Bender Helper Impact

As a six-year veteran on our Konami account team, I’ve had the honor over the years to see the company pave the way in the music video game genre. Konami was one of the early leaders in the category and many recent music-based blockbusters followed in Konami’s early groundbreaking footsteps.

Did you know that before there was Guitar Hero, there was Konami’s Guitar Freaks? And before there was SingStar there was Konami’s Karaoke Revolution. And of course, how could we forget the life-changing DanceDanceRevolution that has helped gamers lose weight for more than ten years with its feet-pounding fast action dance music?

As a “crate digger” and record collector since the mid-90s, my connection with music runs deep, and my technique 1200s pay homage to this. When Konami released its DJ/turntable title beatmania years ago, it really hit a chord for me. And as Konami’s library of music videogames has grown over the years, so too has my record collection at home.

I’ve just returned from San Francisco for a weeklong trip with my bi-coastal B/HI-Konami team/family to put on Konami’s annual Gamers’ Night at the fabulous Ruby Skye. It was the biggest event yet for our team, with the announcement of multiple new franchises, an impressive group of media in attendance, stellar team effort and execution, and most of all a happy client.

After months of keeping our Gamers’ Night announcements mum, the anticipation of the news rollout and event was fierce. I was so amped I couldn’t contain myself.

The morning of the event, we announced the next addition to Konami's music videogame library, Def Jam Rapstar. As the first true interactive Hip-Hop music game experience for consoles, many reporters were impressed with the game’s content, user experience and “true-school” soundtrack.

One of the stories secured in support of the announcement was with agency favorite and all around awesome guy, Mike Snider from USA Today. First teased on USA Today Online and highlighted on the GameHunter’s blog, Snider unveiled an interview with Def Jam’s Kevin Liles, President and CEO of Def Jam Enterprises.

Later that night, the event kicked off with a packed press conference. Konami’s unveiled its highly anticipated and much talked-about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker with video clips. Other games presented in the press conference included Lucha Libre Heroes of the Ring (I got to meet a real luchador!), Saw 2, N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights, and Konami's downloadable line-up for 2010 which includes Rush 'N Attack: Ex-Patriot, Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex and Rocket Knight. Hudson’s Deca Sports 3, Lost in Shadows and Oops! Prank Party. After the press conference, journalists got the opportunity to get hands-on time with Konami's diverse line-up of console, DLG, mobile and portable titles, including Metal Gear Solid and Frogger Pad for the newly available iPad.

With Def Jam Rapstar in the mix alongside a strong and impressive line-up for Konami, sprinkled with a team that is beyond talented (and cool), I can’t begin to tell you how awesome 2010 is looking! And at the event, media got to see a dose of that vision.

While leaving San Francisco was bittersweet, we parted ways with our talented B/HI-LA brothers and sisters. With the smiles on the faces of our bi-coastal team paired with a triumphant event and thrilled-beyond-words client, this year’s Gamers’ Night is one that will go down in the books. During the flight home to the East Coast, I listened to much of the in-game soundtrack, relishing in the fact that with Def Jam Rapstar ­ I, too, can be as dope as Slick Rick, or have flow as slick as Method Man in his hook for C.R.E.A.M.

As the countdown to E3 begins, a Rapstar is reborn!



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