One of the big premieres this weekend (along with Kick-Ass) was Death at a Funeral. Actually a remake of a 2007 British film, the ensemble cast includes several notable African American actors, including Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence and Danny Glover. Check out a trailer for the dark comedy below:
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Lost in the flurry of releases during a busy 2010 is Capcom’s Lost Planet 2. The original game released over three years ago, which is practically a lifetime for a console game. Still, Lost Planet 2 is set to finally release in May, and as evidenced by the trailer below, looks quite nice. May is shaping up to be a very packed month with huge releases like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Red Dead Redemption, UFC Undisputed 2010, Alan Wake and more, so hopefully Capcom’s marketing can get Lost Planet 2 some needed attention.
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The latest trailer for Lego Harry Potter: Years 1 4 has released, this time going into more detail about the environment of Hogwarts. Lego and Harry Potter are sure to be a magical combination when they release later this year in June 2010.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=T0VFvlURES8
Lion’s Gate has been busily promoting Kick-Ass for the past couple of months between movie trailers, TV ads and online engagement. Early buzz is very positive for the cheeky superhero film and the first public showings are set to hit tonight. To get a final sneak peek, here’s the latest official trailer:
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A couple of new TV spots have released for the much anticipated Iron Man 2. Among the highlights are Robert Downey, Jr. as the humorously snarky Tony Stark, Scarlett Johansson as the sexy and deadly Black Widow, and Don Cheadle kicking butt as War Machine. Honestly, words don’t do it justice; you should just watch them for yourself.
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Square Enix is preparing to ship its new action RPG NIER in about two weeks (April 27), and judging by this new launch trailer for the title, NIER’s world and characters make about as much sense as any Japanese RPG these days. That said, the Square Enix fan base that loves Final Fantasy will no doubt be quite interested. And as part of a marketing tie-in, Square partnered recently with DC Comics imprint Wildstorm to create a custom comic series that will “explore the rich and mysterious back story” of the game. John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix, commented, “NIER is a game that paints a sophisticated and graphic picture of the despair resulting from an apocalyptic plague and the triumph of a father’s will to protect his most prized possession, his daughter.”
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The TV/electronics industry, games industry and Hollywood are all caught up in the 3D hype at the moment, with all three sectors trying to figure out how to best sell and market the technology. While Samsung is serious about spreading adoption of its own new line of 3D TVs, the company also realizes that some of the promises of 3D technology have gotten a bit ridiculous. The firm put together this funny viral video, which shows the effect of 3D on classic paintings. Check it out.
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While Ubisoft’s focus for the upcoming game Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands has been largely on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the title, the publisher is also crafting an experience specifically for the Wii. Third-party games on Nintendo’s platform require special attention and a careful marketing plan. “Fire and forget” launch campaigns won’t cut it. At the very least, this new trailer seems to show the care Ubisoft put into the Wii version.
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Although Conan O’Brien can’t legally appear on TV due to his separation agreement with NBC, that doesn’t prevent fans from leveraging the power of the web to disseminate Coco’s funny stylings. Conan’s currently on a comedy tour, and more and more videos of his comedy are starting to appear on YouTube. The video below of Conan performing “I Will Survive” has already garnered more than 100,000 hits. Conan comes from the world of TV, but online could truly be his friend, helping him to further grow his brand and audience. Much of this demographic no doubt overlaps with the young gaming audience, so brand marketers should keep an eye on this and Conan’s TBS debut.
Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski has shown by appearing on Late Night that game designers can be every bit as marketable as the video games they’re creating. Bleszinksi, to his credit, has a good on-camera presence and was able to generate some good buzz for his game. The industry could definitely use some more public advocates on talk shows and news programs. And of course, debuting Gears of War 3 on Jimmy Fallon’s show was a fantastic move by Microsoft and Epic. Check out the clip (which includes the trailer) below.
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