Video games promote healthy ageing

        Video game technology has become valuable tool to help people with all ages improve lifestyle and health habits and mange disease.

        For some old adults, they can do some exercises by playing video games, such as Wii games. They also can communicate and interact with their family members based on video games."New research is showing that exergames have significant benefits for older adults by providing cognitive stimulation and a source of social interaction, exercise and fun. Thus, the games help them to lead fuller, more independent lives for a longer time."

~Yi

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Advertising In Video Games

      Advertising in video games has become more and more popular nowadays, because it has become more effective than advertising on television.
      
      In a March, 2009 study commissioned by NeoEdge, (a California-based gaming advertising network) "2000 consumers and over one million logo images were used to show that online gamers are more likely to recall brands embedded in video games. Part of this is thought to be due to the way the eye perceives motion in video games. The goal of the study was to determine the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of this fledgling advertising medium."

This are some techniques used now.

You need to smell great when taking over a small country...

Take this shot from 2005 's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. "That giant ad for Axe in the background is an example of what is known as "dynamic game advertising." These are the result of the software company (Ubisoft in this case) signing contracts with a bunch of agencies allowing promotion of real products in the game's world. The scary thing is that these in-game ads can be updated and changed via the internet." 


~Yi

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Angry Birds Space take over Space Needle

On March 28th, Rovio Games released a new installment of the number one mobile video game series in the world, Angry Birds: Space.  For the launch of the newest Angry Birds, T-Mobile and Rovio Games put together an extremely clever advertising stunt.  The notorious red slingshot aviators reached a new status of gigantic, hanging an enormous 300 foot sling shot alongside the iconic Seattle Space Needle.  Customers were invited to the top of the Space Needle to play the new game, and enjoy Angry Birds cupcakes.

Over the last few years Angry Birds has reached Icon status. With over 700 million downloads, and countless retail products, the mobile app has been labeled as highly addictive and fairly priced.  Angry Birds: Space will be no different.  Rovio has teamed up with T-Mobile to offer exclusive game content through the new Samsung Exhibit II 4g.  They will also extend more extended features of the game as part of a continued partnership with mega retailer Walmart.  Customers will be able to collect exclusive content and unlock up to 4 new levels, by purchasing various Angry Bird products at over 2000 Walmart stores.

~Brandon
 

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Electronic Arts named Worst Company in America

When people think corporate greed, they may think of companies such as JP Morgan, Enron, or Bank of America. Though BoA was the second choice, video game producer and developer Electronic Arts has been named Worst Company in America for 2012 with over 250,000 votes entered. Some reasons for this "honor" include $60 game prices, ominous microtranscations, and annual releases with exclusive licenses (such as the Madden series with NFL).

- John

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Advertising and Video Games

        Video games used to be so popular just among teenage boys. However,  in recent years, "over 40% of U.S. households own a video game console system, and more than 120 million people regularly play video games on their PC or on a console, according to DFC Intelligence. Strategy Analytics predicts the video game console installed base should reach 150 million worldwide by 2010."  It seems that gaming has become mainstream in U.S.

         In the past, marketers had traditionally shied away from gaming since the teenage boys had less purchasing power."But recent advances in animation and in communications technology mean that today’s games offer much more variety – and they appeal to multiple demographics, including men, women and seniors.
       "In fact, the gaming industry now generates more revenue than box office sales, movie rentals, and book and music sales. In 2006, video game revenues soared to $12.6 billion (+19% year to year), compared to U.S. box office receipts at $9.5 billion, flat from 2005. Worldwide, video game and interactive entertainment revenue reached $33 billion in 2006. According to Jupiter Research, the time U.S. teens spend with video games is now on par with radio, mobile devices, and music, and right behind watching television."

--Yi

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GTA V Coming Soon....?

Let's be honest, the GTA series are some of the best games ever.  Well we know that GTA V is on it's way, however we still don't know when.  There are rumors it release date as early as the fall 2012 according to GTA5realease.org but still no confirmation from Rockstar, although they do say they are "making progress."  If you just can't help your self as to whats going on with GTA V, all you have to is google those words "GTA V", and you will find a whole spew of sites dedicated to the game.

Some of the recent rumors suggest that the game will push the current gaming platforms Xbox 360 and PS3 to their maximum capabilities. Los Santos the fictional world it the game takes place, will be spanning 5 times larger than Liberty City in GTA 4.  The company that will produce the strategy guide, Brady Games, announced today that they expect to sell out of the strategy guide.

GTA has set the gaming standard time and time again. Each time Rockstar release's a new chapter of the GTA series, they set the bar higher and higher.  Taking years to create a game shows a certain dedication and passion for the game's brand.  Not wanting to compromise the brand equity that Rockstar Games has developed with their customers has remained a priority the Grand Theft Auto series.

~Brandon

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The Infinite Lives of Mario

Video inside.

We all know that Mario has been created time and time again.  Well wouldn't it be cool if someone made a video showing all the ways Mario has been dusted throughout the past 25 years. Good news is they have. The Video is put together by Master of Hyrule at Gaming Forever gives a great chronological timeline of the many ways Mario has kicked the bucket.

It's just an interesting take on the Super Mario dynasty and how Nintendo has continued to stay true to the Mario character.  If your a gamer you've got to love the fact that there is some real odd, lesser known games used in the video.  Even if you have only played a handful of these games, your still sure to enjoy it.

Games Used:

#1 = Donkey Kong (1983) NES
#2,3 = Super Mario Bros (1985) NES
#4 = Wrecking Crew (1985) NES
#5 - 7 = Super Mario Bros 2 (1987) NES
#8 - 11 = Super Mario Bros 3 (1988) NES
#12 = Super Mario World (1990) SNES
#13 = Super Mario All-Stars (1993) SNES... Lost Levels (1986) Famicom
#14 = Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995) SNES
#15 - 22 = Super Mario 64 (1996) N64
#23,24 = Mario Kart 64 (1996) N64
#25,26 = Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) SNES
#27 = Super Smash Bros (1999) N64
#28 = Paper Mario (2000) N64
#29 - 31 = Super Mario Sunshine (2002) GC
#32 = Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003) GBA
#33 = Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) GC
#34 = Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004) GBA
#35 = Mario Pinball Land (2004) GBA
#36, 37 = Super Mario Galaxy (2007) Wii
#38 = Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) Wii
#39 = Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) Wii
#40 = Super Mario 3D Land (2011) 3DS


~Brandon 

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Halo 4 Preview Released

The Halo series lives on with the 4th installment expected this holiday season. (unless the Mayans are right)

While the series is not without its critics, personally, I am excited to see what the new Halo game brings to the table, especially since it is the first brand new Halo game made by 343 Industries and not Bungie.

The impact of the Halo series on the first-person shooter genre is undeniable. Last year, blogger Luke Larsen nicely compiled a list of the innovations the series has sported and/or made popular.

- John (MPG)

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The evolution of videogame advertising

           The commercials for video games today are very different compared with the commercials in the 80s and earlier part of the 90s. In the 80s and earlier part of the 90s, there were only a few and simple commercials for video games. Those commercials looked like this:

               However, the commercials for video games today are very creative and fancy. According to Kriel, "ad agencies really started getting a handle on this whole commercials for video games thing. The realisation that, even for serious gamers, the playing of games was only one facet of a larger life meant it wasn’t long before we starting seeing ads, that included wit, humour, poignancy and pathos. The ads moved away from the hardsell, from trying to schill us a on a product, but started to be a vehicle that validated our pastime. " We started seeing stuff like this:

~Yi

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Retro of the Week

Retro of the Week

Video inside (after the jump). Bet you didn't realize Mario actually hits it with his fist not his head.

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Welcome

Welcome to Multi Platform Gamers.  Follow this blog for a fresh take on a variety of gaming topics.  We are a group of marketing students testing out the blogosphere.  The MPG team looks forward to discussing randomness in gaming. We have an interest in a variety of gaming topics, including sports and strategy games, as well as upcoming gaming platforms!

Meet your bloggers:

Brandon -Mostly playing Ball. I have a penchant for technology, wasting money on shoes, the 90's, and Sportscenter.  Top 5 games of all time: Super Mario Bros 2, Madden 95/NBA live 95 (sega), Goldeneye, Vice City.

John - Lover of games of all kinds, including strategy, role playing, and shooters.

Yi -I am an international student from China. My major is marketing. I am a big fan of video games advertising, and also an expert of all kinds of video games.

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Will You Wii-U

The Wii U is expected to be released this upcoming holiday season.  Of course there are many new features that the Wii U will offer in the highly competitive, but limited gaming console world.  I personally own the original Wii, and originally got my Wii for casual gaming.  I enjoyed that it is so user and family friendly, but it also has the nostalgia of the older gaming systems of the past couple decades.

However, that is exactly what has gone wrong for the Nintendo Wii franchise, to most serious gamers look at the Wii as a kids toy, and mostly used to just play around on. Sure you can build a city of dead celebrities for your Mii parade, blow a whistle and watch Michael Jackson scurry to line up next to Billy Mays the Oxy Clean guy, but that enjoyment is temporary at best. 

Nintendo has recognized this, and has now introduced the Wii U. (pictured above)  This new system will be the first Nintendo home system to feature 1080p high resolution graphics, which for me personally is the major drawback of the original Wii.  The system was just so limited, and it seemed like HD graphics, even in 2008 should of been a no brainer.  But that will no longer be the case with the Wii U, which also features a controller with an embedded touch screen, allowing players to play even when the TV is off.

But I wont bore you with a list of all of the technical features of the Wii U, but from what I hear they will be able to compete with the Xbox's and Playstation's of the world for years to come.  What does concern me about the Wii U is that they are succumbing to industry pressures to be relevant with "real gamers", while sacrificing that user friendly, simplicity that allows many levels of gamers to play together.  I am a little skeptical that Nintendo is gonna bail on the people who like playing Lego Batman with their significant other, and Wii sports with there 4-5 year old.  But fortunately it doesn't look that way.

 The good news is the Wii U will be fully backwards with the original Wii, and will also be able to function with the Wii nunchuck's, Wii remote, Wii motion plus, and Wii balance board, as well as the games.  You will be able to hang your hat on the Wii U still allowing you to enjoy the simpler things in gaming.  This is an important feature, and although it won't be playable backwards with the GameCube, the controller on Wii U allows for much of the functionality of the GameCube. The drawback being of course you will have to repurchase your favorite Game Cube games when they become available online, if you haven't already.

So don't worry folks, although the new Wii U will have a brand new feel, you will still be able to capture the Nintendo nostalgia, and add Whitney Houston (to soon?) alongside Kim Jong Il to your  Mii parade!

~Brandon

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