Joystiq

EA Sports planning 'persistent' gamer profiles across its titles, all of EA to follow

Randy Nelson — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST

"Today we're looking at a seamless experience across all our franchises." EA Sports president Peter Moore made this remark while outlining the label's future today during the MI6 video game marketing conference in San Francisco. "Regardless of where you are, what platform you have, what game you're playing, that you're constantly connected," he said, adding that he sees EA Sports games of the future being "connected experiences that recognize users and reward them for playing multiple games."

The concept itself certainly isn't new, but EA's take on "persistence" (aka cloud data) sounds promising. "We recognize [players] -- that's the persistence -- and their presence there gets its achievements and carries them from iteration to iteration," said Moore. "It's no longer 'buy Madden 11 and then buy Madden 12 and start from scratch,' it is 'take everything that you've done and migrate it and move it along.'"

Moore stopped short of naming which titles will usher in this new dynamic for his brand, but did say it's not far off -- and doesn't just encompass EA's sports label. "It's not far away. It's certainly within [our] grasp," Moore said, explaining that "this is how we envision the future of our industry, and this is how we at EA Sports individualize and personalize this as the future of our brand and ultimately the future of what Electronic Arts as a whole is going to do across all of its titles."

EA Sports planning 'persistent' gamer profiles across its titles, all of EA to follow originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MI6 marketing firm seeking original Dead Rising 2, Halo: Reach trailers from college students

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:30:00 EST

Considering the volume of fan-made game trailers cast onto the YouTubes every day, we're guessing MI6's "Making the Cut" competition will bring in a number of qualified entrants. Here's the deal: Any college student who makes a "non-traditional" trailer for either Halo: Reach or Dead Rising 2 can send said trailer into MI6 (the marketing agency, not the branch of British intelligence services), which could be chosen to receive an award during the annual MI6 Video Game Marketing Conference and Awards Show.

Participants are encouraged to use their imagination, but must also incorporate gameplay footage provided by the games' developers. Interested collegiate filmmakers can check out the rules and regulations or register for the contest on the official site. Then, it's just a matter of brainstorming and filming an eye-catching concept. How about ... backwards pre-teen zombie girls? Those seem to be pretty "in" right now.

MI6 marketing firm seeking original Dead Rising 2, Halo: Reach trailers from college students originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Ant Farm talks successes of Modern Warfare 2 marketing

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST

While we might argue that Infinity Ward's 2009 follow up to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2, likely earned the lion's share of its sales through Infinity Ward's history of making quality games, building a strong and loyal fanbase, and, well, the very fact that it was a sequel to an insanely high-selling game, the marketing team behind MW2 would likely disagree. Speaking at this week's MI6 Conference (and picked up by VentureBeat), contract marketing team The Ant Farm discussed some of the reasons that the sequel's advertising campaign worked so well -- and helped the title sell millions more copies than it would have without.

"With us, it became a challenge of basically breaking it down to 'how do we engage the core first?'," explained Ant Farm executive creative director Rob Troy. "By the time you see the invasion on US soil, which was a secret for a long time, you definitely wanna go out there and kick some ass." For him, the marketing campaign was about slowly doling out aspects of the story while keeping fans in the dark about specifics, and resulted in a resounding success. We have to imagine landing commercial premieres during major sporting events likely helped out the sales as well, not to mention those MW2-branded energy drinks. Also, hey, blowing up castles is always a good way to advertise your product -- let's not kid ourselves, folks.

We've embedded the whole conversation for your viewing pleasure after the break.

Continue reading The Ant Farm talks successes of Modern Warfare 2 marketing

The Ant Farm talks successes of Modern Warfare 2 marketing originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Assassin's Creed 2 takes seven at MI6 Awards

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:15:00 EST

As if Assassin's Creed 2 hadn't already taken enough prestigious awards (not to mention a number two spot in our best of 2009 list), the MI6 released word today that the game also earned seven gold awards in marketing at the fifth annual MI6 Awards on April 1 in San Francisco. From "Outstanding Overall Integrated Marketing Campaign" (though all the cool kids call it the "OOIMC" -- pronounced "oo-imp-ka") to "Outstanding TV or Theatrical Ad Campaign," AC2 swept the awards show, only closely lead by Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles and NBA 2K10 at four each (remember folks, these are awards for marketing).

If you'd like, the whole list is available here (in PDF format, so you know). And yeah, if you hadn't already guessed, the Darkside Chronicles shirt was totally voted "Best Swag." Deservedly so.

Assassin's Creed 2 takes seven at MI6 Awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallout 3 dominates MI6 marketing awards

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:00:00 EST

Critical acclaim is a swell bullet point for the back of a box, but, really, who bases their buying decisions on what the so-called "experts" have to say? Let's face it, we buy certain games because they're staring us down every which way we turn -- on the internet, on the TV, on the frickin' subway -- and because, well, sometimes we're just suckers for the ol' "Chotchkie" Editions. And, while we might curse the thought of marketing (and our powerlessness against it), the MI6 Awards celebrates this integral component of the game industry machine.

So, just this once, let's all give a hand to the brilliant minds that so craftily offered us many, many valuable opportunities to ride their hype waves all the way to the checkout last year. View the complete list of awards and "Gold Winners" (no euphemism necessary, huh?) after the break.

Continue reading Fallout 3 dominates MI6 marketing awards

Fallout 3 dominates MI6 marketing awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halo 3 marketing designed to not make Master Chief a 'reckless American cowboy'

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

At the MI6 marketing conference in San Francisco, GameDaily reports on how Halo 3's marketing molded the image of Master Chief. Jerret West, global group product manager at Microsoft, explains they didn't want to portray Master Chief "as a reckless American cowboy." They needed him to be accepted as a savior of humanity and integrate Halo into pop culture. West notes the team had pop culture benchmarks like making the cover of Time or Wired, and worked with numerous other companies to push marketing ideas.

Chris Lee, a product manager from Microsoft, points out that Halo didn't have an awareness problem, it had a perception problem for being too hardcore. Looks like the team's efforts to make the Master Chief mainstream worked out. Halo 3 ended up becoming one of the best selling games last year.

Halo 3 marketing designed to not make Master Chief a 'reckless American cowboy' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wes Craven pondering games career

Alan Rose — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Business

The man responsible for introducing us to Freddy Krueger may soon be following in the footsteps of the Wachowski brothers, Steven Spielberg, and other Hollywood heavyweights who are crossing over into the gaming biz. And unlike some people in the entertainment industry, writer-director Wes Craven feels that if video games contain "deep stories, characters, and narratives", they should be considered forms of art.

Speaking with author and Mercury News blogger Dean Takahashi at the MI6 Game Marketing conference, Craven also confirmed he is "in talks" to make an original video game. However, if you're expecting a Resident Evil-style romp from the horror maven, you may be surprised with what he eventually produces. The former college professor feels there are not enough educational games on the market, and sees opportunities to simulate world politics and health problems. Whatever it is, Wes, don't let "you know who" make a movie out of it.

In addition to Nightmare on Elm Street, the prolific Craven has also written and/or directed The Hills Have Eyes, Swamp Thing, Scream, and Red Eye.

See also: WesCraven.com

Wes Craven pondering games career originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo DS is the next Bond watch [Update 1]

Jason Wishnov — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 15:35:00 EST

Filed under: News

Nintendo's marketing department never ceases to amaze, do they? The Nintendo DS will act as an all-in-one espionage gadget in the upcoming ~~Generic Teen Spy Movie 18~~ Stormrider, the first in a long line of Alex Rider stories by author Anthony Horowitz. From the press release:

"After the murder of his uncle and guardian, the MI6 British spy agency recruits the reluctant 14-year-old Alex Rider to take over his uncle's mission. Like any good spy, during training he receives his key piece of gadgetry: a Hot Rod Red Nintendo DS. He also gets several game cards that transform his DS into an eavesdropping device, a wiretap detector or a smoke bomb."

Uhm, why can't our dual-screened wonders do all that? I wonder if the villains use PSPs which fire out UMDs at rapid speeds. Oh snap.

[Update 1: Added PSP villains, thanks, Ludwig]

Nintendo DS is the next Bond watch [Update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Jun 2006 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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