Games and Fashion 101: The Brand’s Games, Gamers and Collabs

Jeux et mode 101: les jeux, les joueurs et les collaborations de la marque

Fashion and video games have been intertwined for a few years now, although the spotlight has suddenly alerted fashion to the possibilities at play.


For starters, video games aren’t as niche as some might think.


Business intelligence firm IDC projected in December 2020 that global video game revenue would grow 20% from $150.2 billion in 2019 to $179.7 billion in 2020 thanks, in part, to induced quarantines. by COVID-19. The 2019 numbers alone eclipse the global film industry’s $100 billion milestone in 2019.


Most popular games – like multiplayer battle arena games League of Legends and Fortnite, first-person favorites Overwatch and Call of Duty, fighting games Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter, plus sports franchises like NBA 2K, Madden and Fifa – have amassed communities. millions of players and spectators. There are gamers reaching celebrity status in their world and they are streaming their gameplay on platforms like Twitch and YouTube for many fans to soak in. These players have become content creators in their own right.


In-game visibility opportunities are booming.


According to the NPD Group’s “2020 Evolution of Entertainment” report in November 2020, four out of five American consumers surveyed said they had played a video game in the past six months. Total time spent playing video games increased 26% year over year, and total spending increased 33%. And the players span all age groups – it’s not just the youth cohort. According to the report, spending dollars by gamers aged 45-54 rose 76% year-over-year, while those aged 55-64 rose 73%.


According to Statista, Americans spent $43 billion on video games in 2018, including $35.8 billion on the games themselves, $5.1 billion on consoles, and $2.4 billion on accessories. like controllers and headsets. According to NPD’s “Q4 2020 Games Market Dynamics: US” report, total consumer spending on video games increased 26% from the fourth quarter of 2019 to $18.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020. industry grew 27% from 2019 to $57 billion in 2020.


These numbers are expected to increase as players continue to do what they are doing.


Content creators like Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie and Ninja on Twitch each have millions of dedicated fans who tune in to watch them play and participate in a variety of games. Some watch fans even send tips for help or just to connect with the players they like to watch.


PewDiePie, real name Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, has 109 million subscribers on YouTube, and Ninja, or Richard Tyler Blevins, has 16.7 million subscribers on Twitch, with whom he has a broadcast rights deal. exclusive for several years. Ninja also has a sponsorship deal with Adidas, making him the company’s first professional player.


Competitive gaming exploded with fighting game tournaments like Evolution Championship Series, or Evo (now co-owned by Sony and RTS), where players like Daigo and Justin Wong rose to fame, and esports leagues formed around them. games like League of Legends, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Fortnite, to name a few.


League of Legends drew 3.8 million viewers for its 2020 championship, down slightly from 3.9 million in 2019, but saw 139 million viewing hours, an increase of 2 million hours compared to 2019.


Meanwhile, Fortnite developer Epic Games said rap artist Travis Scott’s “astronomical” virtual performance in Fortnite had over 12.3 million concurrent views and 27.7 million unique players, and that the DJ Marshmello (officially known as Christopher Comstock) concert in 2019 attracted 10.7 million people. simultaneous players. Fortnite also launched the trailer for the Christopher Nolan movie “Tenet” in-game.


A subset of gamers devote their time to speed races, or a race to complete a game as fast as possible, with hundreds of people coming together twice a year for Games Done Quick, a game-like event. a-thon where sprinters show off their skills to raise money for charity and sometimes set new personal bests and world records. Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 in January raised $2.75 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and to date has raised $31 million for charity.


Long before Louis Vuitton teamed up with League of Legends on a trophy case, capsule collection and skins for in-game champions, and before esports organizations FaZe Clan and 100 Thieves hit big on their drops of merchandise, or fashion designers making cameos in NBA 2K, there was a sizable gaming community that cared about fashion.


Gamers like Crossing the Runway, @NookStreetMarket, and @AnimalCrossingFashionArchive, among others, used the Nintendo social simulation game Animal Crossing to remake runway ensembles for years before brands like Valentino, Marc Jacobs, and Anna Sui collaborated with the artists.


Before brands entered Animal Crossing en masse, H& M and Moschino were in games with special edition versions of The Sims showcasing their collections. Game developers have also nodded to different brands in their games, such as EA Sports’ NBA Live series at the start of the Aughts unofficially adding brands such as Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Converse, Reebok and And1, and Capcom’s Street Fighter Alpha series which featured Nike, Converse. and Onitsuka Tiger, the latter of which became an official collaboration between the shoe brand and game developer for Street Fighter V.


The Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 sneaker for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.


Courtesy picture


So why in 2021 are more and more fashion players suddenly paying attention to games?


“I think brands are attracted to these numbers,” said Henry Fernandez, director of business development at Muh-Tay-Zik. Fernandez has worked with numerous fashion brands and publications such as Nautica, Liz Claiborne, John Varvatos and Vanity Fair. Muh-Tay-Zik is also working with developer Niantic on Pokemon Go, which has teamed up with Gucci and The North Face to launch the brand’s collaboration collection.


To make these partnerships successful, Fernandez says it’s necessary for brands to do it in an authentic way, which he compared to when the Aughts’ streetwear brands gradually became skate brands as skate n was not in their roots. “If you weren’t a real skate brand, you were a poser,” Fernandez said. “The industry was judging itself. It’s very similar in that sense. If you jump on trends, how do you refine it and make it authentic? »


Fernandez cited esports organization FaZe Clan as “one of the esports brands that do it best,” having collaborated on physical collections with Kappa, the brand formerly known as Chinatown Market, as well than Champion. Their pop-up with Stadium Goods in 2019 was a police-shutdown frenzy, a testament to the organization’s rabid fanbase. Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and FaZe Clan member Nickmercs recently released a collection with athletics brand H4X (pronounced hacks) that sold 23,000 items in less than 24 hours.


“This new way of adapting design to this world physically and digitally brings freshness to fashion,” added Fernandez. “I think esports gamers and fans are rekindling the love and appreciation for fashion that the industry has been missing.”


On the one hand, there is the commodity opportunity that every organization has capitalized on and game franchises have capitalized on for decades as well.


In 2020, Sony launched Playstation merchandise and sneakers with Nike, the NBA, music artist Travis Scott and Zara to lead to the launch of the Playstation 5 console. Game Cyberpunk 2077 collaborated with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s brand Fragment Design via Hypebeast and Nintendo have launched a collection for Animal Crossing featuring Gelato Pique, with another coming in June, in addition to collaborations with Uniqlo for Pokemon and Champion for Super Mario Bros. Street Fighter has teamed up with Bape on a capsule and with Onitsuka Tiger on sneakers to download in Street Fighter V or wear in real life.


Fashion has officially infiltrated the video game space through The Sims, Jordan Brand in Fortnite and in NBA 2K where Jerry Lorenzo from Fear of God, Don C, Chris Gibbs from Union L.A. and Rhuigi Villaseñor from Rhude have made appearances as playable characters with their clothes on.


“We’re not just delivering a game, but an experience that immerses our fans in the world of the NBA and beyond,” said Alfie Brody, vice president of global marketing, NBA 2K. “Music and fashion are two of the biggest assets in achieving this, playing a big part both on and off the pitch.”


Brody said he sees NBA 2K as a way to introduce new brands, artists and sneaker releases to new audiences.


“It’s also important to note that there’s no one and done ‘when it comes to partnerships,’ he said. happening in the world of basketball and sports in general to gauge what kind of content we can add to the game.”


Grand Theft Auto V introduced Misbhv and Civilist as the first two real clothing brands to appear in a GTA game that for years parodied the brands.


Keinemusik wears Civilist in the new Grand Theft Auto V update.


Courtesy picture


In esports, Mastercard made its presence known by signing a multi-year sponsorship deal with Riot Games for League of Legends, and Louis Vuitton followed suit with a multi-level partnership with the game.


When traditional sports went on hiatus, ESPN turned to NBA 2K for some of its programming, featuring NBA players alongside esports athletes. In 2018, the network, along with Disney and ABC, began airing the Overwatch League competition.


The Athlete Kit is another opportunity, as shown by Jeff Staple who designed the Overwatch League kit in 2020 and recently Zenni became the official Call of Duty League goggle supplier for the company’s Blokz blue light lenses which reduce the eyestrain and improve performance.


“We’re in a unique category that’s getting more and more competitive, but we’re trying to introduce this concept of a fashion offer feature,” said Sean Pate, Zenni’s brand marketing and communications manager. “Blue light protection has been around for a number of years and has not been supported by esports. What Zenni offers are clear lenses that provide good protection in a Zenni frame. »


“We don’t just want to work with one brand or one company, but with brands that have meaning for our identity,” added Jack Harari, Vice President of Global Partnerships at Activision Blizzard Esports. “We see no reason why Blockz can’t blur the lines between endemic and non-endemic the same way a shooting round is function and fashion in basketball, there’s no reason Blockz should can’t be for our league and our fanbase. “

How to change skin on minecraft

How to change skin in Minecraft on PC?Method 2 of 4: No download Go to Planet Minecraft and choose a skin there. … Click “Upload to Minecraft” or “Change Skin”. You should be redirected to the official Minecraft page. ……

How to unsubscribe from PlayStation Plus

How to cancel PlayStation Plus auto-renewal? Go to Settings > Account Management > Account Info > PlayStation Subscriptions. Select the subscription you want to cancel. Select Turn off auto-renewal. How to remove a PlayStation Network credit card?Sign in to PlayStation…

How to download full free xbox 360 games

How to buy a gym on Xbox 360?Purchasing Xbox 360 Content Once you’ve selected your content, simply click the Download to Xbox 360 button to begin the purchasing process.How to buy an Xbox 360 game on an Xbox One?Players with…

How to get a free minecraft account

How to get Minecraft gifts?get Minecraft Pay for free on your computer, link to the official website of the popular video game, in order to create an account and download the demo.What is a Minecraft account?Payment gives you the right…

How to get free skins on Fortnite

How to get free bucks in Fortnite?How to get free V-bucks in Fortnite? Log in every day. This is the simplest method. … Complete the missions. Please note that this tip is only valid for people who have purchased Solo…

Xbox one how to take a screenshot

How to take Xbox 360 screenshots?On the screen with a selection of header themes, click the Capture button. Choose the Xbox console you are using as your input device. In the Input drop-down menu, click HDMI. The Xbox console screen…

How to transfer your xbox 360 account to xbox one

How do I sign up for Xbox Live Xbox?Here’s how to do it: Press the Xbox Guide button on the controller. Select Settings, System Settings, then Network Settings. Select the name of your wireless network or wired network if you…

How to crack playstation store

How to install a game on PS4?How to download games and add-ons from PlayStation Store? Select the game library on your player’s home screen. Choose Buy Game > Download. The game is automatically downloaded. How to play a game on…