In today's main feature article (free reg. req.), with the increasing amount of money put into developing games, it naturally follows that a similarly large amount is spent on marketing and promoting video game titles.
With this in mind, our Question Of The Week asked our professional game developer audience: "What video game marketing campaigns (TV, print, or online) have you been particularly impressed with recently?"
One of the respondents, Thomas Kim, zeroed in on a particularly loved TV ad:
"I love the TV work on the Ratchet and Clank series - the stuff that looks like it's shot on home video, with the teenage kids experimenting on each other with the weapons and gadgets from the game. It's fresh, genuinely funny, and on target without gratuitous gameplay footage and bad voiceovers.
However, there is some question as to how much advertising drives sales to the enthusiast market, as their purchase decisions seen more driven by word-of-mouth, previews, reviews, and editorial content. The hardcore guys (and gals) might be more swayed by gameplay footage and screenshots, which they can already access through rich media on the web. But for the mainstream gamer, this is absolutely the best kind of advertising. Broadcast to a wide audience, it captures the emotional essence and humor of the franchise."
You can now
read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject (free registration required.)
