Hasta La Motion!

Gorillaz have announced the Gorillaz Almanac, a new book published in partnership with Z2 Comics, celebrating their 20-year history. The hardcover book features original art from over the years by Jamie Hewlett for the Damon Albarn–led project.

Jammed with exclusive new artwork, including the first ever strip to star 2D, Noodle, Murdoc Niccals and Russel Hobbs; puzzles, games and more; plus a raft of special guest appearances from Gorillaz collaborators past and present, Gorillaz Almanac is a compendium of delights which finally puts the most real band around on the printed page.

Described as a “a full color, one-of-a-kind, fun-packed, 120-plus page, sideways homage to two glorious decades of Gorillaz,” the Almanac will include guest appearances from Gorillaz’ collaborators past and present.

Set for release on 16 October, the book will be available in limited deluxe and super deluxe editions that come with signed art prints by the band and Hewlett, respectively.

“Every fan of comics and animation has dreamed of seeing the Gorillaz make their comic book debut, with the Z2 team chief among them,” Z2 publisher Josh Frankel said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The artwork, the music, and the mythos all add up to what is destined to be one of our most buzzed about releases in history, and when fans see just what we have planned, I know everyone will agree it was well worth the wait.”

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ViacomCBS Consumer Products has announced to have made agreements with multiple global licensees to create face masks featuring iconic characters from many popular Nickelodeon properties.

The characters featured are SpongeBob SquarePants, which is available now at the SpongeBob Shop, as well as PAW Patrol, Blue’s Clues & You! and JoJo Siwa. These reusable masks are not for medical use, and will be available through major retail outlets worldwide later this summer. These face masks will be donated to Save The Children, the world’s leading humanitarian organisation for children.

Said ViacomCBS Consumer Products president Pam Kaufman, “ViacomCBS is proud to support Save the Children and its COVID-19 Global Response by donating 100 per cent of our proceeds from this new face mask initiative. During this unprecedented time, we hope Nickelodeon’s beloved characters and iconic brands will provide solace and ultimately make these new circumstances more manageable.”

Save the Children is keeping kids in the US and around the world healthy, educated and protected during the COVID-19 crisis. The organisation is working in communities to provide food, learning resources, healthcare, and hygiene information and training to reduce the spread of the virus. All ViacomCBS proceeds from the sales of Nickelodeon face masks will benefit Save the Children’s COVID-19 Global Response and will be redistributed to the region where the mask was purchased. Many licensees producing Nickelodeon face masks have also committed to make charitable contributions to Save the Children.

Added Save the Children president and CEO Janti Soeripto, “We are grateful to ViacomCBS for choosing Save the Children as one of its charity partners for this campaign, which will raise vital funds to support children hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus continues to take hold around the world, we are seeing its devastating impact on children’s lives everywhere, especially among children already at risk. From Appalachia to the refugee settlement camps in Lebanon, South Sudan and Bangladesh, the pandemic has uprooted children’s routines, disrupted their schooling and is affecting their mental health and well-being.”

Face masks with imagery across the brand portfolio of popular ViacomCBS properties including the Star Trek franchise and programmes across MTV and CBS are available on their websites including MTVShop/ WildnOutShop, CBSStore and StarTrekShop. Proceeds from these ViacomCBS properties will go to charities that align with each brand.

ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP) oversees all licensing and merchandising for ViacomCBS, a global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. 

Driven by iconic consumer brands, VCP’s portfolio includes a diverse slate of brands and content from BET, CBS (including CBS Television Studios and CBS Television Distribution), Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and Showtime. With properties spanning animation, live-action, preschool, youth and adult, VCP is committed to creating the highest quality product for some of the world’s most beloved, iconic franchises. Additionally, VCP oversees the direct-to-consumer online business for CBS’ programming merchandise, as well as standalone SpongeBob, MTV, Star Trek and Showtime branded e-commerce websites.

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OTT platforms have upped the ante in terms of content during the lockdown, Netflix is gearing to drop a brand new film on 5 June.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap, Choked starring Mirziya fame Saiyami Kher and Malayalam actor Roshan Mathew in the lead roles has made waves on social media. The drama highlights the reality, black money and power in the times of demonetisation. In a latest series of photos shared by Anurag Kashyap, the director has been giving his fans and followers a sneak peek of his Choked team.

philmCGI chieftain and VFX expert Arpan Gaglani who has worked with Kashyap before in Ghost Stories confirmed that they have done VFX post production work on the much-awaited movie. 

Sharing a photo with the writer of Choked, Anurag revealed that the film’s script took almost six years to finally get made. “Me and my bachchu. My fantastic writer, collaborator, pain in the a** @misterbistar . finally forgave me for taking six years to make the film on his script(counting the “Masterstroke” hand of God). There wouldn’t be CHOKED without him,” Anurag wrote. In another post, he appreciated his ‘handsome’ executive producer. He also introduced his fans to the ‘Boss Lady’ on the sets of Choked and wrote, “The Boss lady .. nothing on the set moves without her say so. Not even me .. and you can’t not answer her question or dismiss her .. meet @zoparvin . She is the first AD . And the First runs the set.”

Watch the space Anurag Kashyap’s heartfelt posts for his team of Choked below:

The film also stars Amruta Subhash, Upendra Limaye, Tushar Dalvi, Rajshri Deshpande and Uday Nene among others. Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai is slated to premiere on June 5, 2020.

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Investment firm Maple Capital Advisors has dropped a report titled ‘Gaming – India Story’ which says that the Indian gaming industry is currently valued at $930 million and is expected to grow at 41 per cent annually. By 2024, the gaming industry in India is set to be valued at $ 3,750 million, it added.

“In India with over 570 Mn people on the internet and over 85 per cent of which are on mobile, gaming and streaming has been a popular form of internet engagement. In these locked downtimes, we see this consumption has grown at least 20-30 per cent despite a significant impact on live sports, a big driver of fantasy sports gaming..” Maple Capital Advisors managing director Pankaj Karna said.

India’s online gaming industry has already attracted $350 million in investments from venture capital firms between 2014-2020. India is the second-largest market worldwide for app downloads.

“With growing internet penetration, compelling economics, usage statistics, and increasing ecosystem of entrepreneurs and developers focusing on this space we expect good growth in investments which are likely to at least double in this space in the next 1-2 years,” he added.

This increase will be fueled by the growth of digital infrastructure which includes 5G connectivity and a substantial rise in quality and engaging gaming content, it said.

Big investment happened in this duration

Some of the big investments include $100 million investment in Dream11 by Tencent and Steadview Capital (2016), $41 million investment in Mobile Premier League by Sequoia and Times Internet (2019), and $20 million in Paytm Games by One97 and AG Tech holdings (2020). Some of the big investments include $100 million investment in Dream11 by Tencent and Steadview Capital (2016), $41 million investment in Mobile Premier League by Sequoia and Times Internet (2019), and $20 million in Paytm Games by One97 and AG Tech holdings (2020).

Current Scene:
The gaming industry is skyrocketing due to lockdown. Apart from that digital infrastructure and cheap devices has helped people to consume more gaming content. Today there are over 400 gaming startups in India and with more than 500 million smartphone users as of December 2019, mobile gaming has taken the lead by tapping 85per cent share of online gaming in India. Thus it is pretty evident that several gaming developers are going to capitalise on the increasing number of smartphone users. The report highlights that the three key segments of online gaming are – Real Money Games (RMG), Mobile-centric/casual games and esports. With more than 500 Mn smartphone users in India as of December 2019, mobile gaming has taken the lead by tapping 85per cent share of online gaming in India. Evidently several gaming developers are going to capitalise on increasing number of smartphones users, ease of use and strong penetration.

COVID-19 Impact

Online gaming companies are seeing a spurt in traffic as firms go into shutdown mode triggered by Covid-19 scare. Working professionals and students have turned to online games for entertainment and social connect.

Between the weeks of 10 to 16 February 2020 and 16 to 22 March 2020, online gaming websites visits or apps  have been increased by 24 per cent. Engagement, as measured by time spent on gaming sites or apps, increased by 21 per cent during the same time period.

Games2Win : The platform saw increase in daily users from 1.1-1.2 Mn people earlier to 1.5 Mn people now

WinZO Games: The platform saw a surge of three times in online traffic on its games

Hitwicket: The platform saw increase in user numbers by 10-15 per cent over the past few weeks

Gamerji : The platform used to have 12,000-15,000 play on an average on their platform every day; now, the numbers range between 40,000 and 55,000

Traditionally south based user-base has seen diversification to NCR, Kolkata and Gujarat in the COVID period.

However, Dream11, MPL and other fantasy sports gaming players have seen a major hit due to curb of IPL  and other live sporting events.

Dream11: Games have either been cancelled or postponed and users are expecting money to be refunded.

MPL: Offers over 40 games across categories. Fantasy Sports users have been active on other games on their platform. Games like World Cricket Championship, Archery, Quiz, are seeing increased traction.

Baazi Games: As no live matches are happening, fantasy games have come to a standstill. But the other two verticals,   namely poker baazi and rummy baazi have seen  8 per cent to 10 per cent surge in traffic recently.

Trends that shaping gaming ecosystem:

According to the report here is what shaping the gaming ecosystem:

• Games with Multiplayer formats helps in engaging more than one third of India’s gamers which providing them an opportunity for social interaction and a sense of achievement over other gamers. These type of players are more likely to pay for games and make in-app purchases.
• The sector is attracting talent across value chains. With chat options available in games, real money involved and tournaments being held, therefore more people are considering gaming as their career.
• The sector has caught investor’s eyes and global giants like Alibaba, Tencent have invested and see great potential in coming future. Investors feel India has an untapped market in gaming which is yet to evolve, hence start ups have seen good VC traction.
• While fantasy sports is the most loved gaming segment, local companies have come up with Indian games like rummy and teen patti. Gamers are engaging in casual as well as heavy games, giving local developers an opportunity to develop in multiple languages and pre-load these games on handsets.
• Overall, all platforms have seen a surge in number of impressions and downloads but their revenue from advertisements has substantially reduced as many advertisers have withheld advertisements in this period.

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WarnerMedia Entertainment has launched HBO Max, its much awaited video streaming service, in the United States. Priced at $14.99 a month, HBO Max will be the costlier OTT platform in the US compared to Disney+ ($6.99 per month) and Netflix (standard price $12.99)

However, the streaming service has no immediate plans to launch in India. As per Mint’s report, WarnerMedia stated, “In Asia, we are continuing to focus on our regional streaming service HBO GO and our bouquet of pay TV linear services including HBO, for the time being.” 

WarnerMedia has channels like HBO, CNN and Cartoon Network, POGO in India. Although HBO GO is not available in India, it is available in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and more.

Localised versions of the streaming service are slated to launch in 2021 in Latin America and parts of Europe where HBO already directly operates premium TV or streaming services.

To up its game and compete with rivals like Netflix, Disney+ and Peacock, HBO Max will house an expansive catalogue of successful shows and movies, along with a big-budget line-up of exclusive originals starring noted names. 

This SVOD service will include all the shows and movies on HBO, in addition to a selection of high-profile licensed content, including classic American sitcoms like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Rick & Morty and South Park. 

HBO Max will have more than 18,000 movies with an estimated 31 originals in the first year which will be increased to 50 in the following year. At launch, HBO Max will have 10,000 hours of content.

Fans, especially the urban, millennial audiences are looking forward to its Hollywood catalogue of DC films like Joker, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, Shazam, Aquaman and classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, The Shining, Singin’ in the Rain, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Goonies, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, and more. 

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