PewDiePie arguing

**Fortigurn** · 09-21-2013, 02:06 PM

(09-21-2013, 12:05 PM)Kman Wrote: it's good marketing

he's the most popular channel on youtube plus the majority of his fans are 12-14 year olds looking for a cheap scare, so ofc that's gonna hype a horror game up a ton if he plays it

It's good marketing if you want people to believe your game is aimed at 12-14 year olds wanting a cheap scare, but apparently that's the last thing TCR was aiming at. Another marketing blunder there.

**Bucic** · 09-21-2013, 02:29 PM

(09-21-2013, 02:06 PM)Fortigurn Wrote: It's good marketing if you want people to believe your game is aimed at 12-14 year olds wanting a cheap scare, but apparently that's the last thing TCR was aiming at. Another marketing blunder there.

As I wrote in another thread:

Quote:One more aspect of this whole thing. Obviously clown-playthroughs (as by PewDiePie) brought popularity to Penumbra series and Amnesia but it backfired now as it turned out this clown-playthroughs phenomenon doesn't bring a crowd that appreciates deeper gameplay aspects, as often described on Frictional Games own blog.

It's just feeding simpletons and people who crap on your vision of what a horror game should be.

**Kreekakon** · 09-21-2013, 02:33 PM

(09-21-2013, 02:06 PM)Fortigurn Wrote: It's good marketing if you want people to believe your game is aimed at 12-14 year olds wanting a cheap scare, but apparently that's the last thing TCR was aiming at. Another marketing blunder there.

Being overly idealistic/elitist, and attempting to shut out any potential consumers you deem "unworthy" of your product I'd have to say would be not very wise a move. These people likely make up a lot of potential purchasers of Amnesia, and denying exposure to them is denying a lot of potential sales.

Some people would call this selling out, but I think there's a fine line between greedy selling out, and being financially realistic.

**Reminiscity** · 09-21-2013, 02:39 PM

(09-21-2013, 09:22 AM)felixmole Wrote:
(09-21-2013, 09:15 AM)Alardem Wrote: Frictional chose PewDiePie as a promoter because he appealed to the lowest common denominator

True indeed! I think they selected several popular YouTubers, he was not the only one. Surprisingly, Toby didn't get his review copy while he has the same kind of audience as PDP (I may be completely wrong on this last statement).

Tobygames? He did get it before release.

**Fortigurn** · 09-21-2013, 03:41 PM

(09-21-2013, 02:33 PM)Kreekakon Wrote: Being overly idealistic/elitist, and attempting to shut out any potential consumers you deem "unworthy" of your product I'd have to say would be not very wise a move. These people likely make up a lot of potential purchasers of Amnesia, and denying exposure to them is denying a lot of potential sales.

Deciding not to get PdP to front the game does not deny exposure to anyone, nor does it constitute 'Being overly idealistic/elitist'.

Quote:Some people would call this selling out,

I call it bad marketing. If you make an arthouse game and then present it as jump-scare fodder for 12-14 year olds, don't be surprised if those 12-14 year olds kick up a fuss when it wasn't what you led them to expect. It's bit late then to turn around and say 'Oh sorry, this game wasn't really for you, it was for highbrow arthouse types who understand what we're trying to do'.

**felixmole** · 09-21-2013, 03:52 PM

(09-21-2013, 02:39 PM)Reminiscity Wrote:
(09-21-2013, 09:22 AM)felixmole Wrote:
(09-21-2013, 09:15 AM)Alardem Wrote: Frictional chose PewDiePie as a promoter because he appealed to the lowest common denominator

True indeed! I think they selected several popular YouTubers, he was not the only one. Surprisingly, Toby didn't get his review copy while he has the same kind of audience as PDP (I may be completely wrong on this last statement).

Tobygames? He did get it before release.

Really? I recently started watching his LPs, didn't notice as he at that time still hadn't finished the game...

Toby's just a clown but he manages to crack me up. Wonder if it's the same type of audience there.

**Kreekakon** · 09-21-2013, 04:31 PM

(09-21-2013, 03:41 PM)Fortigurn Wrote: Deciding not to get PdP to front the game does not deny exposure to anyone, nor does it constitute 'Being overly idealistic/elitist'.

It will not "deny" exposure to anyone, but you would lose a chance to show it to 12 million of Pewdie's subscribers, and potentially 12 million more buyers.

(09-21-2013, 03:41 PM)Fortigurn Wrote: I call it bad marketing. If you make an arthouse game and then present it as jump-scare fodder for 12-14 year olds, don't be surprised if those 12-14 year olds kick up a fuss when it wasn't what you led them to expect. It's bit late then to turn around and say 'Oh sorry, this game wasn't really for you, it was for highbrow arthouse types who understand what we're trying to do'.

But it wasn't FG, or TCR who made any of Pewdie's video montages. It was Pewdie himself who was playing the game, and he who well knew what it contained (Or at least from the early review copy he got) to edit it into his video montage.

It wasn't FG, or TCR who came to him, and said "Alright we need you to present this as a jumpscare game so that we can lead people astray." I'm pretty sure it was Pewdie who decided to present it the way he did.

**Fortigurn** · 09-21-2013, 04:47 PM

(09-21-2013, 04:31 PM)Kreekakon Wrote: It will not "deny" exposure to anyone, but you would lose a chance to show it to 12 million of Pewdie's subscribers, and potentially 12 million more buyers.

Of course you do, but you know full well how it's going to end up; it's going to end up like this"

Quote:It wasn't FG, or TCR who came to him, and said "Alright we need you to present this as a jumpscare game so that we can lead people astray." I'm pretty sure it was Pewdie who decided to present it the way he did.

Exactly my point. It can't be both ways. On the one hand, if it's supposed to be an arthouse game you don't want misrepresented as a jump-scare show, then don't ask rabid freakouts like PdP to showcase it for you.

On the other hand, if you want to present it to 12 million jump-scare loving kiddies through their favourite Youtube screamer so you can chisel money out of them, don't be disappointed if they hate the game because it wasn't what they expected.

**Kreekakon** · 09-21-2013, 05:01 PM

(09-21-2013, 04:47 PM)Fortigurn Wrote: On the other hand, if you want to present it to 12 million jump-scare loving kiddies through their favourite Youtube screamer so you can chisel money out of them, don't be disappointed if they hate the game because it wasn't what they expected.

You're missing my point. It wasn't FG who advertised the game that way. They just wanted Pewdie as well as other Yotubers to present the game out there. How they presented it was completely up to them.

It was also completely third-party interpreting, and not representative of how FG themselves were advertising the game. Think of it this way: Pewdie can make the game look like a jump-scare fest while someone else can make it look like a 100% story-driven game without scares. It's all up to how the person playing it/showing it wants to show it.

If you buy a game based off of someone else's interpretation of it you have to keep in mind that it was how a non-dev, third-party who played it, and may not be the same as how they showed it at all. Consumers have to keep that in mind.

It is essentially the same thing as you watching your friend play a game at their house except at a much larger scale. For example if you were watching your friend play Amnesia, and he was jumping up, and down from playing it, cracking jokes, and making it look like a hilarious game...is it really? It's simply how he presented it, and it may very well be misleading to what the final thing turns out to be under your own experience...or at least how one appreciates it.

Simply put...if someone is disappointed with a purchase they made off of how someone else experienced it it may very well have been their own fault for not doing enough research. The disappointment/backlash would be understandable if it was the devs who marketed the game this way, but if you're basing it off of a third party who has nothing to do with them who played it...then not so much.

**Fortigurn** · 09-21-2013, 05:20 PM

(09-21-2013, 05:01 PM)Kreekakon Wrote: You're missing my point. It wasn't FG who advertised the game that way.

No I am not missing your point. I know it wasn't FG who advertised the game that way. They just decided to give it to someone with a reputation for doing exactly that.

Quote:They just wanted Pewdie as well as other Yotubers to present the game out there. How they presented it was completely up to them.

And exactly how would we expect PdP to present it? Any guesses? Arthouse style? Post-modern impressionism? Interpretive dance? French mime? Or Youtube screaming maniac, which is what he's known for? This is not a difficult question.

Quote:It was also completely third-party interpreting, and not representative of how FG themselves were advertising the game.

Exactly. The take home lesson here is 'Don't give it to someone if you don't know, or don't like, the way they're going to present it'. Don't give the game to someone who is going to interpret it in a manner completely contrary to the way you want it read by the target audience. This is a no brainer.