July 2015 | Page 5 of 17

‘Second Life’ Creators Prepare New Virtual World

July 24, 2015, 12:00AM

Linden Lab is a developer that’s no stranger to creating virtual worlds, as its simulation Second Life has managed to attract a large audience. But now it’s looking to expand those ideas into a new universe: virtual reality.

Variety reports that the developer is hard at work on a new virtual reality program for the Oculus Rift and other devices under the code name Project Sansar. With it, the company hopes to go leaps and bounds over what its original product offered in terms of immersion.

Said CEO Ebbe Altberg about the project, “Second Life hit the ceiling at the hobbyist level,” with slightly more than one million active users a month upon launch, dropping down to just 900,000 for this year.

With that, Altberg and company are looking to improve upon the virtual world, based on lessons learned from Second Life. One big part of this is economics. “Land in Second Life is quite expensive,” Altberg explained. With Sansar, the team hopes of lower real estate taxes and increase sales taxes, so that people can find an easier way to create a place of living in this new world.

But perhaps the most noteworthy feature for the forthcoming project will be about creating an individual experience for each user, based on Linden Lab’s tech. With that, marketers and brands will have a key opportunity as well, with the ability to create their own VR experiences for others to be deep-linked to, through websites and third party apps. “Second Life is a platform dressed as a product,” said Altberg. “The experience is the primary brand” when it comes to Sansar, with a platform in which other companies can build.

With that, Altberg considers Sansar a virtual take on the popular blogging site WordPress, letting others come in and create as they please without needing a large budget for custom programming. Altberg is also looking to enhance the experience with popular 3D software, including products from Maya, Blender and Sketchup, among others.

As for when Sansar will arrive, Altberg explained that a beta is set to launch by the end of 2016, depending on the popularity of various VR headsets and what direction Linden Lab wants to take the experience. But the experience could be wide open, dependent on what consumers and companies alike would want it to be. “It’s gonna start from the beginning,” he explained.

YouTube Boosts Mobile Features

BY Robert Workman

July 24, 2015, 12:00AM

The VidCon event is taking place in Anaheim all this weekend, bringing the spotlight to digital video. One of the highlights from the show revolved around YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki, who made several announcements regarding Google’s YouTube video site that could push it in a far more popular direction.

“Ten years ago, YouTube started with a simple idea: ‘Broadcast yourself,'” Wojcicki said during her presentation. “We believed that anyone should be able to create content that everyone in the world could watch. It turned out with that simple idea, creators like you from around the world were able to spark a massive change: the reinvention of television. We’ve gone from an era of passive entertainment into a renaissance of immersive entertainment.”

With that – and following a surge of over 60%in YouTube revenue for the second quarter of 2015, Wojcicki revealed, per a report from the L.A. Times, that YouTube is “a mobile company,” with the revealing of a revamped YouTube app that focuses more on “maximizing discovery and expression.”

The app still works to the user’s benefit, and also includes capture and editing tools with filter and music, as well as vertical video playback and the “most requested creator feature: a simple way for your fans to opt in to all notifications from your channel.” This revitalized app is available now, and should be easy to update for those who already have it.

In addition, the company will continue to push for more 360-degree supported video, as well as 3D support to “enable truly immersive virtual reality experiences.” Wojcicki also stated that YouTube Spaces will also be updated with the latest Jump camera gear, so that 360-degree video is more adaptable to video creators. Additional Spaces will be opened up next year as well, including locations in Toronto and Mumbai.

“We’ve seen big name artists like Avicii and Bjork do some breakthrough things with 3D video,” she said. “But we want to empower all of you to chart this new frontier.”

Finally, Wojcicki turned the focus of the presentation back to the creators, since their work is where YouTube seems to thrive the most. “I want to leave you all with one final message: YouTube succeeds only if you, our creators, succeed,” she said. “You’re the reason that we’re all here today: you’re the reason that VidCon exists in the first place. All of you have invested in building your channels, building your businesses, listening to viewer feedback, pored over your analytics and, as a result, made great content and built strong communities.”

However, there’s still no word on when the company will launch its ad-free subscription based services. Said Wojcicki, speaking with the Wall Street Journal, “There are some partners outstanding, and we’re still in the process of working through that with them.”

She added, “It’s important that there is parity, meaning that all content that was on the ad-supported service is available for our users on subscription. It doesn’t make sense from a user perspective to pay and then get less.

“It’s important that content creators have choice in terms of do they want to participate in the platform. But it needs to work for the users. If they don’t come, nothing else really matters,” she concluded.

China’s NetEase Launches Mobile Game Success Fund

BY Steve Peterson

July 23, 2015, 12:00AM

As the mobile game industry grows globally, publishers are looking to expand internationally — taking their success in one region and trying to succeed across the major markets of the world. The latest example of this trend comes from NetEase, ranked as the #5 mobile publisher globally in revenue and the #2 iOS publisher in China. NetEase recently opened its first overseas office in North America, and today announced the formation of the NetEase Success Fund. The new funding initiative provides up to $500,000 for independent developers to fund marketing and advertising for their mobile game. NetEase notes that the program is designed to empower developers to retain the rights, creative control, and full ownership of their products.

Unlike typical publisher deals, the title-based NetEase Success Fund is a revenue sharing program in which NetEase will only receive a pre-defined set dollar amount as repayment. Once the revenue share cap is reached, the developer will have no additional financial obligations to NetEase.”There are so many developers with games that have great potential, but are constrained by rising user acquisition costs,” said Ryan DeSanto, director of business development at NetEase North America, who is managing the fund. “Our goal is to create an alternative to the traditional mobile game publishing model, where developers can gain access to the resources necessary to scale their audience without giving up control of their business.”

“Not only are we committed to bringing NetEase’s games to a Western audience, but also to becoming an active member of the global game developer community,” stated David Ting, general manager of NetEase North America. “The NetEase Success Fund gives us the opportunity to expand our reach in the mobile space and help more developers bring fun experiences to gamers.” Ting spoke with [a]listdaily to provide more details of NetEase’s Success Fund.

Why did NetEase decide to set up the NetEase Success Fund for mobile developers?

As mobile game developers and marketers ourselves, we recognized that there is a gap in funding options for independent developers who need a little extra help to get noticed but want to retain ownership rights to their products.

One of our goals as an organization over the next few years is to continue expanding our business into global markets. We wanted to dig deeper into the industry and start establishing stronger partnerships with some of the quality game development studios out there. In the mobile industry, there are many small studios making really incredible games that might not otherwise have the resources to get noticed on today’s app marketplaces. Additionally, while they’re focused on making a great game, most don’t have the resources to then shift their attention to the business side of launching a product.

We noticed that the biggest challenge to developers was negotiating revenue share and ownership of the IP, so we set out to offer a program that completely eliminates these concerns while providing a foundation of support for the business side of game launches.

How many games does NetEase anticipate enrolling in the program this year?

There’s really no telling at this point, but based on early conversations we’ve had with developers so far, we’re already seeing a positive response to how much control they’ll have over their games and the financial upside. Ultimately, though, it comes down to quality. We’re not interested in signing a high number of developers just to make the program look popular. We’re focused on working with developers who make great games that are fun to play.

Is NetEase looking for particular genres or types of games, or developers with a certain track record What sort of proposal would be most likely to be accepted by NetEase for the Success Fund?

No specific genres, and our focus will be Free-to-Play but we’re open to other opportunities. It’s more about the quality of the game and the team behind it. More importantly, any submission that can make their ambitions and creative skills shine will most certainly catch our attention. We want to hear about games that are still in the concept stage to games that have already been live for a year.

It’s interesting that NetEase has chosen to only receive a set dollar amount as repayment rather than an ongoing percentage of revenue. Why did you choose to structure the fund this way?

We set up this fund to target developers that have games that are looking for an alternative to current financing options available. We think that the way the repayment model is structured will make this fund more accessible to a larger number of developers who would not normally work with a publisher because of traditional payment terms. We’re excited to hopefully attract some great content and introduce mobile consumers to some new high quality games.

The biggest challenge for mobile games is discovery — how will NetEase help with that for games in the Success Fund What’s NetEase’s marketing strategy for customer acquisition?

The two main problems smaller developers face when launching a mobile game are access to capital and the expertise required to raise awareness among mobile consumers. This program helps to address these challenges and we can offer support where needed. As long as the quality of the game is there, supplying the additional support for marketing through this program should, hopefully result in great success.

NetEase has a strong market position in China but is not well known in North America. How do you intend to grow NetEase in North America — by bringing games over from China, or by creating new titles in the West?

Prior to introducing this program, our North America office was set up to identify and work on a pipeline of games that our Chinese teams are driving, getting involved in development early to find and culturize games that are ideal for Western audiences. In other words, we have our own pipeline of first-party titles being developed out of China that we’ll reveal throughout the year, starting with the already-announced Speedy Ninja, launching later this summer. These aren’t simple ports of games already available in China, but culturalized products that we feel have the most potential and ensuring that everything from game mechanics to monetization and art style will appeal to Western gamers. Combined with the huge successes realized by our team in China, we strongly believe that we can build a successful business that reaches around the globe.

Twitter Introduces Ad Campaigns That Revolve Around Events

BY Robert Workman

July 23, 2015, 12:00AM

When it comes to massively popular events, social media just explodes. It could be an awards show, a sporting event like the Super Bowl, or even the airing of a popular movie like this week’s Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (popular in some sense, at least). Now, Twitter has come up with a way to take advantage of these events, while opening the door for potential advertisers to join in the fun.

Re/Code has reported that Twitter intends to reach out to marketers that can target people based on these events. With it, they will be able to tie in ads to anyone who cares about such events, such as introducing a shark documentary while they talk about Sharknado 3, or talking up back-to-school deals as people prepare for the return of the school season.

Although the popular social site has seen a small drop in revenue over this last quarter, it still has quite a few users that jump online to talk about such events. With this targeting option, marketers can potentially jump in and spread the word without being obtrusive, although the effects of this campaign have yet to be seen.

Twitter has already put together a dashboard with a calendar featuring big events, along with demographic data that breaks down the people who showed interest in similar events over the previous year, in the hopes of giving advertisers an idea of what’s popular.

Ameet Ranadive, senior director of revenue products for Twitter, stated that the site uses a handful of signals to determine whether or not users may care about a particular event. Through it, she explains, it takes a look at people that are followed, as well as specific tweets and engagement with other tweets. It works in a similar manner to the company’s TV targeting, but looking at trends with events rather than programming.

Again, though, its effects have yet to be seen. Twitter has already been toying around with several ideas in advertising, even taking the drastic step of removing users’ custom backgrounds on home pages with the possibility of replacing them with advertising (although this hasn’t been confirmed just yet – but many users have already complained about the “plain white background” approach). Maybe this will turn it around – even with the help of a Sharknado.

YouTube Goes Full Circle With 360-Degree Video Ads

BY Robert Workman

July 23, 2015, 12:00AM

Using video for advertising is nothing new for either Facebook or YouTube, who have built a thriving video advertising business with multiple major brands reaching a vast audience. The competition between the two rivals for new business is intense, and bringing out a new technology is one way to try and get an edge. YouTube is looking to get a boost in advertising by introducing a new format that could help marketers and brands bring messages full circle with their ads – literally.

Per a report from The Next Web, Google has announced that the new format of 360-degree video advertisements will now be supported for both iOS and Android mobile devices, as well as the Google Chrome desktop browser. Utilizing the company’s TrueView ad platform, users can use their mouse or tilt a device to pan around a field of view in a video, getting a look at the whole perspective of the ad however they please. This takes ad interaction to another level, and hopefully will get users both more interested in ads and engaged with the ad for a longer period of time.

Bud Light has launched its own campaign to show this in action, with its latest “Up For Whatever” video showcasing a number of fans jumping into a parade and having a good time. The video can be seen below. (Note: if you’re viewing on a computer, other browsers aside from Google Chrome won’t work with the format. Not yet, anyway.)

Google initially announced 360-degree video support a few months back, where users could upload interactive videos to YouTube with ease, in an attempt to garner more viewers interested in the interactive format. It seems to have paid off, as the company reported that these videos have performed 36 percent better than standard videos – which indicates that ads with the 360-degree format would be far more effective than watching a routine commercial.More videos of these types – with more sponsors tied in – should be introduced over the next few months. Here’s hoping that Google continues to make it compatible with other browsers, including Safari, Windows and Firefox, so that no one will miss the 360-degree party.

‘Cookie Jam’ Publisher SGN Gets Huge Investment

BY Robert Workman

July 23, 2015, 12:00AM

Sometimes all it takes to shake up the mobile landscape is the right investment – and it appears that’s just what South Korea-based Netmarble Games has done with SGN.

Variety has reported that Netmarble, considered to be the top mobile games publisher for its region, has invested a whopping $130 million into SGN, the creators of such games as The Book of Life (based on the film of the same name) and the free-to-play hit Cookie Jam. That makes the Korea-based team the largest shareholder in the company, even with the $28 million share held by co-founder and CEO Chris DeWolfe, formerly of MySpace.

Through this deal, SGN expects its games to have a bigger outreach overseas, namely in Asia. Meanwhile, Netmarble benefits as well, reaching out more to a U.S.-based audience, as well as other territories, according to the report.

“The industry is consolidating,” said DeWolfe regarding the deal. “There are increasing barriers to entry to new players, and to be a leader requires lots of capital and lots of infrastructure.”

SGN plans to use its new investment to create an “aggressive” M&A strategy for its games, with acquisitions of other game studios in the worlds, as well as better expansion into television and online marketing. Growth of international distribution is in the works as well, according to DeWolfe.

The popularity of games like Book of Life has done quite well for the team, as it “continues to grow even though the film is out-of-window basically,” said DeWolfe. That kind of strength is a good sign for Netmarble, especially when it comes to expansion in new markets.

“SGN is a rapidly growing company with proven experience in developing and servicing top grossing casual games in the West,” Netmarble CEO Youngsig Kwon said in a statement. “With SGN’s many years of experience in global marketing, I am confident that SGN will make a perfect partner for Netmarble to enter the Western market.”

SGN is expected to generate over $280 million in revenue for this year alone – although, with its expansion into new markets, that number could easily rise.

Blizzard’s New ‘Hearthstone’ Expansion Nears

BY Robert Workman

July 23, 2015, 12:00AM

As it’s proven in the past, Activision Blizzard is doing very well with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, its hit PC/mobile game where players use cards from decks to battle other players online. And now, with the announcement of a Grand Tournament expansion, business is likely to pick up even more.

Per a report from PC Mag, Blizzard announced the expansion yesterday, with Grand Tournament set to arrive for both the mobile and PC versions next month. It will feature 1332 new cards that can be won through Hearthstone‘s Arena mode, although players will also have the option to purchase them direct, using either real money or in-game currency.

The expansion will enable players to visit the cold confines of Northrend, where the argent Crusade once held a tournament to get together the greatest fighters in Azeroth and prepare them for a forthcoming battle. “The competitive atmosphere’s just a lot more playful (and a bit warmer) than it used to be,” said Blizzard on the official blog page.

Hearthstone has become a global success for the company in a short amount of time, effectively providing a way to impact the global market while keeping its highly popular Warcraft theme in mind. It’s also gained popularity on the Twitch front, with hundreds of gamers, professional and casual, broadcasting their sessions on a daily basis to a growing audience.

With that, Blizzard will more than likely begin a promotional campaign to get the word out about Grand Tournament. The company didn’t go into details, but a new TV trailer – similar to the one it aired earlier this summer for Heroes of the Storm, viewable below – and plenty of online ads are to be expected. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Blizzard teamed up with bigger partners, such as Twitch, to feature a glimpse of what’s to come with the expansion.

With Social Bluebook, Influencer Marketing Shows Signs of Maturation

BY Robert Workman

July 22, 2015, 12:00AM

When it comes to YouTube creation, would-be filmmakers and hosts prefer to get a good idea of just how well they’re doing – and it can be hard to gauge that on “likes” and “dislikes” alone. However, thanks to a new app called Social Bluebook, they may be able to get a better idea of just what they’re worth.

As reported by TubeFilter, Social Bluebook’s app is a tool that can help them determine what they should be paid for their content. The app has been running for six weeks in beta, under the guidance of former Maker Studios executive Chad Sahley.

So what exactly does the app do According to the report, it utilizes standards and valuation systems to give creators the power of determining their own bottom-line monetary worth, without the need to call upon a middle-man negotiator or general channel data. It asks various questions to determine this, including “What is my brand value or digital worth ” and “How much should I charge for brand deals ”

It works using a series of algorithms to reveal respective valuations, determining these numbers based upon digital reach, engagement and social profiles that are entered via registration. From there, numbers and values change according to the digital influence that the creator provides. A video explaining how to use the app is below.

“Our objective is to provide creators with a fair and accurate starting point for their negotiations,” said Sahley, CEO of Bluebook, in a press release. “The creators have united and we’ve engineered what the community has been asking for. There are amazing tools out there to accurately assess a variety of metrics, but none of them empower the creators to help them negotiate fair deals.”

The beta is still ongoing, but the existence of the app is a sign that influencer marketing is maturing.

“Brands will better understand their investment and return,” says ION’s executive director Jon Roth. “The quantification of what influencers get paid on these campaigns will rationalize the market for marketers. It will also create potential for long-term monetization relationships between brands and influencers.”

There are plans in the future for Social Bluebook to support and integrate various social networks including Twitter, Twitch and Snapchat, among others.