7/13/2018

7/13/2018

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Pokémon: Game Release, Plush Toys and Controllers

Nintendo released a trailer for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! well ahead of the the November 16th release date.  While fans will not be able to purchase the game for more than 3 months, just one day later the first 30 plush Pokémon toys become available.  In tandem with the game release is the Poké Ball Plus controller which brings the game to a more physical experience.  Nintendo’s marketing efforts seem to provide good support to the Pokémon franchise.

 

Amazon’s Twitch Platform Gives Away Games During Prime Day Sale Event

As part of Amazon’s Prime Day Sale Event in mid-July, Twitch is giving away games.   More than fifteen titles are free to download.  To incentivize users to repeatedly return to the site, Twitch is releasing games over rolling times periods with download windows of only a few days.

 

Google to Enter Gaming Market?

There is interesting speculation by Market Realist and industry site Kotaku that Google may enter the estimated $41 billion Gaming market.  The speculation has Google entering the hardware and streaming services markets, as well as setting up its own in-house studio to develop game content.  The potential In-game advertising could help its advertising business and position Google to take advantage of the video game advertising growth that is north of $1 billion and rapidly closing on $2 billion within a few years.   We look forward to tracking Google’s entry, if it does happen.

 

This Week’s Odds and Ends

Yesterday saw the release of Fortnite Season 5 followed by a crash of their servers due to the huge response.  While highly anticipated, their Announce Trailer helped drive the results as it had 3.1 million views on YouTube on its first days.

Sonic Mania Plus debuts with some of the most positive reviews on Metacritic (86 on PS/4 and 90 on Switch) and GameSpot (4.5 stars, 9/10 rating).

Other notable release this week were:  Shining Resonance Refrain, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Earthfall, and Octopath Traveler.

Lastly, Xbox Game Pass added two games this weeks: Rocket League and Vermintide 2.