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Wolfkin

thank you for being awesome. I sometimes worry I'm the only one who isn't overly drawn in by the trailer. I've tried to say the same thing*.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't L4D2 have melee weapons? wasn't that the big innovation? Then again you did say 1st person melee /that worked/. So I can't comment on how well it works in L4D2


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Marketing stories only work when they have continuity. Continuity means that the trailer matches up to the game, that the game matches up to the publicity materials, that the interviews with the creators match up to what the trailer is trying to convey, and that the overall impression of the experience is authentic. Audiences respond to authenticity in a sustained fashion, becoming fans, but they respond negatively to smoke-and-mirrors because they hate being fooled.
===


I'm not so sure I agree. First off I think the marketing team had a job to do. They had to get people talking about a brand new IP noone had ever heard of from a developer without the breeding and pedigree of say Bungie, Square and Infinity Ward. In that respect alone I say they succeeded and succeeded marvelously. Maybe the best marketing stories work on 'continuity' as you define it in this paragraph but not all of them do. As a new IP they really don't have a lot to 'live up to' aside from their competitors. Most importantly gamers LOVE being fooled. I say that sarcastically, but my point is that developers and marketing teams constantly use misleading imagery to sell games and it works. Not every time but they've been doing it since Final Fantasy VIII and it hasn't slowed down a step.

==== urrm. scratch all that ====

as I read the rest of the article you've pretty much addressed most of this. I'm cynical as to whether backlash really is as big as you propose. That is to say I believe that DeadIsland for instance could ride this trailer's hype all the way to the release date for a very nice bump in sales, but the logic and thought is there so I can't really say anything against this. Just ... cheers and bravo good sir. Bravo.

* http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=18892

Tadhg

Hi Wolfkin,

Thanks for the comment.

What you're describing about marketing departments doing what they can to acquire attention for their IP is what I described as tactics.

I agree, tactics can work... if you've got the deep pockets to pay for them.

wolfkin

aye i noticed late that you did include that in your discussion. Dead Island will be a most interesting case study in marketing when all is said and done.

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