I heard the GamingRing GR8 podcast went very well last night. What did you think of it? I should be on next Thursday, and will have the game in front of me to answer some detailed questions.
I'm seeing the great impressions for the WWE Universe video we released yesterday. I really can't say enough about that mode -- it's a beauty!
This will be a pretty short blog today, but I did want to touch on something...
On Twitter, a guy tweeted that we had "piss poor marketing" this year. I'm a human being, and got offended and fired back at him. He then posted this response on his pretty awesome pro-wrestling site. Now, I didn't say exactly what he said in that podcast, but I understood that I rubbed him the wrong way. For that, I apologize not only to you but to everyone who clicked on that podcast and heard it.
I was so upset about it, that I offered to talk to the gentlemen right then on the phone. A few minutes later, I was having a real conversation with a very passionate fan of our game. It was a great conversation. It was much easier to convey my thoughts on the phone versus the 56 (exaggeration) characters I get on Twitter. He seemed pleased by my responses to his questions, and we ended on the right foot.
I guess the moral of the story is that I'll always be honest with you guys. Although I'll most certainly make mistakes, I'll always own up to them. I maintain that I'll talk to you the exact same way that you talk to me. I'm not trying to "sell" anything to you guys, and just want your help in making this game. Why would I just sit at my desk and try to think of all the ideas, if there are already thousands out there by you guys? That's my approach with the community engagement.
Anyway, do have a great weekend. Be safe, and enjoy yourselves!
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I think this is great. This shows what I hope people have already deduced about you: that you're a person, and are passionate about things just like anyone else.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it affected you enough that you were willing to have a real phone call with him is completely cool and something I feel is too often lacking in company-to-customer relations. This is why people say you're a "legend in this business." I'm sure you hate people saying that. But that is not a moniker that is well deserved by some who earn it in my opinion. But it seems well deserved in your case for sure.
Man. If would be a much cooler world if everyone handled their disagreements that way, would it not? And yes, text can be deceiving. It's so, so much easier when there's a human element, tone of voice, inflection, etc. to go by.
You're a credit to your profession, dude.
P.S.
ReplyDeleteI'm not kissing your ass, incidentally. I'm just a very passionate person too, and I'm kind of a hippy, so I'm very free with my feelings and appreciation of people's positive attitudes and contributions to things, because so few people really are that positive and that willing to try to go the extra mile to communicate with other human beings in our society lol.
Just so that's clear. :P
Let me start positively. I love svr, I love wrestling and follow your blog & Twitter daily.
ReplyDeleteI heard that guys recording and he's right. The marketing dept. is making some silly mistakes this year. I can tell you that as someone who has a little understanding of marketing because of my job.
You guys think we're on the edge of our seats when most of us are getting frustrated.
I've read a few posts on boards where people had money to preorder one game and since they didnt have screen info, went with something else...and I don't blame them. Sure, its usually kids and teens but hey, a dollar's a dollat right?
I love the interaction, that's an awesome move...for us obsessive types anyway.
Teasing info is fun for tank or whoever, but not for is...I dont want to have to check the svr site everyday...or listen to 3hr podcasts...I wanna know when info is coming. at this point we should know what's in the game and be able to make an informed choice to preorder.
People aren't pissed at you or the presentation...just the lack of info this late.
Well, Marcus... you were completely right, the entire time.
ReplyDeleteTo be brutally honest, you were 100% dead right with what you said and your perfect assertion that the fans are basically spoiled and ignorant of the position of you and those at THQ.
Your marketing is absolutely anything but "piss-poor". Unless, of course, "piss-poor" is a misspelling of "excellent". Because that's really what it's been completely. "Excellent".
Now, it's nice to see that you and this specific person, Shawn have patched things up, and come to professional terms so to speak...
But let's be honest with ourselves. He was still flat-out wrong and his assumptions about you and THQ's marketing were both ridiculous, laughable, ignorant and pathetic.
It's great that you've both resolved this amicably. But only so because I believe you were able to explain to him that he was wrong and why he was wrong. And indeed, also spoiled, and clueless about the basics of marketing. Even given the limited space you have with tweets to write with, it still pretty much conveyed all you needed to say.
The interaction, and timing of release information is designed to help the community like no other franchise in gaming history, and has been nothing but attentive, interesting, and exciting, to keep interest heavy right up to the release. To say anything else, is obviously not following or appreciating the truth of reality. Your marketing this year is incredible.
Also, in regards to the podcast, I honestly can say that the lack of your presence on it, (as understandable as that was), was seriously damaging, and caused the podcast to generally fall completly apart.
What we were left with, instead was just a couple of guys rambling about a few silly ideas that didn't even seem plausible, and near the tail end, some guy whining how you guys "only update the graphics" (which was a completely stupid statement and is 100% false.)
Without you on the podcast, I couldn't shake the feeling that what was left of it's shambles, was a lame conversation that went nowhere with a few derps whining about silly things, and by the end, broke down completly the the point of rambling boring, incoherent, and uninformed nitpicks and baffling complaints about "broken gameplay" behind your back.
I can understand that you had a meeting and that it was unavoidable, and it was about talking to Yukes and maintaining the standard of work on SvR.
But without your presence, i'd personally say the podcast was a complete wreck. And that's being charitable.
I'd look vastly forward to you returning next Thursday, if for no other reason than to have at least the one guy back who actually knows what they're talking about on it.
Please make another legends game.
ReplyDeleteMake another legends game?! WHY? The last one sucked complete ass. Dude, even Marcus and the THQ team basically admitted it was crap, and when they admit something's not good, that's amazing. Maybe if they took their time and did it right, but i'd rather them work on making a good game instead of a nostalgic game. Besides, that WWE-All Stars game is supposed to be like the same thing kinda, anyway. (even tho i'm not lookin' forward to that either lol)
ReplyDeleteVery good approach Marcus. I look forward to hearing more from both sides, and working with you on some of the stuff that DeShaun was telling me about.
ReplyDeleteMarcus, as frustrated as I am by the drawn out nature of the marketing, I understand that there's some strategy at work here that I don't understand and that the WWE is probably more to blame for it than anybody at THQ.
ReplyDeleteI think a whole bunch of what I and so many other folks in the community site are feeling is rooted in the fact that we already know we're buying the game. We're hooked on SvR and we'd be buying it even if only for some slight improvements, much less the motherlode we're getting this year (cheers for that, by the way). So when we're told that we're getting ten Legends and you only identify three, when we ask for the new SS moves and you can't say, when we're told about a corner finisher mode and we have to rely on crappy handheld videos to see what we can do with it, we get frustrated.
It's a bit like paying to get into a titty bar where the girls come on stage in layers of Antarctic snow gear or fully functioning astronaut EVA suits and strip to the entirety of Yes's "Tales from Topographic Oceans" album. At a month out from release, the music's almost over and you're still mostly covered up!
And in the end, I think that's exactly the problem, Clint. It's on the fans end, and entirely their fault for looking at it the wrong way, and not understanding it OR why it's worked like a charm despite the silly objections. If anything, the silly objections contribute to it's brilliance.
ReplyDeleteThe only criticisms of THQ's marketing job are coming soley from this silly direction of "Tell me everything now, do everything now, I want it now!" Obviously that's not going to work. And it would be the stupidest possible thing to do, to give them everythin all at once, in fact.
The reality of the situation is: Patience is a virtue that the fans fail to understand, even when it's clear that it continues to keep discussion of the game relevant, just as intended.
The real problem here is the lack of patience on the communities part, selfishness, entitlement issues and lack of understanding of marketing than that of any one impatient demand.
If everything was revealed all at once, there would be absolutely no weight, no reason, and really no point to such info.
It would undermine the entire marketing strategy, entirely, if the whines of the impatient fans had their way, and obviously THQ doesn't want to undermine it or have a complete lack of interest or care in the delivery after droppin everything on the community unceremoniously like a bomb.
In essense, the fans are the one that need to learn to be quiet, sit down, be civil and wait their turn. Then they'll realize that they did indeed get everything they wanted to know, and that they were selfish and impatient for nothing.
The marketing is so subtle and genius in rolling out a steady stream of information until the shipping of the game, it keeps all the info fresher than it would otherwise be.
It amazes me how such self-centered, selfish, impatient entitlement issues keep the fans from realizing something so obvious.
If everyone got what they wanted at the very beginning, it's absolutely assured that the majority would lose interest quickly, and stop caring.
It's really the fans fault for not understanding it, being selfish, being whiny, being impatient, and being ridiculously upset about things they are going to know in very due time anyway.
Even so, it's worked, regardless. Everyone can agree completely on that, anyway. In the end, that was their intent, and it's worked perfectly, in spite of any and all complaints.
It's been working like a charm, keeping interest high. Despite silly entitlement issues, impatience, and zero understanding of good marketing.
People will look back on this after Oct 26th and realize that they were affected by this genius marketing roll-out and that they never even noticed how well it worked, at least until they know everything and glance back and see how whiny and selfish they all acted for no good reason.
Short version of the above:
ReplyDeleteThe info stayed fresh and continued to be unveiled continuously.
All good marketing does this. Marvel vs Capcom 3 is doing this. Super Smash Bros Brawl did this. And we all know how effective those are/were.
This is absolutely the same thing.
If all the information was dropped all at one time, it would do nothing but make THQ appear as a company that doesn't care about the fans. This year, they've done all they could possibly do to bend over backwards to assure and let them know the complete opposite.
The marketing as been stellar and absolutely without fault on this.
If the fans fail to understand this because of some silly entitlement issues, and rabid impatience, I don't see how that's on anyone else but them as a community for bein blind and ignorant of good marketing and what a good strategy this has been AND how well it still managed to work.
Just the fact that there are people STILL writing on blogs, and forums even now is undeniable proof of THQ's marketing successes this year.
I say this no man is perfect Marcus. You will make mistakes and you will be wrong. I don't like how NPC were included with 70 wrestlers. But I do understand that THQ knows you can't blow your load on everything all at once...
ReplyDeleteTHQ did well
1.) First announcement stirs the talking
2.) E3 is where they show some beta and 1 new feature
3.) SummerSlam Reveal/ Community Event
4.) Roster Reveal then Legends slowly build it up.
5.) Information Reveals
6.) Release The Game
I enjoyed Bryan Williams gameplay video and Dan Ryan's WWE Universe video. I don't mind when some questions you when they are knowledge and can have an intelligent conversation with someone.
Can the game be better? Yes Will it get better? Yes I see you guys taking the best features from different games and trying to create a good to great wrestling game.
Releasing Information can help and hurt a game just like a demo too. Many assumptions and False Rumors could kill sales. IS there a perfect market strategy? Hell No
But all I can say is keep doing what you do and keep talking with the community I say some good people on IGN, GamingRing, CAWS, SvR Community Site, and etc. who acre about the game and we want it to be an NBA2K annual title that must be picked up every year and has it respect.
Animalz07 has spoken!!! lol jk
This:
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like paying to get into a titty bar where the girls come on stage in layers of Antarctic snow gear or fully functioning astronaut EVA suits and strip to the entirety of Yes's "Tales from Topographic Oceans" album. At a month out from release, the music's almost over and you're still mostly covered up!
couldn't have said it better :)
Marcus! I've been trying to reach you forever! Hey I made a list just like you wanted of what we want for 2012. Its complete with polls and everything.
ReplyDeletehttp://boards.ign.com/wwe_smackdown/b6546/196092977/p1/?15
Allright so majority wanted backstage fighting arenas connected. You know like going from the match to backstage, back out to the crowd, that stuff.