VR and eSports: Hype vs. Reality

For years DFC Intelligence has seen the hype and headlines that comes and goes around various segments in the game industry. In some cases, the market is excited by a new potential goldmine that turns out to be fool’s gold. Many times when a category reaches the headlines the opportunity has already come and gone. or often the excitement generated by a new category is premature. In these cases, investors rush in only to find out the consumer market was not ready.....

Rocket League Asks Can Free Work For Pay-to-Play?

DEC. 21, 2015 • Taking a page from the online promotion of ebooks, some independent game developers are testing whether giving away the full game free for a limited time can significantly boost the overall market share and sales of their titles. In the case of Rocket League by Psyonix Inc., the answer is affirmative. Valve Inc. has already shown that deep discounting games during its weekend sales can positively increase aware.....

Mercedes-Benz Employs Mario Again

DEC. 16, 2015 • While plenty of household brands worldwide are cross-promoting with Star Wars this month, automaker Mercedes-Benz continues to partner with Nintendo Co. Ltd. to help sell its GLA SUV in Japan. Last year, the carmaker decided it needed a little different approach to help support an automotive category it has only recently entered. Instead of concentrating on luxury and raw performance, Mercedes-Benz chose to pull in 30 to 40 year-old consumers wit.....

Big Plans for Electronic Arts Esports Division

DEC. 12, 2015 • Two months after Activision Blizzard, Inc. unveiled a separate division to oversee esports opportunities, Electronic Arts, Inc. announced its own Electronic Arts Esports initiative titled Competitive Gaming Division (CGD). Chief operating officer Peter Moore is moving over to head the new division as executive vice president and chief competition officer. Joining him as senio.....

Telltale Games Does Batman

DEC. 5, 2015 • Batman is getting the episodic game treatment from Telltale Games thanks to a deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. The 2016 release got teased at this week’s The Game Awards 2015 in Los Angeles. The title for the game series has not been disclosed, but Telltale said.....

Star Stable’s Big Ride

NOV. 10, 2015 • The last five years have seen enormous changes for MMORPGs. Most notably the subscription model has been supplanted by freemium monetization, while game design has moved away from open world exploration to more directed and defined mission activities. Bucking this trend is the privately held Star Stable Entertainment AB, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Star Stable Online is succeeding as a subscription MMORPG that .....