Don Bradman Cricket PS4/Xbox One version discussion

[BigAntStudios]

Those outside the industry, and *obviously* so from the comments above, should not pontificate as if fact nor compare it to the CD market.

Been letting your bullshit go unanswered dontboycottme because it's so off the mark that I thought you just another troll but I've come to the conclusion that you just seriously, seriously, most seriously, have No tweaking Idea at all about anything to do with the video games market.


PS: GAME will be selling the game as I know they have purchased copies some time ago.
PPS: Our reviews were tweaking awesome.
PPPS: If you knew the industry you wouldn't ask if Game were taking a risk on X, you'd ask if X was taking a risk on Game.... but hey, you wouldn't have a clue what I'm talking about because you are a tweaking ******.[DOUBLEPOST=1423128131][/DOUBLEPOST]fearsome tweak that's a lot of early septembering word replacement right there! - Just warming up for the World Cup!

 

[Chief]

The reasons the game struggled to make an impact were the high price, the bugs, the reviews. The game was released unfinished and until the game was patched it was virtually unplayable. the run out bug was lamentable.

Bang wrong. Nothing to do with the price, and certainly nothing to do with the critical reception (which was very positive). Yes the game was improved with a few tweaks in patches (show me a game not from Nintendo that isn't) but to say it was previously poor is wrong and to say it was unplayable is a joke.

PS: The reason Konami reduced the price, I suspect, was to tempt back some of the people they lost to FIFA in the wilderness years. They are having to pay back because they got it wrong before. But as Matt says, the comparisons are ridiculous: Konami's distribution structure and PES's brand make the comparison completely null.

 

[blockerdave]

have they never heard of speculate to accumulate is absolutely hilarious. - I would imagine this game has cost a couple mill to make...

i think the UK release of the 360/PS3 was definitely lamentable, but it looks like they've learned some lessons here and the fact it's even on amazon now is progress because it wasn't last year. the distributor selling direct on ebay is again a positive because they're getting the product available to people even in the absence of retailers buying it.

it's a niche sport - it could be a flawless game costing 15.99 and you're still not going to walk into GAME and see a wall of DBC boxes.

 

[SpitfiresKent]

Some old tweets from a few days ago.

 

[cooks1st100]

it's a niche sport - it could be a flawless game costing 15.99 and you're still not going to walk into GAME and see a wall of DBC boxes.

Top 20 cricket websites - Telegraph

If they're not targeting a few of these sites, then marketing ain't doing their jobs imo, especially with the forthcoming World Cup. An advert here, a free copy to review there. How about fliers handed out with a chance to win a copy of the game via text or something at the World Cup? There must be half a dozen WC games at Melbourne alone.

 

[Chief]

Top 20 cricket websites - Telegraph

If they're not targeting a few of these sites, then marketing ain't doing their jobs imo, especially with the forthcoming World Cup. An advert here, a free copy to review there. How about fliers handed out with a chance to win a copy of the game via text or something at the World Cup? There must be half a dozen WC games at Melbourne alone.

I'd say marketing aren't doing their jobs if they base their targets off a 5yr old article...

I personally would be doing as many free copies for review as possible. At least with key outlets. Particularly now digital makes it so easy. I know Ross's arguments against doing review codes, and I think there are definitely valid points in there, but even if the reviews weren't TIP TOP, I'd be confident that the game will score averagely at worst and usually on points that the public would overlook if they were genuinely ever going to buy it...

 

[blockerdave]

Top 20 cricket websites - Telegraph

If they're not targeting a few of these sites, then marketing ain't doing their jobs imo, especially with the forthcoming World Cup. An advert here, a free copy to review there. How about fliers handed out with a chance to win a copy of the game via text or something at the World Cup? There must be half a dozen WC games at Melbourne alone.

I'd say marketing aren't doing their jobs if they base their targets off a 5yr old article...

I personally would be doing as many free copies for review as possible. At least with key outlets. Particularly now digital makes it so easy. I know Ross's arguments against doing review codes, and I think there are definitely valid points in there, but even if the reviews weren't TIP TOP, I'd be confident that the game will score averagely at worst and usually on points that the public would overlook if they were genuinely ever going to buy it...

certainly i don't disagree that the marketing and in particular social media marketing isn't great. regarding review copies, @Ross has been clear that it's something big ant don't do, not just for DBC but across the board. we can argue the merits of it but they're still in business so i guess it can't hurt them too much.

between Oz, india, SA, england and the caribbean you've got 5 different time zones for big cricket audiences (admittedly not necessarily big cricket-gaming markets) and each market will have a peak social media browsing time. you got to be hitting that, and posting the same stuff over and over again at the different time-zone peaks to get maximum viewing. the best social media feeds know that not every post has to be new content. i'd use the example of Guido Fawkes, the political blogger here - he'll post the same story in his twitter feed over and again throughout the day... BA could be the same with videos, images, user content of the existing versions on youtube etc. brilliant way to engage an audience without having to think up new stuff all the time.

 

[Ajh1977]

If I remember rightly, the marketing strategy was a little strange for the original release, admittedly it seemed to me it was more tru blu at fault than big ant, but it is a very good game, especially since the subsequent patches, and with the World Cup coming up I'm surprised it hasn't been promoted more.

 

[cooks1st100]

I'd say marketing aren't doing their jobs if they base their targets off a 5yr old article...

LOL I don't want to be doing everything for them! I did actually notice that a couple of the sites mentioned don't even exist any more after I had posted so probably not the best example!

I think with regards to reviews Ross definitely has valid points, I say F**k the gaming sites and target the cricket angle for reviews. Bound to be far less snobby about fps and such and if they love cricket then they will appreciate the game at the very least. It's a niche sport as has been mentioned, so go at the niche.

This post has gone a bit weird btw, think I deleted the end QUOTE

 

[Chief]

regarding review copies, @Ross has been clear that it's something big ant don't do, not just for DBC but across the board. we can argue the merits of it but they're still in business so i guess it can't hurt them too much.

It can't hurt them too much, sure, but we'll never know how much it could have been helping either. I agree that it's a matter of opinion: just stating mine

As per Cook (above), it's NOT a niche sport, but it IS a niche video game. Trouble is there is, I would think, equal value in going after the guys you know have the hardware as the guys that might have the inclination. Particularly when it comes to console versions.
VERY rare you see a bad review of a cricket game: if a reviewer doesn't like it then generally they put it down to "I don't like cricket" than mark it down. I can't remember ever getting a review below 6 or above an 8. They are pretty fair.

Meanwhile, you are getting that coverage to a BIG audience of console-ready players who will KNOW that they either want (the only) cricket game out there or not, and won't be put off by a 6 (If DBC got less than a 6 anywhere I'd be enormously surprised).

 

[Chief]

between Oz, india, SA, england and the caribbean you've got 5 different time zones for big cricket audiences (admittedly not necessarily big cricket-gaming markets) and each market will have a peak social media browsing time. you got to be hitting that, and posting the same stuff over and over again at the different time-zone peaks to get maximum viewing. the best social media feeds know that not every post has to be new content. i'd use the example of Guido Fawkes, the political blogger here - he'll post the same story in his twitter feed over and again throughout the day... BA could be the same with videos, images, user content of the existing versions on youtube etc. brilliant way to engage an audience without having to think up new stuff all the time.

And there are many free pieces of software that allow you to schedule social media across Facebook and Twitter, reposting content automatically at set times. Easy win.

 

[cooks1st100]

Taken from an article I posted earlier. " Anyone that has watched a Big Bash game will see just how young the crowds are. You get a kid loving the game at the age of 10 you have a customer for the next 70 years. T20 is cricket’s gateway drug, and the game needs youngsters to survive."

The Big Bash was a missed opportunity for DBC but the World Cup should not be. Fair play to Cricket Australia, they have managed to hype up the World Cup really well by first having the Big Bash franchised and then having the triangular tournament. Cricket is on a high in Australia again especially after the unfortunate death of Phil Hughes which put it at its lowest. It's a shame that I'm not over there this year, the atmosphere will be amazing and lets face it Australia are most likely going to win it, which I will be glad not to be over there for!

There is no better time to target the cricket enthusiast.

 

[UnknownSoul]

today i went into GAME and tried to pre order DBC for xbox one and i couldn't ,they even called head office and they said they don't know how many they are getting so i can't pre order it but if one comes to the store they will let me know. He said a few other people have came in and asked about it too and they said the same to them too. They said message us on FB or Twitter few days before to see if they have any. As i'm known in my local game as the 'cricket guy' from the 360 release haha So seems alittle strange tbh :/

 

[cooks1st100]

i'm known in my local game as the 'cricket guy' from the 360 release haha

You should be careful, you start to become labelled for being a bit "different" then before you know it you'll end up on some sort of watchlist!!

 

[SpitfiresKent]

They've bumped up the price by £8 on their eBay: Don Bradman Cricket PS4 - PlayStation Game PRE-ORDER BRAND NEW SEALED FREE POST | eBay