Product Placement: The Good, the Bad, and the Pizza Command

Key Takeaways:

Product placement is at its best when it is harmless and helps drive the overall content of the game without irritating the player

Delivery of messaging can range in unique ways that may subtly address the brand

Blatant product placement, while not offensive, may be perplexing for a gamer to comprehend and potentially erode at brand equity of both the game and the company represented

             (Yup, this actually happened. Credit: MMOBomb.com)

Product placement has been a longtime mainstay in several forms of media. Not to be confused with Advergames (take a look here at 7-Up’s Cool Spot for a good example of advergaming done right), product placement refers to a company having its product specifically in a media, whether drawing attention to it or not remains up to the partnership. Since the early days of gaming, product placement has been able to carve out its own niche in gaming; however, there has been no perfect strategy for figuring out the proper way to utilize product placement in gaming, and as a result, the gaming industry has been left with some instances of success, some of failure, and a lot of random and unusual attempts at promoting brands. In most cases, we’re left with unique results.

Case 1 – Crazy Taxi Takes You To All Your Favorite Brands:

                                      

        (Get to the Colonel ASAP. Credit: Mweb.co)

When Crazy Taxi hit the arcades starting in 1999 no one had ever seen anything like it. It was a fast paced, punk rock fueled, driving game where you played a taxi driver. It was not a traditional racing game trying to beat out opponents. Instead, players were tasked with driving to an available passenger in what seemed like a downtown San Francisco. Passengers were marked with colors ranging from green, yellow, orange, and red depending on distance to destination (green was extremely short or easy, while red was a longer, more difficult drive). Players were paid various sums depending on how fast they could get to the destination and driving skill, meaning if they were able to swerve through traffic without getting hit or fly through shortcuts or jumps they would be rewarded with bonus cash. There was a limited amount of time that would be replenished somewhat once the drive was completed. It’s important to stress that the game is more of an action racing game, and again, unlike anything seen for the genre. Players do not have a lot of time to think about the destinations or routes. The game focuses on reactions and trying to hold off the time limit from expiring. Marketers realized the potential hit and partnered with Sega to utilize the game for superb product placement.

What made the product placement so great was that the products represented were the destinations players would deliver customers to for fares. The game included Fila, Levi’s, Tower Records, KFC, and Pizza Hut as potential destinations. While Tower Records may not have been able to fully utilize the advertising effectively going forward (a result of a changing market), the other brands still remain household names. Furthermore, in a game about speed and quick reactions, the transmission power associated with the products may have made it even easier for players to recognize what to look for. Instead of a generic location (and there are some in the games), players knew what the destination was ahead of time, even if they had not seen the virtual location previously. This marketing also provided locking power, because if a player were to play it with a friend and barely reach a destination, at least there would be something to talk about in the story following the in game activities. Most importantly, perhaps due to the rapid reaction time and lack to fully comprehend the advertising attempt, there is not enough time for a player to bemoan the use of product placement, because the product simply does not have relevance for its advertising and is instead meant as a key part of the game. With Crazy Taxi being the 2^nd best-selling Dreamcast game in 2000 (selling nearly 750,000 units), it is fair to assume the advertisers got their money’s worth.

Case 2 – Mercedes-Benz has no idea who its audience is and decides to partner with Nintendo:

          (Well those aren’t traditional go karts…)

When I think of Mercedes-Benz, I think of luxury. The high priced cars that hopefully I’ll be able to afford sometime shortly after finishing business school[1]. The longstanding brand that seems to ooze class and success. I do not think of it as the primary vehicle of choice for the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom. Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz and its team thought of the idea of partnering with Nintendo to provide a downloadable content pack for the Wii U’s Mario Kart 8 in 2015 which allowed Mario, Luigi, and all of their friends to drive in current and older models of the company’s famous cars. While the jury is out on whether or not it was truly effective, in a very short period of time it has been largely questioned across the industry. Furthermore, it has appeared on several “Blatant Product Placement” lists, which is clearly not the greatest outcome for either company[2].

In attempt to stop publicity from taking on a life of its own, Mercedes attempted to address the rationale as to why it wanted to add its cars to the game. According to Caroline Pitz, the head of product placement with Mercedes, the main factor was nostalgia, as she specifically stated that “Many people grew up with Mario during the last 30 years, so there are quite a lot of 30- and 40-somethings around for which Super Mario Maker hails back to their childhood days and gives them a large dose of nostalgia”[3]. While this quote directly references Super Mario Maker where downloadable content was produced earlier this year from the automaker, the quote still rings true for the efforts in Mario Kart 8.

         (The Super Mario Maker collaboration. Credit: Nintendo.com)

Unfortunately, I would strongly disagree with Ms. Pitz’s assessment on a number of factors. First, the individuals that Mercedes is looking to target are not playing Mario Kart 8. Since the console wars of the 1980’s and 1990’s, Nintendo has been battling against being typecast as a children’s console. As time has progressed that sentiment has not truly changed, if anything, it’s gotten worse. Third party developers who focus on more mature titles have shied away from Nintendo’s recent consoles, continuing the stigma that Nintendo systems are meant for children. While I personally do not agree with this concept (Mario and Zelda are great regardless of age) it cannot be denied that the industry is shifting. Therefore, it would be a mistake to assume 30 and 40 year old individuals are playing Mario Kart on the Wii U, and thus Mercedes is left with individuals who will almost assuredly not be able to purchase one of their cars.

        (It just looks…off. Credit: businessinsider.com)

Furthermore, with a very low install base compared to the Wii, Mercedes missed a golden opportunity from years earlier. Had it partnered with Nintendo back during the Wii era Mario Kart I am positive it would’ve been a more bona fide hit. Back from 2006 – 2012, Wii fever was everywhere, across all age ranges and genders, as motion control turned the industry upside down, and forced the competition to add motion control to their platforms. Furthermore, with a historically large install base, the opportunity to reach a substantial number of individuals was significant. Here is where Mercedes would have been more successful. By focusing on the Wii U, Mercedes missed nearly 90 million consumers[4]. Lastly, the content itself is simply too realistic for Mario. Mercedes has done a good job using its brands in other games on the PlayStation and Xbox, but with Nintendo, I think adding some cartoon effect would have made the product placement more successful. Having a cartoon character driving a realistic car just looks awkward. Nintendo did all the right things with the partnership as it just established itself as a more viable partner to work with, but perhaps some additional quality control would have helped deliver stronger overall content.

Case 3 – EverQuest 2 assumes all gaming stereotypes and gives you the opportunity to order a pizza while you play.

(Game Nom. Credit: Daybreakgames.com)

Let’s face the facts – gamers have not been the recipients of the kindest stereotypes. When I think of how Hollywood, the media, or the general public portrays gaming, I usually see overweight teenage boys with pimples, no social skills, and an affinity for getting angry whenever they lose. Even worse, there is a connotation of stupidity or childish nature associated with gaming, even though the industry makes billions of dollars a year and the average age of a gamer is 34. I myself for a very long time would keep my passion for industry a secret when meeting new people because I was embarrassed of what people would think of me. Furthermore, I’ve been ardent in proving people wrong in that gamers can be sociable and active[5].

Nevertheless, when I think of an individual who plays a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (or MMORPG) I realize these stereotypes are even more enhanced. MMORPGs offer deep and rewarding experiences at the expense of countless hours and grinding for level improvement. Thus, the obese, loner stereotype is only stronger here, South Park even made an episode about how the four main characters played the most famous MMORPG, World of Warcraft, for months to conquer one player who had been killing all other players in the universe. The player in question was obese, old, losing his hair, had a wrist protector (likely due to carpel tunnel syndrome) with junk food surrounded by his computer. In order to defeat the player, the boys decide to go on a training regimen. In their training they gain a substantial amount of weight and pimples across their faces. In truth, it’s actually a very funny episode, but really emblematic of how players are perceived.

With this perception in mind, Pizza Hut thought of a ridiculous (albeit kind of brilliant) means to promote itself to these specific players: /pizza. In EverQuest 2 (one of the older but beloved MMORPGs that helped bring the genre to the mainstream) players had the opportunity to type in “/pizza”, after which, a special Pizza Hut menu would pop up, where you could type in your order, address, and payment information while still in the virtual world. Within 45 minutes, there would then be a pizza delivered to you in the real world. This was introduced in the mid 2000’s (EverQuest 2 was released in 2004), well before online ordering was commonplace. Needless to say, the campaign received a lot of publicity, simply for its ludicrousness. Nevertheless, I think it’s a brilliant marketing strategy overall. Pizza Hut believed it understood the targeted audience well enough to know that to enjoy the game a lot of time was required, and thus gave itself the opportunity to drive sales in a simple partnership. It’s unlike almost any other type of product placement I’ve ever seen before (or since) in media, and it clearly drove content and interest[6]. You really need to give the credit to Pizza Hut in this case. It was able to come up with something so innovative than the typical product placement used in video games. Since then Pizza Hut has partnered with Xbox to provide a platform to order its pizza through your console, so clearly the company has some faith in the platform.

(Clearly there were fans. Credit: EQ2wikia.com)

These are just a few instances of product placement. There have been countless others that have ranged all over the spectrum, whether it’s using an Axe light fixture as stealth in Splinter Cell, a billboard for President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in Burnout Paradise, or a Verizon commercial in Alan Wake, product placement is everywhere[7]. Furthermore, it appears to be growing steadily with the industry. That being said, it’s not nearly as offensive or effusive as it is in other industries, where it can be downright ridiculous (see all Transformers’ movies). Instead, it seems as if it is either something unique to notice or a mild irritant. Of course, given gaming’s growth more towards the mainstream with the influence of mobile gaming, that all could be subject to change.

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[1] “Shortly” means within 10 years. Maybe?

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQzf4SkZTx8

[3] http://fortune.com/2015/12/15/mercedes-benz-targets-nintendo-fans/

[4] The Wii sold 101 million consoles while the Wii U has currently sold 13.3 million consoles (www.vgchartz.com)

[5] Sometimes we even attract members of the opposite sex. Crazy I know.

[6] Just google EverQuest 2 and pizza to see the publicity.

[7] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/03/six-of-the-best-product-placement-video-games

Death of a Franchise

Key Takeaways:

Much like film counterparts, game franchises typically die due to lack of sales and interest

Timing is one of the most important factors in the success or failure of a franchise

Occasionally, a franchise vanishes due to the closure of a development studio

Nostalgia trips are potentially the only way a franchise can be revived, but unless they can reclaim former sales numbers or surpass them, they’ll likely remain dormant

          (Basically…Credit:Whatculture.com)

If you’ve read any of my blogs post since I started up back in April you know I love old games. That’s not to say that I don’t love new games, in fact, The Last of Us is probably one of the best 3 games I’ve ever played. That being said, the gaming industry has become a lot more mature than it was in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and I cannot help but enjoy reliving the wild business antics that are a part of the industry’s history. So many unique and long lasting games and franchises were born from this era. Today, you will never find another game like ToeJam & Earl - a game about two space aliens wandering around a strange looking Earth while searching for pieces of their spaceship and avoiding injury from the likes of mini-devils, Cupid, and what appears to be a stampede of Black Friday shoppers. A game with that concept would likely never make it to fruition in today’s industry without a lot of help from Kickstarter[1]. Yet, even back in the glory days there were still a handful of high quality, unique games that just never seemed to get their feet off the ground outside of a few entries. This post will take a look at a few cases and try to rationalize what went wrong.

Case 1: Vectorman vanishes out of this dimension

                                             

                              (Who could deny Mega Value? Credit: hardcoregaming101.com)

Vectorman had all the makings of a hit in the 1990’s. A run and gun platformer where you played the titular hero, whose role was to take out the evil Warhead. The atmosphere was more on the dark and edgy side, and the main character, a robot made of green orbs, was cool, calm, and collected. His traditional weapon was a ball gun that could blast enemies in multiple directions, and could later be powered up. Furthermore, Vectorman himself could transform into vehicles or items such as a drill or bomb. Due to a significant amount of advertising spending Vectorman and its sequel were both solid hits for the Sega Genesis; however, Sega made one crucial error – it released the games far too late in the Genesis’ lifespan. The original game came out in October 1995, nearly 5 months after the Sega Saturn was released to the public. Sega was fortunate to gain a following for the game, but questions remain whether or not it came at the expense of promotions for the Saturn[2]. Regardless, Blue Sky Software, the developer of the series, promised a new outing by the end of 1997. Unfortunately, that outing never came to be, as Blue Sky closed during that same year, and the project was lost. There are few details behind the end of Blue Sky, but the main rumor is that Sega/Blue Sky were not happy with the quality of the new game. Vectorman than remained dormant until May 2003, when Sega announced that the franchise would be coming to the PS2 (Sega was out of the console business at this point). Then, without much reasoning in October 2003, Sega announced the Vectorman 3 project was dead again, simply stating that it has chosen not to continue with the project[3]. With that, Vectorman vanished, and hasn’t been seen outside of compilations or virtual console releases since.

                               

(A missed opportunity for the Saturn? Credit: Gamefabrique.com)

There are two significant reasons as to why Vectorman vanished, the first of which has to do with timing. As previously mentioned, the original game came out months after the Sega Saturn was released. I actually believe that this was a fine strategic decision. The Genesis had an extremely large install base, and launching a new franchise on a new console with no familiarity to users may not have been the system seller Sega wanted, especially if they did not promote it extensively with the console. Where I see the true error is in the sequel’s release. Vectomran 2 was released in November 1996, a year and a half after the Saturn was on the market. Now it’s no secret that the Saturn struggled from the moment in launched, mainly given it had to compete with Sony’s lower priced PlayStation and the incoming threat from the Nintendo 64; however, aside from the fact the game is in 2D as opposed to 3D, I have no idea why Sega would not choose to release the sequel for the Saturn. Vectorman had established brand equity, and the sequel presented an immense opportunity to generate sales for the Saturn. I realize that during the late 1990’s there was a huge push to move towards fully three dimensional graphics, but when a console is desperate the parent company should do all in its power to make it successful. I understand that Vectorman 2 was also a success for the Genesis, but it could have done a lot more for Sega if it had been put on the Saturn, perhaps even as a bundle with the console. Unfortunately, that’s a reality we will never know.

The other key reason Vectorman vanished is the closing of Blue Sky Software. Although a longtime successful development studio, when it closed the majority of its franchises faded with it. There have been few times in the gaming industry where a development studio or publisher has closed and franchises have made it through unscathed (one example is how THQ’s assets were sold off following its bankruptcy). If an upcoming game from a fledgling developer is not already in a playable format or has not been overly successful in previous iteration, it is even more unlikely anyone will pay to gain rights to the franchise. Furthermore, with turnover and buyouts due to financial trouble, the direction of the franchise may no longer be up to the original studio, and thus, it disappears quietly from existence. Such was the case with Vectorman, and unfortunately it looks like unless a nostalgia fueled campaign exists, he’ll remain in obscurity.

Case 2: Rocket Knight’s Revival Can’t Reclaim Past Glory

(Ready to go. Credit: Youtube.com)

The 1980’s and 1990’s were overloaded with too many mascots. Mario and Sonic led the charge, and almost every publisher/developer came up with one to try to make a name for itself. Konami had the Castlevania, Metal Gear, and Contra franchises, yet those game focused on main characters being people instead of animal/cartoon mascots and were not as approachable as the aforementioned icons. Thus, in 1993, Konami released Rocket Knight Adventures for the Sega Genesis. The game focuses on Sparkster, an armored possum who uses a sword and a jetpack to defeat evil pig invaders[4]. The game is a side scrolling platformer, and is extremely easy to pick up and play (it has a very arcade feel to it). I honestly had not ever played this game up until a month ago, but it hooked me right away as it was extremely accessible and a blast. It was a huge success for the Genesis, and is still considered one of the best games for the console. Sparkster was also an excellent addition to the mascot dominance of the Genesis, following strongly in Sonic’s footsteps. Konami then released two games for the franchise a year later, a direct sequel for the Genesis, and a spin off for the Super Nintendo. While both of those games were not considered as good as the original, they both seemed to find an audience. Building off the new success, Konami did absolutely nothing for 15 years[5]. Sparkster made cameos in various games, but never received a third installment of the franchise, that is, until Mega Man 9 fueled the retro revival in gaming. Due to the success of Mega Man 9 and its return to the early 8-bit graphics, several other companies attempted to bring out their old mascots to see if there was any life in them[6]. This included Bionic Commando, Sonic, Contra, etc. A lot of companies thought this method would both please established fans and save development money. Naturally, this presented an opportunity to bring back Sparkster. The revival was dubbed Rocket Knight[7]. The game contained similar characters and gameplay (with a few tweaks naturally), but also sported updated graphics. Unfortunately, upon release in 2010, the game was met with mixed to positive reactions. It came across at certain times like a cash grab, as noted in the 1up.com review:

But for a fifteen dollar download, Rocket Knight feels strangely underdone, as if you were playing an extended demo. There are only about a dozen levels and not a lot of variety. Although some of the levels make a visual splash and verge on the outright spectacular, the sound consists of only a few whooshes and clanks as you go along, with the obligatory ding every time you pick up a gem. If you were to turn the music off -- and lord knows you're going to want to -- you could play this game in the library without being shushed overmuch. (http://www.1up.com/reviews/rocket-knight-review)

It’s important to realize that in 2010 retro revivals were no longer a new and exciting innovation. Mega Man 9 was released in 2008, the industry had caught onto the concept and embraced it fully. Furthermore, certain successful games stayed fully true to their roots, while Rocket Knight may have tried to change a little too much.

          (1993 vs 2010, 1993 wins. 2010 is just so lame. Credit: Wikipedia.com)

As a result, Sparkster has not been seen since. Once again, there are a few reasons as to why. First, by year end 2010, the game had been downloaded only around 10,000 times. This is probably the biggest kiss of death there can be for a franchise. I would imagine the lack of enthusiasm was twofold: the game had changed too much for those who knew it, but for those who didn’t, there simply weren’t enough games in the franchise to create longtime brand equity. Gamers know Sonic, Mega Man, and the Contra series, even if they had not played any of the games. Sparkster simply did not have the following.  Couple this lack of interest and sales, along with an overall mixed reaction, and unfortunately you have a recipe for the end of a franchise.

While I do believe there is always another opportunity for the future, it seems more unlikely than ever for either Sparkster or Vectorman. If I were to guess, I’d say that Vectorman has a better shot of coming back than Sparkster, simply because Sparkster tried to return and failed. That being said, I would not be surprised if we saw both or neither of them ever again. Only time will tell.

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[1] Ironically, a modern remake of the original was Kickstarted a little while back, it should be out in 2017…I’ll buy it

[2] The Sega Saturn and Sega’s other add-ons to the Genesis are a whole other set of posts, sometime possibly in the distant future

[3] http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/11/21/sega-rumor-clarification

[4] Eat your heart out Angry Birds

[5] Konami needs its own case study. From mishandling Hideo Kojima’s exit to the lack of interest in specific franchises (RIP Zone of the Enders) I have no idea what direction this company is going in.

[6] This is just my opinion the Mega Man 9 started the trend; however, it was a shock to the industry when it occurred so I stand by it.

[7] How late did you stay up thinking of that one Konami?