WHITE HOUSE MAKES A DIGITAL PROMISE TO OUR NATION'S YOUTH
For the past two decades, technology has transformed the ways people communicate, learn and conduct their daily lives. Now, educators and policy makers are joining forces to leverage the power of video games as effective teaching and learning tools in American classrooms.
On September 16, the White House launched Digital Promise, a public-private partnership aimed at incorporating technological tools into American classrooms. The program, initially funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, will support research and development efforts at a new Digital Promise Center. The Center is tasked with identifying effective teaching technologies, developing new approaches for rapid evaluation of new products and exploring ways to expand the market for learning software.
"Digital Promise is a unique partnership that will bring everyone together — educators, entrepreneurs and researchers — to use technology to help students learn and teachers teach," President Obama said in a statement. "There's no silver bullet when it comes to education, but technology can be a powerful tool, and Digital Promise will help us make the most of it."
In addition to supporting research and development, Digital Promise is kicking off a variety of efforts designed to motivate and engage students, including the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge. The Challenge, which first launched in September 2010 as part of the White House's Educate to Innovate
campaign, seeks to generate interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects and related career fields. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, E-Line Media, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting PBS KIDS Ready to Learn initiative and the AMD Foundation are again partnering to implement the second year of the competition. This new round will launch in November and challenges today's youth to put their STEM skills to the test to design the next educational video game.
Use of video games and other technologies in the classroom is also generating interest on Capitol Hill. The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space and Technology recently held a hearing titled "STEM in Action: Inspiring the Science and Engineering Workforce of Tomorrow," during which Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, testified about the educational value of computer and video games. Gallagher joined Tony Norman, president and CEO of Innovation First International, Inc. and Nancy Conrad, chairman of the Conrad Foundation, to discuss how the private sector is improving STEM education in the U.S. and discuss opportunities for the federal government to support these efforts.
"Visionary educators are increasingly recognizing the positive impact of entertainment software and utilizing games as a teaching device in a growing number of classrooms, especially in the area of STEM," said Gallagher. "In doing so, they are embracing the cultural and technological shifts of the 21st century and expanding the use of a favorite leisure activity, computer and video games, into a critical and still-emerging educational resource."
These collaborations highlight the efforts of policy makers, elected officials and industry experts to ensure our education system capitalizes on the potential that digital teaching tools have to enhance learning and foster the next generation of innovators.
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GAMERS RAISE FUNDS, AWARENESS FOR CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK
On October 1, gamers across the country took an active role in supporting children's hospitals, and will again on October 15. During the first of two separate 24-hour video game marathons, individual players raised money for medical research and improved community awareness of children's health issues. All proceeds from both events will benefit Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which support more than 170 hospitals across North America.
 Called Gaming and Giving for Good – or G3 – the October 1 initiative asked thousands of gamers to make a difference in the lives of ill children while simultaneously enjoying their favorite pastime and participating in a day-long game marathon. Gamers collected donations from family, friends, and others who pledged to contribute a certain amount of dollars for each hour they spent playing video games on Xbox LIVE. Participants were required to obtain at least four sponsorships that each gave at least $1 for every hour of play.
Video game companies, including Microsoft Corporation, GameStop, 2K, Electronic Arts, Capcom Entertainment and Square Enix, among others, teamed up to host the event in partnership with Extra Life, a similar game play marathon. In fact, to encourage wider participation, Microsoft offered a free, 24-hour Xbox Live Gold Membership to any individual who registered for the event at www.Xbox.com/g3
. Additionally, GameStop, the world's largest multichannel retailer of video games, hosted in-store events with key celebrities in the video game industry to promote awareness of the marathon. One week prior to the event's launch, registered participants had raised more than $70,000 in donations.
On October 15, during Extra Life's own video game marathon, gamers will have another chance to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Participants can play any video game during the event, including titles for Xbox 360, PlayStation3, computers, and even games on mobile devices. In addition, each player that registered for the event on Extra Life's website received his or her own Web page to solicit donations and track his or her fundraising progress.
Since 2008, Extra Life has reached more than 9,200 gamers, raising more than $765,000 and engaging more than 32,000 new donors. The Sarcastic Gamer Community created Extra Life in honor of Victoria Enmon, a 15-year-old fan of video games who died after her battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This year, the money each gamer raises through both events will go directly to the Children's Miracle Network hospital of their choice.
Both the Extra Life Marathon and Gaming and Giving for Good demonstrate ways in which the video game community combines its passion for game playing with its commitment to, and enthusiasm for, giving back to those in need.
For more information on this important initiative, please visit the Extra Life website here. |
ADVERTISERS INVEST HEAVILY IN VIDEO GAMES TO REACH TARGET AUDIENCE
With 72 percent of Americans now playing computer and video games, a growing number of companies are developing in-game advertisements and other advertising campaigns to reach this expanding audience.
 According to a new report from market research firm DFC Intelligence, advertisers spent more than $1 billion using video games to promote their products and services in North America last year, and DFC expects this amount to double by 2014. These totals include in-game advertising, which often consists of billboards or product placements within a game's storyline; around-game advertising, which involves banner and skyscraper ads around online games; and advergames, in which the entire game serves as an advertisement.
A wide variety of companies across a number of sectors use these tools as part of their marketing strategy. Automobile, film, and food and beverage companies in particular reach customers through games. Kia Motors, for example, developed a campaign to promote the launch of the Kia Soul by placing in-game and around-game advertisements on Microsoft's Xbox LIVE dashboard and in games such as Electronic Arts' NBA Live 09 and Skate 2.
Film production companies may use these games to promote their films, such as Sony Pictures' release of a nine-week episodic online game to stir audience interest in "Salt" before it debuted in theatres in July 2010. Other companies, including Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Adidas and Gatorade, have also employed in-game advertisements.
The U.S. Air Force is even embracing this strategy. As the Austin American-Statesman recently reported, Austin-based agency GSD&M is currently working with the military branch to develop an advertising campaign surrounding Namco Bandai's upcoming Ace Combat: Assault Horizon title, which will involve sponsoring trailers on game websites and offering downloadable content within the game itself.
New console technologies also enable gamers to interact with advertisements. Earlier this year, Microsoft Corporation launched a new suite of advertising tools called NUads for its motion-sensing Kinect for Xbox 360. NUads allow gamers to use voice and motion commands to access additional information about the product or service advertised, post messages about an advertisement on Twitter, and maps of related retail locations nearby.
While the use of entertainment software as a marketing tool is growing, DFC analyst Michael Goodman notes that advertisers are still not using video games to their fullest potential.
"Video games have reached beyond adolescent males into a mainstream entertainment medium that touches every segment of the population," Goodman said. "Despite this, advertisers continue to underutilize video games as an advertising vehicle."
The report notes that around-game advertising is likely to see the greatest growth in spending in the future, due primarily to the increasing popularity of online game play, and concludes, "Video games, with their high degree of immersion and interactivity, are a natural solution for building brand awareness and influencing purchase decisions." |
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Quote of the Month
"Art is constantly evolving, as is the language we use to talk about it. I think we've only just started to explore how video games can and should be incorporated."
— Georgina Goodlander, Smithsonian American Art Museum curator, on the artistic value of video games
Did You Know?
Last month, London theatre company Punchdrunk partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment to present "…And Darkness Descended," an immersive theatrical experience based on Sony's Resistance 3. The piece challenged audience members to navigate the Resistance Universe, an alien-occupied version of the 1950s, and required them to work together to complete a series of tasks while evading capture.
Statistic of the Month
A new study from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business found that the demand for Facebook and mobile applications, including popular games such as FarmVille and Angry Birds, has helped to create at least 182,000 new jobs and contributed more than $12 billion in wages and benefits to the U.S. economy this year.
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