Posts Tagged ‘xbox live’

Return of The Greek – Microsoft announces F2P Age of Empires Online

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Announced at this year’s Gamescon in Cologne, Germany, Microsoft is dusting off the once popular Age of Empires series and bringing it into the free-to-play light. Taking full advantage of the Xbox Live service, as well as tapping into social networking elements, this newest iteration of AoE looks to be taking cues from Sid Meyer’s Civilization, in so much as there’s less real, and more cartoon packed into this RTS.

capitalcity

The timing could be better, as with Blizzard’s StarCraft 2 burning up the charts and re-igniting the Real Time Strategy game genre, one would think that Blizz has pretty much got the market cornered. I’m even willing to overlook the 12 year wait for a sequel. But clearly Microsoft isn’t having any of it, and is firing back with it’s own “command your armies into battle, all the while running a developing civilization,” thinker.

The original creators of the Age of Empire series, Ensemble Studios unfortunately had to close down shop, leaving many fans of the title wondering if this was truly the end of the road. Looking at the franchise’s 25+ million copies sold surely had something to do with Microsoft’s decision to revive and update the (now almost classic) title. Appropriately enough, the new development work is being done by Robot Entertainment, one of the many dev companies that sprang from Ensembles ashes.

battle

Age of Empires Online is platformed on Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, so don’t expect to pay a cent to play the game online, although that model remains unclear when speaking of the actual game client, which is slated to be available as a download, as well as the countless amount of DLC that’s likely to follow. Who doesn’t love new maps?

The first civilization on tap will be the Greeks, and Microsoft says there are plans to expand this lineup (based on game success). AoE Online, as the name suggests, will only be available online (no offline versions will be offered), and it seems as though there’s a big focus on collaborative questing (nice viral driver). One thing that stood out from the crowd was Microsoft’s inclusion of a persistent capital city that continues it’s development even when players are offline (nice stickiness). This persistent capital city also opens the doors for, what I could imagine, would be a host of microtransaction opportunities. I.e. Auto-farm/seed/collect potions, accelerated blacksmithing, etc.

shoretown

The Greeks are slated to storm the beaches of Live enabled PCs running XP, Vista, or 7 in 2011. Closed beta invites are already up and available for submission at ageofempiresonline.com, as well as an impressive selection of fan materials to get your pre-game Greek on.

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Massive and comScore partner to put real numbers behind in-game advertisements

Friday, November 13th, 2009

In game advertising is still a relatively new medium, but until now, both providers and purchasers of the medium had no concrete measurement tools to gauge effectiveness. There have been a number of one-off studies done, with positive results, but nothing done on a (pardon the pun) Massive scale. Partnering with leading internet metrics and market research firm comScore, Massive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., will not be able to measure the firect impact that in-game advertising has on consumer online behavior. Call this a win for advertisers everywhere.

It’s no secret that there’s a very viable market in the gaming market, and Massive is one of the big three providers of IGA. They insert (in most cases) non-intrusive ads on billboards in urban landscapes for example, or slide up ads just above the scoreboard display in Madden – something very similar to what a user would see in this environment, or television broadcast. However, while the ads have shown to be popular and consumer motivators, due to the lack of solid data, and their relative newness, advertisers have still been weary to pull the trigger on launching campaigns.

“We know from 85-plus independently verified post-campaign studies that in-game advertising increases brand engagement,” said JJ Richards, general manager of Massive. “But what we didn’t know was the correlation between in-game ads and consumer action. Through this collaboration with comScore, we will also now be able to measure those consumer actions that result from in-game ads. We think this has the potential to literally ‘change the game’ for both advertisers and publishers who want to improve the effectiveness of their in-game ad efforts.”

The Massive/comScore partnership will now connect the dots between ads that users view vs. the actions they take after seeing said ad. Essentially, the two companies have managed a route that will give an overall picture of action and response from a viewer, without violating end user privacy policies.

The method works as such: Microsoft has a set of gamertags for users on their Xbox Live service. These tags provide game identifications and Microsoft knows the exact campaigns that are running within these games. Likewise, under the same umbrella, Microsoft also has Windows Live login data for Hotmail users. Combine these two together, and Microsoft now has a (more or less) complete picture about any given gamers’ preferences, and which ads they’ve seen and haven’t seen. By utilizing their Anonymous ID technology, Microsoft can then strip away any personal information and assign each user with a unique number.

But that’s only one half of the story. On the other side of the fence, comScore has around two million volunteers that offer up their web habits. If and when these users log into Hotmail or Xbox Live, the path between adding up the dots between what ads these users have seen, and what they do on the web within a specified time period is relatively short. To add an additional level of data security, the anonymous data communications between Microsoft and comScore are in an encrypted environment.

comScore’s preliminary research data using this method indicates that those who were exposed to in-game ads vs. those that had not are 280 percent more likely to visit a TV channel’s web site. The study also showed a 125 percent increase in search queries for a movie rental brand and a 57 percent increase in visits to its website.

The announcement coincides with the second annual Microsoft Advertising Gaming Upfront event in New York City — the only event of its kind that showcases new video game titles from leading game publishers available for brands to connect and engage audiences on the Massive in-game advertising network.

comScore and Massive have submitted this new methodology to the Advertising Research Foundation for validation.

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Gameloft reports 20 percent increase in sales over the first half of 2009

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Ah yes, what would mid-summer be without a plethora of financial statements and results? Charting the results coming out this week, we’ve got Changyou up, Ubisoft down, and Gameloft up. In Gameloft’s primarily mobile gaming focused world, Q’s 1 and 2 have seen reasonable growth, indicating that they’re clearly delivering what customers want.

Banking approximately €60 million during the first half of 2009, representing a 20 percent growth year-over-year. Side by side, Gameloft’s numbers:

gameloft numbers

With the majority of their focus on building mobile games utilizing Java, Brew, and Symbian technologies, 95 percent of the company’s revenues derive from this sector. The remaining 5 percent come from console games sales. Gameloft also supports titles for WiiWare, DS, Xbox LIVE arcade, iPod/iPhone, and PCs. Gameloft attributes part of it’s success to manufacturers advancements and innovations, specifically Nokia and Samsung. Obviously, when speaking mobile games, one can and must not overlook the 800 pound gorilla in the room that is Apple’s iPhone, which Gameloft points to as a source of it’s success, citing the AppStore as a major source of income. And not to be left out of the party, Gameloft is also seeing significant numbers arising from RIM’s blackberry devices.

Gameloft has a number of partnership agreements with some of the largest names in the business including Viacom, Sony Pictures, ABC,, Ferrari and Ubisoft Entertainment, as well as individual personalities such as Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Reggie Bush, and yes….Chuck Norris. Perhaps Gameloft can leverage some Chuck Norris to help Ubisoft’s faltering numbers?

While Gameloft maintains a network of offices around the world, the largest share of Q 1+2 revenues came from Europe (38 percent). North America continues to be a strong growth market, garnering 33 percent of Gameloft’s first half revenues, and showing a 39 percent increase in activity. The remaining 28 percent of revenues come from areas listed only as “the rest of the world.” Stepping back and looking at the year-over-year picture thus far, Europe again takes the top earning spot with 43 percent, North America showing 30 percent, and “the rest of the world” making up 27 percent of total sales.

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E3: Microsoft brings in full game downloads, avatar enhancement, twitter, and more

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

What would E3 be without a whole lot of announcements and gaming goodness?   If Microsoft’s foray is any indication of what the industry will do to outdo the others, this looks like it’s going to be one heckuva week in Los Angeles.  While Microsoft’s blitzkrieg of fast and furious announcements took over two hours, and included the living Beatles, John and Ringo, as well as skateboard legend Tony Hawk all endorsing or demoing new and exciting projects that Xbox fans can look forward to, it was perhaps the luncheon that took place afterwards where we were given the most clarification on the news.

Arguably one of Microsoft’s most exciting announcements is their plan to begin offering full game downloads directly to the console’s hard drive.  Coined “Games on Demand” for Xbox 360, Xbox General Manager Marc Whitten called this new feature a “natural progression” of Xbox Live’s current arsenal of offerings.  Yes, competitor Sony’s PS3 has had this feature for some time via the PlayStation Network, but now adding the Xbox into the mix may be seen is a direct assault on retail distributors.  With the Xbox Live community reportedly covering approximately 20 million members, with 6 million members checking in daily, brick and mortar retails such as GameStop could see a serious drop in foot traffic.  Answering the question from Gamasutra editors, Whitten responds,

“We’ve been talking closely with our retail partners,” he said. “This isn’t some zero-sum game where there is a winner or loser. I personally believe that going into a store and seeing that back of the box of the game, talking about the game–that’s not going away.” He said that digital distribution and retail can coexist in the current ecosystem.

At launch, the service will feature 30 games, with top tier titles including Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, Call of Duty 2, Crackdown, Mass Effect, and Oblivion.  Direct download prices will be inline with their physical retail counterparts, with new titles being added on a regular basis.

It’s also interesting to note that these direct digital downloads also open the door for Microsoft to begin accepting direct credit card purchases, instead of the current mechanism used for purchases, the Microsoft Point value system.  If we look between the lines here, could Microsoft also be testing the waters for more direct, however micro, payments down the line?  If the technology is already in place, and larger purchases are the testing mechanism, the proposition doesn’t seem unreasonable.

joyrideSpeaking of testing the waters, it looks like Xbox fans have a whole lot of new community features to look forward to.  Using a new free-to-play title, Joyride, as a vehicle to facilitate new and revamped avatar interaction, the new kart racing-style game will predominantly feature gamer’s own virtual creations of themselves.  And as with any good virtual self, Microsoft is betting on folks wanting to customize themselves a bit.  Enter stage left – Microsoft’s new commitment and focus on avatar accessories, both free, and as Whitten puts it, “slightly more than free” (read, microtransaction).  “I think you’re going to continue seeing avatars show up in lots of different places,” Whitten said.  Giving us just a taste of what he’s talking about, Whitten demonstrated an avatar dressed in full Halo Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) gear.  Putting a smile on almost everyone’s face, the Halo ODST accessorized avatar also included pom-poms and an added cheerleader animation.

Certainly not to be taken lightly, Microsoft also announced new third party integrations of both facebook and twitter.  Obviously developers have had the inside track on this for a while, as the upcoming version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour will allow users to send screenshots and score updates directly to their facebook profile via the Connect interface.  Likewise, players will be able to invite their other Xbox playing facebook friends to a game without ever having to leave one central platform.

While a number of Microsoft’s new announcements may not be directly tied to monetization, they certainly demonstrate that Microsoft clearly has their finger on the pulse, and are ready to deliver an envelope pushing experience to users, perhaps even before they know that they want this experience.  By adding more avatar interaction, direct game downloads, and third party integrations, Xbox just became the social life of the party overnight, further enhancing the console as not just a gaming platform, but taking one step closer to becoming the family digital entertainment hub.  If I might steal a line from James Earl Jones, via ‘Field of Dreams’ If you build it…they will come.

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Barack appears in Burnout Paradise

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

In game advertising has seen quite a week.  If Google’s big announcement of getting into the game (literally) wasn’t enough to make advertisers and marketers drool with anticipation, the monetization model received another boost a few days back when Xbox Live gamer Dragunov slammed on the breaks to snap this shot of a Barack Obama ad appearing in Burnout Paradise.

Dragunov came across the ads, grabbed a few screenshots and posted them to his Rooster Teeth journal page.  He reports:

Here’s the photos I took while playing Burnout: Paradise on the XBox 360.  I don’t know how often they rotate the in-game advertising, but I imagine they are still up.

I gotta give [Obama] credit for covering all the bases.  I also think this is an interesting endorsement for adults as gamers (or maybe he’s planting the seeds for a re-election bid in 4 years…)

Now these screenshots are either an outstanding Photoshop work, a viral ad planned and released by the Obama campaign, or maybe  both.  Either way you look at it, this is remarkable.  The ads display that early voting has already begun and point directly to Obamas site voteforchange.com.

While neither EA or the Obama campaign responded to our inquiries confirming the ads, clearly Obama and/or his diehard photoshopping supporters have created waves and know exactly where and how to reach young voters.

Given that approximately one third of all American households contain either a PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii, the Obama campaign has the potential to reach a market that normally may or may not pay attention to political ads.  Granted, there is the potential that most Burnout Paradise drivers are going to go flying by the ads, but then again, there are gamers like Dragunov that stopped to view the billboard, snapped a few photos, and here we are….discussing Barack Obama.  Include the recent Brandweek survey conducted by the Nielsen Games division that concluded that 11 percent of gamers said they bought a brand after seeing it advertised in a game, and you’ve got a powerful mix on your hands.  I guess the next logical step is when can I pony up and get a microtransaction Obama paintjob for my ride?

The Obama camp is clearly showing great technological progress in terms of not only leveraging the technology, but also targeting and delivering it at just the right time and place.  With his my.barackObama, Facebook page, and iPhone app the Democrats are painting themselves as those in the know, while John McCain is still struggling to understand email.

Historically, the young voter group is the least likely to actually show up at the polls on Election Day, but we’ve seen some incredible progress from both political parties to embrace and utilize the power of the online world.  From Howard Dean’s incredible use of viral marketing via blogs, to Obama’s ads appearing in Burnout Paradise, clearly virtual worlds are beginning to gain the attention of even the oldest of old school.

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Consoles expected to generate $8 billion by 2013

Friday, September 5th, 2008

Our friends over at Parks Associates have recently released some more outstanding research and predictions regarding the gaming industry.  Their most recent report: Connected Consoles: Gaming, Media, and Beyond predicts that gaming console revenues will reach a staggering $8 billion by the year 2013.

Parks Associates predicts that revenue streams from digital video distribution (think Xbox/Netflix), downloadable games and content, virtual worlds and avatar-based microtransactions, multiplayer gaming services, and dynamic in-game advertising will account for these numbers.

“Broadband connectivity, now a common feature for game consoles, is a key enabler for new business models,” said Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, Director of Broadband and Gaming, Parks Associates. “Among the different online revenue opportunities, digital video distribution and downloadable games and content are the most promising.”

The reports goes a step further to reveal that among the “big three” console leaders (Xbox, PS3, and Wii), Microsoft currently dominates the online content and service market, but Sony and Nintendo are making strong headway into the field as they ramp up their base of connected customers and diversify monetization models.

“Led by Microsoft’s success in Xbox Live, all three console makers are dreaming up many innovative offerings to entice console households to get connected and spend more money,” Cai said.
In addition to top findings on the current state of console play, Parks Associates study even goes a step further and analyzes new console related capabilities, services, and business models.  These new models include: online multiplayer gaming, virtual worlds, dynamic in-game advertising, and digital delivery.  The study outlines the impact of game consoles on other industries and forecasts revenue growth and market share.

To hear more from Yuanzhe ‘Michael’ Cai, be sure to attend his session “Games of Tomorrow and the Future of MMOGs”  at the Digital Media Wire’s NY Games Conference on September 26th.

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Klei Entertainment CEO Jamie Cheng on Free to Play

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

While working the AI interface for Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was good enough for Jamie Cheng, there was something missing.  Something perhaps like…your own company?

Jamie Cheng now sits in the drivers seat of Klei Entertainment and has released his own original downloadable games including Eets on PC and Xbox Live Arcade, and helped Metanet develop N+ for Xbox Live Arcade.  And while these accomplishments are impressive in their own right, it’s Cheng’s recent deal with top free-to-play publisher Nexon that is starting to make big waves.  Described as an “online arena combat game”, Sugar Rush seems to have a bright future ahead of it.

But it seems as though Klei didn’t  initially start out to build free-to-plays.  “While I was at Relic, I decided I was going to make my own game on my own time, so I got some friends together,” says Cheng.  The ragtag team rented out a basement and started work on a 2D puzzle game, Eets.

Working on Eets as a labor of love, Cheng says, “I never really intended to sell it, I just wanted to see what we could do.”   Luckily other members of his team saw the financial potential in the game an spurred Cheng on.  “I used all the savings I had at the time, then I used borrowed money from my brother, then I started using government money after that.”

In 2006, Eets was released on PC and the followup Eets: Chowdown later arrived on Xbox Live Arcade.
Speaking to the recent deal with Nexon Cheng says, “We didn’t start working with Nexon because we were afraid of taking risks, or because we wanted the money. We felt Nexon really felt they wanted to do the right thing for a North American free-to-play game. We are their first North American free-to-play game.”

While Cheng’s titles are hits in the hands of gamers, it’s his take on free-to-play that makes a boatload of sense.  He’s quick to admit that most people tend to see free-to-play titles as those of inferior quality to paid titles.  Not reaching any further than a keyboard, Cheng points out a number of other free services that we use everday – Those that we do NOT expect a diminished level of quality and service.  Gmail, Facebook and Craigslist are all free, and yet we don’t give any of these products the cold shoulder.  Cheng also points to the music industry as an example.  Radiohead recently gave away it’s most recent album, and charged only for concerts.  Along this avenue, the classic of all classics: Woodstock, was a free concert that drew revenue from other streams such as merchandising.

Speaking of alternative revenue streams,  Cheng spotlights the two leaders in the free-to-play arena: Microtransactions and in game advertising.  “Yes, we do have advertising. No, we don’t force it right in front of your face and force it on you,” Cheng says. “What we want to do is incorporate advertising right into the games and make it enhance the experience.”

Cheng does however stress that microtransactions that radically unbalance a game are a bad thing.  “If you sell a stronger sword, people are going to be pissed off,” he says.  Along the Radiohead line, Cheng illustrates a common concert factor.  If you go to the concert and enjoy it, you’re very likely to stop at the TShirt booth on your way out and pick up an ‘exclusive’ concert tour TShirt.  Not only as proof that you were there, but also as a way to become more involved with a subject you like.  The same is true for microtransactions.  In regards to the in-game advertising vs. microtransactions, Cheng admits that his current setup is “heavily weighted” in favor of microtransactions.  “You have to have a huge amount of volume before advertising becomes a large part of your revenue,” Cheng says.

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Are micro transactions on the horizon for Xbox avatars?

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Microsoft corporate Vice President John Schappert recently spoke with Venturebeat’s Dean Takahashi on a number of topics including a micro transaction based model for Xbox avatars.

The Microsoft avatar system was announced at E3, and one thing was clear: There’s a lot of potential for micro transactions in the Microsoft future.  With the recent interview, Schappert puts the official stamp on the ‘It’s something we’re seriously considering’ rumor.

“That may be in the future,” Schappert said when asked about the prospect. “In the near term, we want to launch these with great customization and a great library of accessories this fall. I think there is a lot more we can do with them. You will see us continue to add experiences that make use of the avatar.”

“To me, avatars are a logical extension to give us countless ways to personalize our own styles,” he said.  “It’s not like we are using avatars to recreate the perfect human body. And it’s not too cutesy. It’s in the middle. It dresses up the core first-person shooter, who can be edgy. And the more casual player can dress up to look friendly.”

If this sounds more than familiar, just have a think for a second about the Nintendo version: Mii’s.

“I have to make a shout out to the Miis and say that Nintendo did a phenomenal job integrating them into the Wii games,” Schappert said. “There was a lot of inspiration from them. At the same time, it’s a logical evolution of our gamertags on Xbox Live. It was a question of when to introduce it.”

It’s good to see that Microsoft isn’t just doing a bit of chest beating, but giving a nod to the Nintendo boys for beating them to the market.  Whether these custom, micro transaction based avatars will cost an unruly amount of Microsoft Points is yet to be seen.

Micro transactions for in game avatar customization; good or bad?  While the topic can and most certainly will rage on in forums, blogs, and chat channels, isn’t it simply a case of two different types of gamers?  Will the ‘hardcore’ category yet again be the most vocal in it’s opposition, while the ‘casual gamer’ category silently goes about it’s business, dropping a buck here and there to truly customize and enjoy their in game toon?  Clearly the market has shown growth in the micro transaction field, both in interest and development.  With Microsoft putting more resources into developing a program, isn’t this a clear stamp of approval?

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Blizzard to introduce cross game Achievement System in WoW, Starcraft, and Diablo

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan recently revealed Blizzard’s plan in introduce an achievement system in conjunction with the Wrath of the Lich King launch.

“Eventually, our plans are for the Achievement system to become an account-based system,” he explained.

“It’s basically a gamerscore,” Kaplan said, when I made reference to Xbox Live’s Achievement system. “For now the points are just a ‘WoW’ character score. As we graduate to that Blizzard Account system, which is right on the horizon, it will switch over to a Blizzard Level.”

“Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW. That sort of thing,” says Kaplan.

Beta testers of Wrath of the Lich King have already gotten a taste of the new Blizzard Account system.  Beta players have been required to temporarily create a Blizzard Account that’s tied to the WoW accounts.  However, this beta is just that, a test account, and will not function as actual ‘Live’ Blizzard Accounts, and will not count towards purchases in the Blizzard store once the real system is active.

While achievement systems are nothing new to the gaming industry and games themselves, this is however a highly significant move from Blizzard.  Blizzard has bucked the trend for years now, firmly ignoring the growing trend in free to play, micro transaction based MMO’s, favoring the traditional subscription based model.  With the introduction of a pan-Blizzard product database, could there be a weakening of this philosophy?  Would it be possible someday in the near future to equip my Orc hunter with a new gun or outfit based on achievements?  And if I can get these items through an achievement system, how far off are we from dropping a dollar here, and a few dollars over there to grab that purple version of the gun and match it perfectly with newly acquired epic flying mount?

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Gameloft rocks the top spot in Mobile Gaming

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Pocket Gamer, considered by most to be the industries leading figure in mobile gaming recently published it’s findings of a comparison study reviewing all game publishers. The study was based on 313 international game reviews made public between January and March 2008. Rankings and ratings were compiled from heavy hitters Pocket Gamer, IGN Wireless, Mobile Game FAQs, Airgamer, and midget review.

Gameloft came out on top, receiving the award for “Best-Ranked Mobile Game Publisher”. Editor in chief of pocket gamer said, “Gameloft’s tally was based only on 34 available reviews out of the 313 that we studied. This makes the outcome all the more impressive because they managed to secure very high scores based on a small number of published reviews.”

“Receiving this honor from Pocket Gamer is a true privilege,” said Michel Guillemot, President and CEO, Gameloft. “We will strive to live up to this distinction by continuing to deliver the best titles worldwide.” Gameloft surpassed the competition with an average score of 7.94 out of 10, ahead of the second place publisher that earned a median score of 7.61.

Gameloft is a leading international publisher and developer of video games for mobile phones and consoles. Creating games since 1999, they have options available for handsets equipped with Java, Brew, or Symbian technology. Gameloft also publishes titles for WiiWare and DS, Xbox LIVE arcade, iPods, and PCs. Gameloft’s top titles include Block Breaker Deluxe, Asphalt: Urban GT, and New York Nights. Gameloft enjoys network distribution in over 80 countries globally.

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