Now, I’ll admit, I was among the millions of mobile gamers who caught the Angry Birds bug when it was first released, but I haven’t played it in months. Apparently Rovio has now updated the game with levels featuring some very direct and obvious product placement. More »
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Last night Panasonic’s dubious new gaming console, the Jungle, made a guest appearance on Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory. More »
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Let the Kinect product placement commence! Or let it continue, as in addition to making a none-too-subtle cameo on HBO’s Entourage this week, the Xbox 360 motion controller has been featured prominently during Justin Bieber’s current world tour. More »
While we won’t be seeing Microsoft’s Kinect until November, the family in science-fiction made-for-TV movie The Jensen Project already has it all set up, though they might want to do something about that errant Xbox 360 logo in the corner. More »
Guitar Hero World Tour will allow gamers to score in-game sponsorship and gear from a slew of real world equipment manufacturers as they play through the game, Activision announced. The game will also feature digital recreations of Amoeba Music and Live Nation’s House of Blues Sunset Strip for digital bands to jam on.
“Gamers have come to expect a certain level of realism in video games and by collaborating with key brands in the industry we’re able to deliver with Guitar Hero World Tour,” said Dave Anderson, Head of Business Development for Activision. “With the most advanced wireless instrument controllers, the in-game likeness of multiple multi-platinum recording artists and authentic on-stage gear, the game offers the ultimate rock and roll experience.”
I love that the game is getting real world venues to play in, but personally I don’t think I care that much about whether I have EMG pickups or Guitar Hero Fake-O pickups. The list of gear manufacturers include: AMPEG, Audio-Technica, EMG Pickups, Ernie Ball, Evans Drumheads, Guitar Centre, Krank Amplification, Mackie, Marshall, Orange County Drum & Percussion, Pork Pie Percussion, Regal Tip, Sabian cymbals, Vox and Zildjian drumsticks. But honestly, that seems more like a way for Activision to make some money off product placement than something that’s going to add to the game.
I just finished watching Tropic Thunder, not a laugh out loud movie but packed full of giggles. Robert Downey Jr. totally steals the show. He’s quickly becoming my favourite actor. But on to my point. I couldn’t help but notice two fairly large nods to gaming and one relatively sly one in the movie.
First and foremost are the two scenes with Ben Stiller talking to his agent. In both scenes, the agent, played by Matthew McConaughey, is wailing away at different mini-games in Wii Sports while talking on the phone with Stiller. He’s playing on a pretty large screen in his office so there’s no way you can miss it, so let’s chalk that up as product placement.
Next comes this odd dialoguethat occurs about a third of the way through the movie with one of the characters trying to explain why Blu-ray won in the format war. His answer? Porn and video games. Porn backed it and Sony backed it with their… but he never quite says PlayStation 3.
Finally, and this one is just odd, during the credits they show a bit player, a non-speaking part mind you, and when his name pops up it does so on a background riddled with old-school Space Invaders. Invader invades Tropic Thunder? Hells yeah!
This hits close to home, because home is a shithole (that’s what $AU 1562.4 rents you in Silicon Valley) and I’ll soon be paying IKEA plenty to make it look less so, because it’s right around the corner in the East P.A. and I can’t afford Ethan Allen. And if you want to trick out your Sims pad with BJARNUM or HENSVIK or DIKTAD or whatever fake words the Swedes come up with next, that expansion pack has now dropped (as of Thursday). This is the trailer showing all the shit you’ll be throwing in your Sim dumpster in three years.
