They have no recurring income beyond the maybe what, 30% of the playerbase that will spend money in the cash shop regularly (monthly.)
Spock, I'm trying to understand why you are freaking out about this, but I can't. The fact is, the entire MMO market likely knows all about it. I'm playing TSW, and my large guild is talking about it. Those few people who didn't know are now hearing about it daily in our guild chat. Same goes for my daughter's guild in WoW, and I'm sure every other MMO out there.
Who are they advertising to? Newcomers to the genre? Proabably not worth the money it would cost. Sounds like smart business to me. They can do some targeted online marketing after launch. People who will pre-purchase likely already did. We're also heading into the holiday season soon. It would be smarter to advertise then if they need to.
That does make a lot of sense.
I haven't been playing any other MMOs (or any other PC games but Minecraft for that matter) in quite a while so I had no idea the word of mouth had spread so fully into other MMOs and such.
Word of mouth is a best marketing every game ever needed.
Look at League of Legends for ex. At the time around its launch, it barely got any ad anywhere. I remember, it was not untill season one that ads became lightly to pop up. And there was one year period between launch and "season one". And finally, only for last year, that big fuss was around LoL tournaments and advertising and sponsoursmanship and stuff. So nowadays it became No1. game played on Internet.
Bottom line: addictive and fun gameplay is all that is needed for good word of mouth to start to spread. And better marketing none of companies cant get.
Main MMO at the moment: Guild Wars 2 Waiting for: Pathfinder Online
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
I can agree with this. Noone needed a cinematic for MoP to know it existed. Probly just a waste of money. Everyone who wanted to play/didn't already decided before seeing it. I doubt that changed anyones mind.
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
They have no recurring income beyond the maybe what, 30% of the playerbase that will spend money in the cash shop regularly (monthly.)
Spock, I'm trying to understand why you are freaking out about this, but I can't. The fact is, the entire MMO market likely knows all about it. I'm playing TSW, and my large guild is talking about it. Those few people who didn't know are now hearing about it daily in our guild chat. Same goes for my daughter's guild in WoW, and I'm sure every other MMO out there.
Who are they advertising to? Newcomers to the genre? Proabably not worth the money it would cost. Sounds like smart business to me. They can do some targeted online marketing after launch. People who will pre-purchase likely already did. We're also heading into the holiday season soon. It would be smarter to advertise then if they need to.
That does make a lot of sense.
I haven't been playing any other MMOs (or any other PC games but Minecraft for that matter) in quite a while so I had no idea the word of mouth had spread so fully into other MMOs and such.
When you see talk about it in Dota 2 in-game chat, you saw it all, hehe
Main MMO at the moment: Guild Wars 2 Waiting for: Pathfinder Online
Maybe the only significant population of gamers who havent purchased GW2 yet, are the ones who refuse to buy an MMO until after it launches successfully.
Should GW2 continue to enjoy such high praise after launch, I think an advertising campaign would happen to grab the above mentioned people.
Considering how they have a large fan base they don't need to advertise much, and they've already had massive coverage. People are just playing the wait game. Also I see advertisements all the time on websites on the side advertisement windows.
Originally posted by BadSpock I mean seriously we are less than a week from Official launch and 2 days+ from head start - still nothing...
They allready sold more then they can handle..
They will probably nopt start advertising untill sales drop.
That actually isn't true.
Don't forget they actually *reduced* Servers from the initial List. They are prepared with more hardware to handle floods if they need it.
On (silly) topic...
I think they are saving up their ad budget to swarm Needlepoint Monthly, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, and to outbid the Presidential Campaigns for Ad Spots during The View to go after untapped potential customers >.>
They have no recurring income beyond the maybe what, 30% of the playerbase that will spend money in the cash shop regularly (monthly.)
Spock, I'm trying to understand why you are freaking out about this, but I can't. The fact is, the entire MMO market likely knows all about it. I'm playing TSW, and my large guild is talking about it. Those few people who didn't know are now hearing about it daily in our guild chat. Same goes for my daughter's guild in WoW, and I'm sure every other MMO out there.
Who are they advertising to? Newcomers to the genre? Proabably not worth the money it would cost. Sounds like smart business to me. They can do some targeted online marketing after launch. People who will pre-purchase likely already did. We're also heading into the holiday season soon. It would be smarter to advertise then if they need to.
That does make a lot of sense.
I haven't been playing any other MMOs (or any other PC games but Minecraft for that matter) in quite a while so I had no idea the word of mouth had spread so fully into other MMOs and such.
Oh yeah, it's nuts man. The viral marketing right now is insane. My TSW guild will be expanding into it immediately.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
But we are so far on in expansions that you have to wonder, why bother having another? This ad compaign will not bring in more money then they lose to put out the ads. And you can't really find any numerical evidence that these ads will do any different. The adds themselves don't sway the gamer one way or another. If they want to play the game they already made up their mind before the ad and the ad won't change it. Unless it is a lesser known game that needs to get its name out there for the masses to see, which WoW clearly isn't, it can't bring in more people to buy that the loss of money for the advertisements.
Why do they need to spend money on advertising when they have you monkeys to do it for them?
On a more serious note, personally I see the lack of an advertising blitzkrieg to be a refreshing change. I feel it harkens back to when these games were made for the core fanbase who already knew about the game and the companies didn't try to get every uninterested Tom Dick and Retard to come play their game as well. I think it also shows that A-net has a quiet confidence in their product and feels no need to spew out lame "SO COME ON DOWN TO CRAZY LARRY'S HOUSE OF SHODDILY MADE MMOS!!!" ads because they feel their game may not push enough units.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
But we are so far on in expansions that you have to wonder, why bother having another? This ad compaign will not bring in more money then they lose to put out the ads. And you can't really find any numerical evidence that these ads will do any different. The adds themselves don't sway the gamer one way or another. If they want to play the game they already made up their mind before the ad and the ad won't change it. Unless it is a lesser known game that needs to get its name out there for the masses to see, which WoW clearly isn't, it can't bring in more people to buy that the loss of money for the advertisements.
Yeah, when you reach a point where you can license your game trademarks for merch, such as WoW t-shirts at Hot Topic, you probably have long since reached saturation.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
But we are so far on in expansions that you have to wonder, why bother having another? This ad compaign will not bring in more money then they lose to put out the ads. And you can't really find any numerical evidence that these ads will do any different. The adds themselves don't sway the gamer one way or another. If they want to play the game they already made up their mind before the ad and the ad won't change it. Unless it is a lesser known game that needs to get its name out there for the masses to see, which WoW clearly isn't, it can't bring in more people to buy that the loss of money for the advertisements.
although I will say I'm sure those sweet CGI trailers for swtor sold a number of people:P.. i just don't think these advertisements bring in as much as they put into making them in many cases.. but I dunno for sure i don't know to much about the marketing buisness
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
Why do they need to spend money on advertising when they have you monkeys to do it for them?
On a more serious note, personally I see the lack of an advertising blitzkrieg to be a refreshing change. I feel it harkens back to when these games were made for the core fanbase who already knew about the game and the companies didn't try to get every uninterested Tom Dick and Retard to come play their game as well. I think it also shows that A-net has a quiet confidence in their product and feels no need to spew out lame "SO COME ON DOWN TO CRAZY LARRY'S HOUSE OF SHODDILY MADE MMOS!!!" ads because they feel their game may not push enough units.
Wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man? Feel like thats advertisements at WoW's level right now, "hey, hey, look at me, hands in the air so all can see, me throw my money around for all to see"
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
But we are so far on in expansions that you have to wonder, why bother having another? This ad compaign will not bring in more money then they lose to put out the ads. And you can't really find any numerical evidence that these ads will do any different. The adds themselves don't sway the gamer one way or another. If they want to play the game they already made up their mind before the ad and the ad won't change it. Unless it is a lesser known game that needs to get its name out there for the masses to see, which WoW clearly isn't, it can't bring in more people to buy that the loss of money for the advertisements.
although I will say I'm sure those sweet CGI trailers for swtor sold a number of people:P.. i just don't think these advertisements bring in as much as they put into making them in many cases.. but I dunno for sure i don't know to much about the marketing buisness
thats the thing thou, u cant. "Hey after putting those ads in we got another 100k buyers in the last week..." "Could it have been because the game comes out in a month and people are still buying it as we speak?" "No... it was because of our great ad compaign, idiot."
The advertising campaign will likely start next week. I would assume that they have already had a great amount of pre-sales, and likely feel comfortable with the initial number for the head start weekend and the server load that this weekend will bring.
Advertising aggressively now greatly increases the risk that the players during headstart will have a bad experience due to server issues.
I think ANet is opting for a controllable experience this weekend and pushing any additional sales to launch week.
Furthermore, by holding back mass market advertising, they'll have better metrics for launch week and any advertising push (additional servers needing to be brought online, etc)
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
Are you suggesting that Blizzard couldn't possibly be wrong? It's not that easy to measure. Even if the advertising had nothing to do with WoW's success, there's no way to prove that. They probably just figure it's the worth expense, just in case, because they have so much money, it doesn't really matter.
GW2 is about to find out how successful it's going to be. They need to spend their resources a lot more carefully.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Originally posted by Vhaln I think its possible that advertising doesn't help MMOs at all, and is really just a massive waste of money. There's plenty of hype around any major game release, and if people like it, word spreads like crazy ..and if people don't, advertising never does much to make up for it.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
But we are so far on in expansions that you have to wonder, why bother having another? This ad compaign will not bring in more money then they lose to put out the ads. And you can't really find any numerical evidence that these ads will do any different. The adds themselves don't sway the gamer one way or another. If they want to play the game they already made up their mind before the ad and the ad won't change it. Unless it is a lesser known game that needs to get its name out there for the masses to see, which WoW clearly isn't, it can't bring in more people to buy that the loss of money for the advertisements.
although I will say I'm sure those sweet CGI trailers for swtor sold a number of people:P.. i just don't think these advertisements bring in as much as they put into making them in many cases.. but I dunno for sure i don't know to much about the marketing buisness
Yeah but it was most likely those self same advertisments that helped add to the general angst seen in ex-SWTOR fans when they found the game didn't live up to those flashy CGI ad spots. The key to a successful business is to make a good product FIRST, then advertise. I think many gaming companies have forgotten this, or just don't care anymore as they know that if they add enough shinny shinny gamers will buy every little dull piece of horse shit they offer, like the chattering magpies they are.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
Called this 3 yrs ago, Areanet are going for a simple strategy, make an amazing game, and allow word of mouth to build over time, rather than spend too much of PR and get loads in only to lose them on either an inferior game or the fact that its enduring the usual early days issues that 99% of mmo suffer from at launch.
This is the mistake all WoW rivals up till now have done, the more you get in at the start the more you lose, with more strain on the servers, and more bad word of mouth. Arenanet can afford to be patient, and build the way WoW did, (and CCP did with EVE). It may be tempted to try and get as many as you can at the start and grow even more, as arrogant devs/publishers unable to see the flaws in their mmo do, but too much too soon and the public get advert saturated, and besides GW2 is not a big IP with a major developer brand, like Bio or Blizz, and though they have justified confidence with their product I think they have learned from the mistakes of all the other pretenders.
They know the mmo crowd are savvy, ads won’t work on us, reviews, beta previews, and word of mouth will. And the larger public need a background buzz of un-ambiguous praise from “teh nerds” and solid post launch reviews.
As was clear from the start, things are different with this one.
Where is the advertising campaign for Guild Wars 2?
IGN - nothing.
Gamespot - nothing.
PCGamer - "GW2 Week" but no advertising.
MMORPG.com - nothing.
Massively.com - nothing.
Even Forbes hasn't had an article in a week or so - which is odd they had so many there in the first place!
Where is the advertising campaign for GW2 Anet/NCSoft?
Has 5 positions on amazons top selling games, it doesnt need any
Was just going to say the same thing. Even with the lack of advertisement the game appears to be selling incredibly well.
It lost it's #1 spot on "all gaming" on Amazon US to Madden 2013 for Xbox 360 but I'm not surprised about that. Madden games sell a crap load of copies every year.
Edit: apparently it's the #1 best selling game on Gamestop US as well.
Comments
That does make a lot of sense.
I haven't been playing any other MMOs (or any other PC games but Minecraft for that matter) in quite a while so I had no idea the word of mouth had spread so fully into other MMOs and such.
Word of mouth is a best marketing every game ever needed.
Look at League of Legends for ex. At the time around its launch, it barely got any ad anywhere. I remember, it was not untill season one that ads became lightly to pop up. And there was one year period between launch and "season one". And finally, only for last year, that big fuss was around LoL tournaments and advertising and sponsoursmanship and stuff. So nowadays it became No1. game played on Internet.
Bottom line: addictive and fun gameplay is all that is needed for good word of mouth to start to spread. And better marketing none of companies cant get.
Main MMO at the moment: Guild Wars 2
Waiting for: Pathfinder Online
I can agree with this. Noone needed a cinematic for MoP to know it existed. Probly just a waste of money. Everyone who wanted to play/didn't already decided before seeing it. I doubt that changed anyones mind.
i agree and so does Mike O 'Brien it would seem.
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
When you see talk about it in Dota 2 in-game chat, you saw it all, hehe
Main MMO at the moment: Guild Wars 2
Waiting for: Pathfinder Online
Maybe the only significant population of gamers who havent purchased GW2 yet, are the ones who refuse to buy an MMO until after it launches successfully.
Should GW2 continue to enjoy such high praise after launch, I think an advertising campaign would happen to grab the above mentioned people.
That actually isn't true.
Don't forget they actually *reduced* Servers from the initial List. They are prepared with more hardware to handle floods if they need it.
On (silly) topic...
I think they are saving up their ad budget to swarm Needlepoint Monthly, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, and to outbid the Presidential Campaigns for Ad Spots during The View to go after untapped potential customers >.>
Oh yeah, it's nuts man. The viral marketing right now is insane. My TSW guild will be expanding into it immediately.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Blizzard-Activision had multiple TV ad campains for WoW. If it wasnt successful the first time, there probably wouldnt have been a second or third.
Mass marketing seems like a waste for MMO's. (Looking at you SWTOR...)
Every game site is covering GW2, so they hardly need to advertise on those.
But we are so far on in expansions that you have to wonder, why bother having another? This ad compaign will not bring in more money then they lose to put out the ads. And you can't really find any numerical evidence that these ads will do any different. The adds themselves don't sway the gamer one way or another. If they want to play the game they already made up their mind before the ad and the ad won't change it. Unless it is a lesser known game that needs to get its name out there for the masses to see, which WoW clearly isn't, it can't bring in more people to buy that the loss of money for the advertisements.
Huh?
I thought all GW2 needed was more hater/trolls to do there advertising ???
Lolipops !
Why do they need to spend money on advertising when they have you monkeys to do it for them?
On a more serious note, personally I see the lack of an advertising blitzkrieg to be a refreshing change. I feel it harkens back to when these games were made for the core fanbase who already knew about the game and the companies didn't try to get every uninterested Tom Dick and Retard to come play their game as well. I think it also shows that A-net has a quiet confidence in their product and feels no need to spew out lame "SO COME ON DOWN TO CRAZY LARRY'S HOUSE OF SHODDILY MADE MMOS!!!" ads because they feel their game may not push enough units.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
Yeah, when you reach a point where you can license your game trademarks for merch, such as WoW t-shirts at Hot Topic, you probably have long since reached saturation.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
although I will say I'm sure those sweet CGI trailers for swtor sold a number of people:P.. i just don't think these advertisements bring in as much as they put into making them in many cases.. but I dunno for sure i don't know to much about the marketing buisness
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
Wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man? Feel like thats advertisements at WoW's level right now, "hey, hey, look at me, hands in the air so all can see, me throw my money around for all to see"
thats the thing thou, u cant. "Hey after putting those ads in we got another 100k buyers in the last week..." "Could it have been because the game comes out in a month and people are still buying it as we speak?" "No... it was because of our great ad compaign, idiot."
The advertising campaign will likely start next week. I would assume that they have already had a great amount of pre-sales, and likely feel comfortable with the initial number for the head start weekend and the server load that this weekend will bring.
Advertising aggressively now greatly increases the risk that the players during headstart will have a bad experience due to server issues.
I think ANet is opting for a controllable experience this weekend and pushing any additional sales to launch week.
Furthermore, by holding back mass market advertising, they'll have better metrics for launch week and any advertising push (additional servers needing to be brought online, etc)
Are you suggesting that Blizzard couldn't possibly be wrong? It's not that easy to measure. Even if the advertising had nothing to do with WoW's success, there's no way to prove that. They probably just figure it's the worth expense, just in case, because they have so much money, it doesn't really matter.
GW2 is about to find out how successful it's going to be. They need to spend their resources a lot more carefully.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Yeah but it was most likely those self same advertisments that helped add to the general angst seen in ex-SWTOR fans when they found the game didn't live up to those flashy CGI ad spots. The key to a successful business is to make a good product FIRST, then advertise. I think many gaming companies have forgotten this, or just don't care anymore as they know that if they add enough shinny shinny gamers will buy every little dull piece of horse shit they offer, like the chattering magpies they are.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
If the game has legs and long term playability it will overun it's competitors and be vastly profitable.
If it doesn't, it will ultimately fail.
No amount of advertising at this stage will help it either way.
Called this 3 yrs ago, Areanet are going for a simple strategy, make an amazing game, and allow word of mouth to build over time, rather than spend too much of PR and get loads in only to lose them on either an inferior game or the fact that its enduring the usual early days issues that 99% of mmo suffer from at launch.
This is the mistake all WoW rivals up till now have done, the more you get in at the start the more you lose, with more strain on the servers, and more bad word of mouth. Arenanet can afford to be patient, and build the way WoW did, (and CCP did with EVE). It may be tempted to try and get as many as you can at the start and grow even more, as arrogant devs/publishers unable to see the flaws in their mmo do, but too much too soon and the public get advert saturated, and besides GW2 is not a big IP with a major developer brand, like Bio or Blizz, and though they have justified confidence with their product I think they have learned from the mistakes of all the other pretenders.
They know the mmo crowd are savvy, ads won’t work on us, reviews, beta previews, and word of mouth will. And the larger public need a background buzz of un-ambiguous praise from “teh nerds” and solid post launch reviews.
As was clear from the start, things are different with this one.
Has 5 positions on amazons top selling games, it doesnt need any
Was just going to say the same thing. Even with the lack of advertisement the game appears to be selling incredibly well.
It lost it's #1 spot on "all gaming" on Amazon US to Madden 2013 for Xbox 360 but I'm not surprised about that. Madden games sell a crap load of copies every year.
Edit: apparently it's the #1 best selling game on Gamestop US as well.