Analysis: On BlizzCon And The Power Of Fanfests

[Ahead of BlizzCon, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris looks at the role of the fanfest in video games, talking to Blizzard COO Paul Sams about this weekend's Anaheim event and its key role in Blizzard's marketing and community relations.] When 20,000 people converge on Anaheim this weekend for BlizzCon, their minds are likely to be on what items will be in their goodie bag and what sort of sneak peaks they’ll get at upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games. For the folks at Blizzard, though, the event, now in its fifth year, is a critical piece of their marketing plan. Sure, BlizzCon -- which kicks off tomorrow, and Gamasutra will be covering in depth -- is primarily a chance to celebrate and thank the company’s incredibly loyal fan base. But it also gives Blizzard a chance to command the gaming world’s attention and re-energize its team for the year to come. That generates the question: Why aren’t there more of these events for gaming’s biggest titles? To be clear, there are, of course, plenty of other fan-based events tied to specific companies and their games. id Software’s annual QuakeCon hosted an estimated 8,500 people this year. Sony Online Entertainment holds an annual Fan Faire for its user base. In Japan, Square Enix puts on VanaFest for Final Fantasy players. Even CCP holds an annual event for EVE Online enthusiasts (although it took a break this year – but has already announced dates for 2011). But what about titles like Halo or Grand Theft Auto? Both are category leaders and routinely set industry records when they have new releases – but neither has an event where players can congregate, learn more about the development process and revel in their fandom. Microsoft is quietly considering such an event, but isn’t close to making a formal announcement. And there’s no hint of any plans at Rockstar. That’s a shame – since fan fests do so much more than act as a community building exercise. “Those people are the ones who are the most influential from a word of mouth perspective,” says Paul Sams, chief operating officer at Blizzard, talking to Gamasutra about the event. “If we do great things, those people who have crossed states or oceans to attend our event are going to tell the others. … We have found this to be an incredibly valuable experience.” It’s a costly one as well, of course. Blizzard will lose over $1 million on BlizzCon this year – even after the admission fees, royalties from DirecTV and booth rental costs from partners are added up. If the event is a quality one, though, that money can be much more effective than any media buy. Fan fest attendees are often already evangelists for these products. But they emerge from the events energized and spread the word to the community with a more passionate intensity. (Don’t believe me? Look how positive the word of mouth has been on Duke Nukem Forever since Gearbox announced its revival at PAX. Admittedly, the circumstances were a bit different there, as the focus was not on a single company – but by giving fans hands on time with the game, the company instantly revved up excitement to arguably its highest point in DNF’s 10 year development process.) “Some companies would argue we’d rather spend that money on TV advertising since that will have a greater reach than with the 20,000 attendees that come,” says Sams. “I would argue that - for us - making sure those 20,000 people have the most incredible experience possible will do as much for us, if not more, as spending that amount on TV advertising." “And that’s not the case for all companies. Some are more focused on reach. We want to build long term relationships with people as a company – not just for a single game.” Additionally, if a fan event breaks news as well – something BlizzCon and QuakeCon do every year – a company can own a news cycle or two. That’s a much stronger impact than a big announcement at E3, since the overwhelming flood of news from so many publishers at that show makes it difficult for any story to dominate the news for any length of time. “This is our way to have focus on what we’re doing,” says Sams. “When you go to E3 or places like that, you’re sharing focus and you could be doing incredibly cool things, but because of the volume of things, you may not have a significant impact. .. BlizzCon gives the opportunity to have the Eye of Sauron on us.” Mercenary and marketing aspects aside, this sort of convention also has some terrific side effects for the developers. The video game industry has its rock stars – but even those people are generally team leaders. They’re brilliant in their own right and deserve their elevated status, but they are often credited for work done by lower members of their team. At fan fests, the people who do the grunt work get a chance to share a piece of that spotlight – and be a celebrity for a day or two. That’s more than a simple ego stroke – it’s one of the best ways to motivate a team to work harder. “It’s selfishly a way for us to recharge our geek batteries,” says Sams. “Being around people who are so passionate and enthusiastic and loving about what our teams have created... gives us a multi-month afterglow. The teams come back reenergized and inspired to do new and greater things to be able to serve those players.”