DailyTech - Nickelodeon Dumps $100 Million Into Online Gaming

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Blog: Software Nickelodeon Dumps $100 Million Into Online Gaming
Michael Hoffman (Blog) - July 23, 2007 2:03 AM

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9 comment(s) - last by OrSin.. on Jul 26 at 9:38 AM

Nickelodeon has big plans for online casual gaming!

Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group president Cyma Zarghami recently announced that Nickelodeon plans to invest up to $100 million into the casual gaming market over the next two years.

The popular kid's channel will show support towards massive multiplayer online (MMO) games, self-published video game titles and virtual worlds, according to Zarghami. In fact, this announcement, according to Viacom, shows the "overall commitment to leading in the gaming space, including casual games, games media, console-based and handheld games."

"Particularly in the kids space, with more than 86 percent of kids 8-14 gaming online, we see great momentum for online casual gaming," Zarghami said during the Casual Connect gaming conference.

To see the full list of Nickelodeon initiatives in the casual gaming market, click here.

All of this chaos is slated to begin sometime in September.

I'm rather curious to see if such a large monetary investment will ultimately help Nickelodeon down the road - I have discovered that children absolutely love visiting Nickelodeon's web site to play the flash games available on the web site.

Casual gaming appears to be the magical key to success, with Nintendo currently doing so well with the help of casual video games. Even though the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles have better hardware - and higher price tags - both companies discovered the simplicity of the Wii gave it a superior advantage.

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poor kids...

By rerecros on 7/24/07, Rating: 0

RE: poor kids...

By nekobawt on 7/24/2007 3:56:45 PM , Rating: 2

well, that depends largely on what you want the children to be learning. i'm mostly an mmo/puzzle gamer, myself, and i can tell you that at least mmo's encourage reading comprehension, problem solving skills (in the form of quests and such), and basic/intermediate math skills; plus a little bit of market playing on the side, to say nothing of the people skills they can develop as a result of interacting with other people the world over.

certainly doesn't replace a k-12 education or the face to face human interaction provided in a public (or private) education environment. granted, to say that u.s. public education isn't what it could be is a massive understatement, but still. games don't make you dumb unless you let them.

(i'll see your blanket statement, and raise you one. :P)

Parent

RE: poor kids...

By rerecros on 7/25/2007 4:15:31 AM , Rating: 2

now dont tell me you think corporates like Nickelodeon really cares about a kids' wellbeing when they're making online games, do you? :p

Parent

RE: poor kids...

By TomZ on 7/24/2007 5:14:43 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
perfect example of capitalism to the detriment of education?

What does this have to do with education? This is about entertainment, and has nothing to do with education. You're trying to dream up a conflict where one doesn't actually exist, unless your view is that children should spend 100% of their time on education.

Parent

RE: poor kids...

By rerecros on 7/25/2007 1:09:56 AM , Rating: 2

you think having kids (Nickelodeon's target age group) sitting in front of a computer all day hooked to a MMORPG like WoW is going to make them smarter and more likely to drive the future of a prosperous economy?

what if theyre your kids, would you let corporates who can afford to spend millions of dollars leveraging their brands and marketing to potentially corrupt their future? its hard to not admit that days and nights spent playing addictive gaming can impede one's learning abilities-- especially those with limited selfcontrol, teenagers-- perhaps times better spent doing homework and feeling more positive about learning than procrastinating and ultimately leading to mediocore or failures in school?

it might already be a difficult thing for parents to pull their children away from the seduction of media and entertainment, i personally dont think that our kids need another media giant pumping money to steal their attention.

Parent

RE: poor kids...

By OrSin on 7/26/2007 9:38:21 AM , Rating: 1

The fact kids will do soemthing to have fun whrn not in school. That something is usually TV. Sorry byt in my option video game is a better time waster then TV. Notice I said time waster, not a way to futher our childern education. The one poster is right MMO is much better then TV if the child has some supervision. Stop them actually like complete fool in a MMO and they will learn alot. And not all MMO are WOW. I have a 7 year old and this past year she has gone on line to play alot nick and disney games and every day she learns something. And her hand eye coordination is alot better. She can even ride her bike better now. If she is wasting her time, I perfer the computer over TV. At least she can get interested in something that can lead to job later in life.

Parent

Answered Your Own Question

By TomZ on 7/23/2007 1:12:08 PM , Rating: 3

quote:
I'm rather curious to see if such a large monetary investment will ultimately help Nickelodeon down the road - I have discovered that children absolutely love visiting Nickelodeon's web site to play the flash games available on the web site.

I think you answered your own question already. :o)

As a father myself, I have found it very interesting to learn about the branding and marketing towards kids. Because most kids watch at least some of these kids shows, they become familiar with the characters. Then, when shopping at the store, you see tons of branded merchandise, and it really has an effect on the purchasing decisions. For example, a Disney Princess (not Nick, but same idea) toothbrush is much more cherished than an ordinary pink toothbrush which is otherwise only branded by the manufacturer.

How this affects Nick's online strategy is the same way - by leveraging their "brands" (i.e., kids familiarity with their shows), they should be able to be pretty successful with this. Also, by having the online content to complement their TV shows and movies, it further reinforces and helps promote the brands. Sounds like a good investment to me.