Connected Gaming Week - May 18, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Connected Gaming Week - May 11, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Connected Gaming Week - May 4, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Greetings everyone! Let me introduce you to the next evolution of Wonacott Communications with the new Connected Gaming Week. For those of you who visited our website or offices recently, you'll notice that Wonacott underwent a complete redesign to reflect our five years of progress in interactive entertainment, social and corporate communications. With the advent of cross-platform play from browsers and mobile phones, it was time to bring the Online Entertainment Insider to the next level, so we give you: Connected Gaming Week. Please be sure to add cgw@wonacottpr.com to your safe lists - we'll be using that address starting next week.

Online Entertainment Insider - April 27, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Online Entertainment Insider - April 13, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

The past few editions of the OEI have touched upon the impending next-gen consoles. But as we all know, rumors are the most delicious part of the video game industry, and this rumor is a whopper. Valve, the company behind the highly successful Portal, Half-life and Team Fortress series, are looking for console hardware engineers. What that means for Valve and the 30-million plus users of its Steam digital distribution platform isn’t clear, but a new challenger for the console wars would certainly shake up the industry. 

Online Entertainment Insider - April 6, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Good Friday, everyone - we hope you're having an indulgent day, now that Lent is over! What else does Good Friday mean? It's the last full week you'll have to wait to check out Skullgirls, the new 2D fighting game on XBLA and PSN. Skullgirls publisher Autumn Games is a Wonacott client, and after a year-long campaign, we think the game is poised to upset the old guard of fighting games with a fresh take on the genre. 

Online Entertainment Insider - March 30, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Console wars are an inexorable part of the video game industry, and are the front lines of billions of dollars in revenue. NES, Sega and Turbografx fought the bloodiest battle back in the early '90s, but now console makers, specifically Sony (for now), seem to be taking the war to second-hand retailers with the rumor that the next PlayStation console will NOT support used games. The largest used game retailer in the world generates more than $2 billion annually from reselling, which is a very large piece of pie to fight over...

Online Entertainment Insider - March 23, 2012

by John Hardin

There's a plague going around the office, and I'm not talking about the one that's causing me to take Dayquil on regular intervals. OMGPOP's mobile Pictionary game, Draw Something, is infecting the whole office, with noticeable symptoms of quizzical looks and fits of laughter. The game also attracted some pretty notable attention - Zynga snapped up the developer for a cool $200 million this week.

Online Entertainment Insider - March 16, 2012

by Chan Lim

Happy new iPad day, everyone. I am happy to report I’m not drafting this in front of a Mac store (that’s what interns are for). But it’s still incredible that the iPad and other iOS devices went from being expensive redundant gadgets to the largest handheld gaming platform in the world. You’d better believe we’re keeping an eye on the space. Oh, and if you get a new iPad, be sure to try out Sky Defenders! 

Online Entertainment Insider - March 9, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Greetings from the Game Developers Conference show floor! We’re wrapping up the last day here and hope that if you attended you had a great time. There was definitely some great news coming out of GDC, but I’m pretty sure all of it was overshadowed by Angry Birds Space.

Online Entertainment Insider - March 2, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

With our new site update and corporate identity (have you checked it out yet? I’ll wait…) we decided to breathe some new life into the Online Entertainment Insider. Jason passed the newsletter torch to me, Alex Josef, vice president of the interactive entertainment practice here at Wonacott!

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 24, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

CD Projekt Red, publisher of the Witcher series, is an anomaly in the games industry when it comes to its stance on digital rights management, or DRM. After announcing that they sold 1.5 million copies last year, they put out the statistic that there are approximately 4.5 million pirated copies. And they don’t care. They take the opinion that counter-piracy measures wind up only hurting loyal gamers; so instead, they work on improving the quality. A pretty novel suggestion, don’t you think? 

Think You Don’t Have Time for Content Curation? Hint: It’s Simpler Than You Think

by Chan Lim

I first heard about content curation at the 21st Annual Kenneth Owler Smith Symposium in April 2011. The keynote speaker, Steve Rubel, said that in today's world of excessive information, content curation is very important for brands as people do not have time to read through every bit of information available.

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 17, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Red Sox fans, and I know you’re out there, we have a lot to be upset about as famous knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is on the verge of retiring. But there could be life after baseball for him – he could join up with retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Shilling’s game company, 38 Studios and help promote its new release – Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Maybe Tim can be a marketing coordinator or something.

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 10, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Everyone remembers the classic Milton-Bradley board game, Battleship, right? Did you know Hollywood decided to turn it into your movie? Yes? Well, Activision just announced this week it was turning the movie about the board game into a first person shooter. Really? I’ll repeat that. REALLY?!

How Games Publishers Can Capitalize on iPhone Versions

by John Hardin

Or 
“How Capcom Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mobile Games”

The title of this entry is taken from Capcom’s DS and iOS game, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. It is a creative puzzle game that leads players on an “interactive mystery” to catch their murderer, allowing them to manipulate inanimate objects to find clues and change the fate of other people involved in the killing. GTPD, with its unique gameplay and storytelling techniques, was released for the DS in January 2011 to critical accolades and uninspired sales.

Wait, uninspired sales? 

What Aspiring PR Pros Can Learn from “Downton Abbey”

by Nathalie Nourian

As has been documented on this very blog, I am obsessed with quite fond of the British TV phenomenon, “Downton Abbey.” This beloved series provides me an escape, a glimpse back at the Edwardian Era and major costume envy, but it also provides some good lessons for fellow lovers of period drama looking to carve out a career in PR. Here’s the scoop (WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD): 

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 3, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy post-Groundhog day, everyone! I hope that if you were stuck in a 10,000 year loop yesterday, that everything turned out for the best and you haven’t been permanently scarred by a Sonny and Cher tune.
 

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 20, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Friday, everyone! I didn’t want to get too political about SOPA, but it turns out that the legislation is spilling over into the video games industry in a big way. Since the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is still supporting the bill, Firefall Studios fought back by forming the League for Gamers (LFG) – a representative group that plans on boycotting this year’s E3 until the ESA rescinds support. We won’t know what the actual impact on E3 will be until we get closer to June, but it will be interesting to see how the politics play out. 

CES the j5create Way (and the value of Unveiled)

by John Hardin

Last week I had the chance to dust off the fancy clothes in my closet and head out to the glorious Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Oh, and while I was there, they let me attend this little show called the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). 

Let me back up a little bit. Wonacott client j5create, which makes a line of PC and Mac cross-platform transfer and KM switches (technospeak for “awesome”), was debuting new products for their sophomore year at CES, and needed some help managing press appointments. Luckily I was the chosen one to help j5create navigate the crowds at the show, and after months of preparation, I found myself in Las Vegas last Saturday...

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 13, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Friday the thirteenth! It’s the last day of CES, so if you’re at the show or following the news coming from it, you have an idea of all the awesome stuff we’re going in 2012. I do a lot of gaming on my PC, so I was really glad to see Razer, Samsung and Intel show off some incredible gaming computers, including the enigmatic Project Fiona. I’m looking forward to the games that will take full advantage of these beefy computers.

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 6, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy New Year! Hopefully yours started as awesome as mine. The ancient Mayans predicted that in 2012 the world will come to an end. I sure hope not as a number of great games are scheduled for release this year, including BioShock Infinite, Halo 4 and Mass Effect 3. I know some of the staff would be pretty upset if they didn’t get to play these new titles.

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 30, 2011

by Wonacott Communications

Another Holiday season passing, another belt size gaining. Good thing the Krav Maga studio is back to its normal hours. Hopefully, all of you had a nice Christmas and Chanukah – whether you spent it with loved ones or on your PC playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Before we round out the year’s final Online Entertainment Insider, we’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Video is Great, but Showing Restraint is Better!

by John Hardin

I watched the Spike TV Video Game Awards (VGAs) a few weekends ago. They’ve become an annual TV event for gamers, much like the Emmys or Oscars are to TV and movie fans, respectively. But as is the case with the Superbowl, the vast majority of viewers are tuned in not for the awards, the eclectic nerd-themed interstitials or the less-than-A-list celebrities, but for the highly coveted commercial space available in the form of “Exclusive Trailers” for upcoming 2012 titles.

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 23, 2011

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Holidays, everyone! As we wind down 2011 over the next week, we wish you, your co-workers and family the best, which hopefully involves copious amounts of Egg Nog (whiskey optional). Read on for the rest of the Online Entertainment Insider!

Media Monitoring and Managing Deadlines: The Great Balancing Act

by Racheal Caswell

Monitoring the news is a large part of being a Public Relations professional. Some might even call it a “necessary evil.” So much of what we do relies on being up-to-date on industry trends and news around the world. But between writing press releases, pitching stories, making calls, editing documents, creating proposals, brainstorming, putting together mailings, staffing events and the myriad of other tasks you find yourself taking on, staying up on the news sometimes seems like the most harmless thing to let fall by the wayside.

The Continued Rise of Social and Mobile Gaming: A Look Back at 2011

by Alex Van Lepp

In the land of emerging tech, the video game industry is truly an open arena where developers can create anything from a handheld 3-D gaming device to a game you play by kissing your partner. While there were monumental events such as the Supreme Court’s ruling announcing video games are protected as free speech, all in all, 2011 was truly the year social and mobile gaming emerged as a force to be reckoned with. As the year comes to an end, here’s a look at what shaped the industry.