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[Mittens]

I've been trying to think of cool stuff to do when releasing a game to help with sales,

So far I've thought i could try;
-Giving away free copies of the game to the first 50 people to like your facebook page
-Giving free game soundtrack downloads to all who like the facebook page (there's a facebook app called "like to download" which sets this up, apps.facebook.com/liketodownload/)
-Mailing out free posters/art prints to a few random people who tweet about the game, using the correct #hashtag

And yeah, that's all I can think of now, so i thought I'd start a thread to hear the ideas people here may have tried/thought about
Yeah Go!

[PompiPompi]

My intention is to have a free game, relatively short but which stand on it's own. Then pu a link to the sequel in the game itself.
If the first game is successful that shows that a sequel is worth working on.

I am more worried about how to get press before I release the game or just as it is being released rather than after thought "tactics".
Any idea how to do that?

[Mittens]

So far as I know, getting press is just as hard before release as it is during/after. Since the methods of getting press don't change regardless of how finished your game is.

From what I've heard said in talks on the matter, getting hype or buzz is actually a waste of time for indies, because: if someone reads a review on your game and can't click a BUY link at the end, they will forget that they wanted to buy it in a matter of days and you will never get that sale, even though you had them hyped up to buy it for a moment.

Big name games can do buzz because they will likely have TV advertisements and posters at bus stops and shopping centers to remind everyone to buy that game when it's actually released.

[PompiPompi]

Well from pixel prospector I also read that the press is interested in new things. They don't want to cover a game that was released a month ago and was covered elsewhere, unless it's really good.

[Mittens]

Well from pixel prospector I also read that the press is interested in new things. They don't want to cover a game that was released a month ago and was covered elsewhere, unless it's really good.

Yeah, that's true, A lot of game review sites say things like "We will be more likely to review your game if you are sending us a sneak peak of something not-yet-released" But I think that's more relevant to games that are already anticipated or have a large marketing budget. Every game site wants to be the first one to cover battlefield3, since then all the extensive marketing for bf3 drives them directly to their review. But for indie games I don't reviewers would even consider doing reviews of unfinished / unreleased titles that don't already have heaps of fame or money behind them.

Also, getting press after release may not make other press sites think "oh, well we can't cover that now, it's been done", it's more likely to make them think "oh crap, our competitors covered this game, we need to cover it too!, quickly cash in on the this while it's hot"

Still I could be wrong about all this, it's just what people have made me believe so far

[Mittens]

Another idea I found to add to the list;
-Hold a competition (design a new character, best new map, funniest game summary slogan etc.)

[PompiPompi]

Things that let players get your game for free or some other prize with some effort can be good. Although I wonder how effective it is if you don't have an existing fan base...
It could be useful if it is interesting enough to get some press.

The question is if you are thinking on things that will eventually get you press or you are thinking of other ways for players to know about your game?

[Schwiggy]

I think these methods will be stronger as they are more intimate than hype or buzz and can spread easier if you manage to win over the people who are already closest to your vision, i.e. the game, into sharing it and being excited about it.

-Going back to all the people (not all the people; how about the top 10 to top 100? Personally I'd go for 20  ) who gave feedback and helped in any way during development and crediting them; if possible give them a copy of the game.

-Give a copy to some people you know, ideally friends and family who each have different social circles and are likely to like the game or at least like your pursuit of game development enough to share it. Keep them updated and share your wins and hardships with them.
Two really great people for this would be either game developers more experienced than you and acquainted with you or a friend that plays the kind of game you made and knows lots of other people who would gladly play as well. The best would be a family member who loves you, has developed several successful games, would love your game, and works for a major gaming news publication and knows everyone at the IGF, PAX, and Indiecade. Why do I say something with a one in a billion chance like this? Just to get your mind working in the right direction; there are people who are right to share this with in your life, so do it.

Peter Molyneux is suspicious that the only two copies of his first game that sold were purchased by his mom. If he didn't share it with his mom his sales would have been 100% less. I know this is argument is only so relevant but look at those statistics!

Instead of searching for "cool stuff to do when releasing a game with sales" I suggest exploring ways to communicate creatively, confidently, clearly, and consistently. Not everything has to be a raffle or competition, but they're still on the table. Unique ideas specific to your game and audience will go much farther.

[Impmaster]

Maybe have the people who spread the game to say, 10, of their friends get the game cheaper. That way, you gain respect for making it cheaper, and they spread it. That is what many MMO's do, get the friends to get hooked as well. Although here, you are doing it mainly for free publicity. 

[Mittens]

Maybe have the people who spread the game to say, 10, of their friends get the game cheaper. That way, you gain respect for making it cheaper, and they spread it. That is what many MMO's do, get the friends to get hooked as well. Although here, you are doing it mainly for free publicity. 

Oh yeah, I totaly forgot about that, i think its really effective. That is definately being added to my list of cool ideas
If I remember corretly hawken did a similar thing where people could reserve thier hawken screen namevand get into the alpha if they got 5 friends to click the hawken site and join the mailing list, it sucked me into promoting thier game for them, but i dont mind coz i got alpha and beta access in return

[richie]

We are about to release our game 'Compromised' on Desura for alpha funding.  I developed a small game in Unity for the web that advertises Compromised at the end of the first play of the session.  We are going to put the game up on Kongregate.   We may also put the game on iOS and Android as a free download. (Since it should be pretty straightforward, it is in Unity and a fairly simple game).

I am curious if this will help get exposure for Compromised.  I will post back here in a few weeks to let you all know the results.

My intention is to have a free game, relatively short but which stand on it's own. Then pu a link to the sequel in the game itself.

Sounds like we have a similar plan.  The free game I developed is not actually related to our Desura game.  I have a hunch it will not be as successful as it would be if it was in the same universe or world.  I would like to know how your endeavor works out.

[Mittens]

I've actually already done a similar thing,
With Little Dragon 3D the game was $0.99 on Android or iOS but I put the whole game up for free on Kongregate with an ad inside it telling players that the game was available on mobile devices.

In my case this didn't work so well, the free web version only has about 1k plays and I didn't notice a significant change in the paid sales caused by it.
But that doesn't mean I don't think the idea can work really well, It just didn't work out for LD3D, probably due to many other factors.

[richie]

Hmmm... well I am interested to see what happens.  I think there is a good chance the Kongregate game will not have enough plays to impact anything and end up sufffering from the same lack of exposure as the original game!  Here is to hoping though.

For now I am going to go track down your Kongregate game 

[richie]

I just finished reading through the thread linked below.  If you haven't check it out, it has some great insights into one persons attempts at marketing. It includes using adwords, facebook, sending reviews, etc.  They don't talk about too many novel ideas, but hopefully it is a worthwhile read.  It was for me.

Check out the post here

[PDS271]

We are about to release our game 'Compromised' on Desura for alpha funding.  I developed a small game in Unity for the web that advertises Compromised at the end of the first play of the session.  We are going to put the game up on Kongregate.   We may also put the game on iOS and Android as a free download. (Since it should be pretty straightforward, it is in Unity and a fairly simple game).

I am curious if this will help get exposure for Compromised.  I will post back here in a few weeks to let you all know the results.

My intention is to have a free game, relatively short but which stand on it's own. Then pu a link to the sequel in the game itself.

I think this is a great idea! I'm a marketer and not much a developer, but I have been researching HTML5 a lot. Would you be able to create a standalone game or experience just for mobile that would link to your actual game at the end? If someone could click a link on FB that brought them to a small cool game they could play easily and quickly on their smartphone and then immediately be taken to a page to purchase an actual game I think that would be powerful. In this case you'd almost have to connect the two games thematically at least.

[Virion]

maybe you should consider linking your game with facebook. allow player to login with their facebook account and they could get some special gifts. and whenever they finish a level or obtained a new achievement, player will be automatically post it on their facebook wall, hence higher exposure for your game.

[Mittens]

I have actually already implemented that idea, my next game 'Stampede 3D' has facebook integration, posting how many stars you've earned on your wall gets you a free level up to use on unlocks and stuff