Part 1 is here, including a note about why April is the best time to review what happened about 16 months ago. July: Star Trek Online Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich leaves both the title and Cryptic Studios. Capcom’s Xbox Japan- and Xbox 360-only MMO Monster Hunter Frontier Online tops the sales charts in Japan. Activision … Continue reading
Filed under Advertising / Marketing …
Mortal Kombat: Flawless PR Work, But…
Warner Brother Interactive Entertainment’s approach of “we failed the first time, but here is the same thing again but this time we’ll point out how wrong you are” around getting Mortal Kombat classified in Australia hasn’t worked, with MK being refused classification a second time. WBIE then thanked “the thousands of Mortal Kombat fans in … Continue reading
An Open Letter To WBIE re. Mortal Kombat
Dear Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, I have noted with interest your reactions to the recent news that Mortal Kombat has been refused classification in Australia. It probably wasn’t a surprise to you in the slightest; there was a pretty high potential for a game with slo-mo bone breaking and a focus on brutal finishing moves … Continue reading
Great Moments in Game Advertising, Part 2
Thinking back to early internet advertising techniques, the second most hated method (after the blink tags) were pop-up ads. You load up a page and then along comes one, two, three etc extra windows showing ads. It certainly grabbed viewer attention, but that attention was mixed with stabby rage as people went to close the … Continue reading
Great Moments in Online Game Advertising, Part 1
When it comes to the female form, I can safely say that I’m a fan. Not a face-painted, stripped-to-the-waist, half-drunk fan screaming “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBS!!!” because they just scored a goal, but more the quietly appreciative kind of fan. But there is a time and a place for T&A, with that time apparently being “any time we … Continue reading
DCUO: A Week Is A While, Right?
DC Universe Online’s launch week sales figures are out. As far as physical units go, DCUO shifted: 151 000 PS3 boxes; and 45 000 PC boxes. DCUO apparently did good business on the PC in digital distribution, but I don’t have any good sources for numbers there. It does make Sony Online Entertainment’s comments that … Continue reading
My Last DCUO Post For A While, Really
DC Universe Online launched on Tuesday 11 January 2011, the culmination of 5.5 years and US$50m in development costs. Barring any major events, I’m going to try to lay off direct DCUO posts for a while – I’m not playing it and yelling from the sidelines gets a bit dull. Plus, I’ve got other things … Continue reading
DCUO Gets A TV Ad
I’ve just found out that Sony Online Entertainment did launch a TV campaign around DC Universe Online’s launch. The Facebook page shows one of the variants. If you’ve followed this title at all, you’ve probably seen the parts of the ad before. It’s certainly a better step than not having one (and I’d be curious … Continue reading
DCUO: Adding Insult To Injury For PS3 Beta Preorders
On top of the PS3 beta preorder players not getting into the PS3 beta on November 30 as assured (due start date for the PS3 beta: “soon”), those players learned today that Playstation Network Plus subscribers will also be given PS3 beta access when it launches. This will happen probably before Christmas if such an … Continue reading
DCUO PS3 Beta: A Masterclass of Marketing Mismanagement
Following on from my previous post, it turns out an Sony Online Entertainment guarantee is not a guarantee at all. The DC Universe Online PS3 beta didn’t launch on November 30 – it is still coming “soon” – and numerous PS3 players were left wondering what was going on until a very late-in-the-day Facebook post … Continue reading
World Class Villains 