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Zugara - Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Juicy Juice Launches Two Augmented Reality Webcam Games

We recently launched our second and third Augmented Reality projects for Nestle and thought you might be interested in some of the details. This time we were tasked with concepting and developing two unique advergames for Juicy Juice. Like our first project (for Nesquik), Juicy Juice was interested in creating unique advergames that people can play within their webcams by utilizing their motion to play the game rather than traditional controllers (i.e. the mouse and/or keyboard).

Below are some details on the project, but to give some context around motion-based casual gaming we think it’s helpful to keep the following data points in mind:

  • 1.3 billion people are on the Internet, and 510 million of them play casual games online. (link)
  • The Wii was the fastest selling console ever. (link)
  • Microsoft is selling Kinects faster than Apple sold iPads. (link)

PROJECT DETAILS

GOAL/OBJECTIVE: To create two fun and non competitive advergames that will engage fans of Juicy Juice with the brand while educating them on the health benefits.

AUGMENTED REALITY SOFTWARE USED: Augmented Reality Motion Capture Software, “ZugMO”

KEY PROJECT DIFFERENTIATOR: No barriers to entry for the gamer:

  • Markerless – The gamer does not need to print or find a marker to engage with the Augmented Reality experience.
  • No Downloads – It’s built in Flash, so the gamer is not forced to download anything prior to playing, they can start interacting immediately.

SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION: Both games allow players to share their experiences (and photos) seamlessly on Facebook.

GAME SYNOPSIS #1: “Fruit Ensemble” is a rhythm based game where the player must use their hands to tap fruit (that appears randomly around them) in time with the music. Think “Whack-A-Mole”, only the “moles” appear in random places all around the player.

Juicy Juice- GamePhoto

GAME SYNOPSIS #2: “Fruit Mixer Studio” let’s people tap fruit to mix and record unique beats that can be saved to the desktop or downloaded as a mobile ringtone.

JJ-FruitMixerStudio

Both Augmented Reality games can be played here: http://bit.ly/fXvDCG

We’d love to get your thoughts on these games in the comment section below. But if you’d like to discuss how we can help your brand or agency to create strategic Augmented Reality executions, please don’t hesitate to email us at info (at) Zugara (dot) com.

jack - Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Do You Think Mobile Augmented Reality Will Be A $1.5 billion Industry by 2015?

So, Juniper Research just issued a report that “predicts global revenues from (mobile) augmented reality applications and services will approach $1.5 billion by 2015.” And I wanted to see what you guys thought about that number… Does it sound accurate? Is it way off (in either direction)? What’s going to drive that revenue? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

For the record, my official answer is: WTF??? By 2015? How?

That is a gigantic number, and I’m not sure how it’s achievable given the issues mobile AR has and will have for the next few years… I’ve tried to raise industry awareness about the (current) issues with mobile AR by writing about them in this blog ad nauseum. Those issues include: inaccurate civilian grade GPS; fragmented development environment (iOS, Android); inadequate processing power of handsets; battery life; and, subpar/unnatural consumer experience (to name a few). If you want more details, you can read one of our previous posts by clicking here.  In my mind, these issues will delay consumer adoption/usage and serious development efforts.

To put $1.5 billion in context, Mobile has been blowing up in the States the past few years and according to eMarketer we’re finally going to surpass $1 Billion in mobile ad spending for the first time in 2011… Oh, and the largest segment of that ad spend? Text message marketing.

Obviously the app market is a crowded and difficult one to succeed in but I came across a quote yesterday that I think is pretty applicable and telling (especially about consumer usage habits): there is a 5% retention rate on free apps after 30 days.  So where is this $1.5 billion going to come from? If people don’t even use free apps after 30 days, do you think the “average person” would pay an upfront fee for any of these apps?  I don’t…

Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts below, or on Twitter: @jack_benoff

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jack - Friday, April 16th, 2010

Ya Gotta Kill One: Internet or TV. Which Is It? (CHART by age)

I found a pretty interesting chart (via Nick Parish) this afternoon. It breaks down (by age) the choice people would make if they had to eliminate either the Internet or TV from their life.  If you look at the stats though, it clearly seems as though TV’s “days are numbered” (should people ever actually have to make such a sadistic decision) as the majority of people under 44 would choose to eliminate their TV.

As I thought through the survey I started to wonder if the main question itself isn’t a touch flawed.  It’s really not about choosing between TV and the Internet, is it?  It will ultimately be about choosing between the Internet and Cable/Satellite providers.  Just this week I set up my Netflix account to stream video through my PS3 (if you haven’t done this yet, I can’t recommend it enough.  It’s life changing).  That means I’m watching content from the Internet on my big, beautiful HDTV.  In essence, my TV is now the most expensive computer monitor I own.  Granted, the vast majority of people aren’t doing this… yet.  And maybe that’s why the survey below is relevant today, but I think in the future survey’s like this won’t be a “TV or The Internet?” question.  It will be a “Internet or Cable/Satellite” question.  At the end of the day, the TV is just a box that displays the content…

So, that’s enough out of me, I’d love to know what you think…

Feel free to follow me on twitter here.

Eliminate TV or Internet

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