Everyone Needs Their 15 Minutes of Fame
Fame is often a fleeting thing as we chase it throughout life and often times never achieve it. Fame is recognized in so many different ways - from fan clubs to halls of fame. Almost every sport has its own hall of fame paying homage to the greats of the game. They preserve heroes for future generations.
Earlier this month, the first class of video game icons was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame in Ottumwa, Iowa. Why not? Even mascots have their own hall of fame. Who hasn't been touched by video games - the ultimate in brand engagement that lasted hours upon hours? Video games have helped shape us and are a part of who we are.
Who doesn't remember the initial primitive games of Pong and Asteroids or spending hours drinking beer and playing Pac-Man, Asteroids and Centipede - albeit on self standing video arcade machines that are now relegated to being novelty adult "trophy" items in basement game rooms. A quarter went a long way in those days. Pac-Man was a breakthrough in technology and game playability back in the early 80's. Ms. Pac-Man was a weak brand extension. Yes, Pac-Man was one of the first hall of fame inductees - a fitting acknowledgement of this brand icon recognized by 94% of U.S. consumers.
Few industries do a better job of cannibalizing themselves than video games. According to USA Today, nearly 100,000 video games have been released since the days of Pong and the Magnavox Odyssey - the world's first home video game system in 1972. Fame is fleeting as Nintendo has learned. You're on top of the world one day and looking up at leaders the next.
Video games offer a core promise of challenge and competition. They are a break from reality. Who doesn't want to be a Mario Brother and take on the Koopa Brothers - Morton, Boom Boom and Larry? (I never did get past them all!!) There's one thing that I always wondered about the Mario Brothers - Mario's brother was named Luigi which made him Luigi Mario, so if you followed the naming convention, Mario's name is Mario Mario!! Competition is the driving force behind EA Sports' dizzying success with Madden Football. It is you against the world - mano a mano. There is no denying the effect of video games on pop culture. Game Boy, Playstation, Xbox and Wii are brand names that are indelibly etched into our consciousness and firmly entrenched as a part of who we are and who we were. We became brand friends for life.
There's big money in video games today. From its launch in 2006 until May of 2009, Wii Sports sold 45.7 million copies. The previous record was Super Mario Brothers, with 40 million copies. Think of the profit margin delivery on that one game. Just last year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 generated $401,690,771 on the launch date of November, 11, 2009. That is nothing - the most played, coin-operated video game franchise is Golden Tee Golf - over 1 billion copies worldwide in more than 100,000 bars and pubs. That's enough coin for me to consider them a sure bet for entry into the Video Game Hall of Fame.
Video games are still the ultimate in user experience and engagement. Brand attachment is held close to the vest. As a gamer you're identified by the games you play and your operating system preference. It's all about mastering the game and the friends you play with and against - competition in its purest form.
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are currently embroiled in a battle royale for dominance in a market forecast to hit over $75 billion worldwide. Success is fleeting as Nintendo can certainly attest. At one point they held over 90% market share. It's all about the next best thing - leap frog technology advances. One day you're on top, the next you're at the bottom. Gamers are loyal to certain games, but extremely fickle about operating systems. Constant innovation is critical to success.
The International Video Game Hall of Fame class of 2010 pays homage to many of the early video game visionaries - from Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the Microsoft Xbox design team and many competitive gaming champion players as inductees. Pac-Man was the only arcade game inducted. Can Space Invaders, Pong and Grand Theft Auto be far behind? At the very least, they should be considered for election to the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame during Advertising Week in NYC during September. Video games - be it in an arcade, a console or on computer - are a constant in our lives, many of them great brand icons that have had more than 15 minutes of fame. They gave us so much more than 15 minutes of fun. They deserve life-long brand icon status. Why not relive your youth or recapture some of your glory days by revisiting one of your old video game branded friends? Just maybe you'll post the "high score" enough to qualify in your own hall of fame.
Keywords: Pac-Man; Pong; Asteriods; Video Game; Video Game Marketing; Video Arcade Games; Super Mario Brothers; Nintendo; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2; Golden Tee Golf; Xbox; International Video Game Hall of Fame; Grand Theft Auto; Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame; Advertising Week
I know I spent WAY more than 15 minutes on Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Asteroids back in my day! My brother and I wiled away many hours collectively on our Atari game system.
So far my daughter has gone through 2 iterations of GameBoy handhelds and she just got a Wii for Christmas last year. And we aren't even CLOSE to being considered "real" gamers.
Nevertheless, I can say we've certainly invested in the category over two generations.
My top score on Galaga was 486,000. If you want to know what Galaga was like, look on the wall to the left of the 3rd floor refrigerator at M&H. If anyone out there is still feeling the Galaga itch, you can join our Recovering Galaga Addicts encounter group. It's a lifelong process.
This is a nice walk down memory lane. There are some very cool recent examples of video games being used by brands to engage young people [and the youthful at heart]. Didn't VW launch its new Golf using video game app? The Army has used video games a s recruitig tool. BTW, i-Pad takes gaming experince to a whole new level.
What a "laugh out loud" funny look at the evolution of video games and video game branding! As one of those old dinosaurs who hung out in the dark to the wwe hours in the morning failing to beat machine wizardry, I was always humbled by both the genius and the creative stimulation that emerged from video games.
Today, believe it or not, a number of my large corporate clients are reviewing video gaming as a means of teaching and training employees. Like so many developments in our technologically driven culture today the world of video games will soon be part of the fabric. Maybe next year we will have the "Video Game Academy"......who knows maybe ESPN will cover it!!! Great Post Bill....I always learn something new.
To me, the Video Game has to be one of the great inventions of the digital age, certainly deserving of a Hall of Fame. I love that it puts you in a story, the way a theme park does, but with no travel required. Less passive than a movie, but nearly as graphically rich. For us in the frozen North, it's a huge way to fight cabin fever. No wonder our culture has become addicted.
To me, the Video Game has to be one of the great inventions of the digital age, certainly deserving of a Hall of Fame. I love that it puts you in a story, the way a theme park does, but with no travel required. Less passive than a movie, but nearly as graphically rich. For us in the frozen North, it's a huge way to fight cabin fever. No wonder our culture has become addicted.
I have in my basement, in its original box the first Nintendo 64, complete with Super Mario Brothers Game. It even has all the original instructions and game controllers. I decided way back when that this would be my nostalgia piece. The one "oldie but goodie" item that someone would pay a bloody fortune for if only I held it long enough. My mom threw out all the baeball cards. I threw out all my old Monster Movie magazines, but for some reason, this I kept. Remember this one day when you read that I sold it online to some poor smuck in Japan for a bazillion dollars.
Thanks Chop, it was a blast to read.
PRETTY GOOD STUFF ALTHOUGH I WAS NEVER A VIDEO GAME GUY EXCEPT FOR Q BERT AND AN OCCASIONAL PAC MEN OR SPACE INVADERS AT BULL AND BEAR. WAY TO FRUSTRATING FOR ME.
ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO I WAS CLEANING OUT THE CELLAR AND FOUND THE CONTROLLERS FOR SEGA THAT WE HAD HIDDEN FROM THE KIDS AND FORGOT ABOUT. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN THERE OVER 10+ YEARS
I think one of the most interesting aspects of the video game industry is its cannibalization, as you mentioned, and also its incredible evolution. When I was younger, I remember video games as being a "boy thing" with games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo in their heyday. Now, more and more girls are taking up gaming, and thus the industry is finding new niches. It will be exciting to see how this progresses with future generations. The Wii has already started first person motion-type gaming, and 3-D games are on the horizon. What will the next niche be?