Your Base All Belong To Us
How Internet-based gaming is taking a byte out of traditional marketing ideas

Once in a while, something special happens in society that forever changes the face of an industry.  When Hitler's image was projected worldwide via satellite at the 1934 Berlin Olympics, the radio industry took a major hit, as it was unable to broadcast worldwide, and thus, lost out on the information boom that was about to happen.  The supermarket crushed the mom-and-pop store, and was then crushed itself by large discount bulk facilities like Costco and Sam's.  The distribution of information was forever changed with the advent of the Internet, and it's subsequent rise to gargantuan appeal has shaped society even further.

And now, the entertainment industry is being funnelled in a new direction.  In an attempt to meet demands, and to grab the attention of key demographics, the movie industry has developed a new strategy:  targeting game players.  With all of the video game platforms available (PSX and xBOX being teo of the most popular), there has been a definite "blurring of the lines" as far as how movies and video games are treated.  In the past decade, viewers have seen video game ideas become big ticket movies (Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and recently, Resident Evil).  Now, when a movie studio is putting together a plan to market a movie, it has to also take into effect what it can do from a video game perspective.  Movies like "The Mummy" have been very popular on video game consoles.

But where does that leave the internet?  Of course, the internet can be used in a much more interactive way.  Take, for example, the popularity of eBay, an online auction site.  Auction sales on that site alone have increased exponentially, and the idea has produced many more sites like it, hoping to get some of those shoppers into their sites.  With this interactivity in mind, Microsoft took a leap ahead last year with "The Beast," a multi-player, multi-faceted game which tied in loosely with Warner Brothers' release of Steven Spielberg's "AI:Artificial Intelligence" and proved internet gaming is the wave of the future.  Electronic Arts moved in that direction as well with the release of "Majestic," an online strategy game that involved not only the computer, but also the telephone and FAX services most people take for granted.

If one was to do a search on the major network websites right about now, they would find that many popular TV shows (Alias, 24, CSI) have interactive "games" that their fans can get involved with.  The movie industry has taken a step in this direction as well, with immersive investigation-type sites like the one for the upcoming "Signs" movie, or the new Tron 2.0.  Messages are being inserted on DVD releases, pointing people to sites on the internet, hoping to gain their interest, and therefore, grabbing their dollars.

There are fan sites popping up all over the place, dedicated to topics/themes related to this new medium.  There are puzzles being inserted into movie trailers.  There are even online stores (much like the one this site uses) to sell merchandise related to the game sites, where players can pay for T-shirts dedicated to their favorite online game.  Obviously, the major media has found a booming market to take advantage of, and must now consider this market whenever a new project is created.

This does bring up an interesting quandary though:  what makes a good immersive "game"?  Well, from past successes and failures, there have been some obvious trends:

Asking people to pay a monthly fee for an immersive, multiplayer game, but then providing very little chance to advance at a player's own pace will hurt your site.  Look to Majestic, now defunct, to see how a company can take a solid idea and end up having to cancel it.

Money is an issue.  Independent companies have tried to develop immersive games in the past year (Tactile Media's "Plexata" is an example) without proper funding, and, as many fledgling businesses do, lose their economic footing and have to be shut down.  Corporate backing, at this stage, is a must.  However, some companies/groups are getting around this by asking players to donate funds through online payment services.

The story/content must make sense.  One of the reasons that the Beast was wildly popular was it's attention to details, whether it was with character development or timelines.  The story was equally balanced with the puzzle aspect, and this helped the "game" draw thousands of participants.  People are drawn to games like Majestic because the storyline was based in real life, and once that line between game and life is blurred, the experience becomes very enjoyable.

Attending to these games may mean that a staff is in place 24/7.  When a website goes down, it's just like watching TV and losing the signal -- you lose your audience.  And when companies think that they have a puzzle that will take the players a long time to figure out, they are often wrong, if the community is large/strong enough.

With the major players in mass media already taking advantage of this new marketing strategy, is it very far in the future before we see car manufacturers or furniture companies following suit?  Websites can display advertising just as easily as a movie can have a product placement, so don't be surprised if, in the near future, you get involved in the Coca-Cola Murder Mystery challenge.  Whatever happens, the pioneers of this new medium will have stiff competition in the future, and that can only mean good things for players across the world.

James Ingrahausen, contributing writer