GC: Marketing was key for Gears Related content
Gears of War game info
Order before 5.30pm and receive your order the next working day!
GC: Marketing was key for Gears News
Xbox 360 PC News by Ellie Gibson
Epic Games president Michael Capps has said that big budget marketing was key to the success of Gears of War - warning that many good games are ignored because they don't have the same level of support.
Capps was speaking during a Leipzig GCDC panel discussion about what makes a best-selling game. When asked by a member of the audience how important a role marketing plays he replied, "Absolutely tremendous... It's so unfortunate that I can list 20 games that were fantastic that nobody ever saw."
According to Capps, Epic was "extremely lucky" to have the backing of such a big publisher as Microsoft, and access to high profile marketing as a result.
"I had Lindsay Lohan come to my launch party," Capps stated. "I'm not sure it was worth the money, but..."
At this point Stormfront Studios boss Don Daglow chimed in, "What did she have to drink?". Capps simply replied, "That's a story for another time. The point is, it's cool to have that kind of exposure."
Gears of War was released in November 2006 and became the fastest-selling Xbox 360 game ever. Within a month more than 2 million units were shifted, and total sales to date are more than double that figure.
Capps said that the secret to Gears' success also lies in the timing of Microsoft's next-gen console launch, telling the audience, "We absolutely attribute Gears of War's success to coming out at exactly the right time for the console, when Microsoft really needed a big Xbox 360 game to sell the platform.
"We've been very lucky with that, but it's so important to any sort of financial success."
Fellow panellist and Factor Five president Julian Eggebrecht said he agreed that marketing should be a serious consideration for developers when signing up with publishers.
"If you have any sort of chance in your contract negotiations to get a set number or at least a minumum marketing commitment in there, absolutely go for it," he offered.
"Even though you and your publisher are convinced at the point of signing that your game will be fantastic and the most important thing in their strategy, it could slip six months. And then somebody applies with another game, and that game becomes the most important thing in their strategy."
Are you excited about Gears of War on Xbox 360/PC?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games
Related Games
Gears of War
Latest Features
-
Gears of War Interview [104]
-
Gears of War Interview [27]
-
Gears of War Review [235]
-
Gears of War Review [815]
-
Gears of War First Impressions [125]
Latest Videos
Gears of War - Top 5 achievements [3] 21 October, 2008
Latest News
-
Next Gears may be on next-gen consoles [54]
-
Epic expects photo-realism in a decade [56]
-
The Rock to play Fenix in Gears film? [65]
-
Gears film "looking incredibly good" [43]
-
Epic reveals 10-year plan for Gears [117]
Latest Screenshots
3 May, 2007 [4]
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Comments: 1-33 of 33 in total
|
Triggerhappytel
21/08/07 @ 15:35
0
The boy don't lie.
How many great, clearly mass-market games have fallen on their arse over the years due to little or no marketing from their publisher?! A lot, that's how many. |
|
JetSetWilly
21/08/07 @ 15:50
0
He's right. I couldn't get enough of the Mark Rein/Cliffy B double-act around the Gears launch.
|
|
Clive Dunn
21/08/07 @ 16:05
0
Developer in "it's all about the quality of the marketing" shocker !
Odd how it's always about the marketing, and never about the actual quality of the game itself. Let's play pass the buck again. |
|
0
>I think it absolutely was the gameplay. And graphics
Graphics i'd agree with, not gameplay though. I'm not alone in feeling a little case of "i paid money for THAT?" once i'd completed it. It was very pretty, very polished.. and even i bought into the marketing on it.. but i wouldn't say it shouldve been rated as highly as it was (Same goes for the original halo btw.. even though i know that's a can of worms opening there) >Nintendo is the best proof that marketing sells games (even crap ones). Im sorry.. but no. Nintendo are good at marketting consoles but are shite at marketting games.. always have been probably always will be. (looks for any marketting for metroid 3.. due out next week in america..)
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 21/08/07 @ 17:22
|
|
0
Gameplay will keep a game selling months/years after its release, but it's marketing that dictates the week one sales that make the headlines and chart positions.
and smelly, Nintendo traditionally have sucked at marketing software, but this time round they've pulled it off undoubtedly. Those Wii ads that we all hate so much (grannies waving arms around in Wii Sports, those Red Steel TV spots, the hundreds of DS ads [each for a different game] around the Underground are examples of absolutely top tier marketing. |
|
The_Inquisitor
21/08/07 @ 21:44
0
It annoys me when companies like EA don't support the few decent games they have under their belt, Stranger's Wrath for example.
|
|
The Bodybuilder
21/08/07 @ 22:20
0
>"could they be anymore stupid?"
How is it stupid to answer a question he was asked? What's wrong with some of you people? Do you feel driven to insult everyone and everything is every single thread? Why does everyone have to be such negative pillocks? |
|
0
Please understand people - you need to realise that you are the exceptions, the addicts and techno-geeks.
Your average joe bloggs consumer hasn't heard of Bioshock yet. They don't know the launch dates for all PS3 and 360 games over the next 3 months (I'm sure more than a few of us could list off the majority...). In order to sell to these people, you need one of three things, in order of importance. 1) Mainstream advertising. This brings in the joe bloggses by the hordes. Get an awesome looking ad in at a good timeslot on TV. Take out internet ads on non-hardcore gaming & leisure sites, etc. Get people interested, and they'll buy - maybe after checking out a review. 2) In-store advertising. Less effective because it requires the person to already been in the store, but with a higher sell-through effect. 3) Word of mouth. "Bobby at school said this game is awesome, mummy, can I have it?" If you ignore 1 and 2 for your game, you're doomed. The hardcore will know about it, and buy it, and some others will get it through word of mouth or seeing it on a shelf... but thats it. The millions of "Little Timmy's" sitting next to their shiny console won't know to ask mummy for it. Advertising > Quality. Sad but true. Extreme numbers of sales = 60% Advertising + 40% Quality. |
|
Siberian_Khatru
22/08/07 @ 08:46
0
Yeah, without all the marketing it could have been another Pariah.
|
|
MuppetThumper
22/08/07 @ 10:37
0
it was the homoeroticism and the fact that every character was a "meat-head". Goes down well with teenage boys.
|
|
0
How easy a game is to market is also important.
Viva Pinata and Gears came out the same time with the same publisher. Gears is a technically impressive brown shooter, VP is a err... something with gaudy stuffed animals. Hence Bioshock being sold as a shooter and Psychonaughts selling half a dozen copies since it was sold as a quirky comedy about brains rather than as a platformer. |
Comments: 1-33 of 33 in total
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
