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.....

China Reins In Net Cafes

DEC. 9, 2015 • The Ministry of Culture in China is cracking down on internet cafes, known there as Wang Ba (网吧). Specifically, the regulator is going after those establishments that illegally serve customers under the age of 18. The initiative is set to continue through January and mainly is targeted at rural districts that are more likely to flout the rules than in the major cities. In addition to curtailing access to internet cafes by minors, the ministry .....

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.....

Razer Partners With Lenovo on Desktop Gaming PC

DEC. 1, 2015 • At last week’s DreamHack festival in Jönköping, Sweden, Razer Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. announced their partnership to globally co-brand and co-market special Razer Edition models of Lenovo’s Y series desktop gaming PCs. While showing off a prototype at the LAN party and computer festival, actual details on component specifications and pricing will not arrive until CES in January. The prototype system displayed at DreamHack uses the sam.....