I hadn't intended this to be a multi-part blog thread, but then I noticed that SpeechTEK's website had a short article about a new IVR mini-game that is being used to hype the launch of Ubisoft's new Splinter Cell title. In short, you can call into the system and have a "live chat" with Sam Fisher, who is one of the key figures in the game.

The idea of using IVR for viral marketing campaigns is nothing new. Halo 2, which released not that long ago, included one of the most extensive viral marketing campaigns ever seen, involving movie trailers in cinemas, mock websites, and even outbound calls to various public payphones at certain GPS coordinates that "players" have to discover. While this is very intriguing, it's not really a game in and of itself. It's a prelude to a game, it's a non-repeatable experience.

More along the lines of my previous post is a game called Majestic, which is now several years old. This game tries to create an alternate reality for the player, by interfacing via telephone, fax, IM, and email. But it was over-hyped and received very poor reviews on release.

We are still waiting for that killer app I previously alluded to. And using IVR games solely for marketing purposes is not going to get us there.