Are Games Marketed Anymore?

[Judge Dredd]

Thread title.

Back in the day, I used to have an autistic knowledge of games. I could name most of the PS1-Xbox 360 library just from screenshots. These days there are entire hyped AAA games I've never heard of. I'm not a smart phone person, so me not knowing the big smart phone games makes sense. Ditto with Nintendo.

However, there are big, AAA releases with multi-million dollar marketing budgets that somehow fly under my radar, and I only hear of when they crash and burn. Unknown 9, Concord, Skull and Bones, Black Myth Wukong. All these games I somehow never heard of until they became controversial. Just the other day I learned there was a Dawn of War 3. It could be I'm the problem, but given I never see these games mentioned anywhere including KF, I thought I'd ask.

 

[Neodanthril]

Do you use adblockers?

 

[Jimbobaggins]

I've seen some shitty casino or farmville clone ADs on TV. But nothing about AAA games though, just seems to be word of mouth from social media and content creators

 

[Judge Dredd]

Do you use adblockers?

Of course. But usually people discuss games before release. Interviews with devs. Previews. Trailers.

I don't have this problem with indie games (or if I do, it's far less pronounced) with games like Compound Fracture, Star Trucker, Pacific Drive, Gunmetal Gothic, Fumes, Kingmaker, and many more that I'm either keeping half an eye on, or knew of before release.

And like @Jimbobaggins just said, when I do see ads for games, it's normally mobile trash. The only AAA game I've seen ads for recently are Diablo 4 DLC, Silent Hill 2 Remake, and Dragon Age Vanguard.

 

[Masturbator]

us slavs dont have access to usual means of pr so a lot of stuff is done by bankrolling a popular guy onda net to speak positively if thats what you're on about

 

[Ibanez RG 350EX]

I used to keep up with releases many years ago, but now I block online ads, don't read or watch gaming "journalism", and don't watch television.

If you avoid pozzed media, the avenues by which such information would get to you are pretty limited.

 

[Whatevermancer]

I've seen some games being advertised on banners and posters IRL.

 

[Calandrino]

Very recently, a gas pump spoke to me and told me to buy Halloween-themed Roblox skins. This actually happened; it was not a schizophrenic episode.

 

[Cat tit bingo]

I think only the biggest AAA game like your cods and fortnites and the lowest of shitty mobile games get traditional coverage. Most seem to just take the route of the online media tour, just pop your trailer on digital store fronts, pay youtubers and streamers for let plays and tweeting dumb shit to bait articles.

 

[Epic Fail Man]

Marketing nowadays is giving early access review codes to streamers and YouTube reviewers.

 

[Nguyen Van Phuoc]

I saw an ad for the Silent Hill 2 remake when I was watching Joker 2 at the movie theater the other day.

I was also the only person in that theater.

 

[Merton J. Dingle]

Can't remember if it was on a normal TV channel or a FAST one since Philo mixes the two together, but they were advertising Mortal Kombat's DLC alongside all the shit mobile games. They also showed a commercial for the Silent Hill 2 remake when I went to see Terrifier 3 the other night. There may be more, but I normally zone out during commercials because they're fucking commercials.

Come to think of it, I wonder if the reason that some of us end up being out of the loop on what games are coming out is not only because of ad-blockers, but also because many of us don't watch traditional television. I've also noticed that there are many movies that I know nothing of until I check the page of what's playing at my local theater, like the aforementioned Terrifier.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Marketing nowadays is giving early access review codes to streamers and YouTube reviewers.

I must not be watching the right YouTubers. Like others, I don't really watch TV or check game journos, but I also don't bother with shill YouTubers. I don't know what the last Angry Joe, GmanLives, and ShillUp video I watched, but they were long ago. Vtubers and Twitch streamers are completely alien to me.

 

[Idiotron]

The controversy is the marketing, it's how it's done these days.

 

[Stigma Dey Real]

I can only assume all those bait threads on /v/ are modern advertisements. You're supposed to start your own little culture war to get the dangerhairs and chuds to advertise your IP for you.

 

[Dr. Ricearoni]

Very recently, a gas pump spoke to me and told me to buy Halloween-themed Roblox skins. This actually happened; it was not a schizophrenic episode.

They installed these new pumps with ads fucking everywhere like 2-3 years ago and clearly it backfired because fuckin nobody is buying adspace on them (you're advertising to an empty car while the target audience is inside the station pissing or buying soda) which leads to the video just playing the only ad for the gas station itself 24/7 on repeat or bottom of the barrel nonsense like this.

 

[Moths]

Hey guys its dickhead86 here to tell ya this video is sponsored by RAID SHADOW LEGENDS

 

[TheHarbinger]

The death of actual concentrated legitimate gaming journalism has killed the old way of previewing games. There used to be several media outlets in print and online that would give weekly or monthly previews of most games that were being released. Detailed interviews, game demos, tons of screenshots and videos, previews of the game modes and story, and so on. Presented professionally for a more sophisticated reading audience. Now everything is a loud screaming mobile game ad targeted at low IQ yellow skinned whale consumers. Billboards, pop ups, unskippable spam, and gas station pumps all bellowing at you.

On top of that major events like E3 are now replaced with ruthlessly corporate versions that heavily focus on the biggest 'service' games. Gone are the days of seeing new and innovative games or high risk projects. It's all about business models of microtransaction and 'live' and timed content to get every single dollar out of any possible consumer. Game awards shows, mimicking the corruption and degeneracy of (((hollywood))) awards ceremonies, are preferred to open trade shows.

The marketing is not smarter it's just louder. Annoying obnoxious mass marketed commercial spam level ads for games that are nothing more than a slot machine with a new theme. Once in a while you might get an Elden Ring or something like that. But games that are built like old PC or console games of the 90s or early 2000s are being drowned out in public spaces for the next mobile or lesbian walking simulator game. And social media has made this even worse.

Back in the day, I used to have an autistic knowledge of games. I could name most of the PS1-Xbox 360 library just from screenshots.

And those screenshots were usually chosen by the developers to be as memorable as possible and from significant moments in the game. Now it's just ear raping spam and noise being thrown at you 24/7 where you can't even escape the screaming at the gas pump.

 

[Ibanez RG 350EX]

I can only assume all those bait threads on /v/ are modern advertisements. You're supposed to start your own little culture war to get the dangerhairs and chuds to advertise your IP for you.

Considering how games surrounded by culture war controversy continue to bomb spectacularly, I don't think it's a winning ad strategy.

 

[analrapist]

Back in the day, I used to have an autistic knowledge of games. I could name most of the PS1-Xbox 360 library just from screenshots.

The problem, I think, is that you are old. I say this out of sympathy, because I've experienced the same (albeit my mental "screenshot" vocabulary was NES/SMS -> Genesis/SNES + DOS-VGA).

The kids have no trouble finding the new stuff. I don't even frequent places where I casually run into new games.

I expect you've just matured out of the marketing demographics most games are targeted at any more.