Microsoft HoloLens

I am going to take a different turn in my blog this week. Instead of reviewing a game, I came across a product I could just not pass up. It intertwines with the theme of our course because this product is marketed on social media. The product is called the Microsoft HoloLens. I can really see this product being the next generation of computing and gaming. So you can see exactly what the product looks like here is a link- http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us . The product looks like glasses in that you can still see through them but, there is a screen in front of your face. This allows the device to put images in your line of sight. Some of the features I have seen include being able to "open", in sorts, a television screen anywhere. It allows people who are building a prototype the ability to see what they are building before it is done. I honestly think it is extraordinary. I do not usually get so excited about products like this, but this device takes computing and gaming to a different place. It is on the forefront of technology. One day, I would like to see contacts that do what the HoloLens does, except without being seen. The only huge downside I can see from that is people could lose touch with reality. It could also be addictive and cause depression when the product is not on. It could literally change the world how we see it every day. This first iteration is very interesting because I can only see people wearing this device at home or at work. I think it will allow the masses to become more productive. When Dr. Burton asked us in class if we interacted with brands online I thought to myself that I really did not. I had not been on Facebook for some time before I had to for this class. I do on occasion check Twitter. I was on Twitter the other day and I saw the HoloLens promoted and I simply could not resist. The promise of a revolutionary tech product was too much for me to pass up. I liked the post and then watched a short two minute video that explained the product to me. I think this is a great example of how certain people can be targeted on social media for products. I can say I do not bite for these promoted tweets often, if ever, but, this was a great example of a tweet being advertised to the appropriate audience. I will follow this product farther into the future. I expect it to be well received by the public. Maybe this shows that Microsoft can lead innovation in the tech industry compared to Apple. In my age group particularly almost everyone prefers Mac to PC. I am one of the PC hold outs. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can target young people in the college market and get them excited about a non-Mac product.

Fifa 15

In this blog I am going to be reviewing and talking about a different video game each week. I will also be talking a little about marketing strategy that these game developers use to gain market share and make gamers aware of their game. In this first blog I will talk a little about how many companies attract people to play their games. One of the first ways is ingenious. They release the game before it is ready to a certain group of people. These are called alphas and betas. This allows gamers to play the game while also sending feedback to the makers of the game so they can make the game better for the actual release. The players get to play a game before it comes out which makes them happy, while at the same time, they will make videos and post them to YouTube so that the general public can view these videos, which builds hype. Some smaller games which are played on the computer may make use of a service called Steam. Steam is a program a user downloads and then plays games off of it. It keeps a library of games which is nice so that you know exactly what you have and it tells you when you need updates. This service also has sales. Putting a game on Steam is a great way to extend product life. It can bring new life to a game, or be the life for a not-so-well known game. These are two great tools to build hype for a game and increase revenue. I will continue to talk about different alternatives in future blogs. So let’s get to Fifa 15. Fifa 15 "is an association football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts." This game brings all of the best clubs and soccer players from around the world and allows players to control them. The consumer is able to play player versus player or player versus computer. One of the best parts of this game that I am going to touch on the most is Fifa Ultimate Team. So what is Ultimate team? It allows the user to create a team of players in any formation they want to. There is a live marketplace where gamers can buy and sell their players for coins which are earned through playing matches. This market functions almost exactly like a real market and responds to supply and demand. It also fluctuates depending on the time of day. When more people are online and trading cards prices are different from when less people are doing the same thing. It is not as simple as it seems to build your ultimate team. I have been playing Fifa for a long time and I have never even come close to getting the best players in the game much less the best team overall. This is what makes the game fun, the difficulty in getting certain "cards". Of course if you are lucky, you can acquire these cards in packs. Much like baseball cards or Pokémon, Fifa Ultimate Team also uses a digital card system. The packs are random and can help or hurt your club by buying the packs. You can hit a home-run or lose coins by buying the pack. Packs have a gambling feel to them and they can become addicting to buy. So how does Electronic Arts capitalize on this? Well you can use more than in game currency to purchase packs. Players can also use money to buy Fifa Points. So what can Fifa points do for you? Fifa points allow you to buy packs. So Electronic Arts makes money hand over fist selling content which costs them absolutely nothing to deliver. Once the game is created, they capitalize on people buying these packs. Overall Fifa 15 is a fun game I have played it myself and would recommend that anyone play it. There is a huge global following and the game is very competitive. EA also makes other sports games such as Madden which I may get to in future weeks.