(image courtesy of dotmmo.com)
Millions of fans flocked to movie theaters over the past few weeks to see the first installment of the popular "Hunger Games" trilogy on the big screen. Based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling young adult series, the "Hunger Games" film appeals to teens and adults alike. Fans now must wait until November 2013 for the second film in the series, "Catching Fire."
In the meantime, though, they can participate in the new Facebook game "Hunger Games Adventures." It is an excellent example of the potential of social media gaming when used as advergaming. The game, which is free for Facebook users, takes players through the various scenes of the film, accompanied by main characters like Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Prim and Haymitch. As with many Facebook games, you get more points and playtime for inviting friends to play with you.
One of the smartest features of the game, in my opinion, is the game's tie-in with the movie soundtrack. Players can listen to one of the soundtrack songs, "Rue's Song" by Sting, in the game, and there's a link to buy the song and soundtrack through iTunes right there. (
Hollywood Reporter)
I love the idea of more free movie-based games for fans, rather than the usual $50 console games for Wii, Xbox, etc. It is a great way to get fans interacting with the franchise in between films, and to encourage fans of all ages to play. (While the films are PG-13, the game seems suitable for a wider variety of ages). Hopefully other films will follow suit with this free-game model.
Fortnite is all the rave right now in the gaming industry. It’s a free game that can be played cross-platform, giving it the ability to interface with a wide array of video gamers. in addition to approaching current gamers, the eSports community is rapidly growing with millions of dollars in investments from other industries, as well as the Twitch acquisition from Amazon. Twitch currently is a multi-million dollar industry, due to its rapidly growing fan base as well as corporate sponsorship. This is comparable to a social media site for gamers. Ninja, who is a popular twitch user, live streams his gameplay. If you thought that video gaming wouldn’t prosper financially, Ninja was interviewed recently stating he makes $600,000 in one month - playing video games! This has been able to capture the attention of gamers and non-gamers alike, bringing much attention to the video gaming community, as well as Fortnite itself. Mainstream celebrities have also been featured on Ninja’s livestream gameplay, bringing in a larger than expected fan base due to the incorporation of celebrities such as Drake, Travis Scott, and Juju Smith-Scheuster. 
The use of social media marketing and celebrity endorsements is a great combination for companies to bring to the table. Incorporating this type of advertising into the video game industry was a fantastic adjustment and has widely increased the size and income of the field.
