Sometimes it takes something big for people to notice, and who is bigger than Obama right now? It is now old news that he has some in-game advertising live right now, and it just happened to start in one of my favorite games, Burnout Paradise. The good news for the gaming industry is that it is getting a fair amount of press. Over 500 articles have been written about it by real news organizations. This, in turn, is sparking even more attention. AdWeek just posted a story about the growing in-game ad business. The article "predicts an eye-popping 150 percent to 200 percent growth in 2009, while technology research firm Parks Associates, Dallas, estimates that what was a $54 million business in 2006 could hit $800 million in sales by 2012."
Sometimes it takes something big for people to notice, and who is bigger than Obama right now? It is now old news that he has some in-game advertising live right now, and it just happened to start in one of my favorite games, Burnout Paradise. The good news for the gaming industry is that it is getting a fair amount of press. Over 500 articles have been written about it by real news organizations. This, in turn, is sparking even more attention. AdWeek just posted a story about the growing in-game ad business. The article "predicts an eye-popping 150 percent to 200 percent growth in 2009, while technology research firm Parks Associates, Dallas, estimates that what was a $54 million business in 2006 could hit $800 million in sales by 2012."
If you haven't seen the Hema Rube Goldberg site, then you are missing out. It is a really cool example of what a retailer can do to draw attention to their site, have fun, and get people talking. Nintendo has taken a similar idea and mashed it up with YouTube. This made YouTube interesting and surprising all over again. CLICK HERE AND CHECK IT OUT!
On Monday I read that Verizon was adding a few new features for FiOS users, and Monday night I learned that Richmond was among the first line of testers. Yippy. So I signed up for the ESPN Fantasy Football widget and can say I'm quite impressed. I haven't been able to watch it during an actual game yet, but it is pretty cool that I can check my leagues scores, get player stats, and see some of the latest info.As I type this, however, I wonder if it is redundant. Most of the time I'm watching TV with my laptop in my lap (I'm doing it right now). But I also spent some time checking stats in bed last night after my wife went to sleep, so that was useful.
I'm pretty sure Buzz! is going to be a dark horse in family entertainment... especially with the newly announced feature of custom quizzes. I first heard about this at the GDC at the beginning of the year, but had to keep my lips sealed, but Joystiq just found Sony's new site... so I'm guessing everything is official.Here is the rundown... Anyone (with a PSN account) can write their own quiz from any computer, upload it to the network, and have it playable by anyone. I think this is a game changer for this type of game. In the past, these had limited shelf life because you would eventually memorize questions. But this keeps it fresh and flexible. Criterion has been keeping Burnout Paradise interesting with free updates to their game, but massive user generated content will take this idea to the next level. The combination of Buzz! and Little Big Planet are starting to build a very interesting story for Sony... it will be fun to see where they take things over the next few months.
I'd love to see this evolve into a wiki like environment where people can fact-check, update, and build onto other people's quizzes. It would also be really cool to incorporate pictures or videos into questions.
So Rock Band 2 is here and people are talking. Most of the conversation seems to be about the set list and which songs end up on Guitar Hero III or Rock Band 2. Metallica's downloadable content that coincided with the release of Death Magnetic was pretty cool, especially for the one band who fought digital downloading for so long. But the thing that has me excited is the drums. These look like real electronic drums because they are developed "by the engineers at Alesis, one of the largest
manufacturers of professional electronic drums in the world." That reminds me, I was once described as the second worst drummer in the world. Maybe I shouldn't spend the $300 for the new set. sigh...
Crispin is good at making people talk. really good. Which is why I think it is funny when I read things like this from gizmodo. As of this writing (about 14 hours after I first saw the ad on the NFL season opener) the video has nearly 120,000 views on YouTube... and that is just YouTube. It has been reposted in places all over the net.
So why does this ad work? Let me count the ways.
A) People are talking about Microsoft... and they aren't saying it sucks.
B) The shoe metaphor implies that you have to get used to the software before you really appreciate it.
C) Bill Gates inaudible whispers at the end hint at more tasty stuff in the future.
If it wasn't working... I wouldn't be writing this right now. Sure, I'm not going to turn in my mac for a PC any time soon. But I'm seeing MS through a filter I've witnessed before. I guess if I ever get to the point where I want to try it, I could always dual-boot my mac.
Guess what I'm not playing with today... Chrome. The net is all abuzz about Google's new browser, but so far it is only for PCs. I'm not really searching for a new browser, it is just fun to try the latest and greatest of anything. I guess that is also why my hard drive is filled up... constantly downloading files, and a new found fascination with RAW files. I actually had zero k left on my HD last night and couldn't receive any more emails... oops. Now if I could only find my power chord to my external HD everything would be solved.
People like different games for different reasons. When I'm on the road for business, I'm looking for a game that will completely distract me from reality, reduce my stress level, and allow time to fly by.Great game designers also play off the platform. Elite Beat Agents is insanely fun, gets better with headphones, and could only be possible on the Nintendo DS. Loco Roco is perfect for the PSP (though would be much better with a motion sensing controller). But the winning game for conquering the road rage of business travel is Lumines.
Lumines is quite possibly the best game for an airplane ever. When combined with headphones, the PSP version is deeply immersive. The music is so integrated to the action that you can stay entertained for most of a cross-country flight, and the gameplay is quick enough that you can't look away. This combination makes for a time-suck worthy of investment. It is similar to Tetris, just a little more entertaining and immersive.
I realize this was one of the launch titles for the PSP, but it is that good. After a week on the road, Lumines has the replay value that few games offer. I'm pretty sure that Lumines kept me sane over the past week.
[UPDATE] It looks like Lumines is coming to the PSN. I wasn't as much of a fan as the XBOX 360 version. There is something that just doesn't translate to the big screen. Glad to see more people will get a chance to play though.
As I've said in the past, I'm really excited about Home's potential. If it becomes a natural extension of the PS3 interface, I'm pretty sure it will be game changing. The thing is... it has to be forced on people. If it is just another program, I'm not sure people will use it, but if you show up in your own little universe each time you load up, it will change the way we game.According to Joystiq, Home is in the final stages of beta, version 0.98. I've read that testing has expanded from Europe to Asia, and will hopefully be heading stateside soon. We've got a meeting with SCEA next month, so hopefully I'll be able to get inside and play around. The last time we met, we just didn't have enough time.
We had our fantasy football draft last night... a 3.5 hour process to kick off a season of trash talking, betting, and attentive football watching. I haven't been into fantasy sports since high school, and things have changed a lot. I used to have a leg up because I knew where to find digital box scores and how to write a few simple equations in excel. Now everything is online from strategy guides to stats that are configured to your league's specific scoring system. My edge is gone... but the Waco Wackos will dominate.It is an interesting branding exercise though. ESPN's version is sponsored by GMC, and beyond that, there are very few ads. I do, however, keep noticing an add about yellow teeth at the bottom of the screen. First my PS3 tells me I'm fat, and now my laptop is telling me my teeth are yellow. eeehhhhh.
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