Everyone wants a Wii…. (including me)

Xbox LIVE Rocks(ed) The Vote

Cool idea that no one thought about! Microsoft had partnered with Rock the Vote to allow gamers to register to vote through Xbox LIVE. That’s right, registering to vote is now as easy as downloading a gamer pic from the Xbox Marketplace.

I really feel this is a great way to get gamers involved in the political process. What’s better than mixing something boring (like registering to vote) with something you love (games), and then making it super-easy to do both at the same time? There’s even going to be a presidential poll! I can’t wait to see what other gamers think: Obama or McCain?

As we all know that gamers suffer from the stereotype of being lazy, but this was an excellent way to do what’s right without getting up from your couch.

There are over 12 million gamers on Xbox LIVE , most of them in U.S. Imagine if Sony followed through with PS3 and Nintendo did the same with Wii. There could have been potential for a huge amount of gamers to stand up and make their voices heard.

This initiative will either be highly successful (a lot of people sign up) or fail horribly (no one signs up, or everyone has already registered, so they don’t have to). Honestly, it could be taken either ways. I just feel that this idea was cool !

Microsoft to censor (undesired words) on Xbox.

What da ##@#….. %^@@@^%$$$ S**T…. looks like Xbox gamers will not be able to hear any of these s#*t anymore. Because, Microsoft has been granted a patent (filed in 2004) to filter and censor undesired words in real-time. The automatic system would process everything being said and alter the unwanted words so that they are, according to the patent, “either unintelligible or inaudible.”

I’ve marked ‘inaudible’ as the company is opting to either lower the volume below audibility, replacing the word with an acceptable word or phrase, or taking out the word completely.Thats good! because  hearing “bleep” can be annoying if each & every obscene word is “bleeped” I am glad Microsoft understands this. Unlike TV networks (where delayed feeds allows some one to censor or ‘bleep out’ any offensive language), Microsoft’s proposed technology would make everything work in real-time – a practical solution when it comes to the many simultaneous conversations that take place in online multiplayer games.

I will wait to hear from the experts, how the parameters will be set. It will be interesting to learn how Microsoft will censor words that can be very creatively & obscenely used by some members of the community.

Though censoring is good, Microsoft will be on tight rope & maintain  absolute balance between degree of censorship & potential pain for the gamers (company does’nt want to fend off gamers due to over control).

Obama billboard in Xbox 360!!!

Presidential candidate; Senator Barack Obama’s campaign has made incredible use of virtual media.  Obama already has a group of followers on ‘Second Life’, He is connected to people through his website, all their campaign events have been streamed live on his site; they use Twitter to keep people informed about them. Recently the campaign launched an iPhone application ‘Obama 08’ – and they’re not done yet.

Barack Obama billboard on EA's "Burnout Paradise"

The Obama campaign is now advertising in a very popular video game for the Xbox 360. Obama campaign has bought ad space within video games including Electronic Arts’ “Burnout Paradise”. One in-game ad, seen on a virtual billboard in the racing game, informs gamers that “Early Voting Has Begun” for the election, and includes a link to an Obama website.

Electronic Arts confirmed to GameSpot (a very popular gaming site) that the ads have been appearing on virtual Obama billboards since October 6, and will continue to run until election day in November.

According to the Seattle Times, the ads were sold by Massive, a Microsoft-owned ad agency (Microsoft makes the X-box, for the non-gamers here). The ads are also highly targeted and are only visible to gamers in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The deal with Massive suggests that the ads are appearing in the following games: Burnout Paradise, Madden 09, Nascar 09, NBA Live 08, NFS Carbon, NFS Prostreet, NFL on Tour, NHL 09, Skate

In a report on GigaOM,  Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts, told GigaOM. She adds, “Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates,” she continued. “Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams.”

In my earlier post I spoke about Google leveraging this medium & future of in-game advertising, but for a political campaign to be savvy enough to realize this opportunity exists and take advantage of it is really impressive. To my knowledge, this Burnout ad is far and away the most prominent use of a major online game to promote a presidential candidate’s campaign.

Now that Obama has entered this periphery! I really believe that we will see more in-game advertising  & effective use of virtual media in next presidential elections. However, the challenges in this periphery will be very game-specific:  advertising message will have to blend with the game & avoid falling into those obviously loud marketing tactics.  Last thing a gamer wants is, an intrusion of marketers in their me-my time with their hobby time. If the advertising message is communicated in a clever & non-intrusive manner, the message will be received positively.

Can mobile marketing get bigger?

Mobile is no more limited to a 3.5 inch touch screen phone with mp3 capabilities & what not. Its no more a mobile phone,but it is a 3.5 inch wizard loaded with unimaginable capabilities. From online streaming of videos to Social networking, from high quality gaming to making presentations you can do it all! Phones are your new navigators, personal assistants, gaming tools! Day is not far when Xbox, PS or Wii may come up with mobile phone loaded with gaming capabilities!

Smartphone unit sales almost tripled from 2004 to 2005, and increased by 50% in the first half of 2006 over 2005 , reports In-Stat. In another research suggests that Smart phones will comprise 9.3 percent of mobile phones sold in 2009! It is the closest way a marketer can get to a consumer. No other medium is as personally engaging. Hurray!!!! again a whole new toy for the marketers to play with.

One area that has caught marketer’s attention is Mobile Search Marketing, though it is still at a very nascent stage, its evolving rapidly as more 3G cellphones erode the market. Industry analysts have forecasted humongous growth in MSM. For 2007, mobile industry-watchers predicts $1.7 billion in revenues & have estimated $11 billion by 2011, making it a promising frontier to look out for!

The search engines are naturally interested in extending their ad platforms to the cell phone. In early September, Google began allowing its Adwords marketers to create mobile ads to run on the networks of cellular carriers in Germany , UK and the United States. Microsoft & Yahoo are also exploring opportunities into this frontier.

Wow! isn’t it too much for a small device called mobile phone. I sometimes wonder how microscopic can we go in pursuit to enhance brand experience & gain consumer’s attention. I am sure, at this point of time earth is the best place to be in.