Am i the only one conscious of this?

[QQQQ]

It would be like Game telling you to go shop somewhere else.

Steam games are only available via Steam - Game sell Steam Only games. I see n difference here. Agreed, at moment, all money goes to FD,

I know i'd rather have 1,000,000 unit sales with a 10% commission to game shops/sites than 500,000 units at full price.

The high street store argument is a red herring, the point is actually that in my view the lack of marketing for Elite Dangerous is a big negative. I hope I'm wrong, I hope I've just missed the marketing, but time can only tell and it will be obvious.

If marketing doesn't work, we'll end up playing with the same audience (the backers and betas), no extra money in FD's pockets....

Would they still develop the planetary landing add on then ?

Like I say, hope i'm wrong.

 

[Colas]

I was a backer of Star Commander(*)... and learned about Elite Dangerous on one of the related forums

Also, there was a very in depth review by Canard PC (a French magazine with no ties with nor ads from the game industry) side by side with Star Commander, that praised a lot ED. Otherwise, most of the gaming press is deeply corrupt, no chance to be mentioned if you don't pay them in some way.

(*)Ironically, I played Star Commander only some minutes, time to get nauseous (I get nausea from some games, I guess I am sensitive to either the FOV or the way textures are rendered, even on their youtube/switch video captures). No issue with ED on this front.

 

[Obsidian Ant]

Guys ! I want ED to be majorly successful. But im concerned ...

Elite - 1984 - possibly one of the most influential games to help shape the future of 3D gaming and space simulation.

Elite Dangerous - Kickstarters most successful computer game launch - clearly on the back of the thousands of 40 somethings seeing the opportunity to relive their youth.

nine days before the official launch of what many say will be the leader in space simulation/trading.... a feat of programming engineering and a game with thousands and thousands of ks and beta backers.

So why is it when i walk around town, in none of the game shops can I see a single mention of Elite Dangerous ?

It sadden's me!

Where's the marketing?

A lot of huge PC games have no marketing in shops. The game isn't really aimed at the crowd that visits shops that sell console games...

Minecraft had zero advertising for a long time.
Planetside 2
Eve Online
Terraria
DayZ
Rust
Magicka
The Binding of Isaac
Super Meatboy
Dota 2
League of Legends
Warframe


All of these and many more are huge, huge games that have redefined their respective genres...yet you will see very little - and in most cases nothing - of these games in any shop...

 

[ste]

Steam games are only available via Steam - Game sell Steam Only games. I see n difference here. Agreed, at moment, all money goes to FD,

I know i'd rather have 1,000,000 unit sales with a 10% commission to game shops/sites than 500,000 units at full price.

The high street store argument is a red herring, the point is actually that in my view the lack of marketing for Elite Dangerous is a big negative. I hope I'm wrong, I hope I've just missed the marketing, but time can only tell and it will be obvious.

If marketing doesn't work, we'll end up playing with the same audience (the backers and betas), no extra money in FD's pockets....

Would they still develop the planetary landing add on then ?

Like I say, hope i'm wrong.

They have to make planetary landings because we already paid for it.

Not all games have marketing, especially the independent publisherless game makers like frontier. Steam and Game must have some kind of deal. Ive never noticed Steam games in Game but I havent been in game since I started Downloading all my games.

Frontier are trying to copy the minecraft way. They sell from their own store. You cant buy that on steam and before it came out on console you wouldnt see that in stores either. No marketing. All sales done on word of mouth and reviews, promotions and events like what frontier have been doing. Its sold about 20mil on PC. That game also released as a work in progress being developed around the players as it went along.

I heard them mention plans to pay youtubers who put up Elite videos and link them to the store.

This is how small devs do it. You wont see any adverts on TV or anything. Unless it does like 10 million sales and by then it doesnt really need it.

It doesnt have to break sale records day 1, a steady growth. Where it snowballs as more and more people hear about it.

 

[B0baFett0]

I've seen adverts plastered over alot of websites recently, which may be down to analytics, which kind of defeats the purpose of adverts.

I'm pretty sure I saw a TV spot for it once aswell.

Aren't FD going multi-platform with ED? They could be holding back the ads for then, PC gamers are generally more informed than console gamers, so they know where to go for gaming news etc.

 

[skydivertricky]

The problem with marketing apc game is you may pick up a crowd with£300 dell laptops, who then complain they can't run it. Pc games generally know about pc games, I doubt a big marketing campaign and physical sales are really going to be worth it.

 

[GHDW]

As a casual observer of FD my guess is marketing and/or public relations are being handled all in-house, so mistakes are made out of ignorance rather than malice. In North America I have yet to see any marketing for E: D but perhaps advertising revenue is being channelled locally as people have seen a TV advertisement. Heck, I ever stated before that I'd run around downtown Toronto with a Viper costume to get attention, but I digress.

 

[Sav112]

Been out of gaming for a good seven or so years being project reality Mod on BF2 being my last outing. I opened a steam account (Sav112) but have yet to buy a game on it I’m so old school. I have Elite in their store ready to download when I’m ready and when I get a new PC.

ED has been well covered in magazines as far as I can see. BBC has covered it a few times. Everyone that knows about that Star citizen probably knows what Elite is all about. IF the Game takes off (no pun intended) new players will flood in along with investment. Elite has a bit of prestige attached to it. Reputation to build and character to develop. Online players like that and I think once it starts Elite will be the new standard again. It started it all off after all being the original. Who needs game stores just word of mouth. If the game is as good as it looks and builds from release then it will take care of itself.

Does it need a flashy big poster in places like “Game” I don’t think it does. As I said I know FD want complete control of how it sells and how it updates but I think they need to think about a steam link as today it seems to be the way people go about purchasing and playing and where they go looking for new games.

Dayz will probably be my first Steam game in time but just now my game wallet is empty on it. But its interesting reading reviews and what’s newly out.

 

[MarcusReed]

I haven't been to a video game store in years. Was the Elite kickstarter marketed in stores? I really don't think its needed in this day and age.

 

[nexxo]

Well, there's this:



So I guess some gamers know...

 

[SgtLennin]

I showed some Youtube videos to a 17 year old son of friends. After explaining the scope of the game and its history he wants to have it. He even was curious what Elite looked like in 1984, he was impressed. A 3D space simulator with thousands of planets cropped in a few kilobytes.

 

[el_tel]

Maybe on the 16th December we should all undertake to wear out E T-Shirts (should we own one).
Every little helps.

 

[Distance]

Physical game shops these days focus on selling 2nd hand console games and preorders for soon to be 2nd hand console games.

 

[CMDR Sheehy]

All the shops are subject to the publishers. Publishers don't want ED to be successful because that would distract people from playing other games, so they're not going to advertise it.

The only place this is going to be advertised is the web and social media. Did you see the snippet from the latest newsletter. They're planning a new video... I've only got two words. It doesn't cost anything for us to do them to get the word out: Like, Share

 

[Roybe]

Our 'huge game' will probably be a niche game for the foreseeable future. This means that half a million 'box' sales will be acceptable, a million would be exceptional. Marketing costs money and that money that could be spent on development. Retention becomes problematic as those that originally buy the game will be responsible for purchasing DLC/updates. FD is doing a balancing act between marketing and development. Steam has issues for developers on profit sharing...I believe. The consumers do not pay the bills at Steam, directly. The devs give Steam a part of their profits, and have to code specific items into the game to get them to work under the platform. Many do not want to do this. ED is one of them.

 

[ethrom]

I had similar thought be agree with the trend in buying games is more online. But I would be hoping magazine like PC Gamer would be hyping the game more. The did recent spread on Wow Draenor and this month it was Star Citizen which is not even coming out for over a year ! I would have hoped to see Elite Dangerous as it was being released now. I back Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous. I think ED has great potential and would like to see more advertising.

 

[Steve 67]

Guys ! I want ED to be majorly successful. But im concerned ...

Elite - 1984 - possibly one of the most influential games to help shape the future of 3D gaming and space simulation.

Elite Dangerous - Kickstarters most successful computer game launch - clearly on the back of the thousands of 40 somethings seeing the opportunity to relive their youth.

nine days before the official launch of what many say will be the leader in space simulation/trading.... a feat of programming engineering and a game with thousands and thousands of ks and beta backers.

So why is it when i walk around town, in none of the game shops can I see a single mention of Elite Dangerous ?

It sadden's me!

Where's the marketing?

Your not alone OP and no! your not the only one concious of it.

Try to put yourself in Frontier's position & remember these guy's know how to release & market 'games' right!

Would you want to spend BIG money and put a HUGE effort on drawing in large numbers very quickly (from all demographics!) into a bottleneck we call December 16th, or would you see commercial value and community satisfaction in allowing the release to be more organic over a longer period?

In today's (online) world as we wax lyrical about the beauty & excitement of Elite: Dangerous post launch, WE become the marketing force and I believe both Frontier and the community benefit by taking this more traditional approach in the long term.

Not being on the shelves is a tremendous plus for everyone really! Sales will come... and Frontier will succeed, of that there is no doubt.

Another big thing to remember is there's no greedy publisher sat behind this. Frontier are everything and make every decision. They plan for release & they plan for server loads so please don't be sad and please don't fear for Frontier's success.

"Build it and they will come!"

I imagine big things will happen over a long period of time! How different that model is to today's annual money grab from the AAA titles that are sat on those shop shelves, pimped by corporate publishers & flogged until they fail This is a title with TRUE long term growth potential... how exciting that it's not yet reached the hoards...

I believe Elite: Dangerous deserves a store of it's own! not just shelf space alongside some regurgitated tripe from last year.

These are monumental gaming times we're living in! Things are changing globally and while 90% of recent titles let down large parts of the community or in some way fail to deliver on what they promise or market! it's such a huge credit to Frontier and David Braben for taking this path.

Utmost respect! and like you, I wish them all the very best for launch and way, way beyond.

 

[dannyboy]

"Game" - a company still flourishing on the high street, which does still sell PC games, has sold games that are "steam only" or "download only" or "online only" and the fact that Elite Dangerous may well only be an online game, does not justify it not being pushed via the high street.

OP - to be fair, Game Stores are hardly 'flourishing' - they went into administration in 2012 and had to close nearly half their stores! A subsequent court ruling in February this year also meant they're now liable for millions of pounds of rent, which was due just prior to their entering administration.

Aside from that though, their PC section has been pathetic for years now - if you're lucky you might find a couple of shelves at the back of the store. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Game stores thriving again (rather than just surviving), and with PC gaming properly represented. But both of those are unlikely to happen and, as things stand currently, I don't blame FD one bit for not bothering to use Game as a vehicle to sell their product.

 

[QQQQ]

OP - to be fair, Game Stores are hardly 'flourishing' - they went into administration in 2012 and had to close nearly half their stores! A subsequent court ruling in February this year also meant they're now liable for millions of pounds of rent, which was due just prior to their entering administration.

Aside from that though, their PC section has been pathetic for years now - if you're lucky you might find a couple of shelves at the back of the store. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Game stores thriving again (rather than just surviving), and with PC gaming properly represented. But both of those are unlikely to happen and, as things stand currently, I don't blame FD one bit for not bothering to use Game as a vehicle to sell their product.

The fact Game had so many stores was in my opinion, one of the main reasons they were struggling. The company, on the whole, has not been flourishing, but in Bolton, Trafford, Manchester & Bury (all near me), they are always packed at weekends, even with their ropey PC section

But we digress.....

My point is, I have seen very little marketing, even online and it concern's me that the game may not get the coverage, recognition and sales it deserves.

In Frontier's expertise we trust !

Q

 

[dannyboy]

I agree with your overall point that the more marketing this game receives, the better. For all their faults, I guess that's one of the benefits of the big publishers - plenty of financial clout when it comes to ensuring that even your Nan has heard of a game by the time it's released (examples being prime-time TV ads for Activision & Ubisoft titles such as COD and Far Cry). But I suppose with money not being a bottomless pit for FD, they have to be very selective and careful where they spend their marketing budget and, to a certain extent, rely on word-of-mouth to get Elite publicised.