Vertical Pulse

Advergaming

We have conducted significant research into the issue of advergaming in connection with our Video Games and Word of Mouth Marketing Conferences.

We believe that almost all video games, particularly online games, will have an advergaming component to them. The following are among the benefits of advergaming:

1)   Tremendous Markets: It is estimated that by 2008, half of the population will participate in video games.

2)   Compelling Demographics: Women between the ages of 30-49 spend the most time at online gaming sites. Nineteen percent of males play more video games than they watch television. Teens spend 7.4 hours per week playing online video games.

3)   Extensive Exposure: Video game players are exposed to advergaming for extended periods of time, ranging between five and 35 minutes per play.

4)   Commerce is being connected to advergaming. For instance, with some software, gamers can have a pizza delivered to them simply by clicking on an advergaming banner. The gamer doesn't even have to stop playing the video game as the local pizza parlor is electronically connected to a record of the players preferences, his credit card authorization and address.

In summary, advergaming is expected to produce roughly $4 billion in revenue by the end of 2008.

Learn more about Advergaming at our Video Gaming Conference in New York City on February 16 or at our Word of Mouth Marketing Conference in San Francisco on February 27. Please contact Naomi Barazani at 212-952-7400 ext. 126 or naomi@twst.com for more details. Mention Vertical Pulse and receive a $100 discount off of the registration.

Comic Book Culture

I recently read Comic Book Culture - Fanboys and True Believers by Matthew J. Pustz. This book provided a fascinating look into the history, culture and economics of the comic book industry. Among some of the most interesting findings were:

• Comic books are difficult for casual readers to enjoy. The language, diagram flow, and graphics are foreign to uninitiated readers. Each issue of a comic book series presents part of a story that spans many issues. Therefore, unlike baseball where fans can selectively watch games and quickly understand the context of the game, comic book readers operate within impermeable boundaries. Thus, the number of comic book fans is relatively limited but very loyal and enthusiastic. In fact, nearly every reader of comic books is an active participant, not just a consumer.
• Another limiting factor for attracting comic book fans is the subject matter. That, plus the atmosphere of most comic book shops, discourage women. Social attitudes in which comic books are believed to be juvenile is another limitation to the growth in the number of comic book fans.
• Comic book publishers have launched many crossover series which compel readers to buy connecting issues of other series to completely understand the larger story. For instance, during 1997, there were as many as twenty different titles devoted to the X-Men's various permutations and individual members.
• Many comic book speculators buy several copies of the same issue since they do not want to read the issue that they are saving for investment purposes because they believe that reading a comic book even once will depreciate its value.
• Beginning in the 1940s as many as 95% of all American children were reading comics. In 1995, there may have been as many as two million comic book readers in the United States.

These are some of the issues that will be discussed during our panel on the Convergence of Video Games and Comic Books at our Profiting in the Video Game Economy Conference which will take place in NYC on February 16, 2006. More information about this conference is available from Naomi Barazani at 212-952-7400 ext. 126 or naomi@twst.com.

Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked

I recently viewed The History Channel's Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked DVD. This DVD is a very informative overview of the history of comic books. Among the interesting points discussed in this DVD are the following:

• When Superman was introduced via comic books in the 1930s, he resonated with the American population. Clark Kent was a normal man that lived in the Smallville, USA, not in some fictional location. Since he was born outside of the US and could not return home, many American immigrants empathized with him.
• During the late 1930s and early 1940s, comic books were very anti-Nazi and anti-Japanese, even before America began fighting in that war. Superman was so anti-Nazi that Joseph Goebels said that Superman was Jewish. Captain America was depicted to beat Hitler up. Other comic books predicted a Japanese attack on American ships in American ports before the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. For these reasons, comic books became included in the care packages that were sent to American soldiers stationed abroad during World War II.
• During the war years, these superheroes requested that their readers recycle paper (and other materials) for the war effort and buy War Bonds. Inadvertently, the calls to conserve paper reduced the supply of comic books during these years. This created a scarcity of comic books during World War II, which later caused their prices to soar as they were increasingly sought out by collectors.
• In the 1950s, the US Senate learned of some research that indicated that many people that had psychological problems read comic books. In 1954, the US Senate held hearings on comic books and the violence that they were said to induce. As a result of these hearings, the comic book industry was forced to submit all of their comic books to a self-policing Comics Code. From 1954 to 1956, comic book sales fell 50%.
• In the 1960s, surveys indicated that campus radicals believed that Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk were their foremost role-model revolutionaries.
• Comic books have been used by politicians to advance their causes. For example, the Nixon Administration requested that the comic book industry produce some editions with an anti-drug theme. In the 1990s, Virginia's governor used some of DC Comics' characters to get tougher anti-gun laws passed. Also, in 1996, comic books were used to educate children in Bosnia about the dangers of landmines.
• Beginning in the 1990s, writers and artists could own a stake in their creations which enabled some of them to become very wealthy.
• The comic book industry almost became upended by speculation in comic book purchases in the early 1990s. Publishers printed huge volumes to meet demand that really only existed for older, rare comic books. When the speculators tried to sell their comic books, the prices crashed and the comic book industry contracted dramatically.

These are some of the issues that will be discussed during our panel on the Convergence of Video Games and Comic Books at our Profiting in the Video Game Economy Conference which will take place in NYC on February 16, 2006. More information about this conference is available from Naomi Barazani at 212-952-7400 ext. 126 or naomi@twst.com.

Got Game: A Book Review

I recently read Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade. The most interesting aspect of the book is how video games are shaping childrens' ideas about life and taking risks. Got Game also discusses how such characteristics will determine the way in which the Video Game generation will be managed when they reach the workforce. Among the interesting assertions discussed in this book include the following:

• The gamer generation, at 90 million people, is larger than the baby boom. Some of these gamers spend enormous amounts of time playing video games. For example, Sony's EverQuest has 650,000 registered players who stay online an average of 22 hours a week.
• Gaming is rapidly becoming a worldwide phenomenon. A single Korean game claims 3.2 million paying subscribers, and the Chinese game market has already surpassed 14 million users despite hurdles of cost, censorship, and technology.
• The following are interesting aspects of the lessons that video games teach children: a) Each player is the center of attention; b) Each player is the boss - the player can choose things about the reality or switch to different experiences; c) Each game is designed for the customer's satisfaction and entertainment - the opponents are tough but not too tough. d) Each player can become very good at playing the games relatively quickly; and, e) Players can easily be led to believe that they are tough - they can experience all sorts of crashes, suffering and death and it doesn't hurt.
• Research has revealed that playing video games improved visual memory in children as young as four years of age.
• Gamers believe that they can always have another go at an objective. They believe they can always either hit the reset button and play again or turn off the machine and pick up normal life where they left off. For gamers, failure is part of the process that leads to success. One reason for gamers' forgiving attitude towards failure is that video gamers usually do not face live competitors; if you lose in most sports, you lose to someone or even to an entire team before large audiences. Video games let you move through those awkward stages, losing only to a digital opponent.
• Many women play video games to forge bonds with their partners.
• Gamers want to become experts in what they have a passion for doing, which is of great benefit to their employers. Gamers believe that winning matters. Gamers typically have high levels of confidence. People experienced with playing video games are passionate about adding value. Gamers expect high rewards for the value they create. Individuals who have the most extensive experience with computer and video games are the same people most likely to choose pay-for-performance.
• Professionals from the video game generation have spent hundreds or thousands of their socialization hours in clearly defined, goal directed tasks. And they chose that kind of environment voluntarily, often in the face of significant parental disapproval. While many people criticize the goals pursued when playing video games, the fact that goals are pursued is favorable to young people simply spending their time "hanging out".
• Many video gamers are migrating from arcade-style games to strategy-oriented games which conveys very positive cognitive elements to young players.
• Playing video games extensively teaches detachment. While the callousness that often results is problematic, some degree of the detachment that results is necessary for leadership.

These are some of the issues that will be discussed at our Profiting in the Video Game Economy Conference which will take place in NYC on February 16, 2006. More information about this conference is available from Naomi Barazani at 212-952-7400 ext. 126 or naomi@twst.com.