games
John brought together the following brands and games throughout his career
VoodooPC, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
John partnered HP’s newly acquired VoodooPC with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which centered around an in-game integration in which 30 VoodooPC laptops were hidden throughout the main campaign. Upon collecting all 30, players got access to a special effects menu adjusting physics, visuals, etc.
Acquiring the laptops also provided the Xbox LIVE achievements - Look Sharp (15 laptops, 20G) and Eyes and Ears (30 laptops, 20G) - individual YouTube clips guiding players to locate each laptop have been viewed over 4.4MM times.
Doritos, Ghostbusters (2009)
John partnered Doritos with Terminal Reality’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which featured Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson reprising their roles.
Authentic 1980s delivery trucks, billboards and vending machines featured in-game as players navigated the infamous Sedgewick Hotel looking for Slimer and advancing down the streets of New York battling Stay-Puft.
When you’re in the boss battle with the Stay-Puft look left/right. Ghostbusters was originally published by Vivendi Games. Following the merger between Blizzard and Activision, Atari published the game. Doritos featured the game on millions of family sized Doritos and the game was their marquee Halloween promotion.
Cisco, Splinter Cell Conviction
In Splinter Cell Conviction players interact with Cisco phones and Telepresence video conference solutions as Sam Fisher navigates several levels. In reality, Cisco is a U.S. Government provider supplying numerous agency offices just like those which appear in game.
To prevent spoilers, keep an ear out for DJ Shadow - Building Steam With a Grain of Salt featured in a pivotal moment in Anna Grimsdottir's office.
HP, Resident Evil 5
John cleared the HP laptops featured in Resident Evil 5.
HP, NBA2K11
John negotiated HP’s half-time sponsorship of the legendary NBA 2K11, which featured the Jordan Challenge mode.
collectibles
John secured licenses for the following collectibles
TIER1, Titanfall 2
John licensed Titanfall for TIER1 with EA and Respawn, which brought to life a collectible blind pick series sold at GameStop counters nationwide around the launch of Titanfall 2.
The TIER1 team worked closely with Respawn and created a series of video vignettes on each figure in the series.
TIER1, Sea of Thieves
John licensed Sea of Thieves for TIER1 with Microsoft Studios and Rare - the product lines were unveiled at the Xbox booth at E3 2018, but never came to market.
TIER1, Street Fighter & EVO
John connected TIER1 and EVO, where TIER1 exhibited officially licensed Street Fighter figures sold nationwide at GameStop and provided EVO pool play, finals production and onsite attendees an opportunity to purchase the official EVO 2016 PS4 faceplate.
parents
Learning to keep dialog open from Team NINJA, Bungie, etc.
Now a parent, John realized how making the space for conversations possible for his senior colleagues at Team NINJA and their approach framed his perspective on partnerships
In particular Team NINJA and Bungie’s dialog, which advanced Dead or Alive 4 toward featuring Spartan-458 and Ryu Hayabusa’s armor appearing in Halo 3
John encourages parents to always be open to having a conversation around the objectives at present with their kids play - understanding what your player is trying to achieve helps guide moderation and structure their time around achievements
RE: those Scarabs, Skulls and Enemy Intel…
Collect 50 Scarabs in Ninja Gaiden and head to Han’s Bar to unlock the classic Ninja Gaiden Trilogy arcade machine
Complete Story Mode with every character in Dead or Alive 4 to unlock Spartan-458
Collect 13 Skulls in Halo 3 to unlock the Hayabusa armor
Collect 30 Enemy Intel in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to unlock the achievements Look Sharp (15 laptops, 20G) and Eyes and Ears (30 laptops, 20G)
Upon collecting all 30, you also unlock a special effects menu adjusting physics, visuals, etc. for additional playthroughs of the main campaign
Special thanks to Itagaki-san, Fukada-san and Inada-san for their trust with the early build(s)