R* Vice City badges...

http://www.rockstarwarehouse.com/Product.aspx?pSKU=RS-VC-PINSET&vSKU=RS-VC-PINSET


If anyone gets full marks for Section B, you have to buy me this R* badge set k?

Just part of the new Rockstar merchandise promoting the 10th Anniversary edition of GTA: Vice City on iOS devices. Check it out at www.rockstarwarehouse.com - remember that the merchandise is an important part of game publishers' revenue streams and vital for pushing brands like R* above!

Lesson 11 - Synergy & Symbiosis

11 synergy symbiosis from mrhoward12

TASK:

1. Define these two terms without copying and pasting.

2. The examples earlier in the PPT used the film industry - Explain them using your own examples from the Games Industry - you will have to think about what to research: Googling "symbiosis in games" will not give you what you need!
PPT behind the cut

Spyro takes another leap onto the iPad in Skylanders: Lost Islands

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPad/Skylanders%3A+Lost+Islands/news.asp?c=45605
Activision has just released another iPad title set in its increasingly popular Skylander universe. It's called Skylanders: Lost Islands, and it's a freemium build-'em-up that tasks you with restoring the lands of the Mabu to their former glory.

'Skylanders': How the toy franchise became a success story

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a410226/skylanders-how-the-toy-franchise-became-a-success-story.html

Now one of the most profitable franchises in the game industry and with more than 30 million toys sold, Skylanders' success has been remarkable. In October 2011, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure launched in stores but with a unique twist - the player can introduce characters into the game by putting toys onto a portal.

An initial 15 million toys were produced, which were all sold out not long after Christmas. Because the toys are hand-painted, it took six weeks before they could re-stock. Even though Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure can be played with just the three toys that come with the bundle, people went out in their droves to add to their collection.

The Skylanders Franchise Is Kiddie Crack

“Went to three stores yesterday—all sold out,” the desperate tweet read. “Had to go black market. Help.”

The frantic dad is talking about Skylanders (for his 5-year-old daughter of course, not for him, no, definitely not). Unless you’re a tween or the guardian of one, you probably don’t know about Skylanders, a new franchise from Activision that skillfully mixes the most addictive (and lucrative) features of Pokémon and Beanie Babies. It’s a videogame series and a line of collectible figurines—cute toy monsters unlock new pieces of in-game content.

Since its debut in October, this opiate of the schoolyard masses has scored more than $200 million in North American sales alone. Here’s how it gets its hooks into kids—and some grown-ups too.

The Stages of Skylanders Addiction

Try it, you’ll like it
Kids buy the game, which is available on PC and all consoles. It comes with a few action figures and a plastic “portal of power” that reads RFID tags in the toys. Plop any of the figures on the portal and poof—that character materializes onscreen in the game.
Cost of game: $60-75

One more can’t hurt
Once your kids have played through the game with the three characters that came with it, they’ll beg for an Adventure Pack. The additional figurines have new powers or can access new parts of the gameworld.
Cost of all four packs: $80

I can quit anytime
Each situation requires characters with different attributes. Players can trade figurines with one another, but a serious aficionado will want to own all 48 characters (including the forthcoming Giant and LightCore figures). They can be bought individually or in packs.
Cost of all additional figures: $381

It doesn’t control me! I control it!
Activision has also released some limited-edition toys, like a version of Cynder the Dragon made exclusively for people who attend Toy Fair in New York. The unrepentant Skylanders addict turns to eBay for these hard-to-find items.
Cost: Up to $1,000

Don’t look at me!
So that’s a total outlay of at least $1,521 to be an elite Skylanders player. The next iteration of the franchise, Skylanders Giants, comes out later this year, along with several new lines of alluring action figures.
Cost: Your immortal soul

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/09/st_skylander/

How children are transforming gaming: we chart the trends shaping the next generation

http://www.edge-online.com/features/young-bucks/

Their fingers may be stubby, but children seem preternaturally adept at grasping the true function of new technology: games. If you’ve seen parents taking their young children out for a meal lately, you’ll probably have witnessed the child’s inevitable request for a smartphone to play on. Maybe you’ve also heard them utter the cry of a generation: “It’s only 69p!” Or perhaps they’ve simply demanded an App Store password.

No longer restricted to a brief spell of pestering outside a local game shop, children’s access to games is now untrammelled, whether at home on browsers, or out and about via smartphone marketplaces. And this means that our kids are quietly reshaping the entire entertainment industry right under our noses.

Of course, given our medium’s history, it wouldn’t be remiss to expect the driving force behind industry shifts to be men aged 16-34. And yet, according to entertainment consulting company KZero, the single biggest group purchasing virtual goods is children under the age of 15. At the same time, the growth in virtual goods revenue is skyrocketing, rising from $0.9 billion in 2007 to $9 billon in 2011. This year alone, it’s estimated that kids could end up spending a staggering $7 billion on virtual items. At least they can’t leave them lying all over the floor.

Lesson 8 - How are games consumed?

Consumption is important to consider - do not stop with the end users just playing a game in their home - there are many other ways gaming influences consumers.

PPT after the cut

Cos.play Area Exhibitors and Traders Confirmed

We are pleased to confirm the majority of exhibitors in our cos.play area. A diverse range of traders will be available, along with a number of creative exhibits.
(Find out more behind the cut)