360PR Blog

By Mark Nolan

One of the gaming industry’s most well-known publications announced they will be closing its doors – both in print and online – this week. GamePro, which has been around since 1989, announced that the November issue of the magazine will be its last and on Monday, December 5. GamePro.com will redirect to its sister publication, PCWorld.com. A notice on the top of GamePro.com thanks their dedicated readers, like myself, with this message:

“Thank you for your loyalty, support, and participation in the GamePro.com community. […] Thank you to the entire GamePro staff for their hard work and dedication.”

The first GamePro I picked up was in 1997, when my shiny new Nintendo64 was begging for the latest games. The magazine always covered the best new releases, and – in the era before the internet – provided invaluable reviews to help gamers (and parents) decide which games were worth the money. In the changing print landscape over the past few years, GamePro struggled, announcing earlier this year that they would be switching to a quarterly format.

While sad, it’s not all bad news for the GamePro brand which will remain as a subsection of PCWorld’s site, and a new entity called GamePro Custom Solutions will provide customized content for vendors and industry events like E3. Publisher Julian Rignall had mixed emotions about the news on his Twitter account:

All is not lost for print outlets in the gaming industry: magazines like Game Informer and Official Xbox Magazine are still going strong, and there are even some new print magazines joining the fray. Best Buy launched their @Gamer magazine in partnership with Future Publishing earlier this year, and another famous gaming mag from the industry’s early years, Electronic Gaming Monthly, was recently reborn.

We will definitely miss GamePro’s fantastic editorial staff and the groundwork they laid for gaming journalists over the past two decades. Farewell, for now, guys! We wish you all the best!

Filed under: Media and Press, Video Games by Admin - 2 Comments →

The 2^nd annual Penny Arcade Expo East (PAX East) wrapped up yesterday. And, boy was it epic – with huge over-the-top booths from the big game companies, to a bevy of costumed characters roaming the city. Over 60,000 gamers descended upon 360’s hometown of Boston for an unforgettable weekend. We were out in full force with multiple 360 staff working the show floor. Check out some photos from the event on our Facebook page.

Massachusetts continues to shine as a “hub” for the worldwide video game industry. In fact, Massachusetts is home to numerous game development education programs from the MIT GAMBIT Game Lab to Becker College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. We also have hundreds of developers in the area – from Turbine to Harmonix and Blue Fang Games.  In addition, dedicated organizations like New England Games SIG and Boston Post Mortem keep the local games community strong in Massachusetts. PAX East has emerged as the icing on the cake and something we’ll be looking forward to each year for years to come.

The local media was all over PAX this weekend. If you missed the show, but want to find out more, check out the  Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Mass High Tech!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Events and Conferences, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - 2 Comments →

Parents don’t let kids social network alone.

That’s the thinking behind Togetherville, a juvi-social network where the 10 and under set can hang out with their parents online and give social networking a whirl in a safe online neighborhood.

It’s free to join and parents create their child’s account through their own Facebook log-in. Parents can “play” with their kids online – hence the together in Togetherville – and can approve or reject friends that their children ask to bring into their neighborhood. Creator Mandeep Singh Dhillon told CNET.com that it’s all about creating accountability. He said, “Togetherville allows parents to create neighborhoods of the real people in their child’s life to be around their kid as they grow up online.”

Similar to Disney Digital Books, the site looks different for parents and children. And in this kiddie-size version of Facebook, your kids can comment on a status update using canned responses called “quips.” The site does let kids write their own free-form messages, but they must be approved by the parent before being sent. From the kids site, the games, videos and other activities are all pre-screened and no ads are allowed. From the parents site, you can send your kids notes and gifts, look at their activities and see what they’re creating. Kids also get passports that they can fill up with badges by playing games and watching videos on the site.

Let’s face it, kids under 13 are not allowed on Facebook, but they are joining anyway. And while there are some really nice things about Facebook, the perils aren’t worth the trouble that can happen if your young child isn’t supervised.

The question is whether parents will take the Togetherville step before letting their kids loose online. And, we’ll find out soon enough whether the Togetherville model even proves to be “safe enough.” Let’s also hope that Togetherville doesn’t turn into Addictedville and shut out important real-life experiences for young kids.

For now, it seems to me like a great solution for parents whose kids who are chomping at the bit to get online. It may just provide a valuable head start in teaching kids early on netiquette and the importance of safety and privacy on a social networking site. There is no denying, these sites are here to stay and will only evolve and grow.

So please share, would you use Togetherville with your child?

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital Books, Digital PR, FaceBook, Marketing to Moms, Media and Press, PR Industry, Parenting, Social Media, Social Networking, Togetherville, Video Games, Virtual Worlds by Admin - 3 Comments →

I’ve walked through Copley Place and the Prudential many times. But, instead of grabbing a bite to eat in the food court last Friday, I speed-walked through the mall to the Hynes Convention Center for the first annual Penny Arcade Expo East (PAX East). It was quite a sight…over 60K gamers, many fan boys and girls in full costume, descended on Boston and captured the attention of the Pru “suits” on their lunch break, as well as the local media. Multiple features in Mass High Tech, the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Xconomy.com and others chronicled the success story that was PAX East.

Held for the past four years in Seattle (PAX West), PAX organizers decided to branch out to the East coast and Boston was a natural choice – as a HUGE college town, Boston is filled with gamers! Thousands of attendees and about 70 hardware and software companies, including 360 clients Turbine and Immerz, crammed into the tiny Hynes Convention Center for a sold out show. And I’ve heard that in 2011 the event will be held at the much larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center – the open space will provide more room for the nerd herd to really spread out next year.

The gamers are gone, for now. But it’s clear that PAX East was a milestone event for Boston, the first gaming event of its size to be held in our backyard. While Massachusetts has long been known as a leader in various technology sectors, in recent years the gaming cluster has really started to shine becoming a key growth area for the state.

According to a 2009 survey by the Mass Tech Leadership Council, the state’s video game makers, which include industry heavyweights Harmonix and Turbine, take in $2 billion in revenue per year.  There are over 70 companies in MA dedicated to games, employing over 1,200 people. There are also multiple local organizations dedicated to fostering the community, including the New England Games SIG (of which I participate as a steering committee member), the Boston Post Mortem, and the MassTLC Games Cluster.

Did you get your game on at PAX? What did you think? We at 360 can’t wait until next year! Check out some photos of the 360 team at PAX on our Facebook page.

The 360PR team at PAX East - Elicia, Stacey, and Amanda

Filed under: Boston, Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, Media and Press, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - 2 Comments →

8 days and counting until I take off for the last hurrah of the summer – Penny Arcade Expo!  I can’t think of a better way to wrap up the summer than with a trip to Seattle next weekend.

You see, as the kiddies (and kiddies at heart) let loose each year for summer vacation, the game industry steps into exhibition overdrive. Between conferences like LOGIN, E3, Comic-Con, China Joy, and the Edinburgh Interactive Festival – summer is a time for the business of play (not just play itself). Participating in these events is key to a game’s PR program, whether as an exhibitor, as a speaker, or in some other form. Activities as simple as booking media appointments to elaborate PR stunts are all in a day’s work during the summer (check out EA’s staging of religious protests at E3 in June as a way to promote their new game Dante’s Inferno – clever!)

These events are my favorite part of PR. I love the gradual build up to the big day/s and (nerd alert) the logistics. And, if I’m lucky, I get a few minutes to roam the show floor to check out the latest games for myself.

Our clients have been at all of these shows in some form or another, but I’m particularly excited for PAX. Why? It’s a consumer show, which allows you to interact directly with customers. Plus, this year’s Seattle show will be particularly important for the organizes, as it segues into the first-ever PAX East in March (in Boston)!

So, as the summer draws to a close with PAX, the game industry will soon enter another important time of year for the games PR machine – the fall/holiday release season. I’ve got goosebumps.

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - 1 Comment →

The last BIG blow-out E3 Expo was held in 2006. But, in ’07 and ’08 the event was downsized significantly and became invite-only for many in the video game industry.  This year, however, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) reinvigorated the E3 of old, leading to a 840% increase in attendance compared to 2008 with 41,000 game industry executives and journalists in attendance….and, it was a blast!

The press was out in full force and ranged from consumer media, to traditional gaming outlets, fan/community websites, podcasters, and TV/video crews. If you google “E3 2009″, you’ll get a mere 25 million results – i.e. lots of buzz.

One of the big stories of E3 included Microsoft’s announcement that Xbox Live will soon integrate with Facebook and Twitter. And the use of Twitter itself surrounding the event was a big deal compared to E3 ’06, with many attendees and journalists tweeting about the event (#E3). In fact, our gamerDNA client launched a new website last week – TweetMyGaming.com – which aggregates conversations about video games happening on Twitter in real-time.

And, yes, even the “booth babes” were back this year. But, was there anything missing? Yes. Companies were not giving away as much swag to attendees – but I did get a free IGN.comT-shirt, which made me a happy camper

The ESA announced that E3 2010 will take place June 15 – 17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center – hope to see you there!

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, Social Media, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

The final nominees for the 13th Annual Webby Awards were announced earlier this week, an occasion that slightly resembles the feeling of Christmas morning to me. While I technically don’t get to rip open any wrapping paper, clicking through the entries definitely produces a certain gleeful feeling

Webby Awards are handed out in over 100 categories including websites, interactive advertising, online film & video, and mobile. I spent some time browsing the entries and found that media companies have taken some of the limelight this year. I also find it pretty ironic that the website of the esteemed awards for the worldwide web doesn’t even have a simple search bar.

The New York Times got the most nominations (13) overall in categories such as best newspaper website and best political & business blogs. In addition, NBC.com received 12 nominations. It was somewhat bewildering to see that the newspaper category featured mostly UK websites – Guardian.co.uk, Independent.co.uk, and TimesOnline.co.uk, etc. But, I was happy to see that the website of our local Boston Globe, Boston.com, received a nomination for best use of photography for their Big Picture online feature – a personal favorite.

Consumer brand initiatives from companies like Nike, Volkswagen, Patagonia, Sony and Victoria’s Secret were represented in many categories. And brands in the kids and parenting/family space took multiple nominations, including the Disney Interactive Media Group, a 360PR client, for Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Disney Family.com and other properties. On the gaming front, Destructoid, GameSpot, and The Escapist – all top-notch editorial sites – were nominated in the games-related category.

If you’re looking for a little entertainment during your lunch break, check out some of the nominees for yourself. In addition to the judge-selected winners, the public has a chance to vote in the “People’s Choice” awards in each category. Voting ends April 30th, so be sure to cast your votes here.  The Webby Winners will be announced on May 5, 2009 – mark your calendars!

Filed under: Internet, PR Industry, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

Yes, you read that correctly – the recession (the dreaded ‘R’ word that seems to come up more times in any given day than we can stand) can suck it. So say the folks at Mekanism who led a crowd-pleasing, laughter-induced presentation to a ballroom full of marketing and PR professionals at the fourth annual MI6 conference last week.

Some of the fun game industry facts that were presented on just how the recession can suck it included the following highlights from 2008:

• Dance Dance Revolution was incorporated into 765 physical education classes around the U.S.
• World of Warcraft (and, believe me, I hate including this as we represent arguably, the #2 most successful MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online ) announced 8.5 Billion (yes Billion with a capital B) guests since launch in 2004
• 26% of Americans over 50 years old played games in 2008, up from 9% in 1999 (and I, for one, can back this up with my parents actually asking to play Wii games at my house over Easter weekend)
• 100 Million Sims games sold, making it the most successful PC franchise of all time
• And, finally, playing games, according to 32% British males, is better than sex (and that number jumps to 72% when sex is compared with a new game release). Yes, you read that correctly.

Couple these stats with the cold hard cash earnings from leading games retailer, GameStop, which recently touted an increase of 22.4% in Q4 sales, along with the fact that the industry reported record growth 11 out of 12 months last year (as reported by the US President of Future publishing in his opening address), and maybe we’re onto something here.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Events and Conferences, Media and Press, Social Media, Video Games by Admin - 2 Comments →

On Tuesday the MIT Enterprise Forum Interactive Entertainment Special Interest Group hosted a panel and networking event in Cambridge bringing together local game industry executives to discuss video game marketing and PR. Rodney Brown of Mass High Tech moderated the panel and 360′s own Stacey Clement, as well as Sarah McIlroy of Fashion Playtes, Alex Rodberg of Turbine, and Joe McDonagh of 2K Boston, participated as panelists.Mass High Tech wrote a great article yesterday summarizing the event (check it out here), but I also wanted to share a few additional valuable points that Stacey and the other panelists touched upon:

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Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Boston, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

Over the past couple weeks I’ve taken note of a few blog posts and articles related to Digital PR and relevant to 360′s work and our clients’ businesses.  In the spirit of sharing, I’ve listed these below with a few thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mashable – “The 22 Step Social Media Marketing Plan” / List of Social Media Examples

A couple months ago I stumbled across Peter Kim’s list of Social Media Marketing examples. It is a really great resource, but can be a little overwhelming to browse (he listed over 300 examples!). More recently, Peter Kim wrote a guest post for Mashable.com in which he narrows it down and lists 22 different social media tools, like Blogs and Virtual Worlds, and examples of companies that have used these tools. If you’re interested in social media, I suggest you check it out. He links over to examples from companies like Delta, Kodak, Pampers, method, Rubbermaid, and more.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Pitch tips, Social Media, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

I attended the recent Sandbox Summit on technology and playtime in New York.  The first Sandbox Summit was held at CES earlier this year, and founders Wendy Smolen and Claire Green moved it to Manhattan for round two.  Starting with a presentation by Google Creative Labs’ Andy Berndt, much of the discussion focused on the opportunities for collaboration and creativity online.

MIT Media Lab’s Mitch Resnick discussed the Media Lab’s Scratch, a site that lets kids upload and add to each other’s projects, such as stories, games and animated characters, all created by kids.  Dizzywood founder Scott Arpajian shared Dizzywood’s use as a classroom tool to get kids working together on projects in the eco-friendly virtual world.  Offline, Leapfrog’s Jim Gray presented the company’s Tag Reading System, which lets parents know what their child is learning and interested in even if they can’t be there to read the bed time story. [Read more →]

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Parenting, Video Games, Virtual Worlds by LauraTomasetti - 2 Comments →

Last weekend, the Emerald City was the place to be if you’re a gamer (or a member of the gaming press). The annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) was held over the course of three days at the Seattle Convention Center. A couple of 360′s clients (Turbine, Inc. and GamerDNA, Inc.) were there, along with a boat-load of other electronic and non-electronic gaming companies, to showcase their newest game content, meet with press and, of course, to throw sweet after-parties.

Even before it started, I had a hunch that the 2008 show (now it its 5^th year) was going to be BIG. Just looking at the amount of press on the pre-registered attendee list prior to the show was a good indicator that PAX was stepping it up another notch this year.

And, as it turns out, the 2008 event smashed previous records with about 58,500 attendees! According to Gamasutra, this is over 21,000 more gamers compared to the 2007 turn-out. Next year, PAX is expected to take place in Seattle again and hopefully will do just as well as it did this year.

Are you ready for the best part? The organizers plan to launch a PAX East Coast event in 360′s hometown of Boston in 2010 – consider it officially marked on my calendar!

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

The trailer for the sixth Harry Potter film (The Half-blood Prince) spread on the web recently, sparking the excitement of millions of fans looking forward to seeing the movie this fall. To fans’ disappointment, however, Warner Brothers announced late last week that they had to delay the film until July 2009, leading to some uproar in the Potter community. Some fans even started a Facebook group called “The Delay of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Has Ruined My Life.” Yikes!

Product delays are not uncommon, and can sometimes provide an opportunity to extend PR efforts and build more anticipation. In the video game industry, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) are especially prone to delays as they can take a significantly longer amount of time to develop compared to console games. They are a living, breathing, constantly growing online world where players interact with one another in real-time over the Internet. Because MMO players tend to invest many hours of their time in these virtual worlds, I can understand their disappointment if a game is delayed (just as I can understand Potter fans’ disappointment).

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Filed under: PR Industry, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

Increasingly consumers are “living” online in social networks, online communities, and virtual worlds. We exist on the web as either A) accurate representations of ourselves (i.e. posting resumes on LinkedIn or picking a hair and eye color for our avatar that matches our own) or B) as the fantastical personas of our dreams (i.e. the one with purple hair, super powers and being 5 or 10 lbs lighter than we are in real life). The appeal? Making connections, and having fun while doing it.

Virtual Worlds Management, a virtual worlds trade media company, just announced this week the findings of its latest investment research. Apparently VC and media firms have invested more than $161 million dollars in 16 virtual worlds-related companies during the second quarter of 2008. Add that to the $184 million dollars invested in 23 virtual worlds in Q1, and that makes a total of $345 million invested in the first 6 months of this year.

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Filed under: Video Games, Virtual Worlds by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

One of the oldest tricks in the proverbial PR handbook is to leverage a brand’s anniversary. The timely news hook of an anniversary makes this strategy effective and the campaign put in place surrounding it (such as a brand fan event, partnership, or limited edition product release) is what completes the “story.”

We’ve worked with a number of clients on anniversary campaigns. Bear with me as I geek out for a minute…. One year ago today we helped Turbine launch the award-winning massively multiplayer online game (MMO) The Lord of the Rings Online. To celebrate, Turbine has released tons of new game content, new pricing options and in-game events.

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Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry, Video Games by EliciaBasoli - 2 Comments →