VR Is Changing The Way Developers And Consumers Look At Gaming

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Virtual reality is changing the gaming industry in many ways, least of which by placing consumers directly into a virtual experience. While the technology’s “coolness factor” is a major selling point, VR is still in its infancy, and consumer adoption has been slow.

“All eyes are on the upcoming Spielberg movie Ready Player One as a potential moment when VR enters mainstream interest,” Debby Ruth, Magid’s senior vice president of global media and entertainment told AListDaily. “[Not only do they need to go] beyond the evolution of the holy marketing trinity of lower prices, more and must-see content and lowering friction of the technology itself—smaller HMDs, easier content discovery and access, they also need to break through to consumers’ awareness.”

Stepping into an artificial world offers both advantages and challenges for consumers and developers alike. Advantages include total immersion for the user and interactivity within environments limited only by the developer’s imagination. Revisiting familiar video game worlds in VR extends the life cycle of franchises. Minecraft VR, for example, has become the second most popular VR app in the US, according to Magid.

While pop culture loves to depict VR and all of its possibilities, the technology isn’t perfect.

Nausea and double vision are still a problem for many—so many, in fact, that scientists have dubbed the phenomenon “VR sickness.”

Finding a cure for the ailment may actually be advancing the technology, with researchers finding new ways to replicate the way eyes see and focus on objects in real life.

Superdata forecasts a total market for virtual, augmented and mixed reality gaming to reach $8.8 billion globally.

Digital Domain Shifts To Original Content With ‘Monkey King’ VR Series

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Monkey King (aka Sun Wukong) is one of the most enduring figures in Chinese mythology, and has inspired characters like Son Goku, the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise. The mythological character, who’s an anthropomorphic monkey that has the intelligence of a human and the impatient temperament of monkey, has a broad range of powers that include super strength, speed, agility and shapeshifting—that’s all on top of being the best martial arts warrior on both heaven and earth, battling humans, demons and gods.

Now, just as how the myth has been revised throughout history, Monkey King finds fresh life in the digital age, this time in virtual reality with a new series created by Digital Domain.

Wayne Kennedy, director of creative development at Digital Domain

“Digital Domain’s Monkey King isn’t a game, but rather a visually captivating, cinematic storybook experience told in VR,” Wayne Kennedy, director of creative development at Digital Domain, told AListDaily. “Forged from 16th century Chinese mythology and brought to life through the power of VR, viewers are immersed in a world of supernatural creatures with twists and turns along the way.”

The first episode of the three-chapter series debuted digitally for PlayStation VR in July and tells an origin story that unfolds in 360 degrees around the viewer. It is the first original series from Digital Domain, which is best known as a visual effects company that developed the Incorporated VR experience to promote the Syfy TV show, in addition to a VR talk show called House of Legends for the NBA.

Monkey King is the starting point for Digital Domain’s shift to creating original content.

“To build on Digital Domain’s legacy, the studio’s first piece of original content needed to be an impressive mix of all our in-house talent and capabilities,” Kennedy said. “Upon considering many great stories, I was most inspired by a childhood favorite of mine, the fabled story of Monkey King. Our team adapted the fantastical tale with some originality and are excited to introduce the story to Western audiences. Bringing a cinematic experience to an immersive world will open up the possibilities of virtual reality to a more diverse audience.”

Discussing the company’s long-term goals with the VR series and developing original content, Kennedy said, “Digital Domain has been an innovator in the entertainment industry by creating content that fans want to consume. Monkey King is the first of many pieces of original content to leverage our in-house visual effects artistry, 360 experience and interactive technologies. Immersive storytelling is the next level of transportive experiences.”

Kennedy said the company saw an opportunity to take advantage of PlayStation VR’s platform for Monkey King’s debut.

“When considering a launch platform, we consider a variety of factors, not necessarily favoring the capabilities of one over the other,” said Kennedy. “For PlayStation, we saw an opportunity to exploit the limited available cinematic VR experiences. We love games, but we believe there is also a market for passive viewing.”

That being said, Kennedy confirmed that Monkey King will also be available on the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Steam, Google Daydream and Google Cardboard later this year. “Following a very positive response to our previews of Monkey King at VR Con at the San Diego Comic-Con, we’re working closely with Sony to promote the VR experience to PlayStation VR users,” he said.

Digital Domain plans on releasing more VR stories in the future, and although they may not involve Monkey King or world mythology, audiences seem excited for animated VR TV experiences.

Epic Games Introduces Modding To Hollywood And Branded Storytelling

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Epic Games is using the game Fortnite to make a name for itself and show the capabilities of its Unreal Engine 4 (UE4).

The game company is currently at SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques) in Los Angeles to show its latest UE4 tools using the three-minute cinematic trailer for Fortnite.

The internally built trailer was made in two months as an example to show their 3D real-time storytelling. Epic is positioning its technology to be at the forefront of a shift from rendered content to real-time 3D, which can possibly create a ripple for animation producers, brands and enterprise companies.

Marc Petit, enterprise general manager at Epic Games, told AListDaily that Epic has created a new hybrid pipeline for UE4 so that companies can continue to create content using existing software and infrastructure, but now it can be done in real-time.

“The benefits of moving to real-time [are] that it’s cheaper because you can let go of the render farms,” Petit said, referencing a 30 percent savings that clients in TV production are reporting. “It’s also a faster way to produce content. We’ve reached critical mass with real-time technology.”

Petit added that using Unreal also creates assets that can be used across multiple media including animation, video games, augmented reality and virtual reality. Another gaming angle that is now being explored by Hollywood is “modding,” which can be applied to storytelling for the first time. This opens up unique opportunities for brands that previously didn’t exist.

“In the Fortnite trailer, you can add logos to the T-shirts and product placement,” Petit said. “There are also more interesting uses like adding different story arcs where the content could behave differently each time you rewatch the trailer. There’s also the opportunity to introduce microtransactions to this type of content, where you could (in theory) trade the weapons the characters use in the trailer for a paid Star Wars lightsaber takeover.

Netflix is already creating interactive content for its Puss in Book and Buddy Thunderstruck kids’ shows, although it’s not using UE4 for those projects. But it’s a sign that these early choose-your-own-adventure-style shows are something Hollywood storytellers are already exploring. Disney Junior is also playing with interactive storytelling with its Amigo to the Rescue app.

“Modding will drive a lot of viewer engagement for TV, or the fusion of TV and film and this new world of media that’s evolving,” Petit explained.

Montreal-based Digital Dimension debuted Zafari at Epic’s SIGGRAPH press conference on July 31. The former visual effects house has created over 50 11-minute episodes of the kids’ TV show using UE4 technology. The series will debut in October in France with a global rollout with NBCUniversal afterward.

At GDC earlier this year, Epic Games partnered with Chevrolet to showcase how real-time tools could be used across commercial shoots, Google Tango AR and interactive customizable 4K displays with The Human Race featuring Camaro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nWQ96ydO-I

“People are fed up with interstitial video,” Petit said. “Having the brand inside the content is of value. Personalized branded content will be the future.”

Based on the current technology landscape’s advances, Petit believes that within five years, technology like UE4 will allow for real-time product placement. Advances in AR will also change the entertainment landscape. Peter Jackson’s studio showcased a UE4 demo at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, and ILM also showed off UE4 in VR with a Darth Vader demo.

Disney Imagineering is working with Lucasfilm to use Unreal to expand their Star Wars-themed parks at Disneyland and Disney World for 2019. In addition to the Galaxy’s Edge parks, Disney is also introducing a Vacation 360 experience in a new Star Wars-themed hotel in Orlando.

“Real-time content is going to be required for these types of projects, and if they can share assets across the company it can save a lot of money,” Petit added.

How Disney Is Designing An Esports Programming Pipeline

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Another day, another esports announcement that brings competitive gaming to a mainstream audience—this one by way of ESL and Disney.

The two companies are partnering to air ongoing original programming on D|XP, a new daily summer programming block on Disney XD that’s designed to bring a new esports content pipeline and approach to the US market.

ESL Brawlers and ESL Speedrunners will air on the youth-oriented cable channel’s gaming-focused programming block and showcase games, publishers, events and prominent personalities across the landscape. The deal marks the first time ESL is coming to cable TV and it targets students sitting at home while on summer break.

“Gaming is a lifestyle for our audience,” Marc Buhaj, Disney XD’s senior vice president of programming and general manager, told AListDaily. “This summer, we’re collaborating with leading creative partners in the industry to deliver original programming, access to some of the biggest esports tournaments and leagues, and entry to key gaming-related events. D|XP will showcase diverse storytelling across the video game landscape and celebrate the gaming culture and community.”

“Gaming is a lifestyle for our audience,” Marc Buhaj, Disney XD’s senior vice president of programming and general manager, told AListDaily. “This summer, we’re collaborating with leading creative partners in the industry to deliver original programming, access to some of the biggest esports tournaments and leagues, and entry to key gaming-related events. D|XP will showcase diverse storytelling across the video game landscape and celebrate the gaming culture and community.”

Disney XD, whose niche programming is primarily designed to reach children between the ages of six-to-14, joins the likes of Turner’s ELeague to invest more than just one-off esports episodes.

ESL Brawlers and ESL Speedrunners will each consists of seven, 30-minute shows.

Nik Adams, ESL’s senior vice president of global media rights and distribution, says the purpose of D|XP is to deliver new gaming content that appeals to a wider audience while positioning esports as more than just a foreign category for marketers and TV executives.

“From ESL’s perspective, as esports has gone more mainstream, it makes sense to expand its audience reach to those tuning in on linear TV,” Adams told AListDaily. “Given the demographic, esports has traditionally reached a digitally native audience. However, the industry is continually evolving and this deal represents a great way for traditional media companies to adopt this growing area of entertainment . . . Disney’s D|XP is the perfect platform for us to continue creating original programming, and this time, to specifically engage their audience.”

Disney XD previously has broadcast finals for Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter V. On the flipside, ESL believes that it can engage its already established audience in addition to attracting an entirely new following on a linear platform by partnering with one of the biggest cable networks in the world.

Adams says ESL’s goal is to bring esports to as many screens and audiences as possible with a surplus that already includes 17 shows airing globally and 20,000-plus hours of live content each year through broadcast of events, social media campaigns and live events.

They are pairing to promote their activations, including linear partners like the Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL CS:GO Pro League and National Championships, to market the Disney-designed shows.

“Original programming has become an increasingly important part of ESL’s offering,” Adams says. “This new platform allows us to both reach and engage new audiences while tapping even further into a market that we are gradually maturing in. With that, producing content on linear TV provides us the opportunity to create material that prompts new esports fans as our community snowballs.”

Bringing The ‘EVE Online’ Universe To The Real World

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The massively multiplayer role-playing game EVE Online, and its developer CCP, have long had a unique (and sometimes complicated) relationship with the real world. The sci-fi space exploration, combat and economics game has been studied by real world economists; its artwork is featured at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA); and the game recently launched an ambitious undertaking called Project Discovery, where players can help scientists from the University of Reykjavik and the University of Geneva identify possible exoplanets in the far reaches of space.

Those projects only tell half the story, as EVE Online has also reached into entertainment in addition to art and science. For example, it has an in-house music band called The Permaband, which released two free music tracks on the game Rock Band for players to enjoy. Furthermore, there are art, history and comic books based on the EVE universe, with the most recent being The Frigates of EVE.

Torfi Frans Olafsson, senior director of business development for North America at CCP

Speaking with AListDaily, Torfi Frans Olafsson, senior director of business development for North America at CCP, described Frigates as a “super-nerdy detailed lore book about what happens inside the EVE spaceships.” It is also co-authored by Charles White—best known in EVE Online circles as the “Space Pope” due to the character he plays at fan events—who actually works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The book is a prime example of how the game and its community are intricately woven together, and how the stories of EVE are the stories of its players. It’s something that CCP keeps in mind as it expands its world through transmedia partnerships to grow interest in EVE beyond the player base.

Olafsson likens CCP’s approach to its IP to licensed Lego products, where the company presents them as one thing, but users and communities reshape them into something else. He emphasizes the importance of giving players tools to generate their own narratives, stating that the creativity is just as important as the lore that inspires it.

For perspective, some of the most prominent stories to come out of EVE include a mercenary group that spent real years infiltrating the ranks of an in-game organization to destroy all its ships and wealth from within. It wasn’t anything personal, just business. That’s on top of the multitude of wars and conflicts, one of which started because someone accidentally clicked on the wrong button.

However, it’s important to note that players’ stories are not the same as fan fiction. Although Olafsson believes fan fiction is an important factor, he believes that it looks inward toward fan communities. CCP’s goal is to amplify EVE Online’s stories to bring them out to the world.

Olafsson then went into detail about how CCP learned to capitalize on an IP with a narrative that the company doesn’t necessarily control.

What are some of the transmedia opportunities has CCP taken advantage of with EVE Online?

Like with many IPs, we generated the backstory and other aspects as a means to explain why you would want to fly ships into space. Now it has become a world and universe of its own in which millions of people thrive and it has its own collective history. Capitalizing on that, we’ve made some strides with the IP, with the first being simple things like novels set in the universe. But as the game progressed, we discovered that the thing both our players and the audience outside the game connected with was the true narrative—the stories of our players’ activities. The fantastic heists, the corporate espionage, and the great wars where tens of thousands of people went to war for months and even years. That has been a very strong focus of our IP development.

For example, we worked with Andrew Groen to publish a history book on the EVE empires (Empires of EVE: A History of the Great Wars of EVE Online), which sold very well on Kickstarter. We crowdsourced a number of stories from our players and published a comic book in partnership with Dark Horse Comics (EVE: True Stories) based on them. We’re also pushing out books with ship cutaways (The Frigates of EVE Online). We have also been working for a number of years on a television series that’s inspired and based on true stories. That series is in development, so we haven’t seen it on screen yet, but we’ve been approached by various media companies that are interested in telling stories that actually happened 20,000 years in the future.

Do you think the television series would be animated or live-action?

The way we’re looking at it is live-action. But like I said, it’s still in development. We’ve partnered with great people on it including Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free, and we’ve been exploring options while talking to potential studios. For some of the more established companies, the idea of creating a science fiction story that’s true is weird and they can’t fully grasp the concept. Perhaps they still think of games as single-player experiences and can’t appreciate the community and the value of a story that’s been crafted through the efforts and actions hundreds of thousands of people. But some of them certainly get it.

Does relying on true stories limit the amount of content you can create? Do you eventually plan on creating fictional stories based in the EVE universe?

That was actually the original idea. When we were planning the game, we didn’t account for the community. We thought of it more as a one-way street, where we were like gods who dictated what the world was and what happened in it. But over the course of 14 years, what happened midway was that the players stole the narrative. Their actions became more interesting than our own stories and there was an incident that involved actual activism and rioting within the game.

Players gained command of where the game was headed through the Council of Stellar Management (a democratically player-elected body), through the alliances, and infiltration into our ranks by becoming game designers and senior figures within the company. We as the original developers have, in a way, lost control of the narrative and had to yield to the great democratic body of the players. Today, we are more of custodians of the EVE Online universe than we are the gods of it. That’s a strange thing to come to terms with because we had to rewire our heads as that transition was happening. It was like maturing a relationship where we accepted our limitations and saw the power in each other.

How does CCP present content for transmedia partnerships when new stories are being created in real-time within the game, some spanning years?

We’re learning as we go along. I remember when we were doing the comic book with Dark Horse, I was trying to think of an example of where this had been done before to act as a template. I couldn’t find one. There’s no playbook for taking a narrative that’s been shaped by so many people and crafting it into something. At times, we thought we could do it with big data analysis and tracking people like we were the NSA or something. But in the end, it just comes down to good storytelling and journalism.

Andrew Groen spent a year interviewing close to 100 EVE players and recorded the history of EVE’s empires from 2003-2009, and now I think he’s working on a sequel. It needs a human touch. When you’re managing history or covering any major event, there is always a narrative perspective. There’s no way to be objective about it. You need a human to craft a story from all these disparate events and people. That is the only way to capture it, and often it’s best to bring in an outsider to analyze and record those stories. We at CCP are often too close to it to see the value in some events, or we may perceive something to be very important but is actually not so.

What is the target audience for these stories? Are they mainly for the fans or do they speak to sci-fi fans in general?

I think you can consider them concentric circles with EVE players being at the core of it. We are serving them by celebrating their history, but when we’ve looked at the press coverage of EVE over the past decade, the stories that have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the BBC and Forbes have always been about our players. There have never been stories about our made-up universe. We found that there’s a great audience that’s interested in this world, even if they’re never going to play the game. That was also a pivot we made, realizing that this wasn’t just an acquisition tool for our product. This was a gateway into a universe, and we should find ways to amplify and monetize that interest without necessarily connecting it to game players.

Is it strange to be telling true stories about fictional game personas?

It is remarkably not strange. I think we’re fine with making that separation and distinction. One interesting area that applies to both gaming an internet culture, in general, is that the role of alter egos and anonymity has changed in the past few years. Fifteen or twenty years ago, it was more common for people to remain utterly anonymous and hidden behind an alias. But with social media and livestreaming, the person and character are both famous. The best example of that is Charles White, Space Pope, who has hundreds of thousands of online friends. Both his real-life and character personas are famous, and he mixes the two. He doesn’t hide behind his alter ego.

Do you see CCP creating its own media division someday?

It depends on specialization. As a company, we’ve gone through several iterations of defining ourselves. The sweet spot that we’ve landed at right now is focusing on what we are good at and partnering with those who are better at things we don’t know how to do. Building linear content is a craft that has evolved for over 100 years, and there are simply people who are way better at it than us. Our expertise is in generating computer games and generating online communities—we pride ourselves on doing that. There’s an inherent risk of losing focus [when you try to expand], so we’re partnering with experts as we venture into different spaces.

Hulu And Bleacher Report Hire New CMOs

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Kelly Campbell has been appointed as Hulu’s new chief marketing officer. Campbell, who joins the company after serving as managing director of global growth marketing for Google Cloud, will be tasked with setting and driving Hulu’s overall marketing strategy across SVOD and live TV services and will oversee Hulu’s brand marketing, performance marketing, media, content marketing, creative, entertainment publicity and consumer research teams. Campbell will report to Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins.

“Kelly is a respected, data-driven marketing expert who has consistently proven her ability to develop effective strategies and build strong, high-performing teams,” said Hopkins. “With her deep background in performance marketing and in building strong connections between brands and their consumers, she’s going to be an invaluable addition to Hulu as we enter the next chapter of our business.”

According to the press release from Hulu, “Campbell will work closely with the company’s technology, distribution, content and product leadership to drive Hulu’s subscription acquisition efforts and elevate awareness of Hulu’s brand and content offerings. She is also charged with developing the strategic vision and voice behind Hulu’s consumer marketing campaigns.”

Howard Mittman, a 12-year veteran at Condé Nast, is leaving the publisher to join Turner-owned sports website Bleacher Report as chief revenue officer and its first CMO. According to Bloomberg, Mittman will work on new advertising opportunities for brands such as AT&T Inc., Gatorade and Ford Motor Co. Mittman will report to CEO Dave Finocchio.

Blue Apron has had a shaky start since its IPO in June—most notably after Amazon acquired Whole Foods and started its own meal-kit delivery service. And now, COO and senior advisor Matt Wadiak is forced to hit the chopping block as a result, the freshly minted public announced.

“As a co-founder and member of our executive leadership team, Matt Wadiak has played an instrumental role in driving forward Blue Apron’s mission to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone,” said CEO Matt Salzberg. “His contributions to the company have been immeasurable and we thank Matt for his unwavering dedication over the past five years.” 

In a corresponding move, Tim Smith, vice president of supply chain, was promoted to senior vice president of consumer products.

“We recognize that everyone has varying needs and preferences when it comes to home cooking,” Smith said. “The goal of the consumer products team is to consistently deliver new and differentiated products under the strong Blue Apron brand we’ve built. We believe this will enable us to cater to more households, and in turn expand our community of passionate home cooks.”

Twentieth Century Fox Film has a new senior vice president of worldwide theatrical marketing in Pia Chaozon, who will be tasked with both global development and execution for marketing initiatives across Fox films.

“From both a strategic and execution standpoint, Pia’s innovative thinking and proven track record will be invaluable assets for our entire marketing group,” said Jonathan Helfgot, executive vice president of marketing. “As we continue to find new and more effective ways to engage consumers, she will play a key leadership role in ensuring our content resonates with consumers around the world.”

Before joining Fox, Chaozon held numerous senior marketing roles at Netflix, where she most recently was head of international originals marketing. Previous to that, Chaozon worked for HBO as director of consumer marketing for original series.

Katie Stern has been named general manager for Game Developers Conference (GDC) events.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining up with GDC to help the game industry and the event keep growing and flourishing,” said Stern. “I very much look forward to talking to the community about what’s next for the event over the next few years.”

In a corresponding move, Victoria Petersen, who has directly programed much of the content at the show for the last five years, will step into an overall content lead role for GDC as lead conference manager.

GDC, an event that serves gaming professionals, returns to the Moscone Center in San Francisco from March 19, 2018.

Meggan Scavio has been appointed by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ (AIAS) board of directors to the position of president and CEO. The former GDC boss will now oversee the DICE Summit.

“Meggan has deep roots in bringing our industry’s best and brightest together—across discipline and company lines—to share knowledge and celebrate the labor of love that advances the art of gamemaking,” said Min Kim, chairman of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and co-founder at Bonfire Studios. “The AIAS Board deeply respects her contributions at the GDC, and we’re looking forward to seeing her at the helm of the AIAS—to continue her story of bringing our industry together.”

Ramon Laguarta has been appointed as PepsiCo’s president. According to the company, Laguarta “will shape PepsiCo’s corporate strategy, work closely with business units to deliver top line growth, drive productivity to enable this growth and invest in new areas of disruptive innovation, all in support of the company’s previously announced Performance with Purpose 2025 agenda.”

Mike Newquist is leaving Ticketmaster after two years and is joining the UFC as its new vice president of event marketing. The world’s preeminent MMA outfit also promoted Stacey Allen to vice president of consumer products.

Vimeo appointed Anjali Sud as its new CEO. Sud has been with Vimeo since 2014, where she was initially hired to lead marketing and drove revenue growth through customer acquisition and retention, expansion and brand building.

“Vimeo is entering an exciting chapter with a renewed focus on the core value that makes our brand special and beloved around the globe—being the No. 1 platform to empower video creators,” said Sud. “With a world-class brand, exceptional product and thriving community, we are uniquely positioned to define new standards of storytelling and lead the $10 billion video creator market.”

Groupon has named Aaron Cooper as president of North America. Cooper first joined Groupon in 2010 and served as CMO.

“Aaron has deep, scale e-commerce experience and is a true champion of our mission to become the daily habit in local,” said Groupon CEO Rich Williams. “Aaron understands the enormous opportunity that we have in front us and has both the operational and strategic strengths to help expand our marketplace for merchants and customers.”

“Bringing our three North American businesses under the same roof will enable us to take a more holistic view of our business and maximize resources on behalf of our customers and merchants,” said Cooper. “We’ll continue to take all of the ways Groupon makes life less boring and present them to our customers in a way that excites them and keeps them coming back over and over again.”

Sony Pictures has tapped a trio of executives to new roles for their TV production division. Jeff Frost was promoted to president of Sony Pictures TV Studios, and drama development heads Jason Clodfelter and Chris Parnell have been promoted to co-presidents with a focus on creative matters. The announcement was made by recently minted CEO Tony Vinciquerra.

“Jeff, Chris and Jason are the perfect team to run our US television business,” Vinciquerra said. “Over the last several weeks, I have been able to see first-hand the strong leadership qualities possessed by Jeff, Chris and Jason, the high energy and vitality of everyone in their groups and throughout SPT and the outstanding collaboration that exists between them all. I am confident they will not only grow our robust television business, but also strengthen the integration between SPT and SPE’s other lines of business and with the other Sony Group companies.”

Sanjay Gupta is joining Uber India as their new head of marketing to further strengthen the ridesharing company’s brand and presence in the country.

“I’m excited to join Uber at such an opportune time,” Gupta said. “Uber is redefining urban mobility and has created a unique experience for riders and driver partners across the country. I’m looking forward to working with the super-talented team at Uber and take it to its next phase of growth in India.”

Jennifer Gillon is joining Retro Fitness as their new marketing director. The national fitness chain is looking to expand into new markets. They currently have 155 gyms open in 16 states.

“Jennifer comes to Retro Fitness loaded with an arsenal of knowledge in guest journey design, communication cadence, creative development, franchisee relations and field marketing,” said Retro Fitness CEO and founder Eric Casaburi. “She’s demonstrated a proven ability to launch local and national campaigns based on consumer insight and possesses strong strategic analysis skills when designing and implementing financial, media, and marketing plans. We expect big things from her and know she is ready to infuse her ideas into our already fast-growing fitness brand to influence our overall success.”

Gillon spent the previous seven years at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, most recently as program manager, customer relationship marketing.

Influencer Jake Paul, who exited Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark mid-season on Saturday, is joining music streaming network LiveXLive Studios as its newest contributing social editor and content creator.

“Jake Paul has quickly demonstrated that he can create music-related content that resonates with young audiences by the millions,” said Robert Ellin, founder and CEO of LiveXLive. “With his music career launching at the same time that we’re expanding our original content production and live music streaming deals, this couldn’t be a better match.”

LiveXLive is developing and launching music news programming, documentaries, specials and long-and-short-form content, which are designed to complement live streams for music festivals and events.

Jeff Marcoux has been hired to serve as TeleTech’s vice president of product marketing. Marcoux formerly was a senior executive interface to Microsoft clients’ CMOs.

ELeague co-founder WME|IMG is losing four of its esports staff members. Tobias Sherman, global head of esports, Lilia Russo Sherman, director of strategy and engagement, Imari Oliver, vice president of esports sales and global partnerships and agent Simon Abitbol have all left the entertainment and sports agency after two years.

Genius Brands International has promoted Deb Pierson to senior vice president of global content distribution and marketing, and Lloyd Mintz to senior vice president of worldwide consumer products.

Dave Riggs has been hired by CSE Talent to serve as executive vice president of talent marketing for the company.

Rex Jackson has been promoted from vice president of marketing and sales to general manager for Legoland Florida.

Apple is adding to its marketing muscle by tapping Dwayne Johnson for a new commercial promoting Siri.

(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, July 28. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)

Job Vacancies 

Sr. Brand Manager Trion Worlds Redwood City, CA
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Trion Worlds Redwood City, CA
Vice President, Brand Marketing TOMS Los Angeles, CA
Director, Marketing Sony Music Entertainment New York, NY
Director, Brand Management Warner Music Group Nashville, TN
Director, Strategic Partnership Marketing NBC Universal Universal City, CA
Google Mountain View, CA

Make sure to check back for updates on our Jobs Page.

Simultaneously Building An ‘OK K.O.’ TV Show And Video Game Fan Base

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Cartoon Network is conducting an unusual experiment with the launch of the OK K.O. television show, which is perfectly in line with a franchise that has been charting its own (sometimes strange) path since its beginning. The animated superhero comedy show, created by Ian Jones-Quartey (Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Secret Mountain Fort Awesome), made its debut as a short pilot called OK K.O.!: Lakewood Plaza Turbo in 2013, which was subsequently made into a web series. In early 2016, Cartoon Network hosted its first major industry game jam, and attendees (comprised of about 200 artists) were invited to “hack” the show and create a video game experience.

The Lakewood Plaza episodes are still available to watch online and through the Cartoon Network app, and it will officially air on the cable channel as a new television show called OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes on August 1. Furthermore, the show will be supported by the video game, OK K.O.: Let’s Play Heroes, which is expected to release in the fall for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Although Cartoon Network has a host of mobile games based on its shows, Let’s Play Heroes is one of the first games published by the media company for consoles.

[Left]: Jeff Riggall, director for game production at Cartoon Network. [Right]: Dan Vader, lead writer and designer at Capy Games.
The adventure game lets players take the role of the titular character K.O. as he seeks to become the world’s greatest hero. The futuristic world of 201X looks a lot like our current one, except it’s populated by video game and manga-inspired characters that, in addition to being superheroes, have everyday jobs like running a local bodega. What makes Let’s Play Heroes especially unique is that it is being developed by Capy Games in coordination with a television show that hasn’t aired yet, and therefore technically doesn’t have a fan base.

Dan Vader, lead writer and designer at Capy Games, talked to AListDaily about how the idea for the game came together and how its fans will grow alongside the show. He was joined by Jeff Riggall, director for game production at Cartoon Network.

“The game is being created in parallel with the show,” said Vader, explaining the relationship between the show and the game. “We’ve been looped into the development process with the creators because the show itself has a lot of video game tropes embedded into its DNA. So, they wanted to make a game with the show from very early on and have them both be parts of a piece.

“As we’ve been building the game, we’ve been taking feedback from the show team and putting them into the game. We’ve been reading the scripts for all the episodes [and seeing] all the animatics—pulling cool things from the world as we saw them to put them into the game to provide an experience where if you’re a fan of the show, coming to the game gives you more things that you love.”

How does one create a game for a show that hasn’t aired yet? “That’s one of the interesting challenges, because when you’re building a game off of a show or comic book, there’s a fan base that already exists,” said Vader. “So, you know what those fans like about the show and what characters they like best. You kind of have a blueprint for what kind of game you’re supposed to make, which is cool but not that interesting to us. In this case, the show isn’t out and there isn’t a fan base yet, so we have—in essence—become the first fans of the show. So, the things that we like about the show and the characters we respond to are pulled out and put front and center of the game. We think that what we like about the show are going to be the same things that the audience will.”

Although Capy Games hopes that the show’s audience will like the same things it does, the developer will be keeping a close watch for trends as episodes air in August.

“I think it will be interesting to see what things the audience gravitates towards and who their favorite characters are,” said Vader. “We’ll definitely be paying attention to that and the premiere of the show to see what people are talking about on Twitter so we can juice those things up in the game. We’re not building the game as outsiders—we’re building it as fans—so we pick the things that we think are cool, and I think that will line up with what audiences will think is cool.”

The game will include plenty of Easter Eggs for fans to discover, but didn’t neither Vader nor Riggall were ready to reveal how content would specifically cross ove. However, Riggall confirmed that “there will definitely be some connections between the show and the game to encourage viewers to watch as much as they can then come back and play the game.”

With that said, Cartoon Network is hoping that audiences will crossover between the show and game.

“It’s going to be something where, if you’re a fan of the show and loving it, you’re going to come find the game,” said Riggall. “Same thing for the game. If you love the game, you’re going to find the show. It’s going to be something that pulls the players and viewers back and forth between both of these products, so it’s something exciting for us to bring out to the market.”

Vader also said that in demoing the game, he has run into both fans of the web series and those who haven’t heard of the show before, and that experiencing either the show or game usually leads to interest in the other. The challenge will be in how the two will work to grow together.

“That’s something that we’re still trying to figure out,” said Vader. “We’re coming out a little bit after the show. So, the show will come out, people will discover it and love it the way we do. Then a little after that, the game will come out and give them more of what they love.”

“It’s super early right now, and we do have some ideas, but we don’t quite have it all figured out yet,” Riggall added. “This is going to be an excellent story that will continue to grow what you’re getting from the show. Hopefully, we’ll get to grow that experience on the game side as well, but we’ll have to see.”

ESL, MusclePharm Hire New CMOs; Pinterest Poaches Pair Of Execs For Products And Partnerships

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Rodrigo Samwell is the new chief marketing officer for ESL. In a corresponding move, ESL also hired Martin Hubert as chief revenue officer.

“This is an exciting time for the global esports industry with ESL at the heart of this massive ecosystem,” said Ralf Reichert, ESL’s president and global CEO. “These new executive hires reflect the company’s global focus to better service our growing roster of partners, publishers and sponsors, and add expertise in key areas such as marketing and sales. We are excited to welcome Martin and Rodrigo to the team.”

Pinterest expects to make $3 billion in revenue next year, so it has snagged Jon Alferness and Meredith Guerriero to help develop new ad formats and targeting.

Alferness has been named head of ad products at Pinterest. He formerly was Google’s vice president of product management of shopping and travel products.

“We’re excited that Jon has joined Pinterest. He brings significant product experience to the company, including deep e-commerce domain knowledge and expertise across search and display advertising,” Pinterest president Tim Kendall said in a statement. “Jon will make an immediate impact as we continue to roll out more ad solutions that deliver strong, measurable results for our partners.”

Guerriero has been tapped as Pinterest’s head of eastern region partnerships and head of the company’s New York office. Guerriero formerly was at Facebook, where she was director of health, grocery and politics ad verticals. Previous to that, she spent nearly a decade at Google for in a variety of roles.

MusclePharm announced the hiring of CMO Matthew Kerbel. In a corresponding move, Paul Anton was named vice president of finance.

The performance lifestyle sports nutrition company noted that Kerbel will be “responsible for directing and executing brand strategy to support MusclePharm’s growth both domestically and internationally, continuing to engage the company’s core audience, while identifying innovative ways to reach a growing cohort of vegan and recreational athletes. Kerbel will also oversee the management and implementation of all current and future brand athlete and influencer agreements.

“Matt harbors a deep understanding of the messages and values that resonate with our target audiences,” said Ryan Drexler, president and CEO of MusclePharm. “Moreover, he truly cares about delivering an excellent and authentic product. His enthusiasm for the fitness industry combined with his notable expertise in conceptualizing and implementing impactful consumer marketing strategies, make him an ideal fit for MusclePharm.”

“The opportunity to join MusclePharm is congruous with my passion for working with dynamic and forward-thinking businesses,” said Kerbel. “MusclePharm is already a global company with strong brand equity and, as evidenced by the recent launch of the Natural Series, is highly attuned to the evolving needs of consumers. The Company has reached a critical inflection point in its history, and this is therefore an extremely exciting time for me to come on board.”

Fred Graver has been hired to serve as the senior vice president of digital content and social for Discovery Digital. Gaver formerly was the global head of television creative for Twitter. 

“I am thrilled to have Fred join the Discovery Digital team,” said Karen Leever, executive vice president and general manager of digital media at Discovery. “He brings with him a wealth of experience and a passion for the Discovery brands. As a creative visionary, he is perfectly suited to drive our networks’ digital and social strategies forward as we continue to pursue our goal of creating iconic Discovery content for audiences across all platforms.”

Travis Howe has been hired by ESPN to serve as senior vice president of digital ad product sales and strategy. Howe will be responsible for establishing the go-to-market strategy for ESPN’s digital advertising business moving forward to enhance the overall ESPN Platform. He will report to Ed Erhardt, ESPN’s president of global sales and marketing.

“Travis is an outstanding and creative executive who has the vision to identify, develop and execute our key priorities for the digital sales team,” said Erhardt. “His expertise and thorough understanding of the evolving digital media marketplace will help enhance and drive the entirety of our portfolio.”

Former SYCO Entertainment executive Mark Brittain has been appointed as Gfinity’s new chief commercial officer. Brittain will be responsible for creating brand partnerships and grow the esports events company’s exposure among traditional media channels.

“Securing Mark’s services is a real coup for us,” said Neville Upton, Gfinity’s CEO. “His background with global successes such as X-Factor and the Got Talent series will prove invaluable in securing strategic partnerships and driving significant revenue for the company.”

“When I looked at the metrics for esports I knew it was a sector I wanted to be involved in,” said Brittain. “With its global footprint encompassing multiple touch points, Gfinity already offers its commercial partners a great route to engage with a young and passionate audience. The recent launch of the Challenger and Elite series, expands Gfinity’s reach and opportunities for brands both here in the UK and across the globe. And I genuinely feel that esports is one of the most exciting entertainment sectors in the world right now.

Marco Raab is leaving his position at Red Bull to join Escada and lead all marketing and communication activities for the German designer brand. Raab previously was at Red Bull for 10 years, most recently working as global marketing manager for special projects for the beverage company.

Josh Kovolenko has been promoted to senior vice president of marketing strategy and operations for Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel, the company announced. The executive will oversee marketing strategy, partnerships group, marketing production teams and the marketing on-air operations for all three networks.

“Josh is an incredible leader, and one of the hardest working people I’ve had the pleasure to work with,” said Lara Richardson, group executive vice president of marketing at Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel. “I am overjoyed to have his knowledge and skill set across all three nets.”

Antitrust attorney Michael Hahn has been hired to serve as the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) senior vice president and general counsel.

Formerly a partner at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Hahn will handle legal matters for the trade groups, including antitrust compliance, intellectual property rights and general corporate and contractual matters. He will also be responsible for serving as an advocate for the digital advertising industry on legal matters affecting members of IAB and IAB Tech Lab, it was announced.

“We have already been impressed by Michael’s legal acumen, as well as his deep understanding of advertising technology,” said Alanna Gombert, senior vice president of technology and ad operations for IAB and general manager of the IAB Tech Lab. “Having him come on board full-time will prove invaluable as we engage further in driving technical standards across the complex global landscape.”

“I am excited about taking on this new role with IAB and IAB Tech Lab—organizations’ at the nexus of digital marketing in the US and across the globe,” said Hahn. “I am eager to bolster their missions and provide meaningful legal counsel on key issues that impact their constituents and advance the industry-at-large.”

Mobile esports company Skillz announced the addition of 18-year gaming veteran Kent Wakeford to its board of directors. Wakeford previously was the COO for mobile game developer Kabam.

“As a seasoned technology executive and a successful founder, Kent’s strategic leadership will be a key asset on our board,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. “Kent’s business acumen and gaming expertise will be invaluable as we continue to help developers make games better by delivering eSports to the world’s 2.6 billion mobile gamers.”

“Skillz solves two of the most challenging problems facing the $46 billion mobile gaming industry, monetization and discovery, by enabling competitive play,” said Wakeford. “eSports are one of the fastest growing segments in the video game industry, and Skillz is leading the way on mobile by powering competitions for thousands of indie developers as well as iconic franchises like Street Fighter.”

The board of directors for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced the appointment of Jim Reid-Anderson as chairman, president and CEO of the company.

Facebook’s WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger products has a new vice president of communications in former Uber PR pro Rachel Whetstone.

NASCAR has a new managing director of event marketing and promotions in Brandon Igdalsky. He previously served as president and CEO of Pocono Raceway.

Former three-time Lakers champion Rick Fox is bringing more basketball gravitas to his esports organization with the hiring of 11-year NBA veteran Jared Jeffries as the president of Echo Fox.

“Jared is a proven winner and fierce competitor on and off the court,” said Fox. “We cannot be more excited to have someone with his pedigree as a professional player and front office executive help lead Echo Fox as it continues its ascension to the number one esports organization in the world.”

United States Cellular Corporation has hired Jay G. Spenchian as senior vice president of marketing to develop strategic branding and communications initiatives to drive customer growth and loyalty, the company announced.

“Jay has a proven track record of driving customer growth, identifying consumer trends and marketing innovative products, and his expertise in a variety of marketing initiatives make him a great fit for the fast-paced wireless industry,” said Jay Ellison, executive vice president and chief operating officer at U.S. Cellular. “As a key member of our leadership team, he will help us successfully execute on our business objectives by ensuring that we offer the latest products and services that customers care about and that our brand messaging resonates with consumers and businesses.”

Universal Music Group has appointed executive Adam Granite to the role of executive vice president of market development. Granite will be tasked with maximizing commercial opportunities for artists and labels across Europe and emerging markets including Africa, China and India.

“More than ever, to be successful in an increasingly global music business, you must be able to maximize opportunities in markets around the world. With Adam, we are adding an experienced executive to UMG’s deep bench and gaining someone with a global track record of commercial success.”

“With the global nature of today’s music industry, artists have access to audiences around the world and the ability to broadly influence culture on a scale never before seen,” Granite said.

Jamie Diamond has been named director of communications for Universal Music Publishing Group. Diamond will oversee internal and external communications, public relations strategy and digital properties for UMPG.

Ocean MacAdams has been tapped as the president of Thrillist in order to increase emphasis on video production for the digital entertainment publisher, who primarily emphasizes programming on food, travel and lifestyle.

Tesla has brought on 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and Johnson Publishing Company CEO and chairman Linda Johnson Rice to join its board of directors. The two executives will serve as independent directors without ties to Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla.

Haagen-Dazs has gotten happy by naming Pharrell Williams to lead its new global ad campaign.

Gregory McCray, the CEO of Google Fiber, the broadband and cable business division of Google, has stepped down from his role with the company just five months after originally joining.

“We are committed to the success of Google Fiber,” Alphabet CEO Larry Page said in a statement. “Fiber has a great team and I’m confident we will find an amazing person to lead this important business.”

Darren Lachtman, the head of Twitter’s Influencer Marketing Network and the co-founder of Niche, the company acquired by the social media network, is leaving post, he announced. Nick Millman, director of global partnerships for Twitter, will lead the division moving forward, and Kristen Lachtman, Niche’s former head of content strategy and Lachtman’s wife, will lead the team’s US operations.

(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, July 21. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)

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‘Marvel Powers United VR’ Wants To Give Fans The Ultimate Superhero Experience

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Marvel madness is everywhere. Between blockbuster movies like Spider-Man: Homecoming, television shows like Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and upcoming video games such as Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite and the Insomniac-developed Spider-Man game, fans don’t have to look far to see their favorite heroes in action against supervillains. Earlier this week, Oculus and developer Sanzaru Games announced Marvel Powers United VR for the Oculus Rift, which promises to take the superhero experience to an all new level.

Although the game isn’t expected to release until 2018, Oculus and Sanzaru already have a working demo that will be debuting to the public at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) this week. Oculus will be at the Marvel booth with VR stations so that attendees can play a four-player cooperative mission. Players will be able to choose between taking the roles of Captain Marvel, Rocket Raccoon or The Incredible Hulk. On Wednesday, Deadpool was announced as the fourth playable character and Comic-Con attendees will have a chance to slip into the merc with a mouth’s red and black outfit. More characters are on the way, as Sanzaru plans to launch the game with a 12 character roster with more to follow afterward.

Omar Woodley, development director at Sanzaru Games

Omar Woodley, development director at Sanzaru Games and designer for Marvel Powers United VR, spoke with AListDaily and described the game as “the ultimate superhero experience. You get to be the hero in pretty much any aspect you can imagine. You physically look like the hero, move as the hero, and wield the hero’s powers.”

When asked what inspired the creation of a Marvel superhero-themed VR game, Woodley spoke about how there were a lot of Marvel Comics fans at Sanzaru Games and Oculus. The development studio, having made two VR games for the Oculus Rift already—VR Sports Challenge and Ripcoil—wanted to grow the platform’s library even further. At the same time, Marvel was exploring new ways to grow its IPs, and it all culminated into this project.

Woodley also described the development of the character roster as “vetting and routing process,” since Marvel has such a long list of characters. “Sanzaru had its wish list of characters, as did Oculus, and they were compiled into one big list that was sent to Marvel—which had its own list of characters they wanted to see in a game,” he explained. “Eventually, it was vetted to the roster that we have, and I think everybody is happy with the final list.”

As for how the four wildly different characters were selected, Woodley explained how “for the demo, the four that were chosen were the ones that we felt established the roadmap for the experience that we want to do for players. You have two very oppositely scaled characters with Rocket and Hulk (one is short while the other is a giant). Meanwhile, Captain Marvel is human-sized but she has some of Hulk’s abilities, like throwing objects around, and can blast things using her powers, like Rocket does with his guns. They gave us a good blueprint for building other characters we plan to release.”

Coincidentally, Rocket is part of a four-person team called The Guardians of the Galaxy, although there might be more characters added since the movie sequel released in May. We asked Woodley if this was a sign that the roster might include full teams for players to bring together.

“I don’t think we specifically targeted that direction,” Woodley replied. “We were just thinking about what would give players the best experience, what cool characters we could have, and what could we do with those characters. A small team on the roster is a possibility, but that’s not our main goal. We’re looking for more breadth and to pull more awesome characters from the comic books that might not have had as much spotlight put on them.”

VR is still a relatively small but growing area of entertainment, and a major brand like Marvel could be crucial to spreading awareness of the technology. “I think Marvel is a key player. They have amazing IPs that they can market and that we can establish VR experiences around. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to play a video game where I was the hero—not with a controller looking up at the TV—I wanted to actually be in the game. That’s what we’ve done. When you play as Rocket, you can look down at your furry body that’s carrying crazy guns and you can see your muzzle [in front of you]. That’s an amazing experience to me,” said Woodley.

Woodley also confirmed that there was a plan to coordinate the game’s content with Marvel as new movies release, but could not provide any details about that partnership. However, he did confirm that the movies were crucial in helping to keep Marvel Powers United VR at the top of mind in the months leading up to the game’s release.

“The Marvel umbrella—with its movies, shows and games—will all work to keep it at the top of mind for fans,” said Woodley. “Other than that, I think participating in more demos and events will help keep people talking about this title.”

Lastly, Woodley shared his thoughts about what’s ahead for VR.

“I would love to see the next version of the Oculus Touch controls,” Woodley explained. “That technology is already amazing, but I would like to see more contextual sensitivity for detecting finger movements. Maybe we’ll see a full suit or sensors that you can attach to your body for the cameras to track, like what they do with motion capture.” A virtual reality suit would certainly fit into the theme of slipping into a costume to become a superhero.

Sacramento Kings Are Using AR, VR And Esports To Become NBA’s Tech Tour De Force

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The Sacramento Kings announced another first in the NBA. The team partnered with Nike and developer Zappar on Tuesday to add an augmented reality feature in its Appy Award-winning Kings + Golden 1 Center app that brings the team’s new Nike Icon uniform to life.

Fans will be able to interact with seven-year NBA veteran and Kings shooting guard Garrett Temple, who wears the new uniforms for the first time and elaborates on the new features of the team’s on-court look.

Ryan Montoya, the Kings’ chief technology officer, told AListDaily that fans can customize their own jersey with their name and number, virtually “frame” and “hang” the new look on their wall, and photograph themselves with Temple, too.

“The Kings’ culture of innovation continues to build as Nike, the most innovative and creative sports apparel company in the world, becomes the official on-court apparel provider for the NBA,” Montoya said. “This is a preview of what’s possible when teams collaborate with the NBA and brands like Nike. When we learned about the new jerseys we wanted to have the best way to launch these early with our fans. AR achieves objectives. Whether a kid lives in South Sacramento or South Asia, they can see it in real life immediately. Fans can also go in-depth to see what the differences are compared to the old jerseys.”

The new Nike purple Icon uniforms and white uniforms will be available for purchase this fall, making the AR experience the only way fan can enjoy the jersey and embedded technology until the beginning of the season.

Montoya said the Kings first embraced AR four years ago when the team opened its Experience Center for Golden 1 Center.

“Usually you’d have a physical 3D model of what the stadium will look like, but we instead created an AR app so fans could come in and use an iPad and see the arena come to life,” Montoya said. “They could walk around the arena and see our aircraft hangar doors open and see the seating for basketball versus a concert.”

Over that short span of time, Montoya has seen AR technology evolve with better graphics chips and a better viewing experience.

“It’s gotten more sophisticated and easier to use,” Montoya said. “We’re excited with every new opportunity that technology like HoloLens or Oculus Rift or HTC Vive opens up for our fans. We go to all of the technology shows. We talk to people from MagicLeap. We’re excited about the future and we have specific ideas of how we want to utilize new technology for our fans.”

Montoya said that for over a decade, the Kings have been pushing the boundaries on digital innovation, welcoming fans behind the curtain for enhanced and immersive experiences through this app, as well as inside the arena. The team has been at the forefront for many of activations that an average sports fan would not anticipate a franchise to make. They were the first team to join Twitter, invest in a virtual reality company (Voke), host a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” with players, use Facebook Live to interview players, stream a game in virtual reality internationally and host a startup competition.

Andy Miller, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings, is also at the forefront of the team’s esports movement. He previously has said that his NBA franchise’s new Golden 1 Center was built for esports. Last week, the Miller-owned NRG Esports entered into Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League.

“Andy has been involved in esports and we’ve been trying to figure out the best way to get involved,” Montoya said. “We were one of the first NBA teams to raise our hands and embrace esports as the future—not only with the NBA 2K ELeague, but with our own arena activation.”

In March, Golden 1 Center hosted a halftime esports competition with Team NRG’s Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada taking on a local gamer, Caleb Patton, who had battled his way through a 50-person “Road to the Golden 1 Center” Super Smash Bros. tournament to play in front of over 17,000 NBA fans. The five-minute competition was played at center court on the NBA’s largest 4K videoboard.

The Kings also embraced gaming by hosting a Pokémon Go meet-up at its stadium at the peak of the gaming craze last year.

“We’re excited to have an NBA 2K esports team here,” Montoya said. “We’ve been talking to a lot of players in that community, and a lot of them want to come here because of what they’ve heard or seen about the technology inside the arena.”

That technology includes over 800 wi-fi access points inside the billion-dollar arena, which has 650 miles of fiber-optic cable and 300-plus miles of copper running though its infrastructure. There’s even a 6,000-square-foot data center in the stadium, which is one reason attendees can theoretically send 500,000 Snapchats per second.

The NBA has the youngest audience across the four major sports in the US. In addition, one in seven people in the world is following the NBA on social media. This global audience is also crazy about NBA 2K, with over 34 million people playing in China alone.

“We built the arena with complete future-proof flexibility because we see Golden 1 Center as a platform with the ability to scale over time,” Montoya said. “Anyone who comes in here would love to play NBA 2K on the scoreboard or any of the other esports games. Esports was in the design and development phase of this arena. It’s the ideal location for hosting esports events, as well as concerts and other entertainment.”