Happy Goat: Texting and gaming

I work mostly in IT, graphics, internet, as well as new media, and it came to mind how phone texting could be a potential tool for gaming companies to continue to build product loyalty and broaden their community goals.

Gamers are plugged-in, whether in their games, online, or in some form of virtual connection. It would make sense then for a gaming company to capitalize on this, by offering a texting service which could provide say...

1) Text blasts of upcoming gaming titles
2) Information on updates/patches and their releases
3) Contests/Events specifically targeting texting members
4) Offer bonus codes/cheats

..and so forth.

Given my experience, the whole issue of "spam" text is covered by automatic opt-in texts that verify twice if a potential subscriber is interested in joining. At any time, a subscriber could opt-out. The end result? Those individuals have agreed to be members, and thereby, minimizing complaints.

Then, with a delicate balance of blasts (say one or two per week, or as necessary), the company could provide said info directly to their cell phones. Of course, this isn't something that you just "set and forget". There is planning, and effort required to make such a campaign work.

Television, especially TV shows are doing this; keeping the fans up-to-date on what goes on. Why not something similar for gaming companies? It would offer yet another avenue to reach customers, increase interest, offer information and opportunities that members wouldn't find elsewhere.

The question begs -- But what about our online presence? That's fine as well, but, realize that some people (myself excluded it seems) are not in front of their monitors 24/7. So by a company texting about a new game page at a given URL, some will either visit via their phone, or have that message available for when they're infront of their computer. The idea is to work with all tools in tandem, not foreshadow.

The next question - What about email? Email has received such a bad rap from those that have abused it with spam. So many steps are taken to keep this problem at hand, that now, we're asked to do an extra step of whitelisting domains, which can complicate the whole joining/communication process.

Texting marketing example:
Let's say a gaming company has a texting/marketing campaign and has worked a deal with gaming stores so that when their new game is released, those in their club get a text message that says something to the effect... "Present this message at the following stores (store list), and receive a X% discount." Or, "....get $X off the purchase of game X". The stores get traffic, the game gets interest, and the text recipient saves some green.

Or, what if in the manual or a game screen, people are invited to join or are told that if they're a member, to type a key code for the opportunity to win some game-related swag or some other prize?

Or, by typing in a code, they receive a text which includes a URL to register for prizes or unlocks or whatnot ... (Linking texting with online).

The possibilities are endless.

Food for thought:
The US average number of monthly texts for a 13- to 17-year-old teen is 1,742, according to a Nielsen study of cellphone usage.