30/7/06

“Trade Association First ‘ARCADE’ Defense!” (#495)

Stinger REPORT Skinny!

(15/06/06) In a detailed investigation in the impact of changing media towards amusement, TSR looks at the effective efforts of the AMOA / AAMA joint council and industry promotion committee meeting results to publicize the arcade scene. The Web Episodes created to attract attention are reviewed and discussed, and their validity in a Video Blogs (vlogs) scene to be seen as ‘cool’ are gauged against comments from industry observer. The Stinger asks the question that has recently been raised that is this effort is the best use of members’ finances to address the crumbling reputation of the industry being lambasted in the media?

(For the full story, go to the Main Report online at – www.thestingerreport.com)

Main REPORT:

An apathetic audience, poor market recognition, and competitive erosion of the player base - this could be the epitaph of amusement in 2006!

Since 1994, a major decline in the perception of amusement in general has followed a downturn in innovation and facility investment. Linked to a vast hike in previous hardware renewal costs for dwindling returns; a mixture of player apathy and console game adoption left amusement floundering.

2006 finds amusement at its worst level of recognition. On one side, the industry is used as the scapegoat for the various political problems between State legislator and the consumer games industry -- the convenient bogyman to deflect the argument; while at the same time an 'undiscovered country' to an aging savvy audience, the industry too staid to recognize re-education is needed to revitalize, rather than ruminate over past glories.

Our language has been hijacked. The phrase Arcade is treated either with wariness or derision when describing video amusement -- and has been stolen by the consumer sector as their own; ranging from 'arcade quality' to the 'Xbox Live! Arcade'.

The phase Amusement fares no better -- soon to be turned into a horror film title to add to the confusion. In the leading movie news media (published by a company that just junked their Amusement Business title) it has been reported that New Line Pictures will start production of a Horror-Suspense film called... 'Amusement'! Based on a horror screenplay, is expected to receive a 2007 release, with sequences set to reaffirm the dark and seedy underbelly that the perception of arcades have become.

At the same time as this, the leading media news service, the Associated Press, was running a feature in May that stated ‘...is the arcade industry in a death spiral’ – the news report covered by media agencies across the world focused on the premise that home video games had knocked from their orbit ‘the arcade star’. Industry sources supplied quotes for the piece describing the amusement industry under challenge and in transition.

With these widespread attacks continuing, the pressure is on for the extremely quiet trade associations to do something – anything -- to address the poor media and player perception of the market. Calls for an asserted attitude by the trade associations to work on a conjoined directive to address the industry (and members) perceived image were not taken up originally (Stinger #479), but as momentum grew and finally things have started to happen.

In an AMOA / AAMA joint council and industry promotion committee meeting this year and actioned at an AMOA mid-year board meeting, a proposal was floated to create a long-range media campaign, which would reintroduce coin-op to a generation or two of players and potential players. This would integrate the concept of coin-op into the subconscious of consumers. AMOA commissioned eight episodes of a web-based video trivia program called 88SLIDE, filmed in a street location in Los Angeles. Merely a test of the strategy, targeted at players, and AMOA's own words, “...increase what can only be called its cool factor”.

The Stinger's owners KWP had been in conversation with AMOA executives towards support of what at the time had been a rumored project. At that point it had been stated as only in the discussion phase, but with its surprise appearance, KWP executive was able to pose some questions on TSR's behalf to Jim Pietrangelo, AMOA President, instrumental in this new step in presenting the industry’s case:

Stinger: AMOA can you tell us what age group these webisodes (web-episodes) are aimed at?

AMOA: While there’s no way to determine what age group is viewing the vlogs, our hope is that they are viewed by people of all ages. One of our goals is to put a positive face on coin-op, regardless of who views the vlogs.

Perhaps they’ll be viewed by a fledgling game designer who, because of something seen in one of our segments, decides to investigate the industry as a place in which to make his or her living. Maybe they’ll appeal to a decision maker for a national restaurant chain who might look more favorably upon our industry as a way to maximize alternative revenue streams within that chain’s locations.

Time will tell.

Stinger: how much have AMOA invested in this campaign?

AMOA: I don’t think that the owner of 88SLIDE would like us to reveal that information. Suffice it to say that, due to the experimental nature of the project, we were able to negotiate an attractive deal.

Stinger: why chose web video, especially after certain internet research on this form of placement?

AMOA: To what research are you referring? Web video is growing by leaps and bounds.  At last count, there were over 7,000 vlogs on the net.

From ‘The Editor’s Weblog (May 3rd, ’06) “Vlogs satisfy the consumers need to find new ways the Internet can satisfy their hunger for getting what they want when they want it, the “Must See TV” entertainment. As sites like Rocketboom and YouTube sprout all over the internet, more and more people are going online to share their original work, producing video clips and posting them online.”

Stinger: what is the target number of hits aimed for to prove this campaign a success – or failure?

AMOA: There is no ‘target’ number of ‘hits.’ This is not a straightforward advertising campaign.

Stinger: why was Podcasting omitted at this point?

AMOA: Nothing has been omitted at this point. We’re still in the early stages of deciding whether to go forward with the project.

Stinger: is AMOA looking at other means to get the point across?

AMOA: Yes

Stinger: how was 88SLIDE chosen – how large was the short list?

AMOA: We happened to come upon it while doing Internet searches for video blogs.  We liked the 60-second trivia theme of the vlog.  It coincides with the amusement aspect of our industry. Also, because each episode is only 60-seconds long, we felt that it would appeal to the average person who doesn’t want to make a major time investment every day.  Finally, it is a relatively new vlog and, as such, the producer was willing to work with us knowing that these first four vlogs were, for all intents and purposes, an experiment of sorts.

There was no short list, although there are certainly other vlogs that are becoming popular in their own rights and that, should we decide to go forward, we might approach with similar project ideas.

Stinger: is it true that the production company behind the videos has links to AMOA / members?

AMOA: No.

Stinger: dose AMOA think the use of the phase ‘cool’ is a good idea?

AMOA: Yes.

TSR, after receiving these comments, obviously had some additional questions, but for the time being will have to await further answers. Some of the issues revolved around the use of the term ‘vlogs’ that caused the greatest question – especially with the 2006 ‘Vloggercon’ video blog conference taking place in June in San Francisco. The sold-out event supported the amassed ranks of public and private vloggers. TSR stated that calling the four experimental web video trivia episodes ‘video blogs’ against the more common ‘webisode’ might confuse the point.

In reality the video blog sector has an established and growing community, though more as a personal blog sector. An additional question was made to the association if they had registered their experiment with the ‘Vlogdir’ directory of international video blogs as a means to track popularity of the episodes – but TSR was unable to receive an answer to this. The lack of any information on target audience or tracking did make the comment of ‘wait and see’ ambiguous, though TSR was sure that AMOA is working with a lot more behind the scenes.

TSR asked media sources that deal directly with what industry evaluators see as the core audience that has the disposable income to support - if not rejuvenate - the amusement scene and amusement trade that were likewise embracing new publicity media. The Stinger contacted RetroBlast.com writer and marketinghelpnet.com director James Hills (who also comes from a video amusement background) for his views on the experiment after extensive viewing:

James, can you give our readers your observations regarding the AMOA exercise, having a strong background regarding Internet media:

JH:  “I finally had a chance to check out 88Slide and I am not sure exactly what the AMOA was trying to attempt. I turned on and it was showing the inside of someone’s colon … I think there are much better ways to encourage people to play video games than that, besides, how is a one min trivia blurb going to make “coin-op cool”? [Thursday, June 29, 2006, "Blaine's Colon" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKkO7s2v4jY]

Regarding the AMOA’s comment that “perhaps it will be viewed by a fledgling game designer ...” From my experience dealing with game developers, nothing is going to convince a guy to consider coin-op games, unless there really is a future in it. I worked actively in that market by speaking at Indie Games Con, at IGDA meetings and even at colleges such as Full Sail during my time at TLC Industries … that was very effective at spreading the word and increasing interest levels, we even hired a graduate from there that heard my talk and became excited about coin-op. Unfortunately,  unless there is $$$ to be made, it isn’t going to fly long term.”

“As for appealing to a decision maker at a national restaurant chain … showing the inside of someone’s colon isn’t a great way to do that. (not sure if that is typical but when I just turned it on this evening, that’s what I got). Anyhow, generally I think partnering with a site like 88Slide (and ignoring stuff like MySpace etc.) is simply a waste of money that could have been spent on a focus group.

Sites like BarCade have a far greater impact on getting people enthusiastic about playing coin-op games than a trivia vlog would any day. I really hope the AMOA didn’t pay any money, if they did I would expect the members to want a refund.”

What James means by BarCade.com, is the manufacturer-based and player-based web portal run by Betson Enterprises. The BarCade service runs a review, and forum service that brings the words of the player base to the ears of the manufacturer / distributor. Like BarCade, Namco CyberTainment has been running their NamcoArcade.com that also offers reviews, venue locator and forum for the interchange of gaming material. There are other manufacturer sites, but the need for feedback and interchange of information is limited.

Most recently in the UK, SEGA have attempted to educate a new audience to their unique amusement piece. Both ‘MushiKing’ and ‘DinosaurKing’, kid vending game system has been supplied to a Saturday morning children’s television show (‘Mighty Truck of Stuff’) in order to gain publicity. In brining a new coin-op amusement concept to Europe, SEGA Amusement has attempted to place the machine in front of the player base they see vital to the machines success. The television industry has had a love-hate relationship with amusement, but it still proves to be the fastest way to get to the heart of the player base.

The need for more specific – focused – and hard hitting media campaign by ALL the trade associations to galvanize ‘amusement’ perception is phenomenally obvious – and the lack of any defense against a barrage of media criticism is a great concern.

Just in a three-month period, international media lambasted the amusement sector – seeing blood in the water and no comeback from the associations. Beyond the already mentioned Associated Press comments, the Internet news services also ran a thought-provoking though downbeat feature from the Potomac News. This observational piece did manage to get comments from a leading American industry trade magazine, but the damage was not redressed. While in the influential webzine Kotaku ran a feature with the catchy title ‘The Arcade is Dead, Long Live the CyberCafe!’

What Could this all Mean:

Working in an evolving industry has proven a considerable drag of late-- on one side we have a gathering of mentality that moan for the good old days, deriding the current market and blocking creativity. While on the other hand we have an uphill struggle for the implementation of new ideas and new strategies -- the promotion of Out-of-Home Leisure Entertainment (OoH) industry proving labored.

Concerning the North American association investment, in a charm offensive the feeling is mixed. Even though the campaign is a brainchild of current AMOA president Jim Pietrangelo, will attempt to "re-introduce" coin-op to once and future players. In this way, the association hopes to offer up coin-op amusement equipment as a viable leisure option.

As a first effort in what AMOA calls a ‘test’ – the trade association seems to have made a valid attempt to redress a slow and painful decline in player attendance. Literately the lifeblood of the amusement scene has abandoned the market and serious measures are needed to educate and invigorate a return – is this first effort leading in that direction?

Targeting such a wide demographic seems unwise, especially when the competition for the hearts and minds of just part of this sector is vast. Though extensive research of the key demographic for OoH has revealed that simple education on what is out there, and what it can do is as important as trivia on the market.

In not setting any viewing targets AMOA has made this a questionable test, as achievements are unsubstantiated and open to manipulation. With the likes of mega-brands (Coke, Disney, Nike, ADIDAS, Sony and others) chasing the team-X audience, a limited spend trivia cast could be seen as less a test than just a poorly focused effort. The targeted sector also seems to be a drop in the ocean as the real talking shop for the core audience has been missed.

A basic knowledge of the structure of Internet community sees that other directions beckon (some free consultancy - MySpace: 68 million members, MSN Spaces: 30+ million members, MSN Messenger: 100+ million users, Yahoo! Messenger: 63+ million users, and AOL Messenger: 43 million users in the USA). These team-X portals a logical target to get any message across, as recently pointed out in a leading trend report the ‘YouNiverse’ (personal areas to interact) offer a marketing gold mine at an affordable price.

KWP expressed great surprise that a Google-search had brought the marketer to the AMOA attention. For such an important first effort using a non Google-esque method of research would have been suggested as credible – this had led to much speculation, but previous comments regarding possible links to AMOA and the account winner were dismissed.

Finally – the method of a vlogs or webisodes (depending on which techno-dictionary you subscribe too) as the first test, disregarding the lack of statistical monitoring, is unusual and may smack of some naiveté. Production values aside, the use of a new version of QuickTime excluded the opportunity to view for a large percentage, while not starting small to gauge statistical impact could be a hindrance.

What is left is a valiant effort that will need a strong follow-thru to be able to amount to anything. If this can be achieved is up to the will of the association, and more importantly the members, to ensure to get the best bang for their buck