Re: Marketing SE V
 

Why not simply go to malls and parking lots and pass out fliers or an Avon style marketing.

Re: Marketing SE V
 

To be honest, I kind of like Space Empires as our little secret. I'd hate to see a bunch of low-attention span gamers come in and make all sorts of mischief. Of course, I also want to see some success for MM and Shrapnel - so perhaps a healthy compromise where we all buy the game twice? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Marketing SE V
 

I don't think "getting a game onto retail shelves" is going to help much. Games can exist on store shelves and still be ignored by the moronic masses and their clueless gift-shopping relatives. Most games on retail shelves lose money for the publisher and developer, because the retail stores squeeze almost all of the sales money for themselves. And, even many pretty hard-core gamers would wait to get a deal from retail bargain bins and sales, rather than buying the game directly from Shrapnel. Total rewards from such a shift might even go down. Er, I could ramble on with various conjecture, but I've a headache and other things to do. The magazine coverage (reviews) is probably the most effective channel. Some magazine and/or web banner ads after the reviews go out might also help, though print mag ads are so expensive that I'd doubt worthwhile sales returns for a non-eye-candy-feast game. Fans subtley hitting semi-relevant forums and newsGroups periodically (such as forums for lamer but better-advertized conquest games) with plugs and links would probably help a lot, it seems to me.

Ergh, headache.

PvK

Re: Marketing SE V
 

The internet is becoming a much more viaable and profitable outlet for games makers ie shrapnel and MM deal - that said good promotion on the web will ensure profitability - the games in retail stores suck. Just as long as they make reasonable profits then they can keep the game coming along.

Re: Marketing SE V
 

I used to play a game many years ago called STARS!. I moved overseas for a while so i quit but the game makers, whose name i forget, were saying that STARS! supernova was going to be made. When i came back I checked their website but although they had made the game and there was a community they couldn't get it published because no distributor was interested and after 9/11 the market apparently went down the toilet. Then about a year and a half ago I was going through a catalogue I get from this games stockists and stuck in the middle of the computer games section was a small description of something called space empires3 and 4Gold. The advert said it came without a box and was only in shrinkwrap, and the price was well above a normal game. I was looking for a 4x game to play so I ordered it and apart from a small time after I got bored with single player and before I found pbw I havn't gone a day without playing it. Obviously the high price was because SE4Gold wasn't released commerically, by which i mean it wasn't in 20 boxes on the shelves of EBgames. It goes to show though that the best games aren't just those sold by the major stores and you have to be lucky to come across them.

I have a terrible memory. On second thoughts its MOO3 i quit playing when i got bored with the single player game.....after 3 games.

[ February 10, 2004, 08:30: Message edited by: Randallw ]

Re: Marketing SE V
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Space Empires house parties! Direct sales. Turn all of us addicts into pushers. Multi-level commisions. A vast, world wide pyramid scheme with our boys Aaron and Richard sitting comfortably on the top. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Marketing SE V
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Space Empires house parties! Direct sales. Turn all of us addicts into pushers. Multi-level commisions. A vast, world wide pyramid scheme with our boys Aaron and Richard sitting comfortably on the top. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ah, more and more like a cult every day.

Re: Marketing SE V
 

We should all dress up as Phong/ Druk/ EEE and go hand out demo CDs in town centres and games/ sciffy conventions.

Re: Marketing SE V
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">It would be hard to dress up as an EEE wouldn't it? I mean little blue bubbles?

Re: Marketing SE V
 

Well, if it hadn't been for a 3 paragraph review of SE4 Gold in PC Gamer, I would probably never have heard of the game. So the reviews do work. but if people miss that particular issue, or just glance at it, they still might miss this great game. Maybe some small ads might help, but I know that's an expansive alternative. Maybe in the future, when SEV is ready to come one, they could have a review. Then in the future, when MM releases patches, maybe they could be in the form of an upgrade or some such thing that would warrant another review in the magazines? Just a suggestion.