Behold the contents of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 “Prestige Edition” pack. Now maybe you didn’t notice right away, but sitting there right in front of the (pretty standard) metal case and art book is a pair of FULLY FUNCTIONAL NIGHT VISION GOGGLES.

Seriously?

Now, as an avid gamer, I’m all for collectors editions. If there’s a game that I particularly am going to enjoy, then sometimes the extra stuff is a great little touch. Companies have done some creative stuff with pre-order and collectors edition stuff recently, ranging from in-game bonus content (missions, vehicles, etc.) to fun props (such as the lunchbox and bobblehead from Fallout 3), but this pack bothers me a little for two reasons.

First, it bothers me because it’s probably going to be pretty damn expensive. I mean, it almost has to be with a pair of working NIGHT VISION GOGGLES. And because the first Modern Warfare was one of the best selling games ever, and because the demand for this one is going to be bananas, it’s still going to sell. I feel like Activision sat down and said “Hey, what ridiculous thing can we package with the Ridiculous Edition so we can charge a Ridiculous amount for it?”. Bingo, we have a winner!

The second reason is that the “cool” factor of this has a limited reach. Sure your friends/family/spouse (maybe not if you bought this) will think you’re the man, but no one else will ever know. Gamers love looking cool, and most other gamers only see you in the game. So how about you offer a sweet extra gun? Or an exclusive character model like Bungie is doing with Halo ODST.

But even as I write this, I know this thing is going to sell out. And that’s okay. I’m sure you’ll find all sorts of practical uses for your video game branded NIGHT VISION GOGGLES.

1) Free gamerpics and themes.
Nothing new here, but it still can be smart and easy. That being said, I don’t think it will be truly effective/adopted unless your brand is what Alan Wolk calls “A Prom King Brand“. For example, McDonalds just did this with their McCafe lattes. I don’t get that at all. What self-respecting gamer is going to have their picture set as a McDonalds latte? Past examples such as the TV show Entourage or the Addidas Anniversary Editions make a much more compelling case.

2) Sponsored avatar clothing.
No one has done this yet, and I’m not sure Microsoft is even open to it, but I think it’s a slam dunk. I want to see Ralph Lauren step up and offer Polo branded shirts. Where are the Converse All-Stars, the Nike warm-ups, the Levi’s 501s? And all that doesn’t even touch sports teams. It seems like this is a segment with some potential, and if I was an apparel manufacture, you can be I’d be on the phone with Microsoft.

3) Free sponsored version of arcade downloads.
This is my favorite idea here, and the one with an absolute ton of potential. What I’m suggesting here is that a company take an already popular (or semi-popular) version of an arcade title and offer it free for a few days. This free version would have all the functionality and features of the regular title, but be branded. It could even have a small interstitial in the beginning to play the latest 30-second spot from the brand (which could be updated continually over the internet connection). This way, every time you fire up your favorite, free, new arcade title, you’re reminded who to thank. Could be great.

4) Advergames.
This is a sketchy option. Not because gamers don’t like free stuff, but because these games usually really suck. Look at that game that Doritos just gave away, or the Yaris game. Ouch. Now there’s two routes these kind of games can take. One is they can be something remotely related to your actual product (like the Yaris game). While this seems like it makes the most sense, you have to remember that most products don’t lend themselves to a fun game experience. The second option is to just make a fun little game, and brand the hell out of it. Think Peggle but with “YOUR BRAND HERE”.

5) Giveaways.
Netflix is already rocking out pretty hard with the giveaway option. They’re offering a chance for a home entertainment system with your Netflix activation (which is awesome, trust me). I feel like a lot of companies could go this way, gives you a lot of publicity with little cost.

So what do you think? What did I miss?

With the economy in it’s current state, many game developers/publishers are either downsizing or closing their doors all together. However, indie game studios have seen some solid growth. Games like Braid, Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars RE 2, World of Goo, and A Kingdom For Keiflings have been met with both critical and commercial success. This is a trend that I don’t see changing any time soon.

The opportunity is this: Many of these small (many/most under 10 people) game studios don’t have dedicated marketing resources. Think of them as new authors promoting a book. The do all the work creating the game and then they have to go out there and sell it. I know they don’t have big budgets, but where’s the savvy marketers willing to work for a commission or percentages?

Big opportunity and still growing. I’d like to give it a try. Anyone else?

So, on to the thoughts!

• First off, in-game advertising is a good idea. Yes, I honestly believe that. It just has to be done right.
• Like Verdino says, it’s not all about billboards and posters. But at the same time, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them. For games that try to mimic “real life”, I think that “real life” type advertising would fit in. Still that doesn’t mean it’s going to be effective at all, just like that “real life” thing.
• The opportunities for advertising in video games reaches far beyond just in-game material. Look at the new avatar system that Microsoft implemented for the Xbox 360. Why not create some branded t-shirts or jackets and give them away so people can put them on their avatar? I’d totally have my avatar rock a Polo shirt, a PSU jersey, or Phillies hat.
• What about sponsored game giveaways? Take a popular, downloadable Xbox Arcade game, make a special version with a Brand-sponsored interstitial, and give the game away. If the person is connected to live, they could even receive updated ads. Lots of possibilities here.

I’ll stop here, but I could do this all night. Seriously.

What say you?

]]> http://www.mattjmcd.com/2008/12/thoughts-on-video-game-advertising/feed/ 0 http://www.mattjmcd.com/2008/09/is-xbox-live-a-social-network/ http://www.mattjmcd.com/2008/09/is-xbox-live-a-social-network/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:03:12 +0000 Matt http://www.mattjmcd.com/?p=239
Let’s look at some of the arguments from both sides. Ready? Go!

The case for “Heck yes, it is”

-You can have profiles
Xbox Live requires you to have a unique handle, or GamerTag (mine is Situation3), to exist on their network. With this profile you can choose an avatar, and edit your name, location, and motto (which is essentially useless). Pretty soon however, Xbox Live will be getting a major overhaul in this department, adding in avatars which fall in between something from Second Life and the Wii’s Mii character. It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft utilizes the new functionality brought about by these changes to focus on the more “social” element of XBL.

-You can have friends
Just like with other major social networks (MySpace, Facebook, etc.) you can build and maintain a list of friends on Xbox Live. The process is fairly easy, all it requires is that you type in the name of the person you’d like to friend. You can even attach a text or audio message with your friend request, which is a great feature. Once you’re on their “friends” list, you can see when they’re online and which games they’re playing, join games that they’re in, send them messages, voice chat, and even look through their list of friends for other people you might know.

-You can keep in touch with people
Actually, you don’t have to play games over XBL. Once signed on, through the dashboard you can voice or text chat with your friends or send audio or video messages (if you have the camera). Obviously XBL is a gaming platform first, but with a worldwide member base, it might be cheaper to chat with your friends in London or Dubai for a couple hours via XBL than it is to call them over the phone.

The case for “Absolutely not!”

-You have to buy specific hardware
Unlike most social networks, you need to buy a few things to have access to Xbox Live. First off, obviously you need an Xbox 360. At $199 for the basic Arcade model, it’s cheaper than most computers, but even given that, it still doesn’t come close to the functionality of a simple PC.

-You have to buy a subscription
This is a deal breaker for a lot of people. In addition to buying the Xbox 360, you have to also purchase a membership to Xbox Live. If you go for the whole year up front, which runs about $50, it comes to a little over $4 a month. While this may be less than almost everything on the menu at Starbucks, it’s still more than most other major networks (which are free).

-All you can do is talk and play video games!
When it all boils down, this is totally true. Some will say that without the ability to share files or pictures, add aps, set up groups and group pages, etc. that Xbox Live falls short of the functionality that defines a social network today.

My Decision – Yes it is.

When you look at the arguments, the biggest factors against XBL being a social network is the higher barriers to entry when compared to traditional social networks. While I think this is certainly a differentiator and a worthy argument, I don’t think it’s a enough to discount XBL completely.

What say you?

]]> http://www.mattjmcd.com/2008/09/is-xbox-live-a-social-network/feed/ 8 http://www.mattjmcd.com/2008/08/electronic-arts-tiger-woods-and-jesus/ http://www.mattjmcd.com/2008/08/electronic-arts-tiger-woods-and-jesus/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:55:29 +0000 Matt http://www.mattjmcd.com/?p=249 No, it’s not the beginning of a bad joke. It’s a great story involving two of my favorite things, gaming and marketing, and could teach us all a thing or two. Here’s the details.

A little while back, a user named Levinator25 posted a video from the EA game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. The video depicted a glitch in which Tiger Woods hit a miraculous shot, dubbed “The Jesus Shot” …from the middle of a pond. Most companies would either A)be completely unaware of this video’s existence, or B)do absolutely nothing about it. Not EA, and with Tiger Woods himself, here’s their response.

Glitch? What glitch?

Well played EA. Class dismissed.

originally found on Joystiq

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