Latest News

WHO PUSHES YOUR BUTTONS — WHAT WOULD POPULAR GAMING CHARACTERS’ DATING PROFILES LOOK LIKE?

Published

3 years ago

February 10, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, people around the world are struggling to meet significant others due to restrictions, social distancing measures, and usual hotspots, such as bars and clubs, being shut.

Due to this, online dating sites and apps have seen record numbers of users, with Tinder seeing a 15% daily growth, and Hinge seeing almost 5m downloads during the first half of 2020, double the number from the previous year.

Pixels seeking partners

It’s not just us normal folk who are struggling to find love — so have those who come from far more distant lands, including the Mushroom Kingdom, Los Santos, Hyrule and the Nora Territory.

Most video game characters have been too busy to find love. Jill Valentine has been plagued by zombies for the better part of three decades, with little option for any down time. Sonic has been running tirelessly through loops, casinos and temples, without so much as stopping for a breather, let alone a candlelit meal with a potential love.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, geek culture website FandomSpot has introduced the world of internet dating to popular video game characters, to help them find love during lockdown in the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, which you can view here. What type of person would pipe-hopping Italian plumber Mario seek after defeating Bowser? Who does Lara Croft want to join her in her big, empty, Surrey-based mansion? Would Aloy want to be shot by Cupid’s arrow, instead of shooting at machines?

Swipe right?

Once our unlucky in love characters have found a match, there is still the challenge of finding the best way of dating, especially with social distancing still preventing us from getting together.

Perhaps Master Chief could arrange a holographic date (whilst still not removing his helmet of course), or Link could use his Sheikah Slate to get to know a potential beau from Kakariko Village.

We all deserve a shot at love

If finding love wasn’t already hard enough, the pandemic has thrown additional obstacles to further dampen our efforts. Luckily, online dating gives us—video game characters included—an opportunity to find our perfect partner, despite the many hurdles we all currently face.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, now even Master Chief has a chance of finding love.

Canada

Scientific Games Partnership Wins 2024 Gutenberg Award for Sustainability

Published

4 hours ago

May 8, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

scientific-games-partnership-wins-2024-gutenberg-award-for-sustainability

Scientific Games, in partnership with Loto-Québec, Sustana Papers and Recyc-Québec, won the 2024 Gutenberg Award for sustainability at the 42^nd Gala Gutenberg. The Gutenberg Awards are the Québec printing industry’s premier event, highlighting the talent, creativity and expertise of printing artisans.

The partnership’s winning entry was the Le Billet Vert (The Green Ticket) lottery instant scratch game launched by Loto-Québec in April 2024. The game was printed on 100% recycled board provided by Sustana Papers, with 100% water-based inks. Scientific Games enhanced the sustainability of the production process by packing completed games in boxes containing 60% recycled fiber and delivering them on reused European Pallet Association pallets.

The game promotes the recycling of lottery tickets, inviting players to download Recyc-Québec’s Ça va où? (Where Does It Go?) mobile app. The app teaches users to correctly sort recyclables and shows them drop-off locations for various types of household waste.

Isabelle Jean, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Lottery Games for Loto-Québec, said, “Since our first scratch game printed on 100% recycled paper stock debuted in 2021, our sustainability efforts have only increased. Congratulations to our team members from Loto-Québec, Scientific Games, Sustana Papers and Recyc-Québec for their vision. Together, we are reducing the environmental footprint of our games.”

The sustainable materials and game production techniques used for Le Billet Vert saved 110 mature trees, the equivalent of 326 10-minute showers, and the electrical power of 882,587 60-watt lightbulbs in one hour (Sustana Solutions eco calculator).

Marc-Andre Doyon, Vice President Canada for Scientific Games, said, “Through this collaboration, Scientific Games and our partners lead the global lottery industry in instant game sustainability. It’s truly an honor to win the Gutenberg Award for our efforts.”

Le Billet Vert is the thirteenth 100% recyclable game created for Loto-Québec since 2021 when Scientific Games and the Lottery began collaborating on a project to bring sustainable instant games to the lottery industry. Another game from this collection, Folie des plantes (Plant Madness), won the Gutenberg Award for sustainability in 2022. Other 100% recyclable Loto-Québec games produced by Scientific Games include Evasion (Escape), Code secret (Secret Code), SLINGO 10X and C’est quoi ton signe? (What’s Your Sign?).

Scientific Games is Loto-Québec’s primary instant game partner, producing the Lottery’s first instant game more than 50 years ago. The company has employed generations of Québécois professionals from their Montréal production facility, which produces instant games for Canadian and European lotteries.

With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2024 World Lottery Almanac).

Industry Awards

Soft2Bet’s Betinia shortlisted in five categories of the EGR Marketing and Innovation Awards

Published

9 hours ago

May 8, 2024

George Miller

soft2bet’s-betinia-shortlisted-in-five-categories-of-the-egr-marketing-and-innovation-awards

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Nominations in five categories of the EGR Marketing and Innovation Awards is further recognition of Soft2Bet’s cutting-edge gamification solutions and innovative approach.

Soft2Bet, a leading provider of iGaming turnkey solutions, is delighted to announce that Betinia, its renowned brand in Denmark and Sweden, has been shortlisted in five categories of the EGR Marketing and Innovation Awards 2024.

The nominations are recognition of the incredible work that has been achieved by the Betinia team in two of Europe’s most competitive and regulated markets.

Betinia’s shortlisting in the following categories:

Best Native App,
CRM Campaign,
Innovation in Sports Betting,
Innovation of The Year,
Responsible Gambling Marketing Campaign of the Year, demonstrates how it has grown into being one of the most innovative and progressive operators in the industry.

Soft2Bet was recognised in February when its Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA) gamification solution won the Innovation of the Year at the EGR Nordics Awards and it is delighted to see its achievements gain further recognition with these shortlist nominations.

Oksana Tsyhankova, CMO of Soft2Bet, commented: “Being shortlisted in five categories is a great achievement and huge credit goes to our technical, product and marketing teams. Betinia’s success in two of Europe’s most competitive and regulated markets is also highly satisfying because it showcases our B2C expertise in driving engagement, retention and revenues.”

The post Soft2Bet’s Betinia shortlisted in five categories of the EGR Marketing and Innovation Awards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Betmotion

Betmotion leads campaign to aid victims of the Rio Grande do Sul floods

Published

10 hours ago

May 8, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

betmotion-leads-campaign-to-aid-victims-of-the-rio-grande-do-sul-floods

In response to the recent and devastating floods in Rio Grande do Sul, which have displaced over 100,000 people and severely affected 70% of the state’s municipalities, Betmotion, through its Corporate Social Responsibility project, BetSocial, is mobilising efforts to assist the victims of this catastrophe.

BetSocial has launched an initiative to support the actions of the NGOs Ação da Cidadania and CUFA, which are leading the charge in providing immediate aid to the impacted communities. At this critical moment, BetSocial is reinforcing the call for everyone to unite in solidarity and make donations that will be crucial for reconstructing affected lives.

“The tragedy that has struck Rio Grande do Sul requires a swift and coordinated response. At Betmotion, we believe in the power of solidarity and in our community’s ability to make a difference in times of need,” states Bianca Passos, founding member of BetSocial. “Every contribution, no matter how small, has a significant impact on the lives of those facing such difficult days.”

To facilitate donations, BetSocial has provided information on how to make contributions via PIX to the two partner organisations:

Ação da Cidadania: [email protected]
CUFA: [email protected]

Betmotion and BetSocial thank you in advance for your support and solidarity. They reiterate their commitment to work to alleviate the hardships faced by this catastrophe’s victims and continue promoting significant social impact actions.