Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry Are ‘Living and Breathing Intellectual Property,’ Glu Says

“We’re looking to turn these games into permanent services -- call it late-night TV.”

Peter Prato for Re/code

Licensed video games used to be smaller: You’d see that new James Bond movie, then you could re-live the same story by pretending to be Bond in a game.

In an interview with Kara Swisher on the latest episode of “Re/code Decode,” Glu Mobile CEO Niccolo de Masi said that’s all changing. Games like Glu’s megahit Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and the recently released Katy Perry Pop are made to mirror real life rather than a fictional story, and will be constantly refreshed and extended indefinitely.

“We’re looking to turn these games into permanent services — call it late-night TV,” de Masi said. “It’s the Kim TV show, but instead of just Sunday for 30 minutes or an hour, you have to tune in or you miss it, effectively these games are giving you access to Kim’s world whenever you want.”

De Masi wants to shift consumers’ mindsets so that gaming, across all the different screens in their lives, will be a constant part of their relationship with celebrities.

“The personalization of media is an enduring trend,” he said. “It’s living and breathing intellectual property.”

Later in the show, on “Too Embarrassed to Ask,” The Verge’s Lauren Goode joined Kara to run down the top gadgets of 2015. You can tweet your tech-related questions with the hashtag #TETA at @KaraSwisher, @LaurenGoode or @Recode.

Listen to or download the episode in the player above, or click here to subscribe to “Re/code Decode” on iTunes. Peter Kafka will be back in this space on Thursday to talk to Heleo CEO Rufus Griscom, and Kara will be back on Monday to recap the top tech news of 2015.

And if you like this show, you should also check out “Re/code Replay,” an archive of audio content from our events and interviews by Kara Swisher, Walt Mossberg, Peter Kafka, Ina Fried and more. To subscribe to that, click right here.

You can follow @Recode on Twitter for the latest on upcoming guests.

If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on iTunes — and if you don’t, just tweet-strafe Kara and Peter. You can also suggest guests for the show on Twitter and we’ll do our best to nab them for a Red Chair interview.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

More in Technology

Future Perfect
How to fall in love with humanity againHow to fall in love with humanity again
Future Perfect

Tech culture has made contempt for humanity feel enlightened. We can do better.

By Sigal Samuel
America, Actually
Inside the fight over America’s data centersInside the fight over America’s data centers
Podcast
America, Actually

“The ugliest thing I’ve ever seen”: How New Jersey residents feel about a data center in their backyard.

By Astead Herndon
Podcasts
Could you spot an AI-written book?Could you spot an AI-written book?
Podcast
Podcasts

An author set up an experiment to find out.

By Amina Al-Sadi and Noel King
Future Perfect
The 5 most unhinged revelations from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAIThe 5 most unhinged revelations from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI
Future Perfect

The Musk v. OpenAI trial is over. Here are the receipts.

By Sara Herschander
Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol