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Holiday Cheer: 'Aliens vs Predator - Requiem' Mobile Game Attacks

One of my favorite holiday movies is, no fooling, the original "Die Hard."

When I say that, people laugh. But then they watch it and say, oh yeah, it is a holiday movie. And a good one.

To which I heartily add, "It ain't Christmas until Bruce Willis blows something up."

Alas, a new generation of movie goers must feel that way about "Aliens vs. Predator."

How else to explain the launch of "Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem," a new mobile game from Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Mobile Entertainment and Superscape Group. Apparently these are based on a movie that comes out on Christmas, the second or third to combine the old "Aliens" and "Predator" properties from the 1980's.

Mitch Feinman, Senior Vice President, Fox Mobile Entertainment states, "The Aliens vs. Predator brand has been a popular franchise which we are excited to bring to the mobile platform.

"The game offers an innovative 'multiplayer' feature, which we believe makes for an even more compelling gaming experience. Combine this with the film's upcoming 2007 Christmas launch and we expect the brand to once again prove a resounding success."

Ah, the holiday joy.

I wonder what old Bruce Willis would say about that.

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AT&T's Top Selling Ringtones of 2007

Ringtones are rocking for AT&T.

"Ringtones continue to be one of the most popular entertainment features on wireless devices, whether they're hip-hop, alternative, classic rock, pop, Latin, country or even holiday tunes,"  Mark Collins, vice president of Consumer Data for AT&T's wireless unit, tells Fox News. "AT&T offers an industry-leading catalog with tens of thousands of ringtones, and we add hundreds more to our portfolio each week."

1. Shop Boyz - "Party Like a Rockstar"

2. Mims - "This Is Why I'm Hot"

3. Soulja Boy - "Crank That (Soulja Boy)"

4. Nickelback - "Rockstar"

5. Akon - "Don't Matter"

6. T-Pain - "Buy You A Drank (Shawty Snappin)"

7. Hurricane Chris - "A Bay Bay"

8. Sean Kingston - "Beautiful Girls"

9. Huey - "Pop, Lock & Drop It"

10. Fergie - "Big Girls Don't Cry"

If these aren't your pace,  "Jingle Bells," "The Dreidel Song" and "Noche de Paz" as ringtones free of charge.

Read more, here.

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'Guitar Hero' Comes To Mobile Phones

This is either a godsend or the second sign of the apocalypse.

Verizon Wireless, Hands-On Mobile and Activision are now offering the incredibly popular "Guitar Hero III" video game on mobile phones.

Actually, it may make more sense in this medium - enabling users to jam to music by using their phones as air guitars.  Users play by hitting number keys in sync with colored notes that appear on a scrolling fret board.

The real genius: The game comes with 15 song tracks from the "Guitar Hero" console series - and they can buy more tracks in song packs that Verizon will introduce each month.

Juniper Research projects that revenues from mobile games could top $10 billion by 2009, and 460 million mobile users will download music in that time frame - double the current number.

Given the popularity of "Guitar Hero," Verizon may single handedly boost the genre toward those numbers.

Read more here.

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New Radio & TV Ads Embed Hyperlinks In Sound

Visual mobile barcodes may soon get a run for their money with new technologies that enable marketers to embed hyperlinks in the audio tracks of TV and radio commercials.

Intrasonics embed hyperlinks in sound, which is able to be picked up by the microphone on a mobile phone and then decoded to offer a range of new interactive experiences for consumers. Think games, TV show voting, access to Web sites, advertising and more.

As Luc Jonker, CEO of Mainframe Participaties B.V. puts it: " Our vision is to bring interactivity into every household around the world by changing the way in which consumers currently interact with their TVs or radios."

It's less clear to me how the audio is picked up - does the viewer/listener need to be prompted to hit "talk" on their phones in order for the phone's microphone to turn on and "listen" for the audio beeps? Or does the audio code "call" the phone to activate it?

It's unclear now, but it sounds intriguing - no pun intended.

Read more here and here. By way of Pondering Primate.

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Forget the iPhone: GPS Sales Up 488% This Holiday Season

How is this holiday like a good real estate transaction?

It's all about location, location, location.

Sure, the iPhone was hot last summer. But for Christmas, you'd better find yourself with a GPS under the tree for someone you love.

Indeed, revenues for GPS device sellers is up 214% and unit sales are up a whopping 488%, according to stats from NPD Group cited by AD AGE.

Next up: Digital picture frames (up 204% over last year, with unit sales up by 266%); LCD TVs with revenue up 64%; digital single-lens reflex cameras revenue up 29%; and computer notebook revenue up 12%.

And those MP3 players? So last year: Revenues for the devices are down 16%, while the number of units sold was down 9%. As AD AGE puts it, this may be surprising maybe to the average iPod watcher, but not a big shock to either analysts or Apple.

"Apple itself has been saying that iPod sales aren't growing as fast as they once were," NPD analyst Steve Baker tells the pub. "We're starting to move into a replacement market and that means slower, more stable sales."

Read more about it, here.

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Hollywood Film Festival Announces 'Hollywood Mobile Awards'

The Hollywood Film Festival's putting mobile content at hand.

The festival, hailed as the "festival and awards that launch the Oscar race," has announced today that it will launch the "Hollywood Mobile Festival" and the "Hollywood Mobile Awards."

"This is the first major festival and awards honoring content and sites designed for mobile devices," says Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the festival."We look forward to honoring the innovators of this new medium, as well as bridging the gap between established Hollywood and the global creative community."

According to the organization, the "Hollywood Mobile Awards" will recognize "innovation in mobile entertainment worldwide and will feature six categories: Best Mobile Short, Best Mobile Video Game, Best Mobile Music Video, Best Mobile Commercial, Best Mobile Advertising and Best Mobile Content Website."

Deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. Nominees will be announced in August and winners will be honored at the 12th Annual Hollywood Awards in October, in Hollywood.

Get the full scoop here.

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Red Herring Names Mobile In-Game Ad Network One of The World's Top Tech Start-Ups

Red Herring's got the hots for Greystripe.

The venerable tech site/pub/whatever has named Greystripe, the creator of the first mobile in-game ad network, as a Red Herring 100 Global Winner, placing them among the top 100 tech start-ups in the world.

Greystripe was selected for their leadership in mobile advertising and for their AdWRAP Catalog Platform, which enables operators, mobile Web sites, Internet portals, wireless operators, and social communities to distribute Greystripe’s catalog of over 800 free and ad-supported mobile games from publishers like Vivendi Mobile Games, Hands-On Mobile, and Digital Chocolate to their users.

“We are honored to be recognized by Red Herring and to have been chosen from a competitive field of successful start-ups from around the world,” said Michael Chang, CEO of Greystripe in a statement.

Cool for Greystripe. But I'm just glad to hear Red Herring's still around.

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Metallica Mobilizes New Marketing Push

Heavy metal is going mobile in a whole new way.

Metallica - one of the true legends of metal - is working with G8wave, Alchemedia Interactive Media and Art Empire Industries to launch a mobile marketing push in Japan.

I didn't realize metal was hot in Japan, but mobile certainly is, and the companies hope to encourage fans to buy content made specifically for the heiti-crazed fans, including music videos, music and video ringtones, and more.

"We all know that Metallica has a huge following globally,” Brad Mindich, chief strategy officer at g8wave, tells G4. “But the Japanese market, with its advanced technologies and consumer desire to test new mobile applications, allows us the opportunity to expand the band's reach and influence even further."

Heck, it may even be the cost of entry for Japan's mobile masses.

Read more here.

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Gen Y: 'I Want My M-Commerce'

The video generation may have wanted its MTV. Today's kids? M-Commerce.

USA Today is reporting that today's 14- to 24-year-olds want - expect - major brands to offer mobile commerce capabilities, whether through mobile coupons or direct purchases.

Small wonder that mobile retailing site mPoria is expanding so quickly, signing up 130 retailers this year, up from just eight in January. Mobile couponing company Cellfire's discounts can now be used at more than 250 merchants, including retail stores and restaurant chains, up from 10 at the beginning of the year.

"The kids, especially these 'digital millennials,' are out in front of the retailers," Laura Evans, retail practice chief for the digital marketing agency Resource Interactive, tells the pub.

The 14-to-24-year-old members of Gen Y, those most invested in digital technology, "expect on-demand experiences," says Evans. "Part of 'on demand' is 'I can access retailers anytime, anywhere, and that's not limited because I'm not sitting at my computer.'

Get the full scoop, here.

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M:Metrics: Football Season Gives Mobile Content 'A Kick'

Is football the "killer application" for mobile?

M:Metric seems to think so - at least as far as the soccer variety of "football" in the U.K. is concerned.

According to the research firm, over the past two years, the audience for those accessing sports information on their mobile devices increases significantly around major football events. 

Apparently, more UK mobile users access sports information via their browser, from SMS alerts or through downloads to their handsets throughout major football championships.  For example, when the FA Premier League started in mid-August 2006, the number of users accessing sports information leapt to 4.1 million from 3.6 million the month before the League commenced. 

What's more, 81% of UK mobile users who access sports information do so via their browser, 20.9 percent receive text alerts and only 6.1 percent use downloaded applications.

“This is fascinating data,  as it clearly demonstrates the impact the combination of compelling content, context and convenience has on mobile media usage,” says Paul Goode, senior analyst, M:Metrics, in a statement.  “While British operators may be disappointed in their football teams, who failed to advance to the European Cup, they should be encouraged by their performance attracting consumers to mobile content.”

Indeed, here, here, jolly old chap. Indeed.

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