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New state of gaming, Twitter is mobile, @sign history, Apple patent wars, Printing blood vessels, Big Macs, 20 yr conversation

Submitted by Oliver Newton on Mon, 16/07/2012 - 13:14

Afternoon all,

I am over the emotional draining of Murray’s speech from last w/e and ready to believe the Olympic tennis promises the nirvana of redemption. Although to be honest more likely redemption for Nadal than Murray. This week we are having a look at the world of gaming and how the devices are more like entertainment systems than pure-play gaming machines. Video here

OUYA: If you enjoyed the video this week then here is the link to the OUYA Kickstarter page. Why do think this is so important? A couple of reasons really, the TV is still a core screen in the house and people like to gather around it so making that the destination makes sense. Cheap gaming is huge as demonstrated by mobile and because this is open source it will scale quickly. Already at well over $3m raised it has started to generate the interest it needs to get the developers wanting to build for it.

Is Twitter the first of the truly mobile social networks to make money?: Twitter announced the other day that they are now regularly seeing more money come in from Mobile ads than from desktop ones. Looking at the graph below it is no surprise when you see that mobile is now their dominant channel.

Twitter mobile.jpg

Twitter history of the @sign: Back in the beginning Twitter was more of a framework than the full on platform it has become. Here is a great timeline of the origins of the functionality of the @ feature. That, like the # was created by users rather than Twitter.

Patent wars: It seems that there is constantly some form of patent battle being played out at the moment in the mobile world. The general consensus seems to be build up an arsenal of patents and then enforce those to defend the challenges you get. Hence why Google bought Motorola, FB spent billions on Y! IP etc. At the moment Apple seem to be losing friends by going aggressively after Samsung and stopping sale of some of their products in Australia and Germany. Well, it would seem is the bully boy in a lot of this if you look at the litigation maze created by Kanzatec IP Group. When the iPhone launched Steve Jobs famously declared “...and boy have we patented it”. 5 years later with Apple at the centre of 60% of all mobile litigation that would seem true.

Apple patent core.jpg

3D printing of blood vessels: If you haven’t already picked up on the 3D printing vibe then this might get you interested. A couple of months ago we saw how classic car enthusiasts were printing parts for their cars that were no longer in production. Well here is an amazing use case where scientists have worked out a way to print blood vessel networks, thus eliminating the problem of seams that were the critical weakness in the historic methods of their research. A really impressive video and less than 2 mins to really see Sci-Fi become Sci-Reality

McDonald’s make your own Big Mac: I’ve been really impressed with how McD's is changing their image at the moment as an open and "healthy" option through their honest videos. Personally I always thought there was a secret sauce in the Big Mac, apparently not

Random trail through web history: In celebration of their final gig happening this weekend, here is a picture of Les Horribles Cernettes a band of physiscts from the CERN labs (Higgs Boson), they are forever etched in to internet fame for being the first ever picture uploaded to the web back in July 1992.

Boson band.jpg

And if you really want to know about the band and get a live stream of the gig then go for your life

And finally... You may well have seen this, but if not, worth a watch for simple randomness and pre-planning. 20 years ago a guy (then 12 yrs old) recorded a video to himself, now, older, he has recorded the 2nd half of the conversation

Last one promise... If you like cats and the internet (you are heavily not alone) then get involved in the 1st online cat festival

Have a great w/e.

Oli.

Routinisation of gaming highlights need for research centred design

Submitted by Steve Smith on Wed, 27/06/2012 - 07:13
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US revenues from sales of video games saw slight growth between 2009 and 2011, climbing from $16 bn to $16.6 bn.

Although revenues for computer and console games fell from $10.6 bn to $9.3 bn, the more interesting data is that sales for games delivered by other means climbed $1.9 bn, which includes sales of games via mobile apps and social networks.

US games revenues01.png

Source: Entertainment Software Association, 2012

What I find interesting about this is that it shows people are embedding games into their everyday routines around other media and devices. People carry their mobiles around with them, so they use them for gaming; they go on Facebook most days for catching up with friends, and so they use that for gaming.

This behaviour is indicative of how people are likely to continue to embed activities into their mobile phones - behaviours they currently do via other means. Yet much of this is dependent upon researchers informing the design of products through research that seeks to carefully understand people's everyday routines (especially through ethnographic techniques). All too often, we see designers and organisations taking a 'if we build it they will come' approach. Recent history is littered with examples that show this is a fallacy.

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Friday note - iPad app wins an Oscar, iPad3, Deep Zoom, illuminator, xbox eMag, Twitter mobile and flying robotsFlying robots

Submitted by Oliver Newton on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 16:30

Afternoon all,

Well, I didn’t win a million pounds with Blinkbox for predicting the full list of winners at the Oscars. But I did predict the winner of best Short Film which was “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”. You may be wondering why I have opened with is. The reason being we had a write up on this short film about a year ago but we wrote about it as an iPad app. The film had no traction until the app came out and has now celebrated the year with an Oscar. Here is a quick look at it

And for the full 15 min film you can also find it on YouTube but not sure how legal that copy is so if you want it, you will have to find it yourselves 

Speaking of iPad... Get your money ready – it’s iPad3 time Next Weds the new iPad is unveiled so expect it in shops within a short while.

iPad3.jpg

Apple like to allude to what’s coming up in their releases through the invites they use. So assuming the tea leaves are read correctly this will be all about a an iPad 3 with higher resolution screen (similar to the iPhone 4/4s) a faster processor and potentially an update to the Apple TV.

All very exciting and means that anyone advertising in tablets will see a huge surge in impressions as new tablets come become active and even more people get involved. And of course we will see the user demographic become even broader as a more buoyant 2nd hand market and parents / partners / children having the now old iPad 2 passed down to them.

If you haven’t seen your issue of Campaign yet this week then there is an article all about how magazines are faring in this new tablet space with some searing commentary from SMG

Microsoft and the future of computing: With new tablets comes an opportunity to think about the future of computing. And Microsoft have been doing such a thing through the envisioning of a new type of keyboard and computer using Kinect and 3D. Yet more amazing things from the Microsoft Innovations lab and brilliant to see how what was originally devised as a gaming device is finding a huge lease of life outside of gaming and really positioning itself as the new future of Microsoft. Here for video

And those crazy kids in Redmond have been very busy with the teleporter-esque Illumishare – again, very cool and can’t wait till every desk has one.

Deep Zoom-esque: Always a fan of the deep zoom Uniqlo and Google have teamed up to create a nice looking website that allows you to go ever deeper into the picture. I don’t think this is as fluid as the Microsoft offering which has been in the market for a few years but I applaud the use of it and look forward to seeing more.

On the back of that here is one from the Microsoft vaults, it s an absolutely breathtaking example created with Rolling Stone Magazine you very quickly get caught up in how amazing the zoom function is.

Xbox eMag issue 1: If you haven’t seen it yet I urge you to have a read of The Xbox eMag put together by our very own Josef Francis to give you a great understanding of gaming and what the potential is.

Twitter ads go mobile: Twitter has announced that it will be rolling out its ad products across mobile. Should be a big boost for advertiser impressions as 45% of users are mobile only. Here for the official blog post

Zeebox: I have been a real champion of Zeebox since I first saw it and genuinely believe it will change our idea of watching tv and it is about to go massive. Tomorrow during the Liverpool / Arsenal (2-1 prediction) half time their first TV ad campaign will launch. Here is a sneak peak at the ads

Lots of clients have already been down to see them and we are getting them in to do a big presentation in the next few weeks, so if you want more info there are plenty of chances.

TED flying robots: Finally and potentially saving the best till last I give you flying autonomous robots. If you only have a minute then jump to 14:50, but if you have the time this will absolutely blow your mind and leave you smiling – only 16 mins in total

The eagle eye amongst you will spot the use of Xbox Kinect with the robots – one of the most exciting bits of potential for all advertisers and dreamers of cool things, so have a read of Jo’s magazine to understand how if you haven’t already (see 3 stories up).

Have a great w/e.

Oli.

Tech Tuesday, 11-10-11

Submitted by Scott Thompson on Tue, 11/10/2011 - 17:49
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Our weekly round up of the big news in media technology and digital media.

iOS5 and iPhone 4s launch

After the iPhone 4S announcement last Tuesday, we took a look at the reaction in terms of the different types of people who were disappointed with the lack of "iPhone 5", and those who were actually buying smartphones today. (It was interesting to see Apple announce a million pre-oprders within 24 hours (compared to the 600,000 in the same timeframe after the iPhone 4 announcement last year.)

Tomorrow will see the launch of the iPhone 4S itself, as well as the availability of iOS5 to download — which will bring a number of new features, not just to the iPhone 4S, but the iPad, iPhone 4 and 3GS as well. These include iCloud (and new iTunes features— with UK availability yet to be announced), message "notification centre", iMessage (similar to BlackBerry's BBM, but for the Apple platform), and a Reminders application (ie. to-do lists.)

Of particular note in terms of the impact on media behaviours;

  • iPod application split into Music and Video — (perhaps hinting at broader plans for Apple in the Video area?)
  • Newsstand — a similar application to iBooks, but with a focus on subscription-based media (ie. Newspapers and magazines.)
  • Integration with Twitter (making it easier for app developers to integrate it with their apps)
  • New web browser features; allowing users to bookmark pages to a "Reading List" to read later, with the bookmarks available in the Safari browser on the PC/Mac, and a "Reader" mode that strips 'clutter' from web pages for easy, undistracted reading.

The Reader mode should be of particular interest to advertisers; while the benefit to users is clear (particularly the ability to tie together articles that run across multiple pages into a single page), the benefit to publishers is less so (if their site design — and advertising — is swept aside.)

But the one group do stand to benefit from this are application developers. If iPhone and iPad users are less likely to see display advertising on websites, then in-app advertising (including Apple's iAds) will become more appealing.

Steve Jobs

However, the latest Apple innovations were overshadowed by the news of Steve Jobs' death last week. Much of the technology world is still reeling from the news, and there are still scores of tributes and stories being shared. From the two companies he led (Apple and Pixar), to tributes from some of his fiercest competitors

Even Samsung and Google reportedly cancelled the launch of the latest Android handset, saying in a statement that "We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs’s passing.

As a driving force in the development of the modern computer, from the earliest days of the graphical user interface, through the smartphone and touchscreen explosion and early steps into voice control, his influence on the industry will undoubtedly be missed by many.

New iPad apps

A new ComScore report from the US says that web traffic from smartphones and tablets are now driving nearly 7% of all digital traffic — with iPads driving even more than iPhones. So the importance of these platforms is growing — not just in terms of mobile devices, but as alternatives to PCs.

"At long last" (as the New York times put it), Facebook have announced their iPad application; a free download, designed to create an "immersive and fun" experience.

TechCrunch reports that the a will also bring application discovery to the mobile platform — seeing a friend post a Words with Friends, tapping the link could open up the Words with Friends iPad application (if you had installed it already), or open it in the App Store (if you hadn't.) The feature is also being added to the mobile version, with plans to do the same for Android applications (which TechCrunch says is in the works.)

Facebook and Apple are reported to have been caught up in negotiations for some time, following Apple's launch last year of its "Ping" social network for music, which was planned to be integrated with Facebook.

The app, it turns out, had become the hostage of a tense negotiation between Facebook and Apple executives for a deal to further integrate Facebook into the next version of Apple’s operating system, iOS 5.

The latest wave of negotiations have presumably been around how in-app transactions would be dealt with; Apple insist on a 30% cut of in-app purchases, while Facebook are standardising around Facebook Credits as their platform's currency — where Facebook take a 30% cut of every transaction. Obviously, it would be tricky for both to take their cut of any transactions taking place within the Facebook iPad/iPhone application.

BusinessInsider.com reports that Apple appear to have won; while Facebook are bringing Facebook Credits and Applications to the mobile web, within the iOS App Facebook Credits will not be accepted.

On the publisher side, The Guardian is launching an iPad application of their own, priced at £9.99 a month (following a 3 month free trial, sponsored by Channel 4), with NMA.com reporting that is is expected to launch this week, with free access budled into print editions

The Guardian have put together a promotional video about their iPad application and its place within a broader shift to digital media. As editor Alan Rusbridger explains;

"We are not going to be scrambling to update it every minute or every hour— we will do that on the browser […] This is going to be a different kind of read, a bit more reflective."

(A bit more like a newspaper then?)

The video goes on to talk about the column and grid-based design (again, a familiar concept…), and the way interactivity will add to the advertising opportunities. Worth a watch.

Independant putting up paywall

As expected, the Independent is to launch a paywall for non-UK readers, expected next week. Citing the pressure from the BBC, creating a need to make a distinction between UK and foreign visitors, the main target will be readers in the US and Canada.

Microsoft announce TV partners for Xbox

Announcing a major step in their ambitions to turn the Xbox 360 into a true media centre for the living room, Microsoft have announced a wide range of "entertainment leaders" who, through the Xbox 360 games console, will "transform TV."

A key difference between Microsoft's console and competitors from Nintendo and Sony is the lack of a web browser on the Xbox 360 — meaning that Microsoft effectively act as gatekeepers to online content on the console. So while the BBC iPlayer has been available for some time on the PlayStation 3 and Wii, negotiations around bringing it to the Xbox 360 have been held up by conflicts between the companies' policies (Microsoft insisting that additional content be exclusive to Xbox Live! subscribers, while the BBC insists that access to BBC content be available to all.)

BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, LoveFilm and Blinkbox have all been announced as UK partners (but no ITV), while Sky TV has been available to those who subscribe to both Sky and Xbox Live! for some time.

Twitter, 3D Audio ad, iPlayer PS3, QR codes users, Jobs & Gates D5 interview

Submitted by Oliver Newton on Fri, 12/08/2011 - 15:40

It was a big week down at Starcom MediaVest towers; we had Twitter in to talk to us about their imminent UK launch (September.)

@AdamBain, the President of Global Revenue(speaking in the picture) and @TonyW the new GM for the UK held a few meetings throughout the morning.

They shared with us their vision for how Twitter fits into the fabric of everyday life, what the new ad ops are and how Twitter will continue to grow through being “baked” into the new iPhone (“out this fall”) amongst other things. Here are some fun facts from the session:

  • It took 3 years and 2 days to get to their first billion tweets. This now takes just 5 days.
  • Women tweet 30% more than men
  • 50% of all Twitter activity is via a mobile
  • 1 in 6 people will join Twitter and only ever experience it via a mobile

3D audio ad

At the cinema I still love to hear the full on Dolby Surround sound test at the beginning of the film. You know, the one where the helicopter flies around the room, police sirens etc, all showing off how good the sound system is. 3D audio isn’t anything new but it doesn’t get used a huge amount outside of major productions and is actually quite easy to do.

Here is a great example of it and a real inspiration for thinking a bit differently about communicating with our audiences especially as so much audio listening is coming from mobile phones and with headphones plugged in: http://bit.ly/3Daudio

iPlayer and PS3

For those that missed the news on Monday that the BBC has launched a dedicated version of iPlayer for the PS3, they have been on it via the PS3’s web capabilities since 2008, but this marks a great user upgrade. Collectively iPlayer is looking to become even more accessible and firmly establish itself in the living room and game consoles are a great place to start. Expect more SmartTV focus over the next few months, they are already delivering over 3m program requests via them a month.

Who’s actually using QR codes

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some cool creative examples of QR codes that showed how you can break free from the traditional black on white box and make them look really interesting. Well here is a little follow up with, everyone’s favourite, an infographic looking at who actually scans them and other interesting tidbits to help you better understand their role.

http://bit.ly/QRinfrographic

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates interview

Finally, this is actually a really amazing interview. Probably the last time you will get both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs on the same panel. It was filmed at the allthingsD conference back in 2007 (jump ahead to 7 mins if you don’t want the trip down memory lane of their previous joint appearances).

Alternatively you can download the podcast version from iTunes.

It’s amazing for a number of reasons; back then the iPhone had just been announced and wasn’t yet on full release. The iPad had been developed but was still 3 years away from being admitted and released. Gates was doing philanthropy work outside of Microsoft and no longer ran the day to day operations so talks quite openly about what the company is up to and what he envisages for the future. It is quite long, but well worth listening to now that you know what has come out and how the two companies have fared over the period. Apple was for a brief moment this week the most valuable company in the world based on market valuation, overtaking Exxon Mobil. Beyond that it is just amazing to hear to absolute gods discussing their worlds.

Tech Tuesday, 2-8-11

Submitted by Scott Thompson on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 22:49
Scott Thompson's picture

A weekly round-up of the news you need to know in digital media & technology

Social

Some new Twitter stats appeared on the official blog this week;

  • Over 200 million Tweets per day (up from 65 million a year ago.)
  • More than 1 million Twitter apps - up from 150,000 a year ago.
  • More than 600 employees- up from 250 12 months ago.

No doubt, the numbers were posted to add some context to the latest change in Twitters' advertising, as they continue to seek a business model to match the valuation I mentioned last week, with a change in the way their Promoted Tweets will be displayed. The new Twitter ads will increase a brands' visibility among their followers, as Promoted Tweets will now rise to the top of their followers' timelines.

This means that only users who have already chosen to follow the brands who are advertising will be affected; users can dismiss the Promoted Tweets with a single click (although why they would do so isn't clear, given that they will sink from view as quickly as any other tweet.) Twitter will be testing the new initiative with a number of US/Global brands.

Which means that UK brands won't be able to experiment just yet… although not for long, as Twitter's London office (which we have mentioned before) is expected to open soon, with agency talks apparently now underway.

Making the most of Twitter's new advertising is considering the way that your followers' interactions with brands affects the way that brand messages reach their friends and followers. Along these lines, some interesting social media marketing insights were published by Comscore, in a new paper on social media; "The Power of Like." One nice stat to come out of it is that for brands, "friends of fans" constitute an audience 34 times larger than "fans" alone.

In a Starbucks case study, its noted that not all of their 24 million fans will see Starbucks' updates on the site. But when those who do decide to interact with it, then it reaches their friends (at no cost to Starbucks.) Have a look at the paper for more information.

(At SMG, we have been looking at ways to understand the value of "likes", "comments" and other interactions. Be sure to have a look at that as well.)

Meanwhile, Facebook's London office is growing, as they move to a new 36,000 square foot office in Covent Garden. This week, Facebook launched "Facebook for Business", a new resource for Facebook advertisers aimed at small businesses, with tips on creating and managing pages and ads.

(If you're looking for help and advice in this area, then once you have checked out Facebook's new pages, you should also speak to our team.)

Gaming

Nintendo slashed the price of the handheld 3DS console by around a third (in Europe), giving 20 'classic' games to the console's early adopters (or "ambassadors", as Nintendo are calling them.)

A clue as to why might be revealed in an interview with the EA CEO. Consoles are now just 40% of the games industry. Ten years ago, they were 80%. Surely the rise of smartphones and mobile apps (a market dominated by games) is playing a big part. Today, devices like the iPhone and iPad are growing in number - and importance. Not only do they offer an alternative gaming platform, but they are also opening up new gaming opportunities for audiences who wouldn't typically be interested in buying a dedicated gaming device.

With low cost mobile games offering competition to high cost games for dedicated mobile platforms, the opportunities appearing for either branded games or in-game advertising are worth watching out for.

Mobile

With news that the iPhone 5 is now expected in October, developments in the mobile world is proving to be just as disruptive to related markets as they are to direct competitors.

But it isn't all smiles in the App world. Apple recently changed the way they are dealing with in-app purchases, tightening the rules around how publishers can offer their own payment mechanisms, sidestepping Apple's iTunes system (and the 30% cut that Apple take.) Some recent changes made to the Kindle application have removed the ability to purchase content from within the application completely. As Amazon explain;

In order to comply with recent policy changes by Apple, we've also removed the "Kindle Store" link from within the app that opened Safari and took you to the Kindle Store. You can still shop as you always have - just open Safari and go to www.amazon.com/kindlestore. If you want, you can bookmark that URL. Your Kindle books will be delivered automatically to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, just as before.

Over at Forrester, analysts at "Apps aren't the killer app" – in a blog post, they point out that just 7% of US and EU phone owners regularly download mobile applications, and only 11% of US phone owners have ever downloaded an application from a store or marketplace. (Forrester also cite a study from Pinch media — albeit from over 2 years ago — that found that 80% of free apps are never used again after the day they are first downloaded.) Forresters advice (which I would echo) is that for the publishers of many mobile applications, the need for an app is driven more by the technology than consumer insight; for many cases, a mobile-optimised website is a better solution to the problem than building a dedicated application.

However, its worth pointing out that those figures are looking at a total population –the smartphone-owing population is still a minority, but one that is growing at an incredible pace.

News from BBC Worldwide about the launch of their iPlayer app for iPad is probably one good example of an opportunity that would be hard to seize using a simple web-optimised site; a free application available in 11 markets (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) will offer BBC TV content for sale at €6.99 a month, €49.99 for annual subscription, with advertising running around free, sample content.

The app is positioned differently to the UK's iPad application, with eight genres of content available (News Specials & Documentaries; Entertainment; Drama; Comedy; Science & Nature; Family & Kids; Music & Culture and Lifestyle), as opposed to the catch-up model of the UK's app. In addition, the inter nation application will allow users to download content to watch offline- a feature not available in the UK app.

Video

BSkyB has broken the £1bn profit barrier. Apparently undistracted by the recent News Corp. manoeuvring, the latest financial report from Sky shows an excellent year, with a 23% growth in operating profit breaking the £1 billion mark.

Sky is also seeing growing numbers of customers taking "triple play" bundles (broadband, telephony and Sky TV), and there are now 3.8 million Sky+HD customers (up 30% year on year) — an interesting number to keep an eye on as Sky continue to work on their AdSmart technology.

The way online video and TV will develop is certainly of interest to anyone with an eye on the future of media. Digital TV Research are forecasting a growth of on-demand TV revenues to grow to $5.7 billion by 2016 — excluding revenues from sports, adult and subscription services. This is a rise of 58% compared with 2010, with growth expected to largely grow from cable TV.

ITV are also making moves towards the paid-for model, as revealed in their latest financial reports; CEO Adam Crozier noted that;

We plan to have a pay mechanism in place around the turn of the year so that we can test what viewers are willing to pay for, and we continue to work with our partners on YouView, which is on track for launch early next year.

A US survey of online video attitudes and consumption (sponsored by video publisher MetaCafe) has some interesting findings; 63% "can't live without" their PC/Laptop, and 32% say its their primary medium for entertainment. (This compares to 60% who say they "can't live without" television, and 44% who say it is their primary medium for entertainment.)

But among 18-34 male consumers, the picture is slightly different- although the PC is slightly more important, the perceived role of TV is clearly shifting, with only 28% saying it is their primary medium for entertainment.

Its worth noting that with 14% saying the same about games consoles games consoles - which is presumably used through the television - this may be as much a distortion of having to make a single choice in the survey as reflecting different values of respondents.

As well as these attitude findings, it has some interesting stats about platforms; 25% of respondents say that they are accessing the internet through a TV set (mainly through games consoles), with a further 23% saying that they don't presently, but are interested in doing so. Plenty more stats are available in the presentation, available as a PDF to download.

Its time to get into the game

Submitted by Oliver Newton on Wed, 08/06/2011 - 16:39

This isn’t going to be another “games aren’t just for kids” piece. We, well the 60 million odd people on Facebook who regularly log on to Facebook to play one just game – Farmville, have moved beyond that.

The global number of gamers, just within Facebook, is estimated at 53% of all users, so a healthy 350 million people (Source: Facebook). And the majority of those are women, 58% to be exact. A study by the games developer PopCap, surveying 5000 users found that in the UK the average gamer was in fact a 38 year old woman.

Looking at further research from Inside Network, the same findings are reiterated, women are driving the numbers. The exception is with the Mafia Wars game that highlights the different types of games that appeal to the two sexes, men still prefer to drive fast and kill people whereas women are more attracted to puzzle and order.

Even Wall St. has woken up to the appeal of games. Zynga, the largest of the social gaming companies and the creators of the runaway successes Farmville and Cityville is expected to IPO within the next two weeks with an estimated value of $14bn. That is nearly double what LinkedIn floated for last week.

Why such a high valuation? Simply put Zynga makes a huge amount of money. Gamers are very happy to give real money for virtual goods within the games. So happy in fact that Zynga pulls in an estimated $17 million per month which comes from a combination of users buying virtual goods and advertisers such as Starbucks putting virtual coffee stores in the game. The total virtual goods market in the US is $1.6bn (source: Bloomberg).

UK developers are getting in on the act too having launched one of the most interesting new concepts in the form of IAMPLAYR, which recently received £5m funding from investors. The game is a first person view of life as a professional footballer fusing traditional gaming mechanics alongside high production movie imagery.

Below you see the players, in their Ginsters sponsored kit, celebrating in the dressing room after clinching promotion.

The spread of the games can also go beyond the virtual environs as Ginsters, the shirt sponsors in IAMPLAYR have demonstrated when they will release an on pack promotion of the game offering consumers free credit to spend in the game to improve their player.

Some stats from gamers and virtual currency:

  • Zynga makes 80% of its revenue from just 5% of its users
  • 7% of users that make a virtual goods purchase are still buying them after four months.
  • The best performing social games are able to get 41% of users to make a repeat purchase.
  • U.S. and European users spend more on social games than Asian users — far more. The average North American spent $74, while the average Asian player only spent $30 on virtual goods.
  • However, when it comes to users that make more than one purchase, Latin American users come out on top, spending an average of $300 in a four-month period.

(Source: Mashable)

So what are you waiting for ?

Get in the game.

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Tech Tuesday 15-3-11

Submitted by Scott Thompson on Tue, 15/03/2011 - 12:50
Scott Thompson's picture

New Facebook Pages roll out

Following the new Profile page design that Facebook rolled out earlier this year, Facebook Pages are now changing to use the new design as well, with the new design rolling out last week. One of the significant changes is that you can now post to other pages on Facebook as your brand; so not only can your fans "like" your brand, but your brand can then "like" other pages, post to other brands' walls etc.

This useful article in AdAge spells out three ways Facebook's redesign should be changing your marketing strategy, and is well worth a read for anyone involved in having a brand presence on Facebook.

Twitter change attitudes toward 3rd party apps

As Twitter celebrates its 5th birthday, an announcement to developers advising against building apps that compete with the official Twitter application is "not a good business" has angered many. Given that Twitter has built its reputation on the back of being an open service, encouraging developers to use its API to build their own apps and services and incorporating some of their features back into the official Twitter service, the change in attitude seems to indicate a new strategy for the company.

The announcement came shortly after a new feature was introduced to the official iPhone app that displays "trending topics" in a bar at the top of the screen. Twitters "trending topics" originally highlighted those which were being frequently mentioned in conversations, but last year were changed to include "promoted trends" — paid-for links to branded tweets. Quickly dubbed the "dickbar" (after Twitter's new CEO Dick Costolo), the feature has been unpopular with users and already revised to appear less prominently, but with no option for users to disable it.

Microsoft Kinect is the 'fastest-selling device on record'

Since its launch at the end of 2010, Microsoft's Kinect (an accessory which allows Xbox gamers to use their bodies as controllers) has officially become the fastest selling device on record.

In the same week that it was announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops is the best selling game ever, it is clear that the world of gaming is growing quickly. With 20.1 million people in the UK regularly playing games across various platforms for an average of 7.7 hours each week (accourding to research from GameVision last year), it can be considered a serious medium.

For more information, check out the IAB's guide to games advertising, and of course our own research into the gaming audience and our updates here on developments in the gaming world.

Microsoft launch Internet Explorer 9

Boasting better security, faster graphics and better compatabilty with web standards, the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has been launched. Microsoft's share of the browser market has been declining for the last few years, with first Firefox and now Google's Chrome increasing in share, and mobile browsers also becoming increasingly important.

Highlighting the importance of the newer versions of its browser, Microsoft has launched an IE6 Countdown website, chronicalling the decline of it's now ten year old browser. However, the latest version of Internet Explorer will not run on PCs which are using the Windows XP operating system.

BBC delays 3D TV decisions until 2012

Despite increasing levels of hype around 3D TV, with manufacturers keen to capitalise on the new screen technology and Sky and Virgin Media both launching 3D channels in 2010, the BBC has announced that it won't be making any commitments to 3D broadcasting this year.

Although they are running a number of technical trials, they have described these as "experiments", expressing reservations around standardisation of the technology in both producing and delivering 3D content.

Transforming Experiences Through Movement

Submitted by Fiona Cloke on Fri, 29/10/2010 - 11:46

We all take for granted multi-media experiences with rich technicolour and surround sound.

Crowds flocked to watch Jaws in 3D in the 1980’s, and today more and more cinema experiences require you to sport slightly daft oversized specs to enjoy the full immersive experience. You can already bring 3D experiences to your living room with top-end (TV) screens. The content available is still pretty limited and there’s a Betamax v VHS sized elephant in the room because there is no current standard specification for your 3d specs so the early adopters of today might find themselves left with 3D specs that won’t work with future generations of hardware, but if you are desperate to reach out and grab the falling leaves in front of your eyes from the comfort of your couch you can.

Yet, however engaging the audio-visual content, it’s still primarily a lean-back, passive screen experience. Lean-forward interactivity didn’t really reach us until 2006 when the movement sensors brought to the mass market via the Nintendo Wii transformed gaming from a pastime for teenage nerds with pcs in darkened rooms to a social sitting room pastime enjoyed by young and old alike. Remote hand-held controllers allow you to play virtual tennis using your physical movements to interact with the game, Wii Fit boards brought your step class to your sitting room.

This year movement and interactivity will move to a whole new level with the launch of Microsoft Kinect for the Xbox platform. The system uses voice and motion detectors rather than any physical controller to interact with software; voice commands and gestures controlling action and reaction reminiscent of the image moving scenes in Minority Report that seemed so futuristic when the film was released in 2002.

Just 8 years later, the future has become the present. Along with the motion-detecting hardware Microsoft are releasing 19 gaming, sport and dancing Kinect-friendly software titles. Kinect is widely tipped to be topping Christmas wishlists, and no doubt providing hilarious experiences for arm-waving gesticulating participants and spectators alike on Boxing Day. Just imagine....

Voice and motion add new dimensions to our ability to interact with brand experiences, as do the intuitive touch-based interfaces we’re all increasingly adopting via our mobile phones, or other portable computing devices like the Dell Streak or the iPad. As marketers it means we need to think broader than ever before about how we bring experiences to life, about how we deliver communication, how , where, and in what form we deliver those experiences and allow people to participate in them, and how we help people navigate around the experiences that we design. That means briefing in new ways, challenging our audio-visual habitual presences, and challenging the boundaries we’ve pre-defined.

It’s a brave new world. As the Latin proverb suggests: Fortune favours the brave.

What the latest iPhone update means for mobile gaming

Submitted by Scott Thompson on Wed, 08/09/2010 - 13:48
Scott Thompson's picture

At Apple's last press event (on September 1st), Steve Jobs announced a number of updates to Apple's iTunes, iPod, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV products, including an update to the iOS operating system (used by the iPhone and iPod Touch) to version 4.1.

Although "Ping" — Apple's 'social network for music' within iTunes — seems to have got all the attention, a new feature of iOS 4.1 is "Game Centre"; a social network for iPhone games.

Here's how Apple describe it on their site;

iOS 4 introduces the Game Center app. An out-of-the-box social gaming network for iPhone 4 and iPod touch. Invite friends to join. Then totally crush them. Take a look at how your score ranks among your friends and other players of each game. Compare game achievements with your friends. Get matched up and put together a select group of friends to play. Or choose to automatically go up against people you don’t know in a multiplayer game.

In other words, it works in a similar way to Microsoft's Xbox Live or Sony's PlayStation Network; a way to connect to your friends on the same platform. So rather than playing "against the computer", it makes it much easier to compare high scores with friends, or play online multiplayer games on Apple devices.

While this has been possible on 3rd party platforms like OpenFeint and NGmoko Plus+, Apple's Game Center creates a "default" network for gamers to use with their iTunes accounts- without having to sign up for a different service.

But perhaps what it marks more significantly is a part of a broader shift in the world of "mobile phone gaming" from being simply casual games into "serious play" (if such a thing is possible.) For the last 2 years, Apple have been marketing the iPod Touch as a gaming platform more heavily than as a simple music/media player, with the tagline "the funnest iPod ever."

After introducing Game Centre at the September 1st event, Apple showed a demo of a game codenamed "Project Sword" running on the new iPod Touch. (An application that shows off the technology called Epic Citadel is available to download from the iTunes Store now.) This uses the Unreal engine (which most gamers will be familiar with) to create some astonishing graphics. Apple also shared some sales figures, which put the number of iPod Touches sold as more than the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined.

The key difference between mobile games (such as iOS applications) and dedicated gaming platforms has been around the price; mobile phone games have been either free or very cheap (a £10 would usually be considered very expensive), while Nintendo DS and Sony PSP games tend to be around £10-£25 a title. The fact that mobile phones are now powerful enough to seriously compete with dedicated mobile gaming platforms, combined with the larger potential market means that the only real difference is that dedicated platforms have dedicated gaming controllers, while mobile phone platforms usually have an "always on" internet connection. The only real differentiating point is that dedicated games devices have dedicated gaming controllers, while touchscreen smartphones involve obscuring part of the screen with your fingers to actually play the game.

Sony's latest PSP campaign is very clearly an agressive counter-attack on the iPhone and mobile games, as their fictional 12 year old proclaims that "That ain't built for big-boy games. That's built for texting your grandma and calling your girl."

In our recent gaming research, we saw that while 35% of people play games on their mobile phones, only 5% consider it to be their favourite platform for gaming. With developments like Game Center and the constantly increasing power of newer smartphones, I'd expect to see this number growing considerably — especially amongst older, more time-pressured people who might not have the time or the opportunity to sit down with "proper" console games at home, but still have an appetite for play, and pockets of time to fill in their days.

But perhaps more importantly is that this raises the bar for mobile applications. While right now, mobile games tend to be quite simple, casual games, it won't be long before branded games are are competing for time and attention with "AAA" titles as games publishers bring more resources to this growing gaming platform.

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