TriplePoint PR

Bolt Creative’s iPhone game, Pocket God, is one of the most successful games in the App Store. They have sold over 2 million units in a little over one year. Furthermore, the game has accumulated a loyal fan base—an impressive feat that many games never achieve. Bolt Creative’s success in building a strong following can be credited, in part, to their genuine appreciation of and attentiveness to the Pocket God community.

When the game was new to the scene, Bolt Creative CEO, Dave Castelnuovo, would check out fan comments and gather real feedback. He made sure that players who spent $0.99 to download Pocket God knew that their voices were being heard and that their comments would be taken into account by responding to both praise and criticism. It is important to offer fans a communication channel to share their opinions. Now there is an array of useful tools available to monitor and manage comments on various social network sites so that it is easier. Castelnuovo recommends, however, having a presence on a limited selection of social networking sites rather than trying to be everywhere. He suggests choosing a format that suits your strengths and focusing your energy there, specifically.

Out in the vast desert of Las Vegas, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences® (AIAS) hosted the 2010 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit and the 13th annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony, and the TriplePoint team was in attendence. Julia Roether, Joe Ziemer and I joined in the event to learn from video game industry leaders, connect with likeminded individuals…..and enjoy that dry, ultra dehydrating weather that only Las Vegas can provide. Overall, we found that the D.I.C.E. Summit is a can’t miss event with informative and thought-provoking discussions from seasoned industry professionals, and we’ve included some of our key findings from the summit below.

Continuing our efforts to engage in real discussions with the leading members of the gaming industry and beyond,  TriplePoint recently had the opportunity to chat with IGN’s on-camera host and staff writer, Jessica Chobot.  Since 2005, Jessica has become a key influencer within the gaming community and we were fortunate to talk with Jessica on her quick rise at IGN, social media, and oh yeah, the infamous PSP photo.

TP:  How did you find yourself in your current roles at IGN and Maxim?

JC: How I got my spot here at IGN is a long and intricate story, so I’ll give you the semi-quick version. I was going through a quarter-life crisis and working as a model for quick pocket money and at EB Games for discounts. I had pre-ordered a PSP and the day it was released was the same day I had a photo shoot. On the way to the shoot, I stopped by EB to pick up the PSP, took it with me to the studio and during a break, showed it off to everyone and was screwing around and taking goofy pictures. One ended up being the “PSP lick” picture.

Now that Facebook apps can no longer send notifications to users, social game developers are implementing new methods of keeping in touch with their players. Here’s an overview of recent game updates from a few top social titles, as reported on FriskyMongoose.com.

First, in case you’ve been under a rock, the background: Facebook notifications will cease to exist in their previous form, starting this week. According to Mashable, developers of games and other Facebook apps will now be required to either send email updates to users (assuming they’ve agreed to receive them), or hope that users will read about their updates via fan pages and new feeds.

An additional counter feature will also be relied on, which displays the number of app related notices you have next to the application’s name in your left menu navigation on the Facebook homepage (for those applications you have bookmarked). However this is as close to universal notifications as the updated system comes, making those who were tired of logging in to see a big 20+ digit in the corner of their screens very happy campers indeed.

One of the most popular new features is an email alert system. Facebook games are rewarding players who register with all kinds of exclusive in-game items, like new recipes, shells and armor.

More than a year after its initial launch, Pocket God continues to top the App Store charts with over two million copies sold. Bolt Creative’s Dave Castelnuovo and Allen Dye keep the craze, well, crazy, through clever content updates, community engagement and tons of humor.

The benevolent deities on the PR team help keep Pocket God’s name in lights through quality media hits. Here’s a recap of the latest and greatest:

Bloomberg TV
Venture CES Edition – Broadcast and Online (1/22)
Dave Castelnuovo speaks on the Pocket God demographic, pricing strategy and the future of the brand.

NBC’s “press:here”
Episode 42, Part 2 – Broadcast and Online (1/31)
Dave joins the weekly Silicon Valley news roundtable to discuss app development and the iPad.