I was sitting in my Introduction To Management class the other day and some how we got on the topic of Second Life. We were talking about different industries and how some have monopolies in them. The prof asked how many people have heard of Second Life and mines was the only hand to go up. I was shocked at first and then I begin to realize that Second Life has barely made it out into the mainstream… regardless of all the press it has gotten in the last few years.
This got me to thinking that maybe Second Life is only the first stage in a multi-level game. Maybe Raph’s Araea or Conduit Labs might have the right idea about the future of MMO/virtual worlds and help get it mainstream attention. I think Second Life has reached its potential in the long term and can only get better if they were to rewrite some of the underlining code within the system. Second Life has plateaued and I think we all need to move on and find our third life.
CMP’s Worlds In Motion is a new blog dedicated to virtual worlds including World of Warcraft and Second Life. A unique feature they added to the mix is an online world atlas for virtual worlds. I’m looking forward to seeing how this evolves over the longterm. This could become a great resource for marketers looking to find out about virtual, besides the usually suspects, and which ones might fit their brand, demographic and psychographic.
They have covered Disney’s Toontwon, General Mill’s Millsberry and Habbo Hotel. You should check out the Atlus and see what other worlds you might uncover. It’s always better to be a big fish in a small pound then a small fish in a big pound.
I wanted to look behavioral targeting and the importance of having all your ducks in a row or put another way, not putting your cart before the horse when launching your marketing campaign for XYZ video game. Marketing, much like cooking, is an art and a science. The Adotas article goes on to explain the marrying of the two and what behavioral targeting can do to your campaign before and after you’ve launched it.
[Via Adotas]
Posted on 26 November '07 by Duane Brown, under Advertising, Research. No Comments.
Compete released their Top 50 websites since 2001 report over the weekend. The only game company on the list is , which until a few years ago wasn’t owned by Electronic Arts (EA).
The online gaming site has grown from a respectable attention share of .34% in 2001, it now grabs nearly 1.69% of all time spent online.
EA has a built a great community over the past few years and quite the money maker I hear too.
[Via Wired]
Posted on 9 October '07 by Duane Brown, under Community, Research. No Comments.
Montreal Tech Watch is reporting that MindHabits has just won the Telefilm Great Canadian Video Game Competition. I first posted about the competition here.
MindHabits produces computer software designed to help people reduce their stress levels and boost their self-confidence, using games that automatically retrain the way the mind responds to social stress. This patent pending technology is the result of a decade of research by scientists at McGill University, one of the world’s top medical research centers. The software – based on the emerging science of social intelligence – helps you practice the mind habit of focusing on positive social feedback, which in turn reduces stress levels and improves self-confidence.
Montreal is really showing why they are becoming the top video game hot spot in Canada. Vancouver may have more studios, but the quality of games isn’t the same as Montreal. Put another way, Montreal produces more video games that I’m interested in, both as a player and from a marketing point.
Posted on 23 September '07 by Duane Brown, under Marketing, Research. No Comments.
