Joystiq

Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Fallout 3's Vault-Tec toll-free number wants you to hold foreverhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/fallout-3s-vault-tec-toll-free-number-wants-you-to-hold-forever/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/fallout-3s-vault-tec-toll-free-number-wants-you-to-hold-forever/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/fallout-3s-vault-tec-toll-free-number-wants-you-to-hold-forever/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Action, Fighting

If you call the Vault-Tec toll free hotline at 1-888-4-VAULTTEC (dang novelty 800 numbers!), you'll be stuck on immediate hold and told there are 101,000,000 callers in front of you ... which leads to an extremely long hold time. In fact, a mutant voice lets you know it's about 78,643 hours (unless we're hearing it wrong). We checked back to see if it's counting down, and it doesn't seem to be.

Any hackers out there with Rain Man-like number skillz who want to try and decode what this could possibly mean for Fallout 3? Maybe it's the date of the apocalypse. Have at it, and have fun. Also, please don't stay on hold that long and blame us later. If you're phonically challenged, just watch our special Joystiq audio-only recording of the call posted after the break.

[Thanks, Robert]

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]]>BethesdaFallout-3marketingphoneVault-TecKevin Kelly2008-07-15T03:00:00+00:00Activision puts Wii first with 'Wee 1st' programhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/activision-puts-wii-first-with-wee-1st-program/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/activision-puts-wii-first-with-wee-1st-program/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/activision-puts-wii-first-with-wee-1st-program/#commentsFiled under: Nintendo Wii, Business

Do you get pissed off when companies try to pass off piss-poor ports as original Wii games?. Well, urine luck! Activision's new "Wee 1st" program is designed to guide a stream of attention to games where the Wii has gone No. 1 in the developer's mind. Games like Little League World Series 2008, Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On will be the first to try to make water out of the campaign. The program might seem like a piddling concession to the success of Nintendo's oddly-named system, but it's backed up by a national television and print ad campaign that will begin leaking out this fall. What a relief.

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]]>ActivisionadvertisingmarketingurineweeKyle Orland2008-07-09T13:29:00+00:00Counting Rupees: Bust Bloxhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/counting-rupees-bust-blox/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/counting-rupees-bust-blox/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/counting-rupees-bust-blox/#commentsFiled under: Nintendo Wii, Puzzle

Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:

Boom Blox seemed to have everything going for it. EA, one of the biggest and most successful developers and publishers, was creating it. The massively famous and successful director Steven Spielberg was directly involved with both the concept and the design of the game on an ongoing basis, and his name was featured on the cover art. Its simple and intuitive family-oriented concept seemed like a perfect match for the wildly popular Wii, where simple and intuitive family-oriented games thrived. And in the end, it debuted to relatively good reviews (and even a few outstanding ones) which should have ensured at least a positive word of mouth.

Apparently, there were not enough word-spreading mouths to begin with, as it only sold 60k copies in its debut month (which includes almost all of May, since it launched May 6^th). Despite what EA's CEO said, this was probably not what EA had hoped for with a game it had collaborated on with the most profitable director in the world. So, what happened?

There are at least a few reasons for its initial failure, but perhaps the biggest one is something I mentioned several columns ago: the "WiiCube" effect. Here's what I said back in April:

"The Wii isn't just selling Nintendo-developed games and some casual games to a big audience; the audience seems almost strictly divided into casual, low-attach-rate gamers, happy with Wii Sports and picking up the occasional Wii Play and whatnot, and Nintendo loyalists who have probably played Nintendo games since the NES days... The exception to these rules are well-established franchises, like Resident Evil or Guitar Hero, as even Nintendo loyalists (and some casual gamers) know about these and probably have played them on other systems, whether theirs or a friend's."

"Unfortunately, while the concept of throwing a ball is simple and intuitive, no one knows what a 'Boom Blox' is."

Since Boom Blox didn't include Nintendo characters and wasn't developed by Nintendo, it obviously wouldn't be a game for "Nintendo Loyalists." It was also a completely new franchise, unfamiliar to people who may have seen their friends' games or played a few titles in the past. That means that it would likely be up to the "casual, low-attach-rate gamers" to make the game a success. In some ways, it seemed like EA had the right direction for this. The game literally just has you throwing baseballs at a bunch of things on the screen (according to The Onion, this "Throw the Thing at the Thing" concept should've been a big hit.) Yes, there are a few other aspects of the game, such as the building your own levels, but at its core, the gameplay mechanics should have been familiar to just about anyone who had pitched in Wii Sports Baseball. Unfortunately, while the concept of throwing a ball is simple and intuitive, no one knows what a "Boom Blox" is. And this is where marketing comes in.

A lot of people are pointing to this being a failure of marketing. Anecdotally, most people didn't see any TV ads for the game (I certainly didn't). Doing a quick Google search for ads only produces a single result, and in it we can certainly see the explanation for most of us never seeing it.

Clearly, this ad is targeting a younger audience. There's nothing necessarily wrong with targeting a younger audience, but despite Nintendo's longstanding reputation of being for "kids", even Nintendo itself has said the average age of a Wii gamer is 29. This IS younger than the industry average, which the ESA pegs at 35, but it certainly means that a good portion of Nintendo's audience has aged (as Nintendo has clearly realized with products like Brain Age, Wii Fit, etc).

"The lack of any adult marketing for the game is a bit puzzling as well ..."

This wouldn't necessarily be a problem if the ad did a good job at reaching the target demographic. I can't claim to be knowledgeable of everything that kids think is cool, but focusing the first few seconds of the ad on the silly storyline and random talking blox seems like a mistake. Once again, the kids don't know what a "blox" is or why they should care about them, and simply making a bunch of them explode on screen probably isn't all that interesting, as they can see all kinds of explosions and such in their morning cartoons. Then, in the next 15 seconds, the gameplay elements are introduced at such a lightning-pace that you can barely even see what they're doing. All-in-all, it doesn't make a lasting impression about what the game is about and why you would have fun playing it.

The lack of any adult marketing for the game is a bit puzzling as well, considering Steven Spielberg's oft-reported comments that he "wanted to create a video game that [he] could play with [his] kids." Had Boom Blox been advertised as a family game that Steven Spielberg claimed to have set out to create, rather than just a kids game, it could've hit that lucrative cross-generational appeal. This makes good business sense as well, as kids have little to no money and usually need to beg their parents to buy games for them. Wouldn't a parent be far more likely to buy a game that they were aware of because they saw an ad suggesting a family experience, versus one that they've only heard about through their kids? It probably just sounds the same to them as another Pokemon or Dragonball.

And as for Spielberg himself, while there is no evidence to suggest that his name would have special pull with the gaming audience, there's probably not much evidence to suggest that it wouldn't either. While Spielberg's name is on the box, it is not particularly prominent, nor is it very prominent in the above ad. The box simply says in smallish letters above the "Boom Blox" name, "A Steven Spielberg/EA Game". The Amazon.com Product Features, which are often provided by the publisher, do not even make a mention of Steven Spielberg. Perhaps the game would garner more attention if it had been prominently titled "Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox" a la Sid Meier games. It certainly seems like the adult / parent crowd would at least be more interested in the title if they were more aware about his participation in the game. This may not have been possible for a variety of legal or practical reasons, but for as much as EA was promoting Spielberg's work on the game pre-release, it seems like the publisher toned it down a bit for the actual debut.

Certainly, Boom Blox could still succeed in the end, as even Zack & Wiki has finally found a decent audience of around 300k. Still, if Boom Blox 2 is going to come out, EA had better understand that the part of the Wii audience it's trying to reach may require a lot more marketing effort to reach.

As co-editors of A Link To The Future, Geoff and Jeff like to discuss, among many other topics, the business aspects of gaming. Game companies often make decisions that on their face appear baffling, or even infuriating, to many gamers. Yet when you think hard about them from the company's perspective, many other decisions are eminently sensible, or at least appeared to be so based on the conditions at the time those choices were made. Our goal with this column is to start a conversation about just those topics. While neither Geoff nor Jeff are employed in the game industry, they do have professional backgrounds that are relevant to the discussion. More to the point, they don't claim to have all the answers -- but this is a conversation worth having. You can reach them at

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]]>Boom-BloxCounting-RupeesEAMarketingJeff Engel2008-06-19T22:30:00+00:00Microsoft UK rolling out Halo 3-sized campaign for GTA IVhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/17/microsoft-uk-rolling-out-halo-3-sized-campaign-for-gta4/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/17/microsoft-uk-rolling-out-halo-3-sized-campaign-for-gta4/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/17/microsoft-uk-rolling-out-halo-3-sized-campaign-for-gta4/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

It should come as no surprise that the impending Grand Theft Auto IV is going to have a marketing campaign that rivals the absolute onslaught that accompanied Halo 3's launch last year. What may surprise you, though, is that much of that marketing push will be coming from Microsoft, not publisher Take-Two or developer Rockstar.

"Rockstar will naturally be doing their own campaign to launch what obviously will be a massive title for them," Xbox UK Gaming and Entertainment Chief Stephen McGill told MCV, "but Microsoft sees GTA IV as a fantastic title to showcase how great Xbox 360 is." As such, McGill says Microsoft will be launching a campaign with "the same sort of scale as our Halo 3 campaign last year" to promote the Xbox 360 version's Live integration, Achievements and, of course, exclusive downloadable content. Judging by our recent poll on the subject, it doesn't look like it will take much convincing to get people thinking that the Xbox 360 is the system of choice for the optimal GTA IV experience.

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]]>grand-theft-auto-ivGTA-ivGTA4gtaivmarketingmicrosoftrockstartake-twoKyle Orland2008-04-17T18:00:00+00:00Pontiac ad is glorious homage to Spy Hunterhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/14/pontiac-ad-is-glorious-homage-to-spy-hunter/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/14/pontiac-ad-is-glorious-homage-to-spy-hunter/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/14/pontiac-ad-is-glorious-homage-to-spy-hunter/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Business

Spy Hunter, one of the great arcade games of the '80s, is given proper tribute in the amazing commercial found above. OK, ignore for 30 seconds that this is a Pontiac commercial and just bask in the awesomeness of it. The music, the look, the feel ... seriously, if we could focus on what car the company is selling for even a split second we might consider buying it.

But don't be fooled folks, there is some brilliant marketing at work here. Even the car's website is designed with our demographic in mind; featuring a mosaic of the car made up of images like Transformers and Halo (clearly being promoted at the bottom of the page). Admittedly, the whole thing is very slick. Now, if only this car wasn't $30,000 ... oh yeah, and a Pontiac.

[Thanks Josh ... even if you might be a Pontiac marketing guy]

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]]>adcommercialmarketingpontiacspy-hunterspyhunterAlexander Sliwinski2008-03-14T03:00:00+00:00GTA IV ads go guerilla in New York Cityhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/gta-iv-ads-go-guerilla-in-new-york-city/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/gta-iv-ads-go-guerilla-in-new-york-city/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/gta-iv-ads-go-guerilla-in-new-york-city/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360

With its April 29 debut only three agonizing months away, it's time for Take-Two and Rockstar to up their marketing for Grand Theft Auto IV. Citizens of New York City may stumble across wanted posters (pictured above at Lorimer and Grand in Brooklyn) asking for tips in capturing Niko Bellic (GTA IVs protagonist). If you've seen the guy -- or just want a special jpeg from Rockstar -- send an email to tips[at]libertycitypolice[dawt]com. If anyone stumbles across or can scan a cleaner image of the viral ad we'll be sure to post it.

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]]>adgrand-theft-autogtagtaivguerillamarketingviralAlexander Sliwinski2008-01-31T15:30:00+00:00Nintendo welcomes two new marketing execshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/nintendo-welcomes-two-new-marketing-execs/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/nintendo-welcomes-two-new-marketing-execs/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/nintendo-welcomes-two-new-marketing-execs/#commentsFiled under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii

It's a fact that, thanks to a relocation, Nintendo's been losing marketing execs like a colander with with marketing exec-shaped holes in it. But honestly, when customers are leaping on your products and mauling them, grizzly bear like, as soon as they hit the shelves, what purpose does your marketing team really serve anyway?

Regardless, Big N announced today that they've brought on two new additions to their marketing staff. Bill Van Zyll will be the new director and general manager of Latin America, while Denise Kaigler will serve as vice president of Marketing & Corporate Affairs, taking over for the departing Perrin Kaplan. We would imagine both will be reporting to the Maytag repairman for all their training needs.

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]]>marketingnintendoJustin McElroy2008-01-14T12:30:00+00:00Today's most vulgar videos: Jam Sessions' instant rockstarhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/19/todays-most-vulgar-videos-jam-sessions-instant-rockstar/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/19/todays-most-vulgar-videos-jam-sessions-instant-rockstar/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/19/todays-most-vulgar-videos-jam-sessions-instant-rockstar/#commentsFiled under: Nintendo DS, Video, Rhythm

The North American marketing for DS guitar simulator Jam Sessions has been pretty low-key, comprised of a MySpace page, uninspired print ads, and a bevy of videos showing real artists using the non-game to play fake guitar.

Off the charts, then, are New Zealand's excellent television spots for the title, which emphasize how having Jam Sessions in your DS repertoire can transform you into an instant rockstar. According to the ads, being an instant rockstar involves hitting on your buxom aunt, and cursing out your mum for baking you the wrong birthday cake. Honestly, the things those New Zealanders can get away with on television!

If we haven't made it abundantly clear, these videos are definitely not-safe-for-work material. Catch all the raunchy, raucous action after the break (and not a single shot of gameplay, either!).

Here's the first video, simply titled "Aunty":

And the second, titled "Cake":

Instant rockstar, indeed. That is, if your idea of rockstars is "acoustic guitar only."

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]]>hottest-videohottestvideojam-sessionsjamsessionsmarketingmusicnew-zealandnewzealandnsfwubisoftvotdScott Jon Siegel2007-11-19T00:01:00+00:00Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk getting in-game ad treatmenthttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/14/guitar-hero-tony-hawk-getting-in-game-ad-treatment/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/14/guitar-hero-tony-hawk-getting-in-game-ad-treatment/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/14/guitar-hero-tony-hawk-getting-in-game-ad-treatment/#commentsFiled under: Business

Anyone who's spent even a little time rocking out to Guitar Hero III has likely noticed the game's heavy-handed approach to product placement, with stages littered with cans of Red Bull and billboards hocking everything from Axe Body Spray to Pontiac. The whole thing feels oppressive and graceless as even the game's underground rock venues are reduced to feeling like props to corporate shilling. And things are likely to get worse before they get better, as Activision today announced that it has inked a deal with Microsoft-owned Massive to provide in-game ads in not only Guitar Hero III, but Tony Hawk's Proving Ground as well.

The two titles have been added to the growing Massive Network advertising collective, which also includes Activision's Transformers adaptation, and will made to include "contextually relevant" dynamic ads. Interestingly, it's unclear if this partnership extends to all versions of the affected (afflicted?) games, or just those for Microsoft's console. What is clear, however, is that as games are now a big business, more and more companies are beginning to get in line for their slice of the money pie, and while game companies and advertisers reap the benefits of this arrangement, gamers are left holding the controller wondering just when their games became interactive commercials.

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]]>activisionadsadvertisingguitar heroguitar hero 3GuitarHeroGuitarHero3in-game adsIn-gameAdsmarketingmassiveproving groundProvingGroundtony hawkTonyHawkJason Dobson2007-11-14T11:57:00+00:00Get to know Nintendo's new marketing chiefhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/01/get-to-know-nintendos-new-marketing-chief/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/01/get-to-know-nintendos-new-marketing-chief/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/01/get-to-know-nintendos-new-marketing-chief/#commentsFiled under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Business

With the Regginator busy being all presidential, Nintendo's been in bad need of a new chief marketing officer to take names and kick ass. That new officer is Cammie Dunaway, who will officially start directing the company's $80+ million annual marketing budget on Monday.

In honor of the transfer, Marketing Daily has a quick profile of the former Yahoo! and Frito-Lay marketer, who's wasting no time in spreading the message that Nintendo products are fun for the whole family. "I've seen the excitement on my nine-year-old son's face when he's playing a Pokemon game on his DS and spots someone else at the airport playing, too," Dunaway said. "Then I see my mom, who's in her 70s, having fun playing Wii bowling. Myself, I've started to play brain-training games." Take it easy, Cammie ... you don't start for three more days.

The article also details some of Dunaway's previous marketing efforts for Yahoo! Answers, which included building a giant purple brain in New York's Times Square. Here's hoping that a giant, polygonal Dr. Kawashima head is forthcoming.

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]]>CMOexecutivemarketingnintendoVPKyle Orland2007-11-01T16:46:00+00:00Sony gets head in the game with new PS3 adshttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/01/sony-gets-head-in-the-game-with-new-ps3-ad-campaign/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/01/sony-gets-head-in-the-game-with-new-ps3-ad-campaign/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/01/sony-gets-head-in-the-game-with-new-ps3-ad-campaign/#commentsFiled under: Sony PlayStation 3, Business

The word you're looking for is: FINALLY. Sony America finally gets their damn head in the game to sell some PS3s with a new ad campaign for this holiday. Sony Senior VP of Marketing and PSN Peter Dille wrote a long love letter on Sony's blog about the plan with this holiday's marketing. "Last year, we launched the PS3 with a campaign that become known as the 'White Room' and we received a strong reaction to those ads for being provocative and demonstrating the PS3's power," Dille wrote, obviously unaware of the extreme delusion in that statement. "With those technology messages now firmly embedded, we wanted to move beyond the 'power' message with a more high-energy, entertainment driven focus for the PS3. The games are here, the price point is now $399 and we wanted to make the news loud and clear."

The 30 second spot (above) focuses on the exclusive games for the console. And in a shocker for Sony, they actually show the games in the ads. After the break is the 60 second spot focusing on the PS3's features. Now we wait to see if new consumers notice the lack of backwards compatibility in their new $399 PS3.

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]]>40gbcommercialsdropmarketingprice cutps3reduceAlexander Sliwinski2007-11-01T11:39:00+00:00Halo 3's final days of marketing assaulthttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/21/halo-3s-final-days-of-marketing-assault/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/21/halo-3s-final-days-of-marketing-assault/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/21/halo-3s-final-days-of-marketing-assault/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360

And we're in the final stretch as the Halo 3 marketing machine goes into overdrive and assaults the broadcast medium this weekend. Variety got the details on what Chris Di Cesare, Xbox director of product marketing, calls "magnifying the mania." Expect original programming that'll bring newbs to the Halo franchise -- and the Xbox 360 -- by focusing on networks with demographics in line with the Master Chief plan.

It starts Saturday on Comedy Central with Fully Loaded, two-minute mini-ads hosted by Mad TV's Bobby Lee, which were taped at Tao Beach nightclub following the Madame Tussauds unveiling on the weekend of the MTV Video Music Awards. Spike TV's Game Head will host a live feed Monday night, breaking in with coverage during commercial breaks, and then air a half-hour special at midnight called: Halo 3 Launched. That program will feature a performance by Linkin Park. G4 has also set five hours of time aside for the launch as well. On Tuesday, Sci Fi Channel will show Halo 3: Sci vs. Fi. Of course, we'd love to stay home and watch all this launch coverage, but we'll be too busy doing our own coverage, which mostly consists of us waiting in line like everybody else, taking photos and getting quotes.

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]]>commercialshalo3madametussaudsmarketingmasterchiefAlexander Sliwinski2007-09-21T12:45:00+00:00Brandweek talks anatomy of Halo 3 marketing onslaughthttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/12/brandweek-talks-anatomy-of-halo-3-marketing-onslaught/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/12/brandweek-talks-anatomy-of-halo-3-marketing-onslaught/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/12/brandweek-talks-anatomy-of-halo-3-marketing-onslaught/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Brandweek breaks down the year-long marketing campaign by Microsoft for the launch of Halo 3. Brandweek says that the ads coming out as part of the "Believe" campaign (created by mega-firm McCann-Erickson) are the last part in the five-pronged assault.

And just to give a small taste of how much madness there is surrounding direct or indirect Halo 3 marketing, we present to you a fan-made audio clip featuring the guys from X3F's podcast in "Buy teh Haloz." Created by Travis Johnson, we have a horrible feeling like we'll be compelled to put it at the bottom of each Halo marketing related post we do between now and launch. Nobody ever makes insane audio clips of the Joystiq podcast.

Buy teh Haloz -- Travis Johnson

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]]>advertisinghalo3marketingAlexander Sliwinski2007-09-12T16:25:00+00:00Master Chief vs. dinosaur, Halo 3 marketing in Koreahttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/01/master-chief-vs-dinosaur-halo-3-marketing-in-korea/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/01/master-chief-vs-dinosaur-halo-3-marketing-in-korea/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/01/master-chief-vs-dinosaur-halo-3-marketing-in-korea/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, Business

What you will see above, and after the break, are allegedly official Halo 3 marketing videos in Korea. It's, um, different ... like the part where Master Chief punches a dinosaur in the head and the back of his armor falls off. After the break you'll see what happens when someone dressed like Master Chief poses motionless in a Korean mall and springs to life. That's actually more funny than weird, but totally not what we expect from Microsoft marketing.

As we all know, Korea has a very strong gaming culture, although it mostly revolves around the PC market. Console gaming isn't as popular, but maybe videos like this help? Our Korean translator has been missing since the Starcraft II announcement, so we have no idea what's going on in these videos. We can fully accept that Korean culture is very different from US culture -- this point made clear in the video after the break as the guy in the Master Chief costume is standing in the middle of a mall with a gun. We could see something like that sparking an incident on the local news here.

[Via X3F]

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]]>halo3koreakoreanmarketingAlexander Sliwinski2007-09-01T15:15:00+00:00CCFC advocacy group demands Manhunt 2 ratings reviewhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/25/ccfc-advocacy-group-demands-manhunt-2-ratings-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/25/ccfc-advocacy-group-demands-manhunt-2-ratings-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/25/ccfc-advocacy-group-demands-manhunt-2-ratings-review/#commentsFiled under: Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, Action, Adventure

The Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), the group that ~~successfully~~ disturbingly pulled-off getting GTA Vice City ads removed from the Boston metro system, has begun their Manhunt 2 marketing campaign. Sure one could view it as they're trying to stop the game, but these groups seem to only help generate sales, so let us call a spade a spade.

As reported by GamePolitics, back in the day the CCFC demanded Manhunt 2 be rated AO just as the ESRB beat them to the punch. Then came the saga of Manhunt 2, with the latest twist coming this week that the game would be out by Halloween. The CCFC is saying, "Despite industry claims to the contrary, M-rated games continue to be marketed and sold to children under seventeen ... We call upon Rockstar Games to allow the content of Manhunt 2 to be reviewed by an independent review board with no ties to the video game industry ... We ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the process by which Manhunt 2's rating was downgraded from AO to M."

Hmm, so the CCFC is demanding a ratings organization allow an outside group to tell them how to do their job, wonder how the MPAA would feel about that for movies? And as if the FTC didn't already have to deal with enough video game related silliness this week. Maybe the Boston-based CCFC can get the city's Mayor Tom Menino to help them out while he's trying to court the video game industry at the same time.

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]]>advocacybanbostonccfcmanhunt2marketingmeninoAlexander Sliwinski2007-08-25T13:20:00+00:00Nintendo uses beach nurses to promote Brain Age in Greecehttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/24/nintendo-uses-beach-nurses-to-promote-brain-age-in-greece/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/24/nintendo-uses-beach-nurses-to-promote-brain-age-in-greece/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/24/nintendo-uses-beach-nurses-to-promote-brain-age-in-greece/#commentsFiled under: Nintendo DS, Business, Casual

A reader of N+ recently sent in a note about Nintendo's unique marketing approach in Greece. To help promote Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, women dress up as nurses and walk around local beaches letting sunners test their brain age. This seems a bit counter-intuitive, as hot nurses plus scantily-clad beachgoers tend to make the blood flow to parts of the body that aren't the brain. But you have our attention, at the very least. More pics can be found on Nintendo's official Greek site.

[Via N+]

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]]>brainagebraintrainingmarketingnintendoJohn Bardinelli2007-07-24T13:45:00+00:00Gamecock's E3 video rounduphttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/23/gamecocks-e3-video-roundup/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/23/gamecocks-e3-video-roundup/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/23/gamecocks-e3-video-roundup/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Most people who spent time at the Hotel California with independent publisher Gamecock walked away with two major realizations. Gamecock actually figured out how to do this newly formatted E3 absolutely right, even though they technically weren't part of it. The Hotel California was an open door oasis with developers showing their games in casual living rooms as a breeze from the Pacific kept things cool -- the smell of BBQ also helped (which we didn't actually get to eat in all the running around). The other realization, the more important one, is that the games didn't look half bad -- actually, in many cases, they impressed us more than non-indie games we saw.

Yes, the Gamecock name still confuses people and the two pseudo-NSFW videos we have after the break add to the things that turn some people off to the company's marketing -- but once those people understand Gamecock doesn't care, it'll start to roll off their backs and make more sense. As long as their games featured in the video above are fun and sell well, that's probably the only thing Gamecock really does care about. We're definitely curious to see how their first published titles like Dementium: The Ward and Fury, which goes into beta very soon, do at retail. And we really want more info on ~~Pandora~~ Legendary: The Box as soon as possible.

For more on the E3 Funeral

And just a plain crazy video

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]]>dementiumdementiumthewardfurygamecockhailtothechimplegendarytheboxmarketingvideovideosAlexander Sliwinski2007-07-23T17:54:00+00:00Halo's Arms Race, or when live-action is more dead than CGIhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/12/halos-arms-race-or-when-live-action-is-more-dead-than-cgi/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/12/halos-arms-race-or-when-live-action-is-more-dead-than-cgi/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/12/halos-arms-race-or-when-live-action-is-more-dead-than-cgi/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Features, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, E3

In an obvious move, Peter Moore concluded Microsoft's E3 keynote with a trifecta of Halo data. But what we're still a bit befuddled by, is the 1 minute, 52 seconds of quasi-live-action footage, presented as a collaboration between Bungie, director Neill Blomkamp, and WETA.

Moore introduced the footage as "a chance to see what they've been working on, and a new chance to believe." It's a fuzzy statement, to be sure, and one that was not clarified once the live-action spot, and the keynote, ended. Admittedly, we were perplexed. Was this an indication that the Halo movie was back on track? Or something else?

Bungie later clarified the matter on their website, giving the footage a name ("Arms Race"), and describing it as "the first digital short depicting humanity's struggle to save Earth." Further clarification came from the forums of fansite Bungie.org, with an official Microsoft e-mail confirming "Arms Race" as the first in a series of short films being released throughout the summer, leading up to Halo 3's September release on the Xbox 360.

So no more mystery: the short piece was not a teaser trailer for the Halo feature-length film. Nor was it, as several of us surmised, a last shot at convincing film studios that the franchise had the fortitude to reel in those Hollywood big bucks. No, "Arms Race" is nothing more than the beginning of yet another marketing campaign for the megaton, über-anticipated, HALO 3.

And we couldn't be more relieved.With its teletype terminal commands, and reckless blending of copious CGI effects with scant real-world elements, "Arms Race" would be more at home on the Sci-Fi channel, rather than inviting comparisons to Bungie's stellar in-studio work, produced almost always out of real-time, in-game models.

Aside from the few assembly-line shots of sniper rifles, the only things live-action about "Arms Race" were the barely-breathing actors, trying to look rough and tough despite being dressed in ridiculous, ill-fitting costumes and standing next to purple explosions.

We're amazed that WETA, Peter Jackson's own special effects and prop workshop, would have had anything to do with the juvenile approach to science fiction seen in the short, but we're more inclined to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of director Neill Blomkamp.

Yes, Blomkamp has made a few arthouse flicks. But what fewer people mention is his day job as a 3d animator for television shows like Smallville, Dark Angel, and Stargate SG-1. What might be fine on broadcast cable over an analog signal just doesn't fly in high-definition, viewed on a flat-screen monitor or an HDTV. The seam between CGI and live-action in his work is entirely transparent, and despite Blomkamp's best attempts to mask the short's shortcomings with quick cuts, it's still readily apparent when something's real, and when it's just a big blue screen.

So sure, we're relieved that "Arms Race" isn't that Halo blockbuster we were hoping for. There's definitely a right way and a wrong way to do Halo, and though we'll reserve our final judgment until the last of the short films debuts, we're just not sure if Blomkamp is on the same page as the rest of the "Halo Nation."

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]]>bungiee3e307editorialhalohalo3joystiqfeaturesmarketingmicrosoftwetaScott Jon Siegel2007-07-12T12:09:00+00:00Hide your PSP playing with a fake book, courtesy of Sonyhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/02/hide-your-psp-playing-with-a-fake-book-courtesy-of-sony/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/02/hide-your-psp-playing-with-a-fake-book-courtesy-of-sony/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/02/hide-your-psp-playing-with-a-fake-book-courtesy-of-sony/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Sony PSP

While this Sony marketing stunt is clever -- who wants to read books? -- we're not sure it's sending the right message regardless of whether or not the ruse is effective. On the one hand, if people realize that you're masking your latest round of Portable Ops by pretending to read a literary classic they'll soon come to the obvious conclusion: you don't know how to read. On the other hand, if they fall for it and believe you're devouring Dante's epic poem , they'll start to wonder why you've been on the same page for the last 45 minutes while periodically grunting and fidgeting. Again, the same conclusion is inevitably reached: you don't know how to read. We'll just play our PSPs publicly and proud, thanks.

[Via Engadget]

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]]>DanteAlighierimarketingSonyChristopher Grant2007-07-02T12:10:00+00:00Acclaim makes list of top guerrilla marketershttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/27/acclaim-makes-list-of-top-guerrilla-marketers/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/27/acclaim-makes-list-of-top-guerrilla-marketers/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/27/acclaim-makes-list-of-top-guerrilla-marketers/#commentsFiled under: Culture

Magazine Mental Floss has listed the the Top 10 greatest guerrilla marketers, and publisher Acclaim Entertainment made the list. If you need a quick refresh, guerrilla marketing is pretty much anything not normal advertising. It can be some guy using a new product you've never seen before in your local Starbucks who's a plant, it could be a comment troll in a forum or an ARG, like what Halo 3 is doing. Acclaim made the list for having some of the more insane marketing stunts in gaming. They include:

Offering cash to the first five UK citizens who'd legally change their name to Turok, apparently 3,000 people offered.
Shadow Man 2 they offered relatives of the newly dead to put promotional ads on the headstones of their recently deceased. They pulled that one.
Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance they apparently considered "bloodvertising," which would have bus shelter ads seep a red liquid onto the street.
And finally, offering to pay all speeding tickets in the UK the day Burnout 2 released. They had to retract this one also because of the potential danger.

What's the lesson to be learned from this? If you can't make good games, at least have good marketing.

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]]>acclaimmarketingstuntAlexander Sliwinski2007-06-27T20:57:00+00:00