Monty's Gaming and Wireless Outlook - Issue 206

In one of the most pointless statements since Marie Antionette urged her fellow citizens to eat cake, jowly movie star Adam Sandler has announced he is giving 400 PlayStation consoles to Israel.

He will apparently be delivering the consoles to those families 'whose houses have been damaged in the recent mini-war between Israel and Lebanon'. Well, well, well. Happy days are here again.

No doubt the recipients of this gift will be absolutely delighted as they look out from what used to be their homes... "Darling, the electricity's back on." "Oh, great, plug in the PlayStation, I'll put the kids in a bath later, another day won't hurt them". Maybe next year the kind Mr Sandler could send over 400 Segway Human Transporters so people can get around more easily.

But perhaps Sandler is not alone in making ridiculous announcements. This week's news that populist TV shows Lost and Desperate Housewives will shortly be turned into mobile games seems to be yet another asinine attempt to kick mobile games into the public consciousness.

Last month it was Paris Hilton and this week a Bob Marley game was released where users can play football games and 'transport themsleves to the islands with Jamaican themes and tropical vibes throughout the game". Talk about flogging a dead horse.

I'm sure the Lost and Desperate Housewives games will be great, but the point is being missed. Brands and celebrities are all very well, but why not just hire an innovative agency and run simple, ironic TV ads that actually show people how to download a game. More than 95% of people still don't know how to do it... or are too scared to do it.

Even better, get a celebrity to deliver the message in the ad. That'll make people sit up and notice. But whatever happens, don't use Adam Sandler. If he can't understand philanthropy, he'll never understand mobile.