So where does the marketing come in? The title makes no sense.
..... Leo..... are you drunk?
Nope. Not at all.
Someone will get it soon enough, or if there are no guesses, I'll explain.
phantom_leo said:So what do you think?
About what? 
Maybe Archie will get it?
'Nother Clue.
Look at this Page. Anything stick out like a sore-thumb?
Is there a certain game that you think could've benefitted from some better marketing, Leo? Anything in particular, like say a game that you have experienced recently?
Getting Warmer!
The "idea" that I had is the TITLE of this topic, and the game is just an illustration.
True Story:
Back in the 90's, two Electronic's Boutiques were comparing sales numbers for launch window game titles after the release of the Nintendo 64. One store was full of Playstation fans. Another was full of Nintendo fans.
The store full of Playstation fans, never played Blast Corps. but was selling it as "Nintendo's Answer to Twisted Metal." Four out of Five of their sales of this game resulted in returns.
The store full of Nintendo fans, having played Blast Corps, sold it as a highly unique and different, vehicle/puzzle game. One out of Five of their sales resulted in a return.
Cult Classic. Same title. Not many choices for quality 64 titles at that particular point in time. Perception was everything!
Did I mention the Nintendo fan-store was the Number 2 selling store for N64 consoles in the entire country?
That's TWO cool, Leo.
phantom_leo said:Four out of Five of their sales of this game resulted in returns.
That's why stores don't allow returns for opened software anymore.
travo said:That's TWO cool, Leo.
You're not on the right tracko, Travo. I'm not talking about Two Worlds 2!
...If that's what you mean by your post!
I fail!
Aren't there any CastleVania fans here anymore?
Does the game I am describing sound appealing?
I don't know if I should be sad about this or gratified. The lack of responses and most of all RECOGNITION actually PROVES the point of this topic. The game I was describing above ACTUALLY EXISTS!! It is, in fact, CastleVania: Harmony of Despair for the 360! It is a classic example of just how WRONG marketing can go and what it does to the sales of a game.
You see, when CastleVania HD was being previewed and REVIEWED it focused on ALL the wrong things. It was marketed as CASTLEVANIA in HIGH DEFINITION. It was touted as being a CastleVania, exclusive to 360 Arcade. It was marketed as being Multiplayer, Online CastleVania...
...and no one cared!
People saw characters they already knew. They saw stages they already played. They were offered absolutely NOTHING new or enticing about this game.
It is, for all intents and purposes, a NEW Style of CastleVania Game, but how was anyone to know? It is basically a CastleVania LOOT Game. Had it been marketed as such, it probably would have attracted the CORRECT crowd and been a fairly well-known SUCCESS!
You play through Side-Scrolling Stages. You open different color Chests. These Chests contain Weapons, Armors, Items and Money. Enemies drop items too. Some enemies have EXTREMELY RARE Drops! You'll start the game woefully under-leveled and practically bare-handed and (like any good loot game) proceed to GRIND! You'll gather items and money. You'll equip what you need, sell off the rest and purchase new and better items and weapons as you go.
You see, people who like LOOT GAMES DON'T CARE about the Stages being reminiscent of past games. THEY are the players that will play the SAME GAME for 840 hours, grinding different Characters for level after level after level! This game was made for them, but until they actually BOUGHT it and PLAYED it, they would have had NO IDEA what the game was about!
Look at that GameFaqs links above, though!! THIS little, practically unknown, mostly-ignored, Downloadable Game has been sitting in the TOP-TEN Discussed Games and the General TOP-TEN Games for 360 for MONTHS! It is sitting up there with Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dead Space 2, Halo: Reach and Mass Effect 2!! Those who have discovered it for what it was and have played it, L-O-V-E it and it has QUITE a devoted following! I myself had this game for months... AND HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS I WAS SITTING ON ! ! !
Remember at the Konami Conference when Koji Igarashi was begging people to play this game?! I am pretty sure now, he knew THEN, it was not going to be sold right and the sales would be a negative reflection on HIM. Konami releasing it just before Lords of Shadow, also certainly DIDN'T help!
Here are all your favorite CastleVania Heroes, together in a brand new STYLE of game, possessing all of their Unique Skills, Magic and Abilities, fighting tons of Classic Foes and Bosses! How can ANY fan of CastleVania --NOT-- be excited about this?!
...and how about THIS:
Did you know there are faithfully reproduced 8-bit stages in the game too? 'Course you didn't! Know why? BAD MARKETING!!
Now, I know the 360 wasn't the best place to release this title. There's probably not a lot of 360 owning, former GBA/DS and Classic gaming fans. They tend to own the Wii and PS3. That there are people who have found this game and follow it as devotedly as they do, as is illustrated by GameFaqs, is somewhat encouraging... but a bigger failure of Marketing and Advertising I don't think I'll ever know!
Sorry about the cryptic nature of this topic! The real clue to what I was referring to was sitting in my Gamer Tag in my signature all along! Yep! There's Soma's face staring back at you! I'm going to use this topic to update occassionally my discoveries in this little Gem to try and bring a little more well-deserved attention to it in the weeks to come!
For all the Order of Ecclesia fans out there!
phantom_leo said:The real clue to what I was referring to was sitting in my Gamer Tag in my signature all along! Yep! There's Soma's face staring back at you!
I have signatures disabled.
When it came out I remember people being generally unenthusiastic about it, with the only thing of note being that you could zoom all the way out and see the entire castle.
But it was talked about quite a bit, it was a part of the annual MS summer of whatever.
Yeah. They focused on all of the features EXCEPT for the actual gameplay.
Let's see what you think of this idea I have:
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Some of the best games of the past decade have taken proven franchises and introduced new game mechanics to an already recognizable world. Take CastleVania for example: What used to be a simple action platformer, had Metroid elements added to it and it spawned Symphony of the Night and the numerous GBA and DS versions. What was once a classic series was modernized with incredible success.
How about Baldur's Gate? It was an incredibly popular PC series. On the PC it was strict role-playing. Once taken to consoles, yes, the controls and game mechanics were simplified QUITE a bit, but they made it a Diablo style game instead. They threw in some pretty high-def graphics and colored lighting effects, some loot game elements and superb water effects and another successful series was spawned. Sony took this even farther with their Norrath games and brought the fun online for console players; that was a move way ahead of it's time, but for the people who liked the game, they were HOOKED!
I want to see more of this! How about a CastleVania style Diablo game? You've already got the rich history, background, enemies and characters. You've got plenty of weapon types, beyond just the whips; plenty of magic, skills, items and artifacts! You have Magic Users, Vampire Slayers and even Rogue Vampires! They could be your character classes. They have already demonstrated that skill progression wouldn't be a problem, as this occurred in ALL the Metroid-Vania games. They could use existing characters, if they wished: Soma for example already possess the skills to absorb enemies' souls. Shanoa has her Glyphs. That would take care of the Skill-Tree element the game would require.
I don't know if I would prefer traditional Side-Scrolling, Top-Down Perspective or 3D...? You could totally have breakable objects like Candles and Statues replace the Crates and Barrels of the typical Diablo, Loot Style games too. You could get your requisite Gold to purchase new weapons and items that way, or have the breakables provide Hearts, the natural (M)agic (P)oint meter that would have to be implemented.
Throw in Online Multiplayer, of course! Now that every system has proven its Online viabilty, why not? There certainly aren't enough games available like this for the current generation of consoles! Imagine a Diablo Style CastleVania game with enemies like Death, Dracula or Legion (!) that would be powered up enough from their previous incarnations to provide a challenge to you and a bunch of your online buddies! Maybe explore well-known locales from previous CastleVania adventures with a party now, instead of just on your own?! How cool would that be?!
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So what do you think?