How
to Survive When Your Game Falls Victim to Media Massacre
Living
Up to a Good Reputation or Living Down a Bad One
Living
up to a magnificent reputation is no easier than battling an awful one.
If a title is based on a property, the developer may be losing ground
prior to writing the first bit of code.
Problem:
Property Identities Are Convoluted
Excellent properties yield high expectations that can be difficult to
meet. Games based on movies are often notoriously bad (Men In Black,
Batman Forever) and receive extensive criticism, suffering gaping
wounds from the double-edged sword. The mainstream entertainment press
thrashes the game for not being "true enough" to the movie
while the gaming press thrashes it for being a rehashing of the movie
and not a breakthrough in graphics and technology.
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Forever
couldn't live up to the movie's hype |
The motion
picture industry spends an astronomical amount of money promoting films
and this can be a great benefit when a movie-based game launches. Using
previous promotion to your advantage while presenting the game as a
separate creative effort can prove challenging.
Solution:
Giving Game Separate Identity
Providing a marketing/PR message that highlights similarities and differences
between the game and its basis is imperative in creating reasonable
expectations. The surprise of seeing a title that looks nothing like
the movie reaps as much criticism as seeing a title that looks exactly
like the movie does. Accurate portrayal can steer harsh words and bad
reviews elsewhere - or at least gives one less reason for having them
directed at your game.
Making
certain that publicity and promotional personnel understand that they
must give the game a property-related, but still unique, identity is
crucial. The tendency is to ride the coattails of the original property,
allowing marketing materials to recycle themselves as the game is promoted
with materials meant to promote another medium. This lack of effort
leads to cognitive dissonance for consumers, as their expectations and
their actual purchase are dissimilar.
Problem:
Sequel Games Criticized Prematurely
Sequel games also fall victim to speculation and premature criticism.
If the initial title is astounding, the second is expected to display
exponential improvements with just the right combination of familiar
components that made the first one earth shattering. Media and consumers
alike are disappointed when a sequel title is too much like the original
or too little like the original, leaving the developer to walk a tightrope.
Solution:
Accurate Promotion
Accurate promotion can simplify this task. When promoting a sequel,
it is important to publicize both the features that link to the first
title (common heroes, weapons, storyline) and the advanced features
that set the title apart from the previous game (new missions and resources,
added characters). Fortunately, many of the promotional materials and
artwork can be recycled with minor adjustments, saving corporate resources
that can be more appropriately devoted to game development, design,
and technology.
Hype
that Helps vs. Hype that Hurts
Reputation
is a powerful marketing tool in the games industry. Developers entering
into a new project may have exemplary reputations from past projects
or companies they worked with previously. Unfortunately, all of the
hype that surrounds a project is not necessarily good.
Problem:
Over-hype
Too much hype can create lofty expectations that not even the best of
games with the most advanced graphics and technology can fulfill. Too
much hype can actually work as a law of diminishing returns as it begins
to look like boasting an impossible feat. Over hype leads to disappointment
and frustration, as well as overly critical evaluation. A good title
that has been overly hyped can end up with horrible previews and reviews,
keeping would-be consumers from purchasing it and other outlets from
reviewing it fairly - or reviewing it at all. Sometimes the corporate
communications staff is responsible for the hype, and other times fans
and media rely on reputation. Regardless of the source, a strategic
communications plan can reduce hype to a manageable level. Unfortunately,
some PR professionals think any and all mention of a title or a company
is good - as long as the name is in the headlines. This is far from
true as many games and companies can attest.
Daikatana
is an excellent example of too much hype damaging a title. Daikatana
is still selling, but at levels much lower than if Eidos had instituted
a measured promotional plan and marketing campaign. The hype translated
into excessive arrogance in an advertising campaign that overstepped
the boundaries of what gamers were willing to accept. Everyone was anxiously
awaiting Daikatana's release, even through innumerable delays,
but no one was awaiting their title as Mr. Romero's bitch. In the end,
a game with some faults that is an otherwise solid title, suffered irreparable
injury from poor PR and marketing scheduling, questionable (at best)
ad content, and overzealous hype surrounding the developer and the line
of excellent titles he had previously done.
Solution:
Maintaining Accurate Development Portrayal and Schedule
Meeting hyped expectations can be impossible, even for the best of games.
It's best to avoid hype too early in a game's development as the marketing
and promotion timing is crucial. Creating and maintaining realistic
scheduling goals and remaining honest in press announcements about the
title's progress will greatly curb the over- hype factor. Hype can be
a tremendous force and can boost the sales of a title, but only when
PR, marketing, and advertising support a realistic schedule. If a game
is hyped from conception as a title releasing in Q3, gamers and media
alike begin investing time as they await the release. Perhaps they discuss
it a lot with their friends and save money to purchase the game - more
than likely, passing up the opportunity to purchase other titles as
they anticipate this one.
Problem:
Undisclosed or Unexplained Delays
When the game begins suffering delays and Q3 becomes Q1 two years later
people with a vested interest become very critical. As the time invested
following the title's progress and waiting for it to hit the shelves
increases, consumers expect a higher return on a greater investment.
When this expectation is not met, the game meets harsh, sometimes cruel,
reviews and is made an example of in the industry. Informed consumers
begin to feel deceived as delays are not publicized and explained in
accordance with a strategic measurable communications plan, all of which
reduces consumer confidence considerably.
Solution:
Contingency Planning
Contingency planning and building time into a schedule for unexpected
delays, beginning a PR and marketing plan based on realistic goals,
and refraining from bombarding the media with overly boastful press
releases too often will help control hype. When a title is delayed numerous
times after having been promoted for a launch that has long past, people
expect much more out of the title - gamers expect the title to continue
improving if the development is taking longer than promised. Critics
are harsher when the game finally launches and is tremendously behind
schedule with graphics and technology that are noticeably out of date.
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The
Middle of the Road
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