Business Archives — Page 5 of 8

If You Don ’t Like It, Take A Hike

June 27, 2008

I might be writing a blog for a subscription college football website this fall. No big whoop, but in order to get access to their blogging platform, they had to give me a subscription. I received this email today addressed to presumably all of their subscribers. About half way through, you’ll notice the customer service equivalent of a novelty-sized foam middle-finger. I kind of wish they had signed it with something more along the lines of "We'll see you in hell."

Dear VTInsider.com Subscriber,

Effective July 11, 2008 the price of your Annual VTInsider.com subscription will increase from $89.95 to $99.95.

If you would like to cancel your subscription you may do so by calling the Scout.com Sales Center (toll-free) at 1-888-979-0979

Thanks for your support,

VTInsider.com Staff

The Dicey Business Of Video Game Journalism

June 24, 2008

Slashdot is reporting that Atari has begun suing video game publications that have started publishing reviews for their upcoming release, Alone in the Dark. They are claiming that anyone who has reviewed the game has pirated copies of it since it has not yet been made available to the media for review. Not only has Atari filed suit, but they have pulled all advertising from the sites as well.

The situation gets a little more interesting though when looking at the reviews themselves. They aren’t good, and gamers have noticed that there might be a correlation.

This isn’t the first time that bad reviews have sparked controversy in gaming journalism. Just last year, it was rumored that Jeff Gerstmann, an editor at Gamespot, was fired after penning a bad review of Kane and Lynch. An anonymous insider suggested that the firing was motivated by pressure from the game’s publisher, and Gamespot advertiser, Eidos.

I think this is troubling as it proves the line between editorial independence and advertorial bias is under assault, if its not dotted already. Who knows how prevalent this is in other specialty mediums. But I think it also shows that in the high-stakes world of gaming, companies have become so tied up in creating blockbusters that they will stop at nothing to make sure they succeed. They have too. Very often, all their eggs are placed into the same basket. But the problem is that instead of making sure the basket is allowed time to be lovingly crafted, they are very quickly machined, with little regard for craftsmanship or quality control (from the business folk, not the actual production team … so I’ve been led to believe).

The videogame industry is at the forefront of the future of marketing. If the positive reviews aren’t there, you’re not going to change (many) people’s minds with a slick campaign. Marketing can only help reinforce the decision to purchase. The power is firmly in the court of the reviewer.

The problem with this ‘future of marketing’ as it relates to videogame sites is that they are heavily dependent on advertising revenue from game publishers, seemingly making them more susceptible to being strong-armed into favorable reviews by game publishers with everything riding on their next game.

Priorities have a funny way of changing when one’s livelihood is threatened.

You Don ‘ t Piss Off Johnnie Nascar

June 18, 2008

My old boss had tongue in cheek a theory about the research the Japanese did which led to their decision to attack the United States: they scouted the west coast, not the deep south. They only saw Brent and Chip, they never laid eyes on Bubba. They had no idea who they were up against … and we all know how that ended.

Now, with the dollar down and the economy teetering on oblivion, A different kind of foreign invasion is taking place. Only this time it’s an invasion of foreigners wielding superior foreign currency and a powerful lust for commerce. It’s been noted that tourism is way up because of the sudden bargain New York City shopping has become, but it doesn’t stop at the average consumer. In the past few weeks both the Chrysler Building and the Flat Iron Building have been sold to overseas groups. The sale of both of these historic landmarks hardly caused any commotion at all.

Anheuser Busch, however, is another story. InBev, the Belgium-based maker of Stella and Beck's, is trying to buy the iconic American beer brewer. At the precise nanosecond that the American public caught wind of the sale of their beer brand to a non-US entity:

•    Over 70% of the Internet has been transformed into petitions opposing this sale – savebudweiser.com alone has over 49k signatures
•    Protestors took to the streets
•    Government officials were prodded to take action
•    Women wept, children screamed, men gnashed their teeth, and everyone Googled

When you threaten to buy the brewer of the signature beer of the American working class, you are no longer trifling with highbrow, metropolitan culture. You align yourself against the most unrelenting of all Americans: the blue collar NASCAR set.

Fiercely patriotic and brand loyal … InBev better be ready to go to the mat on this. Because like a Pit Bull with its jaws clamped down on the leg of a neighbor, this group of people will not let go until the deal is dead.

Can the Wii weather a recession?

April 10, 2008

Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research has predicted that Wii will continue to dominate the next gen gaming market through fiscal year 09.

"Microsoft got the jump on the industry with a one-year headstart, but
nine months after its the launch, the Nintendo Wii overtook the Xbox
360 on a global basis. While the PS3, has struggled out of the gate, we
note that since last fall, the console has been outselling the Xbox 360
in Europe, and in the first two months of this year has even outsold
the Xbox 360 on its home turf, in the U.S. (In Japan, overtaking the
Xbox 360 was almost immediate). With its strong slate of software
scheduled for the coming year, we expect a material acceleration for
the PS3 this year, but we believe the Wii will sell more than the PS3
and Xbox 360 combined this year," he commented.

Which makes me wonder: if Nintendo is in fact selling to their stated non-gamer target, and that has been what's fueled the popularity of the Wii, what's going to happen as we enter a recession? I get the feeling that non-gamers will not exactly be falling all over themselves to spend money on new Wii games or consoles as the economy sours, whereas gamers who own Xbox 360 and PS3 and have gaming much higher on their priority list will continue to spend.

So the question becomes: can Nintendo continue sell its non-gamer machine at such a high rate to gamers if it becomes necessary? If not, I think that sales could flip-flop heading into the next twelve months … unless they do not.

(Via GameDaily via Destructiod)

Target selling gamer shirts with the games attached

March 27, 2008

Or are they selling games with the shirt attached? In any case, I think it's a great idea that shakes up the traditional sales channel that games go through, providing additional value (and nerd cred) in actually buying the games. It's also a great way for indie game designers to get big time exposure they wouldn't normally get. The game is included in the large tag on the shirt, as well as information on the actual game designer, going against the age old precedent set by Atari that the company comes before the designer.

My guess is that as transparency becomes the norm in marketing communications, its going to continue to put a spotlight on the designers behind the games, giving rise to a new kind of rock star…unless it does not.

(via Kevin and Raph)