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Fashion and tech collide in this VR-friendly connected shirt
Virtual reality is inescapable here at Computex: You're either stumbling into another Vive demo area or bumping into the occasional VR backpack. What's often missing is a sense of true immersion, and a startup called Machina is trying to fix that. Co-founder Antonio Perdigon was nice enough to let me don one of his unreleased "OBE" connected shirts here at the show, and after a little playtime, I think the team might be on to something.
Apple reduces iAd pricing, revenue sharing
Apple is reportedly cutting the minimum cost of its iAd service again. According to Ad Age, the threshold for advertisers to acquire the iAd service has dropped from US$500,000 to just $100,000. Furthermore, Apple will reduce revenue sharing by no longer charging advertisers when users click on an ad, as has been the case since iAd launched. Apple's iAd service has not seen the greatest of success. Having launched in 2010, Apple originally charged $1,000,000 for an ad campaign, but many of its initial clients abandoned iAd for services like AdMob, Greystripe, and Millenial Media who operate on multiple platforms. Apple then reduced iAd's minimum rate to $500,000 per campaign. And in July, 2011, Apple offered further incentives by lowering the cost to $300,000 under certain circumstances. At the beginning of this year, Apple brought in former Adobe VP, Todd Teresi, to reinvigorate the service. The new price point seems to be the first step in getting iAd back on track.
Shigeru Miyamoto to receive French honour
On the 13th of March, the French Minister for Culture and Communication will confer honours upon three game developers, admitting Michel Ancel, Frédérick Raynal and Shigeru Miyamoto to the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Recognising contributions to French arts and culture, the Order is part of the French chivalry system.At Chevalier (Knight) rank, Miyamoto and the French developers will be among up to 200 new members this year. They join such past luminaries as Leonardo diCaprio and Bruce Willis as well as Philippe Ulrich, co-founder of Cryo Entertainment. With several OBEs awarded in Britain to game developers, it seems that games are becoming recognised as art--enough to deserve national honours, at least.[Thanks, Shiggy]
Ian Livingstone awarded OBE for services to gaming
Ian Livingstone of SCi Entertainment is an industry legend whose involvement in gaming dates back thirty years to Dungeons and Dragons. Many people remember him fondly for his Fighting Fantasy adventure books, written with Steve Jackson, but Livingstone has been going from strength to strength at Eidos and SCi since then. In recognition of all this, he joins Peter Molyneux (among others) by being awarded an OBE for services to the computer games industry, showing that a lifetime of making a career out of a hobby can definitely pay off.
