The world is all about convergence
Now we are seeing top TV shows promoting video games and social media apps. The distinction between all forms of media blurs the lines across platforms.
So you haven’t heard of ‘No Man’s Sky’? Well, that would have been okay if you live under a rock, did not have any teenage children and did not own a gaming PC or a Play Station 4, but suddenly that is no longer an excuse. Why, you ask. Well, because TV, the Internet and the concept of convergent media has decided otherwise.
Early this month, Hello Games’ Sean Murray appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in the US to give a sneak peek into the upcoming space survival game “No Man’s Sky”…
A marketing ploy to demonstrate it to a more mainstream audience who would not have had the chance to see the game in traditional video game trade shows.
So why is this an important, if not historic, event?
Well, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert normally reserves its coveted time slots for famous actors or leading politicians. To give a video game such TV coverage would have been laughable a year-ago.
Now we are seeing top TV shows promoting video games and social media apps. The distinction between all forms of media blurs the lines across platforms. People use X-boxes and Play Stations to watch TV. Netflix has apps on both. It is expected that the local video-on-demand (like Showmax) streamers will follow suit.
If a video game company and a TV show can realize the mutual benefits of convergent media then maybe local advertisers like Mark’s Tyres and Great Bingo who have all embraced the digital age are way ahead of the curve locally.
