LoveFilm enters the games market

Online DVD rental service LoveFilm is further expanding its offering to the games trade, backing the release of Assassin’s Creed with a major postal promotional campaign.

Half a million games and DVDs will be posted in envelopes branded with Ubisoft’s epic title.

Our audience base is tech and media savvy and Ubisoft thought it would be a really great way to promote such a cinematic game,” said head of marketing services at LoveFilm, Chris Bird.

LoveFilm says the move is in response to the continued convergence between video games and film – which it plans to take full advantage of.

The potential here is massive,” continued Bird. Blu-Ray on PS3 and HD-DVD on 360 is narrowing the gap between games and other entertainment. The PS3 is still the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market. Coupled with this, there are rumours of a $300m Halo film – I really think the line between games and film is narrowing. King Kong was the first major step forwards in terms of the two mediums’ integration.”

Meanwhile, Bird reiterated the importance of games to LoveFilm, claiming its online status has ensured it is well placed to succeed in the future.

The rental market has remained reasonably flat – but online rental has ridden that storm and services like LoveFilm have offered a real solution to that. We are certainly dedicated to games. We are increasingly doing the same for films as we do for games.”