Marketing and Great Game Design

The Escapist has a pretty good editorial up looking at the “scary implications” of a DICE keynote speech about marketing.

In order for a game to be a financial success, there has to be more; specifically, there has to be a tremendous behind-the-scenes marketing effort in order to drive the desire to actually buy the game. Activision relies on wide-ranging market analysis, user research and “customer relationship management” to promote their major releases long before they hit the shelves. “At one time, Activision thought it was sufficient just to make great games,” Kaminsky said. “But a great game doesn’t guarantee sales success.”

Kaminsky noted that 18 titles released last year managed to accrue Metacritic scores of over 90, that magical number that elevates a select few titles into the realm of the truly outstanding. But of those games, only two sold more than seven million units; 12 titles moved less than two million, and seven couldn’t even reach one million units sold. And while breaking the magic million might sound like a notable achievement, such numbers, in Kaminsky’s eyes, are apparently far from a resounding success.

It’s a disturbing conclusion. Certainly, in today’s crowded and competitive market, branding and advertising are an important part of making any top-ranked title stand out. But when the marketing process stops being subservient to the product, it’s bad news for consumers. Companies become excessively risk-averse, slavishly dependent upon focus groups and exit polls to determine their next step and next product. In such an environment, creativity is stifled and innovation withers.