Comments on: Managing news flow

By: Gamersworldbd

Gamersworldbd — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:10:39 +0000

One word, it’s called “manipulation”. Not in the truest sense of the word, but you still have to play your cards right. One thing I learned as a games site publisher is not to deliver all the “breaking news/stories” all at once. If you spread it evenly, you have the maximum chance to gain new readers.

Sure, I deliver time sensitive news in an instant, but what about featured articles? I usually publish one every other day and this model has been really effective for me.

By: Arjen

Arjen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:20:36 +0000

I liked IGI2 for its time, not super but it killed some time.
Never was any real good use for the big terrains, that was a bit of a shame.

By: Callum Godfrey

Callum Godfrey — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:43:22 +0000

Agree totally that it is not difficult, it just worry me that its also not standard practise for some.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:31:19 +0000

Callum, as you know at Codemasters I was a firm believer in MBWA (management by walking about) and would very regularly go and chat with someone instead of sending them an email. This meant I was in every development studio all the time, including the walk over to Warickshire’s famous development shed. I was also in QA, sound, licensing etc etc. So I was always as fully informed as possible about products under development. Though I must admit that many of my conversations about Dragon Empires were a bit of a strain!

The point I am trying to make is that marketing and development should embrace each other and work together to get the best marketing outcome. It is not difficult.

By: Callum Godfrey

Callum Godfrey — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:03:08 +0000

A lot of getting this right hinges on the development teams and their ability to commit to the dates and the features being revealed.

One of my big problems with the way some companies manage their PR and Market awareness is that they don’t seem to be clued in to whats actually in the product past the list of features someone has handed to them. So many previews, first looks, announcements and so forth promise the world but then when the game comes out it shows that these features are really not the all singing all dancing moments that they promised.

All communications should be done in conjuction with a development team to try and avoid this “over hype – under deliver” scenario that is happening more and more in games these days.

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:39:42 +0000

I think the flow of information about games to the actual release of games is far too long. It’s getting to ridiculous with some games (Alan Wake & The Outsiders for example) getting shown years before their release.

I think Nintendo’s “new” approach of announcing games within a few months of them hitting the shelves is a step in the right direction. It generates a lot of buzz right before the game is released, and probably maximises the potential sales.

I’m sure I’m not alone with getting bored of seeing previews of games a year before I can play them. I’ve got to the point where I skip right past the preview sections in magazines.

In my ideal world games would get announced, and reviewed in the month prior to being released…

By: rckt42

rckt42 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:29:41 +0000

Yeah, a good release strategy can maintain your game in everybody’s mind so when the game is finally released you really want to buy it.

What Microsoft did, though, will hurt them. A lot of people where looking forward to Bungie’s announcement, with the usual countdown, clues, etc, and in the last day Microsoft pulls it just because they think it is better to move it to a timeframe less loaded with news?.

Sorry, but in those circunstances you’re doing more damage than good. No wonder that the guys at Bungie where pretty pissed.