Gaming

Steel Media Launches BeyondGames.biz

Published

3 years ago

September 16, 2021

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Where games meet music, film, sports, fashion, technology, the metaverse…

Following the success earlier this year of the first Beyond Games Summit, Steel Media is proud to launch its new online hub, BeyondGames.biz, which will explore the evolution of gaming and the transformational impact of interactive media on the creative world.

The site is one of the first to bring together every sector within the creative industries and explore the ways in which they can learn from each other.

The global videogames market has changed. The tools, technologies and techniques, which were created and pioneered within the world of gaming are transforming the future of the whole creative world.

Every aspect of the creative industries are increasingly interactive: film, TV, sports, marketing, music, fashion, and other sectors all have huge global presence, as well as their own sub-sectors, audiences, business models, best practice and even language. Digital and interactive technology may be the underlying infrastructure, but bringing such eclectic and established industries together will be challenging.

BeyondGames.biz will offer a platform and channel to chart the ongoing evolution of our converged future, which will bring together the artists, the innovators, the creators, the business leaders and those who are pushing back the boundaries of our new converged future.

Games, screen, music, sport, literature, fashion are converging…

The site will cover the latest news – the deals, the funding, the partnerships, and the launches, which are shaping the future of our creative world. It will feature analysis and editorial from business leaders, creators, technologists, and futurists. It will bring together the pioneers building the metaverse, and explore the convergence of games with film, TV, sport, fashion, marketing, music and more. It will offer readers from every background insight into the interactive world.

Tony Pearce, the founder and CEO of Reality Gaming Group, said:

“I’m so excited about Beyond Games and proud to be a partner. It’s great to see an event and publication that explore the future of interactive entertainment at a time when boundaries between content types are increasingly blurred. At Reality Gaming Group our vision is to create new games & entertainment that harness the blockchain and NFTs, bringing fun new experiences to audiences across many devices. Beyond Games is essential for everyone in this space.”

“We’re pleased to be a launch sponsor of Beyond Games as the interactive entertainment landscape continues to grow and adapt,” said Chris Cataldi, co-founder and COO of Genvid Technologies. “As our recent Rival Peak project with Facebook illustrated, cloud-based interactive offerings have the potential to significantly expand the definition of interactive entertainment and attract the broadest possible audiences to engage in all-new experiences.”

Dave Bradley, the COO of Steel Media said, “We have been running Beyond Games tracks at several of our other events over the last year or more and it became clear very quickly that there is a huge appetite for this type of content that stretches far beyond the games sector.

“Beyond Games is the first online channel, which will cover the impact of digital tools and virtual worlds on the creative industries, as well as highlighting the pioneering work taking place to build this new converged future.

We’ll be offering news, analysis and insight into this incredible new future. From mapping the metaverse, to transformative transmedia, Beyond Games aims to be a catalyst for change and an active agent in the ongoing evolution of the digital future.”

BeyondGames.biz is part of the Steel Media Network, which also includes Pocket Gamer, Blockchain Gamer, PC Games Insider and more. The company runs a series of successful events based around these titles, with a dedicated Beyond Games conference held in May 2021 and a sequel planned for November 2021.

Gaming

FANDOM EXPLORES THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF GAMING & SELF-EXPRESSION IN 2024 INSIDE GAMING REPORT

Published

3 days ago

May 21, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

fandom-explores-the-growing-importance-of-gaming-&-self-expression-in-2024-inside-gaming-report

Study Provides New Insights Into How Brands Can Authentically Engage With Gamers to Help Them Express Their Best Selves Off-Screen.

KEY FINDINGS

Gaming has exploded over the past decade, becoming one of the most dynamic and expansive industries across the globe. Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, dives into the heart of the gaming community to uncover the evolving motivations behind why people game in its 4th annual Inside Gaming report. The 2024 Inside Gaming report – a proprietary study coupled with Fandom’s first-party data from its 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content and 250k fan-powered wikis – captures a notable shift: gaming is increasingly seen as a means for personal expression, exploring one’s identity and providing empowerment and confidence in one’s real life.

Dominant Gaming Motivations

While stress relief remains the top reason people turn to games, a striking 46% of gamers list creation, imagination, and self-expression as their main motivations for gaming, up 10% from last year.

Influence on Gaming Habits

People who are gaming for self-expression, creation & imagination are 30% more likely to increase their gaming time, feeling more drawn to the gaming world than ever before.

Games Driving Self-Expression

60% of gamers claim that self-expression through gameplay is more important to them than ever before. Titles like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox lead in enabling personal expression through extensive customization options, open-world exploration, and other game updates

Exploring Gamer Identity

The report also highlights a significant gap between players’ in-game identities versus their real-life personas, with 80% of respondents feeling their gaming identity differs from their real-life identity.
However, half of respondents claim they’d prefer to be more like their in-game personality IRL and 72% would feel more favorably towards brands that help them achieve this.
This is especially true of 18-34 year olds, multicultural (specifically African American & Hispanic) audiences as well as women and non-binary audiences.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKETERS

Emphasize Self-Expression:

Self-expression is a key driver for gaming engagement. In fact, 32% of gamers want their physical appearance to be more like their in-game appearance.
Brands that align with this motivation can enhance their connection with gamers. For example, this represents an opportunity for fashion & beauty brands to explore dedicated product extensions for gamers looking to explore this self-expression.

Create Brand Safe Spaces:

64% believe that gaming communities are vital safe spaces where they can truly be themselves, presenting opportunities for brands to foster and cater to these communities.

Align with Gamers’ IRL Aspirations

Many gamers wish to integrate their gaming and real-life personas. Brands that help facilitate this integration can achieve deeper consumer relationships.
The study found that 48% of gamers want their IRL skills to be as strong as their gaming skills, opening up an opportunity for brands to explore how they can create ways to provide gamers with products that enhance IRL skills and provide a sense of accomplishment & achievement they get while playing.

“From character customization to cosplay and content creation, video games have empowered gamers to explore, express and enhance their identity – nearly two thirds of gamers claim it’s easier to be themselves with a controller in their hands,” said Stephanie Fried, CMO of Fandom. “With the growing significance of gaming as a means for self-expression and personal evolution, it’s crucial for brands to connect to these motivators to help players bring their gaming personas to life in the real world.”

For an interview with a Fandom executive to discuss the study in more detail, please contact Rachelle Savoia at [email protected].

Methodology:

Fandom surveyed 5,000 entertainment and gaming fans globally to understand the ever changing entertainment landscape. The insights from the study were joined with proprietary insights from Fandom’s first-party platform data of over 350MM users, 45MM content pages across 250K wikis.

Gaming

Flexion Enters into Partnership with Jam City

Published

2 weeks ago

May 9, 2024

Niji Narayan

flexion-enters-into-partnership-with-jam-city

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Flexion, the games marketing company, has partnered with Jam City, a leading mobile entertainment company behind some of the world’s highest-grossing and most enduring mobile games, to bring a selection of the publisher’s best-in-class games to the Alternative App Stores: Amazon Appstore, Huawei App Gallery, Aptoide, ONE store, Samsung Galaxy Store, DT Hub and Xiaomi GetApps.

“We are always looking for new opportunities to build our network of global players, and Flexion is a proven partner that will help introduce our award-winning titles to new audiences in the alternative stores,” Curtis Barnes, Senior Director of Publishing Operations for Jam City, said.

“We’re all about helping developers like Jam City reach the full potential of their games. We’re delighted they have chosen us to add revenue and audiences for their games on the alternative app stores,” Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion, said.

The post Flexion Enters into Partnership with Jam City appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gaming

Mobile Games Index: Analysis of 95M Game Interactions Reveals Shifting Engagement Trends, Available Now

Published

3 weeks ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

mobile-games-index:-analysis-of-95m-game-interactions-reveals-shifting-engagement-trends,-available-now

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The anticipated fourth edition of the annual Mobile Games Index, powered by adjoe and Statista, is now available.

The latest report offers a clear look into the current state of the mobile gaming sector, analyzing the past 12 months of the first-party data from 95 million app interactions across 27 million users. The MGI 2024 reveals what people choose to play on their mobile devices, filling the gap in industry knowledge and enabling game developers and user acquisition specialists to benchmark their products and ultimately target the right audiences with the right content.

Moving forward, it is up to the industry decision-makers to analyze the findings and promptly adapt to the newly-emerged engagement trends from MGI 2024, effectively engaging desired audiences.

A Peek at Shifting Engagement Trends to Capitalize on

Based on predictions from Statista, the overarching trend in the market is its robust growth with a forecasted expansion from $166.1 billion in 2024 to $227 billion by 2028.

Remarkably, Card games are expected to grow the most dramatically at 13.8% a year, nearly doubling their global revenue by 2028. Judging from the engagement charts of MGI 2024, the main driver of growth in this category is Solitaire games. The audience is showing a clear preference for Solitaire – these games hold 7 out of 10 positions in the top list of card games worldwide by time spent with titles from MobilityWare, Gimica, Scopely, and Playvalve, among others.

What allows the market to show revenue growth is the positive changes in global daily time spent. After the dip in engagement highlighted by the last year’s Index, adjoe confirms that average daily sessions have rebounded to 21.5 minutes from 17.3 minutes reported last year, marking a 22% increase.

The most engaged demographic of mobile gamers globally is the 40-49 age group, which has experienced a remarkable 33% increase in daily gaming time, now at 23 minutes daily. The strategies targeted at older demographics over the past 12 months can be deemed successful. However, this has led to a loss of focus on engaging Gen-Z, which has shown only modest growth in time spent.

The MGI also reveals that women are outpacing men in daily gaming time across most genres – as reported for the 4th edition in a row. This consistent and high performance makes the female audience a continuously safer bet when it comes to user targeting.

Another continued trend is the dominance of top publishers such as Supercell, Garena, King, and Playrix, while there’s still space to occupy for smaller publishers. For instance, ForgeGames tops the engagement charts with their game Special Forces Group 2 – capturing over 43 minutes of average daily engagement.

The insights continue in the MGI 2024, going granular to segment and visualize global mobile game engagement data from adjoe by genre, region, and demographic. At the same time, Statista’s extensive market research provides a macro-view of the current and future industry, offering figures for global downloads and revenues with forecasts extending to 2028.

Mobile Games Index 2024 Is Available in Open Access

The MGI 2024 goes deep below the surface of market data and creates a comprehensive snapshot of the mobile gaming industry today. Inside are

For developers and marketers, this report is the green light to benchmark performance against industry leaders and align their products with the rising expectations of mobile gamers. This comprehensive tool is now available for free to inform decision-making and help optimize strategies for short- and long-term actions.

The post Mobile Games Index: Analysis of 95M Game Interactions Reveals Shifting Engagement Trends, Available Now appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.