When esports teams, leagues, and other organizations first entered the apparel licensing game, they started by working with specialty companies dedicated to esports. As awareness levels among mainstream consumers rose, they began pairing with the big sportswear companies, especially those that were licensees of traditional sports IP owners such as the U.S. major leagues or […]
Archive | Interactive gaming
Déjà Vu All Over Again
By Karen Raugust on August 19, 2021 in Diversity/Inclusion, Interactive gaming, Licensing, Politics/social movements
Activision Blizzard, the video game maker behind Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, is being sued by the state of California for its culture of sexual harassment. This is just the latest such news in a two-plus-year period of Me-Too moments in the interactive gaming industry. Consumer, sponsor, and employee backlash to this […]
Playing Games
Many entertainment/character licensors have had difficulty extending their properties into branded video games successfully. But they increasingly need to be in the video game space, since that is where their fans, of all ages, spend a lot of their time. One way to achieve this goal without as much risk is to integrate their properties […]
FMX 2021: Insights on AR, VR, and LBE
By Karen Raugust on May 17, 2021 in Digital, Experiential licensing, Innovation, Interactive gaming, Licensing
FMX 2021, a conference focusing on animation, visual effects, games, and immersive media, was held May 4-6, 2021. The digital event featured three case studies of interest to the licensing community: the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theme park land; Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix-Up, an app-centric augmented-reality, multiuser, multimedia experience with a live community […]
Gender Equity and Esports
Video gaming is a popular activity among females, who represent 41% of gamers, according to the Entertainment Software Association, and 35% of professional esports players, according to Interpret. But the world of professional esports has been a notoriously unwelcoming space for women. They experience discrimination and harassment and lack the opportunities offered to the male […]
Game Play
Three leading toy companies recently signed renewals of existing licensing deals tied to mainstream video game properties, or otherwise expanded their current assortments. This is a reminder of how the toy-licensing landscape has changed over time from almost entirely TV- and film-based to an environment where video games, one of today’s major leisure-time activities, play […]
Take a Seat
Gaming chairs represent one niche of the interactive-gaming peripherals and accessories segment that has seen strong interest from the licensing community. Billed as enhancing performance as well as comfort during game play, game chairs were first associated with esports-, gaming-, and gaming influencer-related IP, which still comprise the core of the market. But licensing activity […]
Opening Moves
By Karen Raugust on November 5, 2020 in Design and content themes, Interactive gaming, Licensing, Sports
Interest in chess has been on the rise for the past five years, but it has really been experiencing a pop-culture moment this year, especially since the pandemic began. Some of the indications: Chess as esport. All told, viewers on Twitch, the video game-centric streaming service, have watched more than 43 million hours of chess […]
Sportswear Brands Still Competing in Asian Esports
By Karen Raugust on September 28, 2020 in COVID-19, Interactive gaming, International, Licensing, Sports
COVID-19 has had a big impact on global esports revenues. Newzoo predicted in July 2020 that revenues for the esports industry worldwide would increase by 1.7% this year, compared to growth of 23.3% year-on-year in 2019. Sales of esports merchandise and tickets—Newzoo tracks the two revenue streams as one segment of the total industry—will take […]
Calm in the Storm
Meditation and mindfulness apps saw a spike in usage after the global pandemic hit. In the seven days beginning March 29, two weeks after the start of the lockdown in the U.S., downloads for such apps were up 25% from the weekly average in January and February, reaching 750,000 downloads, according to App Annie figures […]