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.

Posted by Vance at 09:38 AM | Permalink

The game development industry has been busting at the seams with buzz about game development for cell phones. But what about games for the telephone everyone has at home?

And I'm not talking about odds-based contests, where you may or may not win a prize depending on if you're the lucky caller. I'm talking about games that people actually want to call in and interact with on a daily basis -- for fun.

Think about the potential:
* Everyone has the required gaming console at home (neither Sony nor Nintendo can beat that).
* People are familiar with the interface and may already engage in fun via phones (e.g. chat lines, walkie talkies, etc.)
* Inherent ability to support a multi-player environment (everyone is calling into a central location, can have a DB, etc.)

I believe the market is just waiting for the first killer app, and then this unknown industry will break wide open.

Posted by Vance at 02:03 PM | Permalink

Intervoice has a pretty cool press release out describing some of the voice applications built by students in a class co-taught by one of their employees at Tufts University. While all of the applications in the release sound pretty creative, I was particularly impressed by one called iRing:

This application leverages the students' patent-pending technology enabling users to call into a speech recognition system, select a song from their iTunes music library and send it, as a ring-tone, to their cell phone or to a friend's. Users can simply say the title of the song they would like to download or they can navigate the system using voice commands such as "get favorites" or "search by genre" to narrow down their song choices.

Were this available as a service on my phone, I'd gladly pay a few dollars to be able to get exactly the ringtone I wanted, whenever I wanted it.

It's a pity there isn't a demo line that people can call into to try these applications out.

Posted by Amy at 05:49 PM | Permalink

The Incoming Calls Management Institute (ICMI) sent me some call center industry-themed holiday songs (with a clearly satirical and humourous intent). They are worth sharing, and they speak for themselves I think. From the frantic Jingle Bells soundalike dubbed Handle Calls, to the rather forboding Frosty the Phone Rep to a take-off on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer called Randolph the Supervisor, they're worth a listen.

Greg Levin of the ICMI gets credit for these songs, but since they might be taken down after the holidays, I'm posting them here for your enjoyment.

Posted by Cory at 08:30 AM | Permalink