The PR on this game has been extraordinary.

It was only whilst walking past the billboard that I wondered about the game’s advertising strategy. What is the big idea behind it? Does it, in fact, need one when it’s clearly going to sell (and has sold) millions?

It made me ask around and do a quick survey on what makes people want to buy the game and here is a selection of the comments I received back:

* because i love CoD

* I bought it to be a social animal as my friends list are all on it and I missed the boat on MW1

* I’ll almost certainly get it at the weekend when I know I’ll have the time to play it properly.

* nope can’t say I’ve heard of it.  seen the tv ads for some war games but couldn’t name them – look cool though.

* yes, it was in the free paper I read on the train the other day

Those comments come from a range of people (all men, incidentally) who are a mixed bunch of gamers, ex-gamers, very casual gamers and non-gamers. Not surprisingly the gamers had all heard of MW2 and all expressed a desire to own it. Some were keen to get it as quickly as possible (some had bought it on pre-order) and others, whilst keen, were happy to hold off the purchase until it suited them.

The casual and ex-gamers had registered the fuss and, at best, acknowledged its good looks. They were’t moved to buy it especially if that meant having to buy the console to go with it. For them, this wasn’t the game that would drag them into the joys of modern gaming.

So that made me even more curious. The game is fabulous. It’s selling by the bucketload. It’s being launched into a climate where interest in modern warfare is high and it has a budget behind it that brings video game marketing in line with film marketing.

That’s when I began to look at the advertising in a little more detail and found very little in the way of sophisticated communication or strategy. I felt the PR and so had my core sampling of casual gamers but the advertising was something else altogether.

It was, at best, a clear example of support strategy. It’s role, as far as I can tell, is to remind us that the game is out there and that it is big enough to warrant an outdoor spend. On TV the visuals are stunning – to the gamer who, as we know from my detailed research (ahem) were sold early on by the strength of the brand and the advance word generated by PR.

Activision won’t be grumbling over the sales of course. It made over $300 million in 24 hours (take THAT film industry) – who would grumble with that?

But I’m drawn back to the advertising because it could have done more. Actually, it could have done something. It talks to the initiated leaving the unintiated to stare at the image of a soldier. This could be for any war game. The cover art is lovely – moody and violent and beautifully realised by the design agency (or perhaps by Infinity Ward themselves).

But packaging is not advertising and this could have been a marvellous opportunity. There is no big idea, no added value to the advertising. Essentially it is a picture and a logo and why pay an agency for that?

And then all this leaves me wondering about something. If another publisher had pushed out a cheaper, similarly packaged game at the same time how would it have fared? Would it have benefitted from Modern Warfare’s generic advertising strategy?

©2012 HEAD BLOG. All Rights Reserved.

Sometimes they get it right!

Typically when a game has launched in recent years it is available in 2 or 3 different editions. No matter what its moniker, it heralds the promise of bonus extras, special packaging or exclusive content, and as you’d expect more money. Halo 3 launched in Europe back on September 26 2007 with 3: Standard Edition, Limited Edition and the only-disappointing-because-we-couldn’t-wear-the-Spartan-Mjolnir-MarkVI-helmet Legendary Edition. Now, I can see the need for publishers to elevate the standing of their title in an often over-crowded release window but to the buying public is it really worth the extra money? Sure I ponied up the extra cash (somewhere in the region of £50 if I remember correctly) and stumped for the Legendary Edition because, well, frankly it looked cool! And since the release date have I actually flicked through the “Bestiarum”, a collection of original Halo 3 storyboard art, or watched either of the 2 bonus discs of behind-the-scenes, creative process, documentary featurettes? No. Did I eye up the Spartan Helmet once or twice in the 2 weeks it sat on my office shelf before being put back in it’s box and wonder if maybe, just maybe it would somehow fit on my head? Yes, but that’s not the point.

The fact is, despite being grabbed by the assumed ‘coolness’ of it all and the extra goodies that were included, all I was ultimately interested in, and was actually buying, was the game. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that? In amongst all the extra fluff, you got a copy of the game – you know, the thing you originally went online to buy?! Super fantastic limited collector’s editions are always a good way to stand out from the crowd and get people talking about your game, often pulling in lots of pre-orders as a result but it seems that people get far too carried away by it. The game is what you’re interested in, it’s what you’ve been waiting for, what you’re going to sink countless hours in to playing. Once upon a time limited editions brought something to the table, they rewarded you for stumping up the extra cash, and usually they truly were ‘limited’. Lots of the editions released today are simply cashing in on people’s misguided beliefs that more money and the word ‘special’ or ‘limited’ means they’re getting something good and unique with added value for money. Of late the biggest sell out of these so called value-added incentives are the unlock codes for special or exclusive in-game items, usually clothing, weapons or maps… that can often be unlocked through the course of playing the game anyway, or are released for purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace or PSN a few weeks after release! Special editions rarely live up to the hype. What seemed cool weeks or months before release, hits the light of day and soon becomes somewhat disappointing, the special packaging and bonus discs gather dust on the shelf surrounded by questions of ‘why did I bother buying that?’, or ‘was it worth the extra money?’.

Sure, sometimes they get it right. Halo 3 Legendary Edition was only available in limited numbers and the Spartan Helmet in many ways was worth the extra cash for looking so cool, if a little too small. The Fallout 3 Survival Edition added lots of extra value to the geek-minded individual in the form of a Vault-Tec Lunch Box, Vault Boy Bobblehead and wait for it, life-size Pip-Boy 3000, all be it as an alarm clock. Resident Evil 4′s chainsaw controller on the PS2 and Game Cube also succeeded in adding something special to your purchase without taking any of the attention away from the game itself.

Give me $149 and turn out the lights...

Is there a limit to what publishers will charge for, and bundle as special or limited? At a time when people’s pockets are hardly overflowing with disposable income you’d think there would be a cap to it all. Maybe there is but nobody told Infinity Ward and Acitivsion. The next big thing is their Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition which is to include fully functioning night vision goggles! Yes, night vision goggles!! No more turning on the lights at 3am to stumble to the fridge mid-gaming session for a well deserved refuelling. There is still no word on UK pricing but in the US it’ll be kindly asking for $149 before turning out the lights and shooting you in the face. (To put that in some context, Halo 3′s Legendary Edition cost $129.99 2 years ago for a plastic helmet that can just about fit your cat!) Is this going a step beyond what gamers want and are prepared to pay for? Hell no! There will always be those gamers out there who are prepared to go that extra mile in their quest for geekdom. No doubt when available for pre-order there’ll be a mad rush of people trying to get their hands on these no matter the financial burden. Sometimes cool is just worth that little bit extra.

Tempted? I know I am!

<UPDATE 17/07)> Activision have confirmed the UK price of the standard edition to be £54.99, still no word on the Prestige Edition however. The higher than normal price for the standard edition of the game is attributed to the weak pound and high development costs. I’m thinking prestige is going to be pretty damaging to your pocket!

<UPDATE… AGAIN 17/07)> The UK price for the Prestige Edition has now been announced! Coming in at £119.99 it will only be available to purchase through HMV online, it will not be available in store. With the current exchange rate that equates to around £30 more than the US but hey, that’s nothing new! If you are unlucky enough to live in France or Belgium the price is immaterial, night vision goggles are banned there so if there is a Prestige Edition it’ll be substantially different. Time to visit HMV.co.uk……. whoooops that’s that pre-ordered!!

©2012 HEAD BLOG. All Rights Reserved.