Rip off of DBC'14 images for Amazon advert

[BigAntStudios]

It might be a different style of release to what you are familiar with but it isn't foreign for those that have followed our previous games.

We have a "nothing to hide" attitude because in the end it all comes out. It is our style to have people play the game in stores in previews prior to release and to have that video shot "as is".

If I hadn't been on this site and posted as I have then you would be none the wiser until four/five weeks prior to release and would not be able to level the "expected more", "delayed", or "botched marketing" claims.

It's as if giving more information somehow is worse and people would rather be kept in the dark until a marketing campaign begins.

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And I think Ross inviting Twistie back was perfect, because it got us (a lot) of quality footage, and backed up the "nothing to hide" contrast with the other game

I felt sorry for these guys as they were kicked out of EB (they made the mistake of asking rather than just shooting)... and it made good sense once I realised that there were issues with one of the builds at EB.

The IGN's of the world are always getting exclusives and the like, I'd like to help some young guys and passionate gamers break in and be heard.

 

[Biggs]

I'd like to help some young guys and passionate gamers break in and be heard.

Cite: Your continued existence here, no doubt as well.

 

[zombieian]

I can accept some of the arguments but the event was cited as the World Premiere. If the event was meant to put the wind up Ashes 2013 I doubt it did that, but it could have done.
I admire your 'nothing to hide' attitude but it was hard to hear what questions people were asking about the game because the sound and camera work was so bad. I really wanted to know more about the game but at times the film was almost unwatchable.
By releasing the footage, filmed on a mobile phone, you unwittingly opened yourselves up to unwarranted criticism. I also believe that the version used in the premiere wasn't the correct one with a number of bugs visible.
Please don't get me wrong, I want and hope the game is very successful but I think that it just got off to a shaky start.
Anyway, just off to download the latest update which I am looking forward to trying.

 

[BigAntStudios]

Even if I agreed that it was a "shaky start", which I don't, it is a shaky start seen by less than 0.1% of the game purchasing public - you are seeing the journey not the destination....

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Btw nothing unwitting about it, it was an outstanding success from our point of view, it achieved its goals and then some.

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If we had shown nothing until this point there'd be many more a negative post.

 

[blockerdave]

Also, I'm still not sure zombie is getting that Big Ant didn't release the footage - not to sound like a media marketing tosser, but it was user generated content, released by those users.

 

[zombieian]

But it could have reached so many more of the games purchasing public given a more polished presentation. I just wanted to see and hear more.
I realise I won't win the argument (as usual ) so I will leave it at that.

 

[MattW]

Furthermore, the play session was for the public, not for professionals. The idea was for users in Melbourne to get their hands on the game, not to record it.

Indeed. The biggest thing to take out of the footage - and something certainly not obscured by the sound/video quality - is the buzz in the room. People were enjoying themselves playing a cricket video game. Seriously, people having fun playing a cricket game - that speaks volumes about the game nailing the fundamentals.

The majority of the people there weren't active PC members - so it's not like it was just fulfilling pre-conceptions about the game - it was genuine first impressions and fun.

 

[BigAntStudios]

What's that?!? A thanks button on my mobile

 

[Crossy333]

My favourite part in those videos is hearing the debate about whether a DRS referral is out or not. That tension and excitement. Can't wait...

 

[Lebanna]

But it could have reached so many more of the games purchasing public given a more polished presentation. I just wanted to see and hear more.
I realise I won't win the argument (as usual ) so I will leave it at that.

Yes it could have reached many more people if it was intended to be part of the marketing campaign. But its purpose as mentioned before was to scare Ashes and to reduce criticism of the game not being ready.

Also with regards to the marketing campaign, 2 things to think about:

1) It hasn't actually started yet! The announcement at the end of Jan was just to keep his promise here, the official announcement will be soon.

2) I'm not 100% sure in this instance but from my understanding, the marketing campaign is quite driven by the publisher (TruBlu) rather than the developer. It might be slightly different in this case as BigAnt fronted the cost of the project themselves rather than getting their money from TruBlu, but TruBlu will still have a strong say in the marketing.

 

[Pat]

It might be a different style of release to what you are familiar with but it isn't foreign for those that have followed our previous games.

We have a "nothing to hide" attitude because in the end it all comes out. It is our style to have people play the game in stores in previews prior to release and to have that video shot "as is".

If I hadn't been on this site and posted as I have then you would be none the wiser until four/five weeks prior to release and would not be able to level the "expected more", "delayed", or "botched marketing" claims.

It's as if giving more information somehow is worse and people would rather be kept in the dark until a marketing campaign begins.

Four/Five weeks prior to end of March 2014 is next week. Just saying

 

[Biggs]

Yes it could have reached many more people if it was intended to be part of the marketing campaign. But its purpose as mentioned before was to scare Ashes and to reduce criticism of the game not being ready.

Not so sure about that. The idea was to "debut" the game by giving it to fans to play it, consistent with what these guys have done with their other sport licenses. Had nothing to do with Ashes as far as I'm aware, other than the fact we had been told (numerous times) we would get to see the Ashes product, that never eventuated... meanwhile Matt was driving people for four in the middle of Melbourne at EB Games.

Also with regards to the marketing campaign

1) It hasn't actually started yet! The announcement at the end of Jan was just to keep his promise here, the official announcement will be soon.

You're kidding, right? It started about a year ago. Right here... On PlanetCricket. Click the links up the top... you've got videos, images, play sessions and daily developer feedback. That's all marketing, right there. Granted, it's low cost, low reward for them... but it's all part of a campaign to get people interested in and buying the game. It began when Ross made his first post, although he probably didn't realize it at the time or see the value... but since then it's been a non-stop love affair with PlanetCricket and information overload from this game. Make no mistake, it's all marketing directly to a core fanbase. We know the game will be out in a month, for your average cricket fan they'll find out in a few weeks. Since we're not talking about a AAA title and TruBlu clearly doesn't want to risk thousands of dollars putting posters up all over the world, it'll be pretty low impact and they'll let the game speak for itself.

I'm not 100% sure in this instance but from my understanding, the marketing campaign is quite driven by the publisher (TruBlu) rather than the developer. It might be slightly different in this case as BigAnt fronted the cost of the project themselves rather than getting their money from TruBlu, but TruBlu will still have a strong say in the marketing.

My rudimentary understanding is; BigAnt have produced the game on their own dollar. Everything has been described as a "labor of love" for them for many years being prioritized in 2013 to get it finished and out to the public. TruBlu distribute and publish the game, work out the deals to get it on sale in stores and pay for the marketing campaign.

Ross will correct or thank me, but that's about the jist of it. Since Ross isn't footing the bill for the marketing his financial risk is reduced by not having to pay for posters, ads and distribution, of which TruBlu take a percentage of overall sales. Basically, if the game sucks... it's his fault. If people don't know about or buy the game, it's TruBlu's.

A lot of the delay on finding out dates and so forth I believe is because a lot of those decisions are out of his hands now. He's hinted a few times that TruBlu aren't extactic he's posting here and been so open with us, so he's respecting their involvement on a lot of the release information basically because, he's concentrating on making a great game not worrying about when it's in stores.

That's my take.

 

[Dutch]

Also not to sound like a media marketing tosser, .

Dont worry, the media marketing bit didnt come over at all.....

Anyway, the crux is that as Ross said we are privvy to the journey and people get that mixed up with how things normally go with this kind of thing. we are seeing much more of the inside as it were. Folks get that confused with what usually happens on the outside...