Very Minimal Marketing

Jorkan

Let me start off by saying that I'll end up buying BG:EE regardless.

However, why isn't there more information out about the game? Things I would like to see are the new movie examples, art, changes in background, new BG style portraits, new voice set details and more details on why we should buy BG:EE. I have a sinking feeling that BG:EE is going to be a failure because a lot of people (in my soicial circle anyways) feel that there's not enough reason to buy BG:EE. I feel marketing for the game has been very minimal and unless it blows people's socks off, sales will not meet the proper threshhold for BG3.

Fake_Sketch

My bet is that they don't care to much about PC sales, they want to finish their marketing for the tablet versions.

Zinodin

BG:EE not being loud enough in the advert department? Sure. Is it a failure? No.

The game has already sold more than expected by the studio. I think Overhaul Games never competed with Blizzard or EA Games in sales number, and kept their vision simple. I would too, if I ran a small team of designers. There's nothing wrong with that. Besides, most big sites have mentioned BG: EE, but it's a game you already know if you're gonna buy or not. If the game proves good, you'll convince your buddies to buy it. If you don't feel it can compete with modern games, you just quietly enjoy it and only mention it when asked. :P

I agree, there could be more advertising, but it's expensive. And also, if they show all the portraits before launch, you may not buy them for the iPad, but download them manually and use them that way. And for not showing the videoes.. Well, there aren't many in BG, so it would be huge spoilers XD There is one youtube video that hints to what they will look like though. That was enough for me, personally.

Arkin

The marketing situation for this game is interesting. I think it's safe to say that a vast majority of pre-orders came from older gamers who played the original series and have been plugged in to the BG community ever since. I heard about the website relaunch from a friend who enjoys the series. Ever since, I've followed Trent Oster's tweets like a high school freshman. This kind of low-key, word-of-mouth marketing seems to communicate a more intimate, community-centered feel, which is, in all honesty, pretty appealing to me.

That said, I agree with Jorkan that Overhaul could be doing a bit more to attract skeptical fans. Especially because the modding community is so developed, they need to make a good case for why BG:EE is going to be a better choice than just installing your original copy and modding the hell out of it.

What's drawing me back is the potential for greater customization. The reason I preferred BG2 over BG1 was because the sequel gave you much more in terms of character variety - kits, voice sets, dual-wielding, more portraits, etc. These are the kinds of improvements I'm looking forward to; however, they're also the ones that are receiving the least attention in the promotional material. For such a character-based game, I'd like to see more emphasis put on Overhaul's improvements to character customization.

Jaxsbudgie

Well Trent said the other day that the pre-order sales had surpassed his estimate, so I guess that's good news.
I reckon the game will be more of a 'slow-burner', as it will eventually pour out into the internet left right and centre, updates will be applied (at this rate, I'm expecting LOTS of updates!) new and improved mods will become available etc
Just think of how long the legacy BG has had, with the Enhanced Edition, that has extended the legacy by about another 5 years at least. If BG2:EE is released, again, they would just be building upon their success and if BG3 is ever made (no doubt it would be a moderate budget brand new game) that will keep the legacy alive for years and years and years.

MunchkinXQ

Ive known quite a few players dont like a bit of the enhanced edition.
They just like the original edition, through a way rejecting anything else. So Im not sure if more ads would make much differences now.

And as arkin said, most attrative part of enhanced to me is the improvements, including BG2 feature. These are things really tell enhanced and the original apart.

Rajick

I honestly found bg:ee through searching for a bg download so I could play it again. Glade I stumbled a crossed it though I can't wait for it

Lemernis

They need to improve on this. Period. There's no excuse for this, in this day and age.

Partners need to get this.

kilroy_was_here

Given the budget and time limitations they are working under it's likely that marketing was cut almost entirely. After all, word obviously got out somehow if they surpassed their preorder goal. Besides, I think this game will enjoy a long sales run anyway, esp after BG2EE comes out.

Newer games have to make a splash quickly otherwise they will be forgotten when the next 'big thing' comes out. This game is already 14 years old. It has impressive brand loyalty and name recognition. It also has mac/tablet compatibility and a very nice price point.

The only thing that could turn people away (IMO) is unfamiliarity with the gameplay. Among the people who haven't already played and beaten BG multiple times, few have played tactical isometric RPGs and fewer still understand the unintuitive AD&D system. I think that a demo should be put out a few weeks after release and contain full character creation, the tutorial and Candlekeep. It should end when Sarevok kills Gorion. That should be enough to give the uninformed an idea of how it works and a taste for more.

And if they still have questions and end up coming here; that's what vets like us are for.

tyl998

I found out about BG:EE via ads on the Giant In the Playground website. I think we need to advertise on DndOnlineGames as well.

ST4TICStriker

Lemernis said:

They need to improve on this. Period. There's no excuse for this, in this day and age.

Partners need to get this.

Improve on what?

The potential market for the game is quite small, I believe the cost OF advertising would surpass the profit made off the increased sales.

Dee

tyl998 said:

I found out about BG:EE via ads on the Giant In the Playground website. I think we need to advertise on DndOnlineGames as well.

I posted something over there a while ago. Turns out a lot of people over there had already pre-ordered.

CaptRory

The market is so niche that any marketing has to be extremely focused.

There are only so many big and well frequented online communitis you'd need to hit before word of mouth covered almost all of your primary focus. Now I originally heard about this game in an GameSpy article. That's an excellant example of free advertising (assume it didn't cost them something to get them to do an article on the game XD).

That said, they could generate some more buzz, especially now that the game as been pushed back.

I would announce some kind of movie contest to produce the best fan commercial or something, and give the winner (or winners) say, six free copies of the game and maybe some swag.

That way in a couple months You Tube would be deluged by submissions hitting a wider audience, just in advance of the game's release.

Lemernis

More broadly, the term 'marketing' means the comprehensive approach to product presentation to the prospective consumer, and basically getting news out about it. I.e., framing a presentation of the product for as many possible customers to see as possible. It's the overall strategy and plan for how you're 'selling', and establishing/maintaining a relationship with the consumer.

I'd be surprised if Beamdog and partners aren't envisioning beyond a niche nostalgia market for this game. There's undoubtedly a whole generation of new gamers that have never played BG. If BG:EE achieves critical raves (and we already know it is a great game, so it's all the new goodies that are being reviewed) there are potentially a lot of brand new customers to be had. I would think the next step is to make this game available via consoles as well.

ST4TICStriker

Lemernis said:

More broadly, the term 'marketing' means the comprehensive approach to product presentation to the prospective consumer, and basically getting news out about it. I.e., framing a presentation of the product for as many possible customers to see as possible. It's the overall strategy and plan for how you're 'selling', and establishing/maintaining a relationship with the consumer.

I'd be surprised if Beamdog and partners aren't envisioning beyond a niche nostalgia market for this game. There's undoubtedly a whole generation of new gamers that have never played BG. If BG:EE achieves critical raves (and we already know it is a great game, so it's all the new goodies that are being reviewed) there are potentially a lot of brand new customers to be had. I would think the next step is to make this game available via consoles as well.

That would require a complete overhaul of the control scheme and extensive changes to way enemies are balanced, making one NPC cast a spell while controlling 6 of them simultaneously with a controller would be a nightmare and Enemy AI would have to be toned down to make it manageable.

While I loved the Dark Alliance series and would like to see a third one, I don't think baldur's gate on a console would even be possible (Might be wrong though)

Lemernis

ST4TICStriker said:

Lemernis said:

...I would think the next step is to make this game available via consoles as well.

That would require a complete overhaul of the control scheme and extensive changes to way enemies are balanced, making one NPC cast a spell while controlling 6 of them simultaneously with a controller would be a nightmare and Enemy AI would have to be toned down to make it manageable.

While I loved the Dark Alliance series and would like to see a third one, I don't think baldur's gate on a console would even be possible (Might be wrong though)

Oops, here I defer to those who have console systems or have played on them. I never have. I was just assuming they were compatible. But yeah, perhaps this isn't really feasible after all.

SorrowSeer

ST4TICStriker said:

Lemernis said:

More broadly, the term 'marketing' means the comprehensive approach to product presentation to the prospective consumer, and basically getting news out about it. I.e., framing a presentation of the product for as many possible customers to see as possible. It's the overall strategy and plan for how you're 'selling', and establishing/maintaining a relationship with the consumer.

I'd be surprised if Beamdog and partners aren't envisioning beyond a niche nostalgia market for this game. There's undoubtedly a whole generation of new gamers that have never played BG. If BG:EE achieves critical raves (and we already know it is a great game, so it's all the new goodies that are being reviewed) there are potentially a lot of brand new customers to be had. I would think the next step is to make this game available via consoles as well.

That would require a complete overhaul of the control scheme and extensive changes to way enemies are balanced, making one NPC cast a spell while controlling 6 of them simultaneously with a controller would be a nightmare and Enemy AI would have to be toned down to make it manageable.

While I loved the Dark Alliance series and would like to see a third one, I don't think baldur's gate on a console would even be possible (Might be wrong though)

There was BG 1 for PS 1 ))
(and you can find it in the World Wide Web)

kilroy_was_here

Just found out today that there was a Penny Arcade news article http://penny-arcade.com/2012/09/07 and comic http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/09/07 about BGEE already.

More free press!

PugPug

What they should do is say what they are enhancing. They say so little on the homepage. The game has enough fans working in gaming media that it will be reported on.

Aristillius

Lemernis said:

Improve on what?

The potential market for the game is quite small, I believe the cost OF advertising would surpass the profit made off the increased sales.

Actually, I think the potential for BGEE is quite large for handheld devices.. I have an android tablet and there are quite few games with content beyond 5-10 hours. I am biased, yes, but I think BG will play really well on tablets. Seeing as more and more people are buying tablets, and most of the best games are Ipad only, I think BGEE has a real market.

Lemernis

@Aristillius

I think that was someone responding to something I said.

Aristillius

Haha, sorry. Not too familiar with the quoting system

ST4TICStriker

Lemernis said:

@Aristillius

I think that was someone responding to something I said.

Don't lie Lemernis, we all know you just want to steal my comments