A market crying out to engage your brand?

Last weekend my willpower collapsed and I bought Xbox 360 blockbuster Halo 3. I’d tried to resist, but when 31 friends are online, and 30 are playing one game, it’s near impossible to hold out.

On Sunday evening, over 900,000 players were online, and numbers have topped 1 million. That’s people online at any one time, and people that have paid not only for the game (Up to around £49.99 for the limited edition version), but have also most likely spent out on buying an Xbox Gold subscription for 12 months of online gaming.

Now imagine if your brand or publication had access to a code to make the main character in Halo3 run faster, take more damage, or even a special character design?

Think the chap that has paid £40 to get a game on release, rather than waiting for a discount, would find it easy to resist? Especially with the peer pressure of 30 of his friends waiting to be impressed by his new skills?

And whatever the brands, there’s a likely game to tie in. Whether it’s a racing game, an adventure game, a sci-fi shooter, or something oddball and cute like Viva Pinata.

The most powerful networks…

It’s easy to debate who are the biggest players in social networking, whether you’re a Myspace fan, Facebook obsessive, or quoting the Latin, Asian, Indian or Brazilian audience of Hi5 or Orkut. (Incidentally, I signed up for Orkut today, completing my membership of the big four and I have to say, it feels a bit unfinished…seems like it’s all back end, no front end.)

But there’s one social network which could be more influential, if not pervasive. There are times when I take it for granted, but Xbox Live is truly one of the great networks of our time.

With the box next to my TV, I can play games on and offline, and watch DVDs. I can also download demos of games, new content for existing games, and complete smaller arcade games, including the likes of Sonic The Hedgehog and old arcade games.

When payment is required, it’s a one button confirmation, billed to my credit card with pre-paid points.

And the same points can be used to purchase downloadable videos etc, with pay-per-view films coming to the UK soon.

If I’m playing a different game to my friends, one button brings up a list to message them, or invite them into private voice chat, whilst I can continue to play. And I can compare the achievements of all my games, to those of my friends

And I can listen to custom soundtracks from CD’s, or my portable hard drive, at the same time as doing all of this.

15 years ago (Making me feel old), this would have seemed about as likely as jetcars, as I carried my 486 to someone’s house for a LAN party using ethernet cards, lots of shouting, and eventually some four player Doom.

And how many hours have I put in? I know there are at least two games which have claimed my time of at least 50 days each…And another 15 or so games on my played list.

I know the service is a walled garden, with a small window looking out at Windows Live Messenger, and a skylight from which a feed can escape to sites displaying gamertags, and even blogs written by Xbox 360s. But, like Facebook, it’s so comfortable, that trying to escape is like trying to rouse yourself from a comfy armchair after a Sunday roast dinner.

An update and a request

Every so often, there are games which completely justify online gaming and investment Microsoft has made in Xbox Live. Forza Motorsport 2 is one of those games!

I was surprised by the loss of car clubs, which allowed players to group together in clans, particularly at a time when community is so valued by everyone, but the photo mode, ability to upload you pictures online straight from your console, the new paint editor which can create simply unbelievable designs, and the online racing itself more than makes up for it…

Once I’ve torn myself away though, I’ve got things to do… I’m experimenting with building some sites in DotNetNuke, and I’m also intending to read up on SEO. So if you can recommend SEO blogs and books to take me from interested novice to white and black hat expert, let me know…

Will Sony stop making PR disasters

Having been uncovered using Microsoft’s XBox 360 exclusive PGR3 in promotions for he Sony PS3 and Gran Tourismo, you’d think Sony would be taking more care?

Apparently not:


Top tip: Check the numberplate

Mind you, they’re getting plenty of coverage. Mainly because it’s like watching a slow motion car crash, being ploughed into by a runaway train full of orphans, and then being swallowed by an earthquake of embarrassment.

More details, here.