Battling Bad Press: How to Survive When Your Game Falls Victim to Media Massacre

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Battling Bad Press: How to Survive When Your Game Falls Victim to Media Massacre
By Katherine Oliver
Gamasutra
July 18, 2000
URL: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000718/oliver_1.htm

As the games industry becomes a more mainstream form of entertainment, it is becoming increasingly common to see harsh reviews or bad press that devastate a game's popularity and sales performance. It is important to understand possible causes of bad press and become educated in methods of preventing or repairing a press assault to avoid what happened to Daikatana.

The Power of the Media

Media criticism and praise wields a heavy sword. Game titles are expensive and the discretionary funds of consumers are limited, so the chances that gamers will simply march into the store and purchase a game based on good shelf placement or nice packaging are slim to none. A great review can be very profitable and a poor review can be quite costly for game developers and publishers. Years of designing and careful coding can be devastated by a few choice words, as an otherwise decent game goes from a vivid end cap display to a dusty bottom shelf.

As we work longer hours and have access to more compelling, innovative, and expansive entertainment options, we increasingly rely upon the media to describe and evaluate those options. Media outlets foster opinion leaders in the entertainment community who share judgments and impressions with their peers - disseminating information throughout various communication networks.

As the game industry rapidly approaches the breadth and revenue of its mainstream film, television, and music counterparts, it receives more and more press attention. With increased attention comes heightened competition for credibility with the gaming community, unique site visitors, and advertising dollars. Establishing trust and credibility within the gaming community determines the relative success of a media outlet, so insightful, interesting content is imperative to survival in a sea of competitors. As the need for content increases, so do the lengths a provider must go to in order to attract and maintain audience attention.

More resources are devoted to game previews, reviews, and features as websites and magazines devoted to gaming spring up daily. The competition for readership often leads to more extreme content - reviews that are singing the tune of market revolution or bashing the very fact that the development team and publisher are living and breathing. Other industries have experienced the harsh competition that drives extreme content and overly critical evaluation of even the most creative efforts.

Media Mergers and Downsizing

The slimming down trend has already begun as web sites and editors are dropping like flies, increasing the need for content to maintain loyal readers. Publications and outlets that lack unique content go out of business or get absorbed by media giants. To enhance their offerings, media outlets owned by giant corporations must reuse and recycle content to maximize their resources and solidify their presence in the gaming community. Game sites link to one another and distribute each other's news and reviews in order to provide as much information as possible. Content sharing means that one horrible review might be reused throughout a media network and become popular opinion within a matter of days. It also means that an extremely hyped title is on the tip of everyone's tongue within hours as their forefingers and thumbs burn with the anticipation of playing a new game.

The Internet has provided consumers with all of the tools and resources they need to make purchasing decisions very rapidly, a great review can launch amazing, sales-driving hype overnight and a bad one can spawn a chain of harsh insults and belittling message boards in no time. And once the bad word is out, no one wants to be the pioneer that says the game is good and stands alone against the bash of critics. An editors' credibility and way of life is on the line, going against fellow editors to say the game has unique features or is enjoyable can cost you a trusted reputation that may result in packing up the PC and heading off into the sunset. If everyone is preaching the game's innumerable faults, shortcomings and horrendous attempts at tolerable gameplay, why bother wasting valuable time reviewing it anyway? It is merely a facet of our thought process and an obstacle for developers and publishers to overcome when designing, scheduling, promoting, and packaging a game.

Consumer Expectations

As consumers' expectations for content and service increase, media outlets must struggle to meet and exceed their entertainment and information needs. Mass media is becoming a very personal business, trying to fine tune their focus and influence the purchasing decisions of all consumers by group and behavior. Outlets without the time, revenue, or staff to provide focused, quality content simply cannot survive. As editors preview and review games, they have not only to think about the title as a consumer and rate the product, they have to consider whether or not their words will be compelling and valuable enough to keep the lights on. Furthermore, they must consider their reputations with fellow media and the gaming community as they judge a game, attributing reputation to a game, a development team and a publisher.

Previews and reviews of a title can greatly enhance or diminish popularity and affect sales, but it can also create or destroy the reputation of the developers who designed it, the publisher who chose to publish it, and any license or property the title is based on or tied to. Reputation can strongly influence future projects and your credibility with a scorned gaming community, tipping the balance as to whether they will give you a chance when your next title is released. Reputation also influences the hype your subsequent titles receive, how much press coverage your news gets, how many outlets want to review your product, and whether it shines in the spotlight or cowers in the shadows.

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.

Batman 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.

Aiming for Middle of the Road

Although many PR and marketing professionals may find this concept theoretically ludicrous, it seems the best-selling, best-rated games, with few exceptions, aim their campaigns squarely for the middle of the road. They distribute just enough press materials and promotional information that people are aware of the game and its unique features, but they don't issue a press release every time any small milestone is reached and they don't boast that the game will revolutionize the industry, change the world, and cause mass unemployment because people become automatically addicted and lose control of their lives.

Staying committed to a realistic schedule that coordinates real accomplishments in the title's development and PR/marketing efforts is imperative. Keeping the promotional materials consistent and targeted to the end user is also important. A lot of titles are promoted as hybrids of every genre known to gamers - and a few newly created ones. No game can be everything to everyone and in a futile, and often harmful, attempt to increase sales, marketing and advertising information remains vague. Instead of every gamer rushing out to buy a title with purportedly no focus or direction, the gamers that would purchase the title as fans of a genre are unaware that it exists in that category.

Who Dropped the Ball: Figuring Out Where You Went Wrong

Some PR faux pas are human error - materials are not edited or proofread and a title goes out with words misspelled in the packaging text and promotional displays. Careful attention to detail (and perhaps a spelling test as part of the hiring process) can prevent these errors. And truthfully, if your marketing and PR people are missing the basic essentials, you probably deserve some mockery to serve as a reminder so simple mistakes will be caught next time. Discovering the trigger for many media massacres is not this simple.

Timing can be a propellant or hindrance in marketing and launching a title. Knowing what competing titles are scheduled to launch simultaneously with yours can help in restructuring a schedule or fine-tuning a promotional campaign. Differentiating your title from a competitor - especially in the same genre - can put more money in your pocket. These differentiations are also important because reviewers will compare two similar titles launching at the same time and providing them with guidelines or benchmarks will help your title stand out.

Although this seems relatively simple, there are a few ways it can go wrong. The simplest path from differentiation to nightmare press is boasting that your game does things it does not do. It's also a good idea to avoid getting into a one-up contest with the competing title. Consumers will buy your game based on its' strengths and unique qualities, not because you're fighting like a little girl on a playground with a competing developer. Simply highlighting the title's features and providing information about technology, design, and gameplay can make the game distinct and memorable.

Problem: Bombarding Press with Frequent Boastful Superfluous Releases
Sending press releases too often and boasting more than the game is capable of is another fast track to no press or bad press. Developers and publishers can fork out a lot of cash to hire a PR professional or have a good firm on retainer. Unfortunately, a lot of them try to get their money's worth in quantity of press releases sent, with little or no attention to the message they deliver or the fact they can be incredibly obtrusive and annoying popping up in the editors inbox four times a week (or more!).

If the outlet needs content badly enough to actually run all of the press releases, consumers become disenchanted with a title that has been forced on them like an ally NPC that gets stuck in doorways or accidentally shoots them in the back. Not only will editors post highly entertaining tongue-in-cheek comments about the revolutionary breakthroughs of completing the formation of one monster's toenail, but gamers will become tired of the title long before it launches.

Press releases that boast a game as the end all be all to everyone with opposable thumbs also invite unwanted press. Unless the game is truly unlike anything that anyone has ever seen (not just your Mom and your girlfriend), don't say it is. Even if it is the greatest thing since sliced bread, it's best to let editors and reviewers make that declaration - it is better to astound credible people with your amazing accomplishment in digital entertainment than to promise to do so and be heckled like a bad comic. As you design and develop a game in accordance with a strategic marketing campaign, wait until a feature is complete and a permanent part of the game before ranting and raving about it.

A fine example is the ever-popular new engine. Advancements in technology are an amazing feat and developers must continue improving to remain creative and competitive, but new engines are not quickly or easily created. Developing a new engine can ruin an otherwise perfect schedule if time for it is not properly allotted and announcing a new engine and all of its high-end features is not something that should be done without proper consideration. If you have already publicized this incredible engine and the plan has to be scrapped and reformulated half way through, when the game comes out, the engine you have is different from the engine you promised. New engines and technology are best announced once proven and mostly completed. Holding off on these announcements can also give you a competitive edge.

Marketing your title as everything to everyone can result in negative attention. If the title seems as though it cannot be categorized, promotional efforts will miss their target - primarily because they do not have a specific one. If the game is an RPG with some adventure elements, make that clear.

Solution: Clear Concise Product Description
Don't try to be vague in order to avoid categorization - instead of selling to everyone, the mystery title will miss genre fans. Vague or misleading press announcements will also harm media coverage of your product as editors will be confused or need more information to complete a story or review and may not have the resources to do that research. Targeting the game to an audience it isn't intended for will only frustrate consumers and create backlash - your credibility and reputation can be severely damaged. Instead of choosing your products in the future, consumers and media alike will remember the game they bought based on inaccurate information - information for which you are held responsible.

Problem: Counterattacking the Press
Although negative press attention and loss of credibility can be damaging, they need not be devastating. If you feel coverage and reviews of your game are unfair, you can correct some of the misconceptions if you do so honestly, tactfully, and professionally. The most important thing to consider when your game struggles under the weight of a 29 out of 100 review or a ridiculing story is to carefully examine the judgments. Perhaps you faulted and the mockery will improve your procedures so you avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Perhaps twisted fate thrust your game into the hands of an evil troll and your game received an extremely insulting review to boost readership as the publication struggles for eyeballs (more than likely, it was the former rather than the latter).

Solution: Professional Responses to Criticism
Avoid adding insult to injury and burying your own title. Mature responses to criticism are also important, although as artists, it is understandably difficult to stomach criticism of your work. If you begin an advertising campaign that incites anger and resentment, it may be a good idea to adjust that effort. Negative response to marketing and promotional efforts may be an indication of things to come.

Problem: Careless Demo Selection and Distribution
Careful demo selection is important when sending copies out for consumers and editors to evaluate. Checking and rechecking the demo for glitches and bugs that prevent or seriously impede gameplay is essential. No one expects a demo to be flawless, but it is the first known representation of what will be a finished product, so sending out something that will only frustrate people because it won't run or something that lacks essential elements is not a wise choice. Horrible demos can lead to very poor expectations of the final version and often, can create self-fulfilling prophecies. If you were in the market to purchase a car, and when you went to the dealership, the key didn't fit the door, the car stalled twice before it went backwards instead of forwards, and the bumper fell off, would you want to purchase it? The purpose of the demo is to allow editors and gamers to test-drive your game - better send them a version that will start.

Solution: Corrections and Apologies
If a buggy demo does go out, it is imperative that when the bugs are fixed, announcements are made and new versions are delivered. Publicly admitting fault and correcting problems is the first step to regaining trust and delivering a quality product. Making an effort to rectify the situation in a manner that requires little effort or investigation from the media can greatly benefit your finished product. Editors have very limited time and providing them with needed information and materials will be greatly appreciated. If there are problems: admit to them, explain them, and correct them. Addressing feedback properly can only improve the finished product and the relationship you have with consumers. Avoid band-aid cover-ups or quick fixes that fall short in the long run. Denying responsibility or incompletely addressing problems will hurt both the finished product and your credibility.

Never get in a war of words with someone who buys ink by the barrel. Although that adage is outdated, the lesson holds true. Getting in an insult match with an editor, publication, or message board will do nothing but reduce your chances for redemption. Aside from doing further harm to your reputation, your title, and your company; you appear petty and immature - leading to further mockery (this time likely with cartoons drawings of little girls crying).

Game development and publishing are businesses and it is important to behave as professionals when communicating with editors and consumers. Not only will problems be resolved in a mature, strategic manner, relationships can be built that enhance fan base, profitability, and brand loyalty. The promotion, marketing, development, publishing, and distribution of a game should be one strategic, well-planned process - not separate parts acting independently and with different goals. The end goal is to create and promote a quality title that will please consumers and make enough money to begin new projects.

Reading from the Same Page

The marketing, public relations, and advertising efforts need to be congruent and complement one another. All promotional efforts need to be consistent and reflect the tone and goals of the title - instead of advertising, marketing, and PR delivering separate or opposing messages that diminish attempts to raise proper awareness of the game. If communication between developers, publishers and corporate marketing personnel is convoluted, all segments can be going out to the media and end consumers with a different message. PR and marketing can be claiming an RPG launch in Q3 while the development team is answering interview questions about an action/adventure launching in Q1 of the following year. Not only will people become confused and the project will look scattered and unprofessional, but they will rapidly lose interest in keeping the story straight.

Internal communication amongst the development team, the publisher, and the promotional people is imperative to having an informed project team reading from the same page. A decided look and theme that carry from the game to advertisements and press materials allows the game to establish brand recognition. Without brand recognition, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be wasted on promoting a game that ultimately remains on the shelf as more recognizable games find new homes - and produce revenue.

Games Going Mainstream

As the games industry becomes more mainstream, it begins to encounter the same obstacles and organizational changes as other industries. Corporate mergers, takeovers, structural shifts, executive additions or subtractions - all of these are disseminated into the media and can easily influence both project development and public perception. The game industry should be able to learn from past mistakes in other industries about cover-ups, miscommunication, and withholding information - and not repeat those mistakes. Consumers are not interested in contributing money to a seemingly manipulative company, no matter how great the products may be. While a hard core gamer that has been waiting for years on a title will purchase that title regardless of corporate behavior, potential consumers might make another selection. Keeping the media informed of important corporate news can ward off bad press and maintain the reputation of an honest business.

Although most people still prefer to think of development teams as groups of hard-core gamers giving birth to creative genius, game companies are in fact becoming corporate entities and must adhere to some corporate standards. Intelligent marketing and PR can benefit the company and its projects - helping create the kind of company to absorb others, instead of the kind that passes out pink slips.