Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Posted by Roberto
11:19 AM
0 comments
IN-GAME BRAND MESSAGING:
A NEW TREND IN PRODUCT PLACEMENT
Today more than 70% of men between the ages of 18 and 34 have become gamers who spend as much time playing video games than they do watching television. The average gamer is a surprising 28 years old. In 2003, Advertisers spent $12 billion on TV spots targeting young men, but only $10 million on in-game ads. Jupiter research shows that awareness of the power of in-game advertising is growing and that in-game ad spending will in fact jump to $750 million by 2006.
The marketing budget for ads in video games at DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group was zero four years ago. Now it represents more than 10 percent of the division's overall marketing budget, planting Chryslers, Jeeps and Dodge cars in more than a dozen video games while spending on television and print ads has dropped. In its first experiment, the automaker invested six figures a few years ago so players of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 game would have to do rail stunts over a Jeep to get points, or go through game levels decorated with Jeep billboards.
Two days ago (Oct 18), Massive Incorporated launched the world's first video game advertising network, enabling publishers and advertisers to finally capitalize on the largest cultural and economic entertainment force in the world. The Massive Advertising Network (SM) uses patent-pending technology to dynamically serve advertising across a network of premier video game titles and delivers measured results on consumer interaction with this brand messaging. Billboards in a subway scene could feature a new movie trailer one day and the hottest new energy drink the next. Promotions could be tailored to geography, so that players in New York and California might see different versions of a car ad.
Ed Zobrist, vice president of global marketing at Vivendi, points out that in-game advertising it's really only going to work in games where it makes sense, since real world brands just do not have a place in a fantasy game! Vivendi Universal Games plans to introduce four games using Massive's advertising service and Ubisoft plans to use Massive's technology in the next sequel of the popular Tom Clancy Splinter Cell series.
Massive Incorporated
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Posted by Roberto
6:44 PM
0 comments
THE MINIPC ERA
MiniPC are the much-anticipated mobility solution for people who until now had to choose between a laptop and the limited capability of a PDA or smartphone.
OQO
The OQO ultra personal computer (uPC) is a fully-functional Windows XP PC small enough to fit in your pocket, yet powerful enough to replace your laptop. The OQO computer has all the functionality of an ultraportable notebook computer, with a 1GHz processor, a 20GB hard drive, 256MB of RAM, color transflective display (for easy indoor and outdoor viewing), 802.11b wireless, a removable lithium-polymer battery, and FireWire and USB 1.1 ports. The OQO has an elegant slider design. With the screen slid open, the thumb keyboard, mouse buttons and TrackStik allow for easy data input. With the screen closed, the model 01 can be used tablet-style, with the digital pen and scrollwheel enabling easy navigation. The OQO model 01 is now available and it costs 2000 dollars.
FlipStart
The OQO's competitor is the FlipStart Vulcan (backed by Paul Allen). Compared to the OQO the FlipStart Vulcan has a higher resolution screen (1024x600), so you can view web pages in normal width, and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The FlipStart, has a clamshell design, a bigger keyboard, and also features a touchpad and trackstick. It also has an external display, like on cellphones and a 1.3MP digital camera built-in.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Posted by Roberto
6:28 AM
0 comments
3-D VIDEO BY HITACHI
Hitachi will introduce the first 3-D telecast of human movement in real time at the Ceatec Japan 2004 trade show, today in south-east Tokyo.
Hitachi technology is based on optical illusion
Light from an object is captured at a wide range of angles. The image data is transmitted and reflected on a screen from another wide range of angles to produce a 3-D video image. While the video image is somewhat blurred, the colours are clear and the image can be viewed from a 360-degree angle around the screen. The prototype product involves installing 24 mirrors around the subject to be photographed. Four cameras are set up to capture the images projected onto the mirrors, and the image data is transmitted over special lines. At the reception site, four projectors reflect the images off a ring of 24 mirrors. A double-sided mirror placed in the centre of the ring spins rapidly, and about a quarter of the original image appears on the spinning mirror.
While this new technology is still far from commercial release, we are a step closer to the consumption of 3-D music videos :)
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