Switch Console

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Nintendo has finally unveiled key details about its new console dubbed the Switch. Nearly three months after the console’s reveal, consumers finally know price point, launch date and certain specifications that will help drive purchasing decisions this year. In addition to the unit itself, livestream viewers were treated with previews of several new games being developed for or ported to the console, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, FIFA 17 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

For a suggested retail price of $299.99 US, the Switch will launch simultaneously in the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong and other territories on March 3, 2017. At that time, a dedicated online service will be available for multiplayer, along with a dedicated app for smart devices that will offer additional features. The service will be free until the fall, at which time it will become a paid subscription similar to PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold. The Switch will be available for pre-order beginning January 21, and unlike previous consoles, will not feature region locking for its games.

Switch desktop mode

With the Wii, Nintendo changed the way the general public viewed video games from stereotypes of teenage boys on the couch to entire families playing together. The Switch continues this message by building on the success of previous consoles and combining popular methods of gameplay into one unit. Shinya Takahashi, director and managing executive officer for Nintendo’s entertainment, branding and development division outlined all the company’s innovations to date, from including two controllers and additional buttons to touch screen and motion control.

“Nintendo Switch has inherited all of Nintendo’s entertainment DNA and we have packed each and every one of these features into the system,” said Takahashi. “Nintendo is constantly pursuing new forms of entertainment to bring more fun and more smiles to the world and the new entertainment we will present in 2017 is Nintendo Switch.”

The new Joy-Con controllers do more than simply track movements—they each provide “HD rumble,” giving precise feedback to whoever is holding it. Whereas controllers were limited to generalized vibrations in the past, the Joy-Con demonstration implied that players would be able to detect the smallest of changes, such as ice cubes being dropped into a glass. The controllers also feature an infrared sensor that can tell distances and the difference between shapes—adding new possibilities to future game and user interface design.

Launch games such as 1-2 Switch and Arms emphasize how Nintendo is promoting the console as a system for parties, similar to how family gatherings helped bring the Wii to success. The Switch’s portability and included Joy-Con controllers make it perfect for having fun at get-togethers.

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Indeed, the company is known for doing its own thing and taking digital entertainment to another level, but the risk of trying new things is not without its pitfalls.

“To many, the Switch is Nintendo’s long-awaited answer to recent challenges,” commented SuperData CEO, Joost van Druenen. “Especially the investment community, which has been highly critical of the performance of Nintendo’s last console, the Wii U, which sold around 15 million units. The device failed to replicate the blockbuster success of the Wii, which sold more than 100 million units. This, in combination with Nintendo’s late entry into the $40B mobile gaming market, has raised the level of criticism among investors and industry observers, even when consumers remained loyal.”

The Japanese giant isn’t one to give up, however, and if the Switch proves anything, it’s that Nintendo is poised to take on the future of gaming—whatever that may be. Capitalizing on the popularity of mobile games, Nintendo’s foray into the arena has thus far been a success. “Super Mario Run, released almost a month ago, has been downloaded by an estimated 96 million people worldwide, earning $43M to date,” van Druenen observed, “and Pokémon GO (released in the summer of 2016) has so far earned $894M since launch (up to and including December 2016). The two titles are largely regarded as evidence of Nintendo’s continued relevance and the strength of its brands.”

Speaking of brand strength, Nintendo hopes to increase sales by launching The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the same day as the Switch. With over 50 companies developing over 80 games for the unit, time will tell if strong titles will be enough to bolster support for Nintendo’s hybrid console. In the meantime, the Switch will go on tour across the US and Europe so consumers can try it out for themselves.

As demonstrated in the Switch reveal video, Nintendo is taking a serious look at the world of eSports. “The prominent featuring of its multiplayer game, Splatoon, in the context of competitive gaming suggests that Nintendo is looking to also capitalize on recently emerged categories like eSports,” van Druenen observed. “In 2016, eSports was valued at $892 million, with 135 million regularly watching competitive gaming tournaments. Splatoon has so far sold around 5 million units worldwide (both digital and physical sales).”

Why Non-Endemic Brands Are Investing In ESports

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What do Adidas, Visa, Lionsgate, 5 Hour Energy, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat have in common? They all invested in eSports over the last week. These companies are the latest in a growing trend for non-endemic brands to realize the potential of this young, engaged demographic.

According to Manny Anekal of The Next Level, here are the brands that invested in eSports in 2016:

Food/Beverage

From health food to guilty pleasures, the largest number of new investors comes from the food and beverage industry—continuing a long history of partnerships between food and gaming brands.

Quest Nutrition, maker of the Quest Bar, is the first non-endemic sponsor to get on board Robert Morris University’s (RMU) eSports program.

“After researching the space, meeting with pro players, and talking about their training regiment, we realized that these athletes need to treat their bodies much like traditional athletes do and we want to help them tell the story of how living a healthy lifestyle can help their performance,” Nick Robinson, chief marketing officer of Quest Nutrition, told [a]listdaily.

eSports

Media

  • MGM
  • 20th Century Fox
  • Legendary
  • Universal
  • Sony Pictures

Tech/Communications

  • Vodafone
  • AT&T
  • Xfinity
  • Bell
  • Dolby
  • T-Mobile
  • Hisense
  • Sennheiser
  • Orange
  • Honor

Energy

  • Gazprom

Financial

  • Gemini Trust
  • Visa
  • St. George

Visa hosted the Visa Vegas eRace at CES this year and has partnered with eSports team SK Gaming for 2017. Lara Balazs, senior vice president and head of North American marketing at Visa, told [a]listdaily these endeavors into eSports and the Formula E are not short-term ventures. “Our European division of Visa has been engaged in eSports for a few years,” Balazs said. “We in North America and in other regions of our global footprint are starting to look at eSports and consider how it fits into our overall go-to-market approach.”

Guild Wars 2 eSports

Transportation

  • Ford
  • Hyundai
  • Audi
  • Nissan
  • Uber

Other

  • Turtle Wax
  • Michelin
  • Gillette
  • Geico
  • Mobil
  • Axe
  • Credit Karma
  • Weedmaps
  • Adidas

Rob Candelino, vice president of marketing and general manager of haircare at Unilever (maker of Axe), told [a]listdaily that eSports is an international gaming phenomenon that is rapidly growing with millions of fans and a large following of young males.

“Best of all, many of the eSports players have great hair and everyday style their fans want to emulate,” Candelino said. “These players understand the importance of looking their best whether playing in an international tournament or practicing at home in the team house. Partnering with eSports players is a great opportunity for Axe Hair to speak to fans about how easy everyday styling can be through the voice of the flourishing eSports community.”

Why ESports Is Worth The Investment

As you may have noticed, not all the above investing brands seem to fit into what you’d imagine eSports to be, but consider this—competitive gaming and eSports is projected to be worth $1.1 billion by 2019 and more viewers currently watch it than the World Series and NBA Finals.

Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, a pro gamer and former captain of Optic Gaming, told [a]listdaily that non-endemic brands are crucial to eSports because they support engagement and send people who know their brands into the gaming and eSports world. “They put more eyes into the industry we’re working in and help drive sales and supplement the community,” Haag said. “Non-endemic brands that have never stepped into this space provide so much opportunity to complement eSports and implement their brand. It’d be great if more companies follow suit and find more creative ways to work in eSports. Anybody getting into eSports now is ‘A-OK’ in my book.”

Coming to Los Angeles on February 16, [a]list summit: Competitive Gaming + ESports is the definitive event for marketers who want to understand eSports and competitive gaming and are looking to investigate opportunities in the space.

Register now to attend [a]list summit and learn the tactics and techniques to tap into this massive opportunity and get in front of this vibrant, burgeoning audience.

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.

Nintendo’s Brand Messaging Shows Longevity, Ability To Evolve

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Nintendo celebrated a number of major milestones in 2016, from the 20th anniversary of Pokémon to Mario’s mobile gaming debut and the announcement of its seventh home gaming console. Through a number of strategic partnerships and announcements this past year, Nintendo proves that the gaming brand of our youth has all grown up.

It’s no secret that Nintendo has its sights set on the mobile realm. As smartphones are the most popular gaming devices today, the strategy makes sense . . . if done right. Miitomo tested the waters with an explosive debut in March, attracting over three million users within 24 hours of launch. While the messaging app failed to hold users’ attention after a while, Pokémon GO changed the way brands (gaming or otherwise) thought about augmented reality forever. The game was such a hit that the world had a fever, and the only prescription was more pokéballs. This free-to-play mobile phenomenon brought in a staggering $788 million in microtransactions within its first five months.

Super Mario Run, on the other hand, launched for iOS on December 15 and has already been downloaded over 90 million times, according to estimates by Newzoo. The infamous plumber’s mobile debut is the embodiment of the “freemium” dilemma—while consumers are willing to pay for microtransactions, charging $10 upfront denies Nintendo the opportunity of earning future income from existing users . . . something Pokémon GO illustrates by earning a cool two million dollars per day. Launching only for Apple devices to start with may also have attributed to the game’s early fizzle, limiting its reach and dooming potential Android users to read reviews instead of trying it out for themselves.

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Despite this fact, industry experts predict strong ties between Nintendo and the mobile gaming industry over the coming years. Peter Warman, CEO at Newzoo, sees Super Mario Run as part of the big picture for Nintendo rather than a standalone hit. “We anticipate that in a couple of years from now, smartphone and tablet games will account for at least half of Nintendo’s software revenues,” he said.

The late, great Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata agreed. “All of our IP can be considered for a smart device game,” he told investors during a 2015 call. “On the other hand, since the game business on smart devices is already severely competitive, even with highly popular IP, the odds of success are quite low if consumers cannot appreciate the quality of a game.” During the call, Nintendo revealed plans to release five mobile games through its partnership with DeNA by March of 2017.

Nintendo’s overall branding message seems to be, “adapt and live forever.” The company’s flagship store in New York was renamed Nintendo New York, which implies that other locations could be in the works. The brand has also partnered with Universal Studios for a major development of theme park experiences in Orlando, Hollywood and Osaka, Japan.

The big Switch reveal illustrates eSports potential for the company. Source: Nintendo
The big Switch reveal illustrated eSports potential for the company. Source: Nintendo

While nostalgia plays a major role in Nintendo’s promotional efforts—the NES Classic Edition, for example—the company has historically focused on innovation and exploring new ways to enjoy their products. Such is the case with the Nintendo Switch (formally NX) console. The device, which is a gaming tablet with a dedicated docking station, brings together the big screen experience of console systems and the portability and convenience of a mobile device. In addition to being able to play anywhere, the Switch console announcement trailer demonstrated the potential of eSports—a growing arena that many other publishers have already explored in greater depth.

“ESports is a big and vibrant community,” Nintendo president, Reggie Fils-Aimé told [a]listdaily. “We view it as a community. We’re fortunate that we have one of the most acknowledged eSports games in Smash Bros. We’re also fortunate that various eSports leagues have experimented with Splatoon and that looks promising. They’ve experimented with Mario Kart, which could be fun for the younger consumer tier within the eSports area. So we’ve got the content to leverage into this area. It’s something that we’ve continued to look at, and it’s something that we believe can be a great way to reach out to our consumers.”

Going into a new year, things are looking bright for the gaming giant, but as always, the company will learn through trial and error. A Pokémon feature film is in development, the Switch releases this spring and we look forward to what other surprises the brand has to offer. Fils-Aimé said it best when he told us,  “Nintendo has a quite appropriate reputation of doing its own thing.”

How Ubisoft Keeps ‘The Division’ And ‘Rainbow Six Siege’ Ahead Of The Competition

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The video game industry continued to emphasize treating games as a service in 2016, giving downloadable content, eSports promotion and continued support to increase the longevity of a game all the more important. This great departure from more traditional releases, where a development team would soon move on to different projects after launching a game, can be seen in some of Ubisoft’s most popular titles.

Online multiplayer role-playing game, Tom Clancy’s The Division, broke records when it launched last March. Since then, it has remained a popular game that its players can’t get enough of. Meanwhile, the team-based competitive shooter, Rainbow Six Siege, has received regular free updates since it launched in December, 2015. Combined with its eSports promotion, regular content helps keep players engaged with the game and battling against each other in an attackers-vs.-defenders fashion. Lastly, Ubisoft’s online racing game, The Crew, was temporarily offered for free last year, which helped grow the player base while celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary.

Ubisoft’s vice president of live operations, Anne Blondel-Jouin, talked to [a]listdaily about how the company continues to promote engagement for its service-oriented games to ensure players keep coming back to shoot, drive and compete.

Anne Blondel-Jouin, Ubisoft
Anne Blondel-Jouin, Ubisoft vice president of live operations

What does the term “games as a service” mean to you?

Games as a service, or live games, refer to games that offer an evolving long-term, entertaining experience for our players. They often have a focus on online competitive multiplayer experiences such as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege but they can also include other types of game experiences like The Crew. “Live” refers to all the activities and interactions created for the game community including pre- and post-launch as well as regular updates, new content, and events both in-game and out-of-game, etc. throughout the game’s lifespan.

How does presenting a game a as a service differ from the traditional way of developing and promoting games?

In terms of development, live services are considered and planned for from the very beginning of a project. Teams continue to work on a game after its release, whereas before, when games were launched, nearly all of the team transitioned to another project. Now the team continues to create and deliver new content, improve the game and maintain dedicated support should issues arise.

What is the key to maintaining engagement with an audience for an extended period of time?

The key is to listen and communicate with our players so that we understand their feedback. The communities that play our games are incredibly passionate and engaged, spending hours improving their skills and having wonderful experiences. It’s crucial to understand their feedback, take them into account and implement changes if necessary that are aligned with the global game experience we commit on delivering. This is work we’ve been doing for example with Tom Clancy’s The Division, with the Public Test Server, as well as inviting some players to the studio in order to work with them on making the game even better.

How do you compete for long-term engagement when many others are doing the same?

As for a game that follows a classic launch scenario, live games need to be of a very high-quality in order to succeed. From then on, everything delivered to gamers during the life such games have, to be on par with this very high-quality: it is all about delivering long-lasting, outstanding entertainment experiences. This ranges from live operations (server infrastructure, for instance) to live content (such as eSports competitions) and providing gamers with the best tools and instruments possible for them to make our games their games. Success comes from keeping up with the original quality promise we make to gamers when the game launches.

What does keeping a game relevant as an eSport require?

ESports is a way for us to provide another type of experience to gamers, whether they play (as amateur, semipro or pro) or watch the game as spectators. It’s us continuing to support the community with events they’re looking for (whether grassroots competition or all-star challenges), and providing them with in-game tools and instruments such as leaderboards and spectator cams, etc. In addition, eSports starts with having the best competitive game possible, which will evolve according to player feedback. A great example was when we began cracking down hard on cheaters in Rainbow Six Siege, and the response from both the community and professional players was extremely positive and supportive.

When do you decide when a game’s life cycle is over?

We don’t have an expiration date on a live game. As long as we can keep providing the best experience to the gamers, and as long as they are still enjoying the content, it makes sense for us to continue our support. The Crew has been around for two years already and Rainbow Six Siege is entering its second season soon; we can’t wait to see how it goes but it is ultimately up to the gamers to decide! Our responsibility is to keep delivering the best quality possible in everything we do and continuing to listen to and engage our dedicated community.

How Netflix Gets Fans Psyched For ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2

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Ever since Netflix confirmed Season Two of its breakout hit, Stranger Things, fans have been dying to know when they will return to Hawkins, Indiana to continue their adventure. While last year’s promotional efforts were modest but effective, the streaming media service has been rather coy about plans for the next installment. An official premiere date has yet to be announced, but Netflix has been keeping the spirit alive with lessons learned from the previous season.

As soon as the show aired last summer, fans were paying tribute through art and handmade crafts. Stranger Things creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, were “blown away” by the response and expressed a desire for Netflix to get on the merchandising bandwagon. “They’re selling T-shirts,” Matt Duffer told IGN about the fan-made phenomenon. “It’s like, ‘[Netflix is] losing money!’ Let’s make some cool s**t!”

Netflix responded in kind with a line of official merchandise that debuted over the holidays. Pop culture retail chain, Hot Topic now carries officially branded Stranger Things goodies including shirts, figurines and even Eleven’s dress-and-jacket signature outfit. Charity retail site, BoxLunch has also partnered with Netflix, offering Christmas Light necklaces, key chains and shirts galore.

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Source: Hot Topic

Because the show is set in the ’80s, fans had an affinity for creating tributes in 8-bit through art or games. Netflix has just released an “infinite runner” featuring the show’s protagonist, Mike Wheeler, as he runs away from the dreaded Demogorgon—jumping over government thugs and collecting frozen waffles along the way. Collecting enough Eggo waffles will summon Eleven to your aid, which I have yet to do because I’m terrible at this game. Don’t let the graphics fool you—the endless runner is rather challenging and will most likely kill all thoughts of productivity once you try it. Users can also choose other versions of the game related to Orange Is The New Black, Marco Polo or Narcos, although the 8-bit element makes the most sense for a show set in 1983.

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While Stranger Things didn’t take home any Golden Globes this week, the show’s talented child stars made a big splash with a rap about being best friends and the revelation that “Barb lives,”during the cold open—although sadly she doesn’t. Sniff. Poor Barb.

Until the show returns, fans will just have to string their Christmas lights around the house, break out the Dungeons & Dragons and eat some frozen waffles. Netflix wants us to know that those kids will return . . . and friends don’t lie.

Inside CES 2017: Marketers Discuss Burgeoning Trends In A.I., Wearables And IoT

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A boatload of brands, C-suite executives and celebrities from all walks of red carpet life were out in full force this year in Las Vegas to kick off the New Year by reveling in the fiftieth installment of CES.

The annual show offers a global stage for brands from all facets of tech who thrive on the business of consumer technologies by transcending industries and stimulating emerging markets.

[a]listdaily was on the scene (video above) interviewing brands from a bevy of industries to discuss emerging tech like artificial intelligence, wearables and the Internet of Things and also the trends marketers should be zeroing on this year.