In a report from USA Today via Yahoo, we learn that the Lollapalooza Festival, which runs through Aug. 24 is being backed by Microsoft's venerable X-Box. More than a dozen bands, including Audio-slave and Incubus, are performing. Amid the clamor looms an inflatable dome stuffed with nearly 100 Microsoft Xbox game machines, laptop PCs and giant flat-panel displays. Microsoft is the tour's top sponsor, and an arcade of the company's games awaits in the air-conditioned interior.
The venue, called the GameRiot tent, makes the scene "more festive. It brings different entertainment aspects to the show," says J.R. Lockwood, 18, of Boyce, Va. He and Jenni Morgan, 18, of Berryville, Va., were playing Outlaw Volleyball at a recent show at the Nissan Pavilion, about 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. "It was really cool," says Morgan, who rarely plays video games. It's not just Microsoft, which introduced Xbox in late 2001. And it's not just at Lollapalooza, which founder Perry Farrell has resurrected for the first tour since 1997. Game makers are sponsoring most of this summer's major music festivals: Market leader Sony is bringing its PlayStation 2 18-wheeler with room for 50 players at a time to many of the stops on Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest tour, which includes Korn and Marilyn Manson and runs through Aug. 28. Sony also sponsored the just-finished Vans Warped tour, as the company has done since 1995. Nintendo has started its own festival, the Nintendo Fusion tour, with Evanescence and several other emerging bands, including Cold, through Sept. 18. |
A solid lineup of musical acts alone used to draw a large crowd. But now, with limited radio airplay, choosier ticket buyers and declining CD sales, the music industry feels teaming with video game companies could be a marriage made in heaven. This is because game industry is on track for another record-setting year. In fact, according to the article, this may be the year that game sales match the music industries 12 billion dollar music industry sales statistic.
The brilliance of the strategy becomes apparent when you realise that the target group for all involved is the same. For example, game companies are fueled by the support of teens and young adults, which just happens to be the target market for the music industry. It is reported that nearly four out of 10 of the most dedicated game players are less than 18 years old; another 40% are 18 to 35."They like to play games, listen to music and hang out," Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan says.
This sort of synergistic approach is exciting and can only lead to an improved entertainment experience for us all. It's amazing to see such cooperation among the entertainment industries.
Source: yahoo.com
