How to Do Viral Advertising Wrong

[IainC]

Some genius at Eidos gets 10/10 for keenness and minus several million out of ten for subtlety.

[Trippy]

Maybe he just really really liked Soul Bubbles

[schild]

Soul Bubbles if godddddddddddamned exceptional. It was one of my runner ups for Game of the Year. Had it not been for N+ and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, it would've been my DS GOTY.

Edit: Point being, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that might've very well been an honest vote and faulting him for that is dumb. Now had he picked one of those Eidos shovelware girl titles, I'd agree with the dude's reasoning out there (for outing him). But Soul Bubbles? Crappy fight to pick.

[Krakrok]

Nominating your own game is bad how?

Here were the "rules":

Hi guys, it's time for you to vote on your games of the year for 2008. We've divided the different categories into separate threads to make it easier for us to collate things down the line. As with the Reader's Top 50 we ran earlier in the year, we would like to print some of your reasons for choosing the games in question. Try and keep the reasons for your votes to around 100 words or so.

[schild]

Looks like Kotaku is used to being the bearer of incorrect and badly reasoned news:

http://kotaku.com/5124063/no-eidos-you-cant-vote-for-your-own-games-in-a-goty-poll

Everyone sucks. Everyone.

Edit: Seriously though, it's a game almost no one played. Much like movies that were excellent get snubbed at the Oscars because they're mostly unknown, Soul Bubbles will have this problem as well. Maybe I've gone soft, somehow - but I still don't see the problem.

[Trippy]

People don't like shills.

[UnSub]

Oh wow, Hyper is still alive in some form.

Looking further, it apparently still is a magazine I could buy every month. If it didn't suck hard, that is. I'd rather wait and get a GamesTM that is 3 months out of date but contains excellent articles rather than "Australian content" that is exactly the same as every other Gamespro-esque mag.

[schild]

People don't like shills.

Then they should think twice before calling to freaking Kotaku for exposure of such a COLOSSAL GAMING STORY.

[Krakrok]

Looks like Kotaku is used to being the bearer of incorrect and badly reasoned news:
http://kotaku.com/5124063/no-eidos-you-cant-vote-for-your-own-games-in-a-goty-poll

I like how Kotaku's information on the game consists of a cut and paste job of a Eidos' press release.

http://kotaku.com/369680/soul-bubbles-gallery

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Edit: Spelling.

[Trippy]

People don't like shills.

Then they should think twice before calling to freaking Kotaku for exposure of such a COLOSSAL GAMING STORY.

Slow news day

[UnSub]

Before today, I had no idea a game called Soul Bubbles existed. Viral marketing campaign success!

[schild]

People don't like shills.

Then they should think twice before calling to freaking Kotaku for exposure of such a COLOSSAL GAMING STORY.

Slow news day

Every day is a slow news day. This is videogames. Not hollywood. A nipple slip here is a nude patch for Tomb Raider.

[Margalis]

I don't see the problem. They made a good game and the employees thought it was good.

What's preferable, making games that even the devs hate?

[MahrinSkel]

I suddenly have a powerful urge to go out and buy Soul Bubbles.  And I don't even have a DS.

--Dave

[Margalis]

I don't get how this guy is being accused of subterfuge or being a plant when he sent the email with his Eidos address.

It would be like me voting for Secret of Evermore 2 as Wii HD game of the year 2011. Which I fully intend on doing. 

[Tebonas]

I think I'll be buying Soul Bubble just to spite those retards. Hope it is any good.

[schild]

I don't get how this guy is being accused of subterfuge or being a plant when he sent the email with his Eidos address.

It would be like me voting for Secret of Evermore 2 as Wii HD game of the year 2011. Which I fully intend on doing. 

Wouldn't shock me. Hell, the Saga team somehow gets to keep making games. Though they might not be allowed to design them after Unlimited Saga.

[Triforcer]

I don't get how this guy is being accused of subterfuge or being a plant when he sent the email with his Eidos address.

It would be like me voting for Secret of Evermore 2 as Wii HD game of the year 2011. Which I fully intend on doing. 

This is the second time you've mentioned this on these forums, but I can't find anything on Google.  STOP TAUNTING US WITH SWEET FANTASIES THAT ARE LIKELY HORRIBLE LIES. 

[schild]

Wait? You WANT Secret of Evermore 2?

What?

[Phildo]

Would Secret of Evermore 2 be released on the Nintendo 64 Gamecube Wii DS?

[Triforcer]

It was awesome.  Is this in dispute?

[schild]

I don't know how to answer that.

Mostly because it was terrible and I've never heard anyone try to say otherwise.

I think Squaresoft should localize Treasures of the Rudra and release it on the VC. That's a fucking game worth playing.

[Triforcer]

I don't know how to answer that.

Mostly because it was terrible and I've never heard anyone try to say otherwise.

I think Squaresoft should localize Treasures of the Rudra and release it on the VC. That's a fucking game worth playing.

Between this and our exchange about Starship Troopers, I'm starting to suspect that B-movie comedy is not your cup of tea. 

[schild]

I don't know how to answer that.

Mostly because it was terrible and I've never heard anyone try to say otherwise.

I think Squaresoft should localize Treasures of the Rudra and release it on the VC. That's a fucking game worth playing.

Between this and our exchange about Starship Troopers, I'm starting to suspect that B-movie comedy is not your cup of tea. 

Secret of Evermore was not purposeful schlock. It was just bad.

Starship Trooper was, god I hope, purposeful schlock. Instead it just turned out shit. It was more like D or F or E-Movie. Alien vs. Predator is B.

[Margalis]

What the hell is Treasures of the Rudra?

[schild]

What the hell is Treasures of the Rudra?

Oh hey, I left off an S. Rudras. Anyway, it's a great Square game from back in the day, FF6 period. Also, Live-A-Live would be a good one to bring over as it was fantastic. Oh, and Treasure Hunter G.

Might I recommend playing through the Square back catalog? 

Seriously though, Aeon Genesis has translated most of it. And if they didn't, other groups did.

[IainC]

I don't get how this guy is being accused of subterfuge or being a plant when he sent the email with his Eidos address.

It would be like me voting for Secret of Evermore 2 as Wii HD game of the year 2011. Which I fully intend on doing. 

If he had sent an email to the staff saying 'Our game is pretty awesome, why not list it in your GOTY poll?' that would have been cool and pretty much marketing Doing its Job. Making a forum account to post nothing except poorly framed endorsements of the game smacks of amateur hour. Maybe it's just me but I would be embarrassed to be associated with that kind of activity.

[Tebonas]

Which, to me, indicates that it may very well be one employee liking a game he worked on a little too much and not the mighty marketing machine of Eidos trying to plug their game. As you said, amateur hour.

[schild]

I don't get how this guy is being accused of subterfuge or being a plant when he sent the email with his Eidos address.

It would be like me voting for Secret of Evermore 2 as Wii HD game of the year 2011. Which I fully intend on doing. 

If he had sent an email to the staff saying 'Our game is pretty awesome, why not list it in your GOTY poll?' that would have been cool and pretty much marketing Doing its Job. Making a forum account to post nothing except poorly framed endorsements of the game smacks of amateur hour. Maybe it's just me but I would be embarrassed to be associated with that kind of activity.

Smacking of Amateur hour and being honest are two different things. Hyper was asking for honest votes. Even if it was shill, they still might've been. And if his only goal was to gain exposure for Soul bubbles, well, we're still talking about it. Doesn't look like Amateur hour to me. Not from the marketing side.

Had that administrator had any idea of how to handle it, particularly when it comes to marketing shills, he would've deleted the posts, fired off an email to the marketer and maybe his boss, and then proceeded to Not Say Anything that would draw attention to it. When trying to stop a shill and marketer, you don't want to make it more noteworthy.

[stray]

I guess it's OK. Tons of people are involved in a game to the point where one team member can see themselves as a separate entity as well, and still appreciate it as a fan. If it was a music album, or a novel or something, it'd be a different story.

[UnSub]

I would again like to point out that it happened on Hyper. No-one cares about Hyper.

[schild]

I would again like to point out that it happened on Hyper. No-one cares about Hyper.

Apparently lots of people do. People latch on to the weirdest things.

[UnSub]

I would again like to point out that it happened on Hyper. No-one cares about Hyper.

Apparently lots of people do. People latch on to the weirdest things.

According to one of the softest wiki entries I've ever read the actual mag only has a circulation of 17k and the forums has only 450 members (489 according to the site). I don't see the reach on this, other than IainC's original link.

You'd think if someone wanted to get some exposure to a title they'd go to a bigger place than Hyper, but perhaps I'm missing Hyper's massive market power in the gaming industry.

[Lantyssa]

According to one of the softest wiki entries I've ever read the actual mag only has a circulation of 17k and the forums has only 450 members (489 according to the site). I don't see the reach on this, other than IainC's original link.

You'd think if someone wanted to get some exposure to a title they'd go to a bigger place than Hyper, but perhaps I'm missing Hyper's massive market power in the gaming industry.

You'd think that.  Have you heard employers are telling recruiters to not send them anyone who plays WoW?  I'll see if I can dig up a link.

[UnSub]

Really? But WoW players are all incredibly attractive, sexually virile individuals with minds sharp like a ninja blades and a sense of purpose that leaves lesser mortals trembling in their wake. Who wouldn't hire WoW players?