A staggering 33-million-plus likes can be found at The Fast and Furious 6 Facebook page. By comparison, Iron Man 3's page has fewer than half of that. Star Trek: Into Darkness? Just 2.7 million. The much anticipated Superman reboot Man of Steel comes in with just 621,000. The Fast and Furious franchise isn't just a blockbuster, money-generating film series—its a lifestyle franchise. It's the perfect marriage of big balls, small bikinis, bad guys with good hearts and, most importantly, automobile porn. It is, in no understated terms, America's id.

Dodge is once again partnering with that id, continuing what might be one of the most successful product placement partnerships in film history. This time Dodge is hoping to rub some Furious id off on its Dart and Challenger models. And it might. But Fast and Furious will always be about the Charger.Continue reading...

While the world's soccer fans have known for years where the top national teams would be headed for the 2022 World Cup, it's taken until now to nail down where their digital counterparts would be playing. 

Electronic Arts and FIFA have signed a licensing extension that will continue a relationship that’s been in place for two decades. The new agreement has FIFA and EA paired up until the end of 2022, VentureBeat reports. The partnership has paid off handsomely for both brands: every week, about 65 million FIFA video game matches are played.

“Our relationship with EA Sports is of high importance to FIFA,” said Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, in a release. “The FIFA videogames are a key experiential component in our work to communicate the FIFA brand and its values all over the world. This is highlighted by the 2.5 million football fans that have competed in this year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup, which is just one example of the power of our partnership with EA.”Continue reading...

The Esquire Network says it's ready for prime time.

The new network, announced today, aims to “capture the essence of the magazine,” David Carey, president of Esquire publisher Hearst Magazines, told The New York Times. "This is not the magazine on TV; that would not work."

The male audience is an ever-sweet spot for brands, as evidenced by offerings that vary from Spike TV to Discovery's Velocity Channel. The Esquire Network will replace the Comcast-created G4 video gaming channel (which gave Esquire fave Olivia Munn her start as co-host on Attack of the Show) on April 22, and be available in 62 million homes with cable or satellite service.

The rebranded network is a strategic partnership between NBC Universal and Hearst Magazines. NBCUniversal cable executive Bonnie Hammer positioned it as "an upscale Bravo for men." She added, "If this was going to come under my portfolio, I’m a little brand crazy, so I said, let’s create a real brand, define a space, understand who we are programming for."Continue reading...

Disney's Infinity game console is making a bold leap to secure a share of the booming video game market for itself — while giving gamers the opportunity to create stories with iconic characters from its most popular franchises.

The ‘Infinity Base’ device lets users engage real-world characters via power discs and activate original story-driven adventures within the game. Players collect characters, vehicles and gadgets from Disney titles such as "Monsters University," "The Incredibles" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" and save them to a virtual ‘Toy Box.’ 

Due in June, Infinity will be deployable across all major gaming platforms including PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS.Continue reading...

The annual San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) kicks off today, and as ever, it's a massive promotional platform for brands.

Founded as the "Golden State Comic Book Convention" in 1970 by a group of San Diegan comic book fans, the annual fanfest has evolved to include video games, toys and other forms of genre entertainment. That's why Hollywood beats a path south to the show every year — to generate buzz among the estimated 250,000 comic book, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and video game fans hitting town for the four day pop-culture fix.

One of the biggest movies being touted this year: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, which marks the cast's last appearance as Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner hyping the Nov. 16th final bow with a 1pm ET (above) panel. Also red-hot: Iron Man 3, with Robert Downey Jr. and co-stars on hand to promote the movie scheduled for May 3rd of next year.Continue reading...

As you tune into the March Madness games, what do you think your favorite college athletics should receive for their hard work on the court, their image, and likeness? As you mull over that question, consider this case. 

In the fall of 2011, former Boston Celtic and University of San Francisco athlete, Bill Russell, who led University of San Francisco to the NCAA championship in 1955 and 1956, joined forces with former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon on the behalf of other former NCAA players to sue Electronic Arts and the NCAA, as covered by Bloomberg News. 

The former college basketball stars accused the NCAA and Electronic Arts for “violating federal antitrust law by unlawfully foreclosing former Division I men’s basketball and football players from receiving any compensation related to the commercial use of their images and likeness,” stated Jon King, an attorney for the former players, to Bloomberg.Continue reading...

One of the more sensical and impressive brand extensions of the last year has been video game maker Activision's release of outdoor adventure titles under the marquee of American hunting and fishing outfitter Cabela's. The outdoor gear retailer turned out to be such a natural for a videogame brand extension that the pair followed up their Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 video game with more titles for 2012.Continue reading...

Every other US business has suffered in the past few years. So why not video games?

Research firm NPD Group's data shows that even though Americans spent a whopping $1.85 billion "video game content" in the first quarter, total video game industry sales in the US fell to $995 million in June, 10% less than the previous June, as noted by CNET. The category includes hardware, software, and accessories. The software sector was the biggest area of loss, CNET observed, as it fell 12% to $469.5 million.

This is at least better than back in May, when the overall drop was 14% to $743.1 million from the previous May. According to CNET, May 2011 was “the worst month in nearly five years” for the US gaming industry.

Even so, Xbox continues to be the #1 console in the US. Microsoft reported selling approximately 507,000 Xbox 360 units in America in the month of June.Continue reading...