Springwise - Gaming

Nintendo game takes kids on a wifi treasure hunt

2009-07-20T21:08:31Z

Childhood obesity may be a problem of epidemic proportions in many parts of the world, but several games are doing their part to help keep kids moving. We've already covered LocoMatrix, Swinxs and The Hidden Park, and now a new contender launched last month takes kids on a wifi-based treasure hunt outside.

Published by Aspyr Media, Treasure World is a game for the Nintendo DS that converts real-world wifi signals into online treasures. The story focuses on Starsweep, a space traveller who journeys through space in his ship called Haley. In the game, however, Haley has broken down and needs more stardust to get going again. A quirky robot named Wishfinder helps players find not just stardust but also treasure during their adventure by tapping the wealth of wifi hotspots available around the world. More than 2,500 in-game items and treasures such as trees, flowers, candy and clothes can be unlocked as players access the more than 200 million wifi treasure spots worldwide that are registered within the game, and those items can be used to decorate in-game environments. Some feature musical qualities; others can be used to dress up the player's unique character. Either way, the stardust uncovered helps move the spaceship along. Only some items are available at each hotspot, however, meaning that the more kids move around, the more they'll find. Players can also join Club Treasure World to chat, trade items and show off with other treasure hunters around the globe. Treasure World's list price is USD 29.99.

Treasure World is not only another blow in the fight against obesity, it's also a nice illustration of what our sister site likes to call the OFF=ON trend, whereby the online and offline worlds are increasingly overlapping. Game developers around the world: keep the kids moving and the innovations coming!

Website: www.nintendo.com/games
Contact: www.nintendo.com/corp/contact.jsp

Spotted by: Emmeliek Preijde

iPhone game gets kids into the (hidden) park

2009-06-20T11:44:58Z

Regular Springwise readers may remember LocoMatrix, the location-based game we covered last year that kids play outside using GPS-enabled cell phones. Along similar lines, a new iPhone-specific counterpart aims to take kids on an eco-minded adventure through the park.

Released early this month by Australian developer Bulpadok, The Hidden Park is a computer game for young families that makes the most of the iPhone's features as it leads children into a fantasy world of trolls, fairies and genies. Families begin by downloading the app from Apple’s App Store for USD 6.99 and then heading to a nearby park—currently, the game supports a select group of parks in nine major cities around the world, including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney. From there, children navigate their way through the real park by following a magical map that reveals where mystical creatures live. As kids move past landmarks in the park, the map tells them where to go next, with puzzles and riddles to solve in order to save the park from greedy developers. Children also take photos of various landmarks—and of the magical creatures who are said to live nearby—and can store those photos in a gallery for an album of their adventure that day.

Taking full advantage of Apple's technology, the Hidden Park uses the iPhone’s A-GPS feature to accurately pinpoint each player’s movements within the park and plot them against the interactive map that forms the heart of the game, for example. Through Location Based Services (LBS) technology, the game triggers particular animations and tasks as the user reaches key points along their journey. The phone's accelerometer, meanwhile, allows users to shake the device to scatter mystical characters over any photographed image. The Hidden Park was created in collaboration with WSP Environmental. And while the game is currently focused on a set of key major parks, it can be adapted to others—in fact, the company is now working on a park builder that will allow parents to set up the game in their local park and share it with other parents. In the meantime, Bulpadok is also accepting nominations for additional parks to support in the game.

As developed nations around the globe fight childhood obesity, there's no doubt games like this will be welcomed with open arms; improving mobile technologies, meanwhile, are making more and more possible. How could *you* put the iPhone to work to slim down and entertain the world's kids...? (Related: Gyms for kids use gaming to keep them hooked.)

Website: www.thehiddenpark.com
Contact: info@bulpadok.com

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Bobba: a mobile Habbo for users 16 and up

2009-05-27T21:43:33Z

Millions of teens around the globe are already well-acquainted with Habbo, the popular virtual world aimed at those aged 13 to 18. Now Sulake, the Finnish creator of the site, has launched Bobba, a counterpart designed for mobile phone users 16 and older.

Launched into beta last month, Bobba bills itself as a "pocketsize virtual world" that's designed for use on mobile phones. Much as with Habbo, users can create avatars, build and decorate their own virtual surroundings on the site, and meet and interact with other users. More than 11,000 accounts have already been created; supported phones include a variety of models from Nokia, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Lenovo; support for iPhones and the iPod Touch is coming soon.

Of course, besides enabling virtual product sales within the site, communities like Habbo and Bobba also provide a nicely targeted way for other businesses to meet and interact with particular segments of consumers—much the way Dutch Postbank did when it set up a presence on Habbo. After all, in today's socially networked world, the effectiveness of advertising is limited at best. Instead, companies must reach out to consumers where they naturally spend their time—and for legions of mobile users 16 and over, that just might turn out to be Bobba. One to watch!

Website: www.bobba.com
Contact: business@bobba.com

Spotted by: John Greene

Helping gamers connect across platforms

2009-05-21T11:55:10Z

One of the difficulties gamers often face is figuring out what their friends are playing at any given moment, and in enough time to join them. It's no simple task with all the many platforms out there, but a new site is hoping to make it easier.

Raptr is a free service that automatically detects when a gamer is playing a game on nearly any platform—including PC, Xbox Live, Mac, Flash, social games, browser-based games, Steam and even some games on the Wii and PS3—and then notifies their friends. Users begin by creating an account and listing their identities on the various games they play, along with the friends they'd like to keep up with. There's also client software to install on their computer. Then, when they start a game, players can either instant message their friends via the Raptr site, or they can have their friends on Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed automatically notified. Raptr can automatically update friends on gaming achievements and play time statistics as well, and users get an integrated view of all their gaming identities in a single glance. Not only that, but in Amazon-like fashion, Raptr recommends new games based on past games enjoyed and friends' preferences. Finally, with the help of the Raptr client software, the service also keeps all PC games up-to-date, automatically downloading patches as they become available.

Ad-supported Raptr, which is based in California, launched into beta in September. While few of us would want such automatic tracking and informing applied to all aspects of our lives, it seems likely there are others that could benefit from a similar model. Entrepreneurs: start your engines! ;-)

Website: www.raptr.com
Contact: feedback@raptr.com

Spotted by: Bryce Hufnal

White label platform helps anyone build (and monetize) a gaming site

2009-05-19T09:47:50Z

Much the way Magnify helps web publishers create niche video channels, Danish Nonoba enables anyone to create a branded gaming site that's customisable with more than 4,000 games and can be translated into 26 different languages.

Nonoba's first offering was an independent site where gamers can play both single- and multiplayer games for free. Nonoba Gamerise, however, is a fully functional, white-label content management system that lets anyone create a Flash gaming site of their own complete with all of Nonoba's community features but entirely customisable in look, feel and targeting. Sites built using Gamerise can be run on any domain; hosting and operations are managed by Nonoba, leaving the partner free to focus on content and monetization. Available features include a catalogue of more than 4,000 games; messaging, forums, chat and friend lists; and news feeds based on friend activity. Visual design and branding can be modified for both the site and any emails sent from it, while all phrases and texts presented to the user can be rewritten or translated into up to 26 different languages, including Chinese, Hebrew and Indonesian. Features are also available to enable site owners to control advertising.

More than 100 partners have signed up since the launch of Gamerise in March, including game portals in the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia. By providing an easy-to-use platform for such developers, Gamerise is much like "Ning for gaming sites," as Nonoba cofounder Oliver Pedersen explains. One to try out, partner with, or otherwise get involved in...? (Related: Launch your own mobile network.)

Website: www.nonoba.com/developers
Contact: info@nonoba.com

Spotted by: Bryce Hufnal

Amazon trades gift cards for used video games

2009-03-25T09:58:38Z

In these budget-minded times, companies aplenty have begun offering cash or trade-ins in exchange for unwanted electronics, gift cards and gold. Now, from none other than Amazon, comes a program to offer gift cards in exchange for second-hand video games.

To be eligible, games must be in good condition and include the original manual, cover art and case. Amazon's Video Game Trade-In site lists a wide variety of games it will accept, along with their trade-in values. For Wii, for example, "Marvel Ultimate Alliance" is valued at USD 6, "Winter Sports the Ultimate Challenge" brings in USD 6.50 and "Super Paper Mario" is valued at USD 15.50. On Xbox 360, on the other hand, "Call of Duty: World at War" brings in USD 24.25. For shipments valued at USD 10 or more, Amazon even gives consumers a way to ship them for free. Upon receipt, Amazon deposits an Amazon.com Gift Card into the consumer's account. The games, meanwhile, are ultimately purchased by a third-party merchant. While trade-in prices might not be as high as a seller can get on eBay, there's no denying that Amazon's service is the more convenient option.

Until economic conditions begin to improve, consumers will continue to seek out recession-busting strategies to make their hard-won dollars, euros and yen go further. Help them do that, and you just may be able to do some recession-busting yourself! ;-)

Website: www.amazon.com/Video-Games-Trade-In/b/ref=amb_link_83819451_2?ie=UTF8&node=979418011
Contact: www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/general-questions.html

Spotted by: Bjorn Verbrugghe

Online game focuses on real-world kindness

2009-03-09T18:30:42Z

We've written about several technology-enhanced games that aim to get kids to exercise; one we hadn't seen, however, was an online game that strives to promote social change. Sure enough, though, Akoha is a new, reality-based game that uses mobile, web and real-world challenges to ask the question, “What if playing a game could make the world a better place?”

Launched into public beta in December, Akoha challenges players to carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others. Each player gets equipped with a deck of 24 mission cards—priced at USD 5—each of which describes a challenge to be carried out. Examples include “Donate an Hour of Your Time,” “Give Someone a Book” or “Send Drinks to a Couple in Love." Each card also includes a Mission ID number that's used to track the mission online. Every time a player performs one of these missions, he or she hands the card to the mission's beneficiary, or the person who receives the act of kindness. That person can then log onto the game's site to register receipt and write a short description of their experience of the mission, complete with photos or videos if desired. From there, they can explore the game and begin conducting missions of their own. The original player, meanwhile, enters their own description of the mission and earns points for completing it, allowing them to advance in the game; they can also track the influences of their missions around the globe, with each person's story of receiving and forwarding the mission documented online. The general idea, then, is that more players get recruited along the way and more good deeds get performed around the world. Players can also suggest their own mission cards, and they'll soon be able to custom-design their own mission decks as well.

Akoha is another nice example of what our sister site calls the OFF=ON trend, whereby the lines dividing the online and offline worlds are becoming less clear. By late January players of the game had carried out more than 2,000 missions in 33 countries—60 percent of them having joined Akoha because they received a mission card. Through a community challenge with charity partner Room to Read, Montreal-based Akoha will sponsor the construction of a new library in Nepal once 25,000 missions have been completed. Akoha also plans to begin offering sponsorship opportunities for organizations to give Akoha decks to their members. One to try out, partner with, or otherwise get involved in...? (Related: Clothing brand asks its wearers to be kind.)

Website: www.akoha.com
Contact: info@akoha.com

Spotted by: Khady Beye

Virtual world promotes sustainable living

2009-02-20T13:29:50Z

The fact that Green Irene, Green Grannies and Green Groove have all graced our pages in just a few short weeks recently is a fair indication of today's increasing focus on sustainability. Now joining that list is Climate Culture, a virtual world that combines guidance, community and games to help consumers reduce their energy consumption.

Centered around a patent-pending carbon footprint calculator, Climate Culture offers users personalized advice on the amount of carbon, energy, dollars and other resources they expend through hundreds of lifestyle choices and daily actions. The site's Personal Energy Advisor tool uses regionally specific datasets that reflect the types of energy generated, temperatures, incoming solar radiation, energy prices and other factors determined by ZIP code to power many of its personalized calculations. Users who join the free site begin by entering some basic information to calculate their current carbon footprint, and then choosing an avatar. They then find themselves on a virtual island that reflects their current level of energy consumption. The Reduction Center guides users to make changes in their lifestyle that will reduce their carbon footprint, such as installing a tankless water heater or using CFLs instead of traditional lightbulbs. For every reduction they make, users earn points that give them higher social status in the community along with access to more and more features in the site's online store for customizing their avatar and their world. Users can also earn points by helping friends green their lifestyles and by challenging others in real-world carbon-reduction contests. In addition, a variety of multiuser games can be used to earn points as well: each time a user plays or wins, one of Climate Culture's corporate sponsors donates money to offset 10 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Climate Culture is reportedly planning a pilot project in Connecticut through which it aims to help whole towns become more energy-efficient, according to a report in Matter Network. Its business model, the report suggests, involves having residential energy savings certified by the state and then selling them as Renewable Energy Certificates to energy suppliers.

New York-based Climate Culture currently supports users only in the US, with support for Canadian users coming soon. One to partner with in an area near you....? (Related: Rewarding consumers for driving less.)

Website: www.climateculture.com
Contact: info@climateculture.com

Spotted by: Bella Laird

DigiWall: computer game meets climbing wall

2009-01-26T18:58:37Z

We've written about a number of games designed to get kids off the couch and into some exercise, but recently one of our spotters alerted us to one we hadn't yet seen: DigiWall, a structure that combines a climbing wall with gaming.

Designed for use in public places like museums and shopping malls, DigiWall is a climbing wall with high-end surround-sound whose grips include both lights and sensors that react when they are touched. A variety of games, contests, challenges and creative experiences are possible on the wall as a result, using a combination of visual and audio feedback and body movements. Games currently available, for example, include simple ones based on physical activity and speed as well as more complex ones involving flexibility, bodily control and tactical skill. New games are also being added all the time, the wall's Swedish maker says. When not in use, DigiWall becomes a decorative sound and light installation.

Much like Wii, location-based games and gyms that use games to keep kids moving, DigiWall could be another weapon in the battle against childhood obesity—not to mention a novel and entertaining public attraction. Kid-friendly restaurants, stores, malls, museums—even airports or schools: This one's for you! (Related: Poolside climbing walls — In-store wave riding.)

Website: www.digiwall.se
Contact: info@digiwall.se

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

Using video games to make seniors safer drivers

2008-10-21T15:27:38Z

We've written about brain gyms for baby boomers and insurance discounts for drivers of cars with GPS devices. Combining a bit of both ideas, insurance provider Allstate recently announced a pilot program that could ultimately lead to reduced insurance rates for senior drivers who play brain-building video games.

Beginning in Pennsylvania--home to the fifth largest population of Allstate customers aged 50 to 75, the company says--Allstate is offering the program free to more than 100,000 drivers in that age group to test the impact of cognitive training on driving safety. The program uses InSight, a video software package from Posit Science that's designed to reverse age-related cognitive decline and improve the visual-processing skills needed for safe driving. Five games make up InSight, including Jewel Diver, which tests the ability to keep track of multiple moving objects at one time. Among the results of using the software, Posit says, are a reduction of dangerous driving manoeuvres by up to 40 percent, an improvement in stopping distance by an average of 22 feet when travelling at 55 miles per hour and a reduction in crash risk of up to 50 percent. In the Pennsylvania tests, which will run through March, Allstate will encourage participating older drivers to devote at least 10 hours to the training exercises. It will then track accident rates for the groups that did and didn't use the software. If the results validate Posit Science's claims, Allstate says it hopes to offer discounts to older drivers nationwide who use the software.

As the aging of the baby boom generation leads to increased numbers of older drivers on the road, using brain exercises to improve safety makes good sense. Of course, the program could also help Allstate identify and reward its safest--and therefore most profitable--customers. Sounds like a win-win proposition for other insurers to watch--and emulate!

Website: media.allstate.com/releases/4461-allstate-examines-brain-fitness
Contact: kpose@allstate.com

Spotted by: PSFK via Matthew Cua

Game combines wine tasting and tryvertising

2008-08-11T11:03:21Z

Encouraging people to organize their own wine tasting parties, 4xProeven (Tastingx4) combines a board game with a four-pack of wine.

The concept is simple: four small (0.375 litre) bottles of red wine are packaged in a carton that folds out to a board. Four blank stickers are included to hide the bottles' labels. A leaflet explains the basic elements of wine tasting: look, smell, taste and compare. It also describes the four single grape varieties included in the game. Players shuffle the bottles and start tasting. By comparing a wine's taste to the four descriptions, the objective is to guess which is Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. Just launched in The Netherlands, 4xProeven is currently sold online for EUR 24.95 and by a small number of wine shops, and the company is planning to launch internationally soon.

While wine tasting games certainly aren't new, they generally include game elements only, not the wine itself. And here's where we think 4xProeven missed a great opportunity (or maybe they're working on it). Instead of including unbranded wines, partner with a well-known label and turn the game into a smart and simple way to tryvertise, getting customers to sample a variety of reds or whites while connecting with the brand. We're sure Springwise has a few readers at E&J Gallo and Jacob's Creek. Time to give this one a spin? ;-)

Website: www.4xproeven.nl
Contact: info@esegui.nl

Avatar fashion for the real world

2008-06-30T01:52:23Z

With the rise of virtual worlds, the burgeoning fashion market for avatars brought real-world brands and designs into the virtual realm. Now, the trend appears to be going the other way as companies begin to let consumers get their avatar fashions made into real-world clothes.

Avatar clothes have become big business in the virtual world, and a new partnership between Swedish avatar dress-up site Stardoll and German t-shirt commerce site Spreadshirt could allow users to take virtual clothes they create or see online and get them made into the real thing for use in the real world. To start, users will be able to take logos or graphics from popular labels in the Stardoll world and get them emblazoned on real-life t-shirts, hats and other items. Eventually, though, the possibilities could expand dramatically, Matt Palmer, Stardoll's executive vice president and general manager, told Virtual Worlds News in April. "We know through our research that kids would love to get their hands on them," he explained. "The opportunity allows us to experiment with what we can take from our world that's a simple idea that kids can customize, get made and have sent to them. That sort of translation of virtual world to physical world—I view this as the first step in looking at what that could look like for us."

Virtual world Gaia has also begun selling real-world fashion on its site, and one can't help but wonder how long it will be before Second Life and other popular virtual worlds starts experimenting with something similar. From there, of course, the next natural step will be to let users sell their real-life creations for real-world money, just as they can currently sell their virtual ones. One to watch!

Websites: www.stardoll.com — www.spreadshirt.com
Contacts: www.stardoll.com/en/help/contact.php — www.spreadshirt.com/us/US/About-us/Contact-1336

Spotted by: Iconoculture via RK

Video game helps players name that tune

2008-04-08T13:11:29Z

In much the same way that movie studios market soundtracks, video game producers have published game soundtracks for years now. With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV later this month, in-game music marketing is being taken to a new level. Whenever they hear a song they like on one of the game’s fictional radio stations, players can call a dedicated number from their cell phones. Within seconds, they’ll receive a text message with information on the song and artist. The game’s publisher, Rockstar Games, is also developing a community site around GTA IV, and members will be able to receive emailed links to the songs for easy downloading from Amazon.com’s MP3 store.

Besides songs, GTA IV's radio stations—which include international funk hosted by Femi Kuti, and disco tunes courtesy of DJ Karl Lagerfeld—also feature commercials and DJ banter. Music has always been an important part of Grand Theft Auto’s virtual world, serving as a background to the gritty action in the same way songs helped define the ’80s TV series Miami Vice. So it makes perfect sense for Rockstar to create an additional revenue stream around music downloads. Smart way to cater to consumers' infolust while promoting music sales. (Related: Online database can name that tune.)

Website: www.rockstargames.com/IV
Contact: www.take2games.com/index.php?p=global_contacts

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

Location-based games lure kids off the couch

2008-03-20T09:38:51Z

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the developed world, and the widespread obsession with sedentary computer games certainly doesn't help. Nintendo's Wii has been applauded as a step in the right (more active) direction, as have gyms that integrate gaming. Now a UK-based firm is gearing up to go a step further—and right out the door.

LocoMatrix, which is still in beta, has developed location-based games kids can play outdoors using their GPS-enabled mobile phones. Fruit Farmer, for example, is a game in which one or more players run around a real environment such as a park, football field or beach collecting virtual oranges (visible on their mobile phone screens) while avoiding virtual obstacles and killer wasps. Multiple levels of play are available, and users can even create their own versions using a special program on LocoMatrix's website. In Treasure Hunt, meanwhile, the player follows a set of pictorial clues to find a series of locations. The game can be configured to display information about the destination locations, while its "warm-ometer" feature shows pictorially whether the player is getting hotter or colder in relation. As with Fruit Farmer, users can produce their own customized versions. Coming later this month is Locix, in which players capture territories by running in a circle around that area. If another player enters the circle before the first player has completed it, he or she has to start again. All games are free to play during LocoMatrix's beta phase, but it will soon begin charging a small fee. Ultimately, the company plans to adopt a subscription scheme in which users pay a monthly fee for access to games and more, such as the ability to enter teams into competitions.

LocoMatrix hopes to expand its offerings into role-playing games, strategy games and games of cooperation. It is also working on making its platform open so that other developers can create their own games for it.... Ideas, anyone?

Website: www.locomatrix.com
Contact: info@locomatrix.com

Spotted by: Bryan McAndrews

Fantasy real estate games

2007-12-03T13:05:16Z

There's nothing like compelling content to engage potential customers, and that's just what Realius is aiming for with its Fantasy Real Estate suite of online games.

The first of these, Price Me Now, was demonstrated at the TechCrunch40 Conference in September and crowned Most Creative Idea at the Web 2.0 Summit a month later. Now in beta, the game challenges players to guess the prices of actual homes for sale in their market by viewing the photos and property details provided by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Players earn points based on their performance against the Realius price, an aggregation of previous player estimates and the actual list price; in the near future, prizes will be awarded to the best pricers. The game is free to users, but real estate companies and professionals can purchase in-game placement as “coaches” who guide players and make their own professional guesses. Licensing fees, referrals and market reports are also part of Realius's planned revenue model.

Chuck Teller, CEO of the California start-up, explains: "Realius captures the synergies between the enormous popular interest in casual gaming and Americans' obsession with real estate. Our games engage consumers as they dream about, search for, buy, furnish, remodel and sell their homes in ways that are incredibly fun—but also instructive."

Other games in the works at Realius include Fantasy Flip, which lets homeowners give their homes virtual makeovers and then solicit opinions on how much the changes would increase their value, and Major League Investor, which pits players against one another as they build fantasy property portfolios. The games currently focus on the company's home base of the San Francisco Bay Area, but they're a nice example of marketing through content--which could be particularly important for weathering tough business climates such as the one faced by real estate today. One to bring to a market near you...?

Website: www.realius.com
Contact: info@realius.com

Spotted by: Peter Yu