Activision-Blizzard’s Call of Duty franchise, for example, generates more revenue alone than the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’re presiding over a moment where games are bigger than ever, but also more costly to develop, and these costs often end up getting passed down to the consumer.

But the old certainties around how people buy and access games are also changing. It’s true that if you want to play the latest triple-A games you will still, in all likelihood, need to front the bill for a new games console or gaming PC, and then drop $70 on top of that for the game you’re eager to play. But a growing number of gamers are taking advantage of interesting alternatives to this classic “pay to play” approach.

When smartphones became a popular part of the gaming world in the 2010s, the titles on offer lacked ambition in most cases, and represented more than casual diversions. Everyone knew – or assumed – that “proper” gaming remained the province of legacy platforms.

But as these devices grew more powerful, and developers similarly became more adept at working on mobile architecture, the lines between what constituted a true console game, and what was only fit to become a smartphone app, began to blur.

Next Generation Smartphone Gaming

Now it’s not uncommon for games to enjoy simultaneous release on both PC, PlayStation 4 and smartphone, such as 2020’s well received and graphically sophisticated Genshin Impact. In fact, current estimates suggest that new smartphones have about as much gaming power behind them as 7th generation home game consoles like the Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Now too shabby.

But this development goes both ways, with aspects of the mobile gaming world coming to impact the wider industry. We all know what a freemium game is – those, normally mobile, titles that are free to download and play, but feature restrictive paywalls that block off content and the possibility of progression without paying up.

And while these justifiably have somewhat of a bad rap, they have proven enormously lucrative – so much so that the mobile sector has come to account for over 50% of the industries $300 billion in annual revenue.

Free-to-Play and Microtransactions

Naturally, game developers across the board are eager to get in on the action, but it’s not the freemium model that has proven so vital to the new context we find ourselves in, but a related concept – microtransactions. These are small DLC items that can be purchased in-game in many mobile titles, and they have since then found their way into almost every major console and PC game.

What this makes possible is the proliferation of a new game type, called Free-to-Play. Now, let’s be clear – free games, in of themselves, are nothing new. In fact, certain sectors, such as the global iGaming market, have long offered free slots and other table games to prospective patrons. This makes sense as only a small number of players are required to convert to real-money bets to make this service viable as a means of promotion. But Free-to-Play games are somewhat different.

These are full, triple-A grade titles that are available to download and play instantly without spending a dime. This is all made possible by microtransactions. It turns out, if you give gamers a full game, and they begin to enjoy it and participate in its adjoining community, they will in most cases naturally want to customise their character to express their personality or affiliations.

And this is no mere money-spinner – Free-to-Play games have proven remarkably successful. Fortnite, for example, posted that the game had made over $9 billion in microtransaction sales in its first 2 years alone.

These kinds of numbers are remarkable, and it’s easy to see why everyone from Activision-Blizzard with their CoD: Warzone battle royale spin series, and even 343 Studios – the team behind the Halo games – is eager to incorporate free-to-play into their flagship releases.

The Future

In the coming years we can expect to see free-to-play become ever more integrated into the core fabric of game design, so much so that it’s feasible to imagine it one day supplanting pay-to-play.

Elsewhere, other modalities are in the ascendant, such as the play-to-earn (P2E) model which goes a step further in enabling gamers to earn money – in the form of crypto assets – from playing the game in question.

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Here’s the link! Offer expires 2018-10-02 11:00:00 PDT.

Carpe diem. Seize the day. Make your lives extra-special with our newest bundle! Get games like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Surgeon Simulator, and Alpha Protocol. Plus, your purchase will support SpecialEffect!

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I think it’s fair to say the super hero thing is pretty much nailed these days. Frankly what I’d love to see now is a serious take on Dungeons & Dragons with the same budget/production values as your average blockbuster super hero movie. While there was the Lord of the Rings series, I still really want a true D&D experience (and Heroes of the Lance would do just fine in terms of actual characters to work with). It goes without saying that what’s been done to D&D in terms of movies and TV to this point has been a travesty, but then super hero movies used to be pretty bad in that regard as well, so there’s always hope.

The post The Avengers: Infinity War teaser worked, but there’s something else I’d really like to see appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

The will call.

As stated, our two oldest daughters, 11 and 9, were quite interested in going. The nice thing is that with each paid adult admission you can bring up to two children, 10 and under, for free. We figured our 11-year-old was close enough for this year, although obviously not for next year when we’ll have to get her an adult admission. We were initially going to bring our youngest daughter as well, who’s only 20 months old, but we decided we’d rather pay for the babysitting, which, it turned out, was a good move. She would have never tolerated the lines or not being able to touch anything and everything. Interestingly, there were a handful of babies there, including some that were probably only three months old or so, so I guess your mileage may vary. In any case, we’ll re-evaluate whether she’ll be able to go to next year’s event, when she’ll be roughly two and a half, but I’m thinking she’ll miss out on that one too.

We’re ready… to go wait in a big line.

Being our first event, I wanted us to travel light and comfortable, so that meant no costumes. We did buy nifty t-shirts in advance, though, and my 9-year-old also had Wonder Woman socks and a Superman hat. Unfortunately, the t-shirts my wife bought at a Disney store got lost somehow in the days leading up to the event so she wore one of our old Captain America shirts.

What my daughters wore.

The show hours were from 10am – 7pm, but from all that I read it looked like it was best to get there at least an hour early. We got to the Parking Panda Parking Garage recommended on the Website around 9am (we prepaid for that as well, right after I ordered the tickets online). It was supposed to be right next to the event, but the Pennsylvania Convention Center is a massive series of connected buildings, so we did have quite a bit of walking to do still. Nevertheless, even getting to the parking garage at that time we still had to park on the second to last upper level. Still, it could have been far worse.

What my wife wore.

What I wore. Comfort was key for our first such event.

Once we found the exact location and exchanged our self-printed tickets for wristbands (our kids didn’t need them), we queued up in one of a series of long lines. A little before 10am they let us all in and the lines were moving well. That was an early sign that this was a professionally run show and our opinion didn’t change as the day wore on.

Olivia getting a morph done at the Avatar Cirque du Soleil booth.

Checking out the HP trailer.

As expected, the main show floor was filled with booths. Most booths (and spaces) were giving away stuff or selling items, but others were demonstrating things, both artist-related and various products. For the latter, for instance, there was a nice HP trailer set up that demoed their fascinating Sprout all-in-one computer system, along with 3D capture stage, and Dremel 3D printer. I have to say, I was skeptical having just read about this stuff, but in using it it really is a fascinating way of both playing and working, particularly with the 20″ touch mat that doubles as a second screen projection surface (the main unit has a built-in DLP projector). I do have to note though that, at least in the demonstration, the 3D scanning that required multiple long scans of a particular object needs some improvement.

The girls fighting over one of the workstations.

The overall tech was impressive.

There were lots of different apps and experiences to try out at the HP trailer.

Besides shopping and seeing, an event like this is also about celebrity meet-and-greets and autograph signings. That’s not our thing, although the list of celebrities was quite impressive, including the major cast members from Back to the Future and the Marvel Universe movies. There was definitely a nice type of general excitement (“electricity”) in the air, and again, everything was extremely well organized.

The main show floor was impressive.

The main show floor was impressive.

The main show floor was impressive.

Videogames were also present, with nice playable displays and tournaments from the likes of Namco and Capcom. There was also a good showing for board games, with similar tournaments and a nice area to try out different games.

Sitting in on an artist demonstration.

We were mostly there to take in the sights, but we did sit in on one artist drawing something in Photoshop on the spot, and also participated in what was an all-day miniatures painting activity. For only $5, you got a small plastic figure and were able to sit at a table with a brush and paint and get to coloring. It was actually a blast, and I must say that even though the metal figures of my youth were nicer, the paint they have these days is a million times better. The flesh and metallic colored paints are especially impressive.

The videogame area.

The videogame area.

The videogame area.

The videogame area.

As a side note, we didn’t want to eat at the event. Fortunately, since this is in a city, there were plenty of options for food. We initially tried a pizza place, but it was too hot inside, so we tried the Reading Terminal Market. Unfortunately, even on a good day it’s overcrowded, so we gave up on that as well. We ended up at a place called BurgerFi, which ended up not being too crowded – although it did fill up as we were finishing up – and was quite delicious. After we left the show around 5pm, for dinner, we kept it simple, walked a few blocks, and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, which has a kid friendly menu (which is mostly why we didn’t have something more interesting for dinner). That too ended up being pretty good.

We appreciated the branded bun at BurgerFi.

The videogame area.

The videogame area.

The videogame area.

The cosplay at the event was fascinating. I’d say maybe 10% of the visitors dressed up, with some obviously in more elaborate get-ups than others. The most popular female costumes seemed to be Harley Quinn and Scarlet Witch (Avengers movie version), while there seemed to be lots of Captain America‘s on the male side. Of course, there were some nifty gender-swapped costumes as well, and some gender swaps in general. In any case, dressed up or not, there was a wonderful sense of camaraderie throughout the event. As contrasted to when I was growing up in the 1980s, now is truly a golden age for geeks, i.e., we’re among more friends than ever and can be proud and vocal about what we love.

Painting our miniatures.

Painting our miniatures.

Painting our miniatures.

Painting our miniatures.

Leaving was just as easy as arriving, with minimal traffic. I think it helped immensely that the whole event took place over so many days and over so many hours. It helps spread out the tens of thousands of people that would otherwise be in conflict with each other. It’s a great family event. Just expect lots of walking and of course have extra cash on hand for goodies (although most places do take credit cards).

My 9-year-old’s finished product.

My 11-year-old’s finished product.

My wife’s finished product.

My finished product.

Now that we know better what to expect, next year we may dress up in costumes. I’m sure that will further change the experience for us, as will participating in more of the seminars/events. Overall, I highly recommend the experience.

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Of course, the product is a technological marvel in its own right, but there’s no denying that a link to Iron Man is one that’s designed to enhance the subconscious appeal of the phone. However, this strategy is not unique to the technology sector. Almost every major industry has used licensing deals to help promote a product.

Not Much of a Gamble

Star Wars at the casino. Image by Lomo-Cam.

When you visit an online casino, such as TitanCasino, you’ll find slot machines bearing the imagery of popular TV shows and films, such as: Monty Python, Iron Man, the Hulk, X-Men, and more. Why do sites do this? Because everyone knows the Incredible Hulk and, when some recognizes something, they instantly feel more comfortable. Internet gaming providers like to welcome new players to their platform with a special offer. To unlock these offers the player will often need to use a special bonus code. However, if said player has never anted-up online, they may be slightly wary of what they’re getting into.

On first inspection, online slots can often be confusing to look at and when someone is unsure of something they’ll often avoid it. For this reason, operators such as TitanCasino like to use themed slots, such as the Incredible Hulk to make their games seem less alien and, therefore, more inviting. Using this strategy means a player is more likely to want to test out the game and, thus, sign-up and use the special bonus code.

A Classic Gaming Tactic

This ability to take a familiar concept and transpose it into a new sphere is something that piques the interest of the general public and, in the marketing game, interest equals sales. Samsung may be the latest company to jump on the licensing bandwagon, but it certainly won’t be the last.

Familiar Lures Hook Fresh Eyes

Lure. Image by derekGavey.

Indeed, attracting fresh eyes to something through a licensing deal means another new customer for the industry as a whole. Just because a player was drawn into the industry because of a certain game doesn’t mean that’s their only reason for being there. Using a brand as the lure is a great marketing strategy and one that will continue hooking new customers for many years to come.

The post Technology and the Licensing Deal Lure: How Companies Market their Products appeared first on Armchair Arcade.