Games and branding activities are becoming ever more combined, but sponsoring a gaming championship has been an outpost for geek brands only. However, a promotion between Gillette and EA, one of the biggest games companies in the world, is changing all of this… read full post »

Xbox Live is the online aspect of the Xbox 360. It allows players to play games against each other, download movies, send messages, and more. Various improvements have been announced recently but one seemingly minor new feature actually demonstrates how the way we consume media is about to change… forever.

read full post »

The video of Matt dancing around the globe hit the Internet a couple of years ago.  However, he has released a new and final video which is inspiring - not just because of what he achieved, but because a brand sponsored him and they didn’t change a thing.  No, seriously, it sounds crazy but it’s true and it worked…   read full post »

Every week, there’s a new statistic about gaming that interests or amazes me.  It feels like records are being smashed all the time, or gaming has managed to breakthrough into yet another new area.  Whilst I’m sure that isn’t completely true, it is gratifying that games are more big business and mass interest than ever.  Here are my top 5 recent stats: read full post »

The average age of a gamer is 31.  The increasing age of gamers has served to make gaming a mass market pass time.  Gaming is now a channel through which any age audience can be reached - Adults play casual games, young kids are playing on their DS, and families use the Wii.  But what of the teen generation?  For teens, new consoles are still expensive but their old consoles (PS2 / original Xbox) are too out of date to be of interest.  So, what are they playing?  Is gaming still a way to reach them too?  You’ll be surprised…

read full post »

The PSP is a great machine. Some people say it lacks great games but, while a few more would never hurt, I’ve played plenty. What’s weird is that, not long after PSP’s initial launch, Sony seem to have promoted it as everything but a games machine. New add-on devices have been announced to increase its non-gaming functionality, making its key strength even less clear. So, is it a games machine anymore? In fact, does it need to be? read full post »

Everything changes. 10 years ago who would have thought pubs would be smoke-free, Def Leppard would release their new single via a console game (seriously, it’s being released via Guitar Hero) before it hits the shops, and the mass market would be embracing gaming especially a games console where you wave your arms about? So, could the video arcade be the next great social meeting place?

read full post »

It was announced yesterday that BBC’s iPlayer will soon be available on the Wii (having already been rolled out to iPhone and iTouch - all the iProducts sticking together).  I read the anouncement and thought “Wow”, then thought I can watch TV on my, er, TV.  So, I thought, “Hmm”, then I thought having Internet sites that deliver TV programs fed to your TV is the best place for them as they’re at the centre of your entertainment set-up at home, so I thought, “Wow”.  Then I thought, “But not many Wii’s are actually set-up to connect wirelessy compared to say over 70% of Xbox 360s and 40% of PS3s, so I thought “Hmm”.  Is this “Wow” or “Hmm”?  Help me out…

It’s official, games are bigger business than music.  Well, it is if you look at retail revenues in the UK.  For the very first time, 2007 saw games earn more retail revenue than music, and it’s set to continue.  With the saturation of iPods stuffed onto every commuting train, how has this happened?

read full post »

Sony Japan announced yesterday that the Sony PSP will be able to use Skype services following the next system upgrade on March 18.  As a PSP owner, I thought that sounded great.  But then I thought, hold on, I don’t use Skype on my PC so why would I use my PSP to do it? read full post »