Press relationships

[zoombapup]

So I'm stood in this hall in the US, talking with a bunch of indies. I'm saying that "well, the mainstream press generally doesnt really care about indies". Funnily this was right in front of the editor of PC Gamer US :)

She wasnt best pleased for me to be spouting like that. But I think maybe I should have qualified that statement some.

What I meant is that the impression I get from press, is that they would LOVE to talk about indies. But that they cant cos the stories are too goddam boring to talk about.

Beyond a few success stories (introversion say), I get the impression that as a group, indies arent too good at managing press relationships very well.

I know its something at the low end of peoples attention when theyre trying to ship a game. But seriously, whats the point of shipping a game when nobody knows about it?

So do any of you guys actually actively court game press? Do you manage your relationships any (i.e. follow up interest, chat to press regularly etc).

Its a skill I'm just starting to learn really. Although I always wanted to try it since we (the dev team) got stiffed on Worms 2 (the guy who designed Worms 1 did all the press, despite turning up to only ONE meeting in its year and a half development schedule).

So I guess the thing is, do any of us have interesting stories to tell?

And I guess that begs the question. Do any of us tell our stories to anyone?

[Coyote]

Heh - that was what my blog was originally all about, thus it's title.

I really need to come up with some spicier stories, though --- that's true. We all do.

I mean, look at Derek Smart. The dude's fifteen minutes of fame are over, now, but DANG his antics got him plenty of press for about three years.

[papillon]

Interesting stories can be embarassing. Or rather, playing on anything that's likely to interest the media can be embarassing. I suppose I ought to have a canned response to pop off any time I see one of those whiny 'why don't any women make games' articles, but based on reading those articles they are more interested in sounding sensitive and concerned than in knowing any realities anyway.

But interesting? Want me to tell you about the time I worked as a fake 'friend' for a mobile phone company, hooking sad lonely people into paying for endless vacuous text messages assembled at random by a team of work-from-home people earning pennies a text? :) Games are a much better way to make money!

[cyrus_zuo]

I don't think that the game press looks for interesting stories as a rule. What is looked for is what is cool and will bring attention to the press (they are a business...they are looking to make money...). The majority of the game industry press is paid for by advertisements or other direct financing to the game press. It's not cynical, it's just reality. Coming to grips with it can be helpful in approaching the press.

In the gaming press you will be covered if you have something that already has significant buzz because not doing so would make them possibly lose eyeballs and the money that comes with them. Of course indies don't typically have any buzz, which makes the situation more difficult and leads to the reality that indies know.

Events, such as the IGF, and other newsmakers (conferences, awards, being connected to something 'cool') can help increase the exposure of Indies, but it will always be niche coverage (not that it is bad...coverage is coverage, just want to keep in mind how much coverage is available).

I attended the PR session of the GDC last year as I was building the press network for Reflexive and was surprised to find that the same PR companies that do PR for many of the major games also does PR for many of the major game press websites and magazines. (so they go from doing PR for the game to doing PR for the game press magazine and website)

Listening to the session and then talking to Sue Bohle, found of the Bohle company, I have come to believe that having a story about your product is definitely a good way to go when you are getting break-in level press (the kind that indies look for). It's a good idea b/c there isn't much chance of being covered without a story...though notably being covered with a story is still more than unlikely.

Watching the media and using terms that are currently hot (such as 'casual game industry') can be helpful in getting some exposure and lead to stories, but if you consider the number of 'look at the story' articles on GameSpot or in EGM you'll quickly realize they are a very small part of the yearly article schedule (usually you'll see one about once a quarter).

Hopefully none of this comes as being 'down' on the press. I'm absolutely not!I do a fair amount of press contacting in my position and know the press to be pretty cool people. I think being realistic helps :).

In contacting the press I would recommend starting with a reason...(i.e. I expect that contacting press website A will result in B.)
Then find out if your expectations were accurate. This is good so that you don't overstate your case and can be helpful later (i.e. - when we were on website A the story on our game was really popular, which is why we've put together some more information and exclusives that we thought might interest you [note this is shorthand...make it better!])
Expand to as many of the small to medium sized press websites as possible...work with them in anyway possible (my post on often you get to A to B through T, Q, H in the RPG thread relates to my experience with this)
After you are on the small/medium sites you'll find contacting the larger sites much easier (the small/medium sites may in fact lead you there ;))

With press sites a couple of thoughts:
With large press sites (gamespy, gamespot, egm) getting in contact with the right person can be difficult for an indie. After doing so, pitching a story or including why your game has a story to go along with it already being 'known' will help things along. I would caution that unless you already have press elsewhere you probably shouldn't go after the bigger press sites.

With small to medium sized press sites they often are run in the spare time of the people running them. Your press contact to them might get missed simply because it came the same weekend that they were out sick or were otherwise spending less time than usual on their press 'duties.' Multiple contacts should be the rule with all press...but especially the smaller game press groups/websites. (again I recommend working with anyone who wants to work with you and suggest things that might benefit the website)

In all contacts I think it makes a lot of sense to remember that the press is a business. I would look for a way of making it appear that they will receive something (money/audience/prestige/free pizza) for working with you. That can be as simple as having exclusive information on something that is new (even if it isn't necessarily good). Getting exclusive screenshots ready and making them available for several different websites/magazines is probably another simple thing that can be done. Most every magazine prints 'exclusive images' of the same game. If you can help the press see a profit in it for them you are more likely to get something printed. Thinking of things you can put out in advance is a good thing to do :).

Article writers don't want to write the article no-one reads. It doesn't help their career. Game websites don't want to cover games that generate no interest, it leads to lost visitors.

So in working on those 'pressy' skills I would say:
1- be friendly
2- don't have a smidgen of "I'm doing this to make my game sell better" in your attitude (even though that can certainly be a reason when you tear all the way down to the core)
3- think about what is in it for the press person you are talking to...you have to sell them on the idea of talking about your game...why would they do it?
4- think ahead...you kinda mentioned this, but I thought I would mention it is often easier to get press about a game announcement than a game release...
5- have something interesting to say (likely something you realize when doing #3, but worth mentioning again anyway) If the only thing special about your game is that it has "great graphics, 150+ levels, heart-pounding music and an amazing sci-fi setting" don't expect a lot of immediate interest
6- video games are visual...do whatever you need to to make the screenshots tell a story
7- I don't really have a 7, but the list was so fun I just wanted to keep going ;)

I'm in the weird place of having experience on both sides of the fence...it either makes me insightful, overly opinionated, or just plain wrong, or all of those, or none of them, or 2 of the 3, or just overly verbose.

[zoombapup]

One thing I've found Russ, is that on a personal level, the people on the streets (the hacks themselves) have a lot of sympathy with indies. They WANT us to succeed.

What they lack, is a good indie to give them what they need to champion that cause a little.

I'm not saying you'll get any better coverage. I think your absolutely right in that you need to treat it like a business.

But fundamentally, I get the feeling these guys want the little guys to succeed. So we can use that empathy in a good way, PROVIDING we provide them with the tools.

I think you've highlighted a lot of the things we need to go. But I think there are other things we can all learn to do. Things like:

1) Keep a list of all press contacts you ever speak to
2) Approach any ones who seem personable and ask them for advice before you go out and try and sell
3) Make sure you have your act together BEFOREHAND. I.e. have all the screenshots in the bag, have pre-written quotes.
4) Get some kind of industry figure to give you a mention, or endorsement
5) Look good in screenshots/interviews (not really my forte :))
6) Once they write something about you, ACTUALLY SAY THANK YOU!

Above all, remember that these guys have it as crap as we do. If not worse. So make thier lives easier in order to help them make your life easier. It can be a nice little beneficial parasitic relationship.

I must admit, I like the press. Go figure!

[electronicStar]

I think I understand why the press doesn't like to talk about indies.
In the last couple of decades the videogame industry has been driven by technical improvement, with games being rated higher because of their use of new hardware.
If they wanted to start reviewing indie games, that would mean doing the contrary of what they had been doing since then, by accepting games that go sometimes twenty years backwards in terms of gameplay and technical quality.
You know that if any retail game with the same quality or gameplay than most indie games was submitted to the mainstream press it would go down in flames.
It has happened recently that some magazines (Joystick in france) have started reviewing indie games, and doing so they have been more tolerant than with mainstream games. But I'm not sure that's what I would like if I submitted them a game, I would like the reporters to be genuinely impressed ,excited or entertained, not do me some kind of charity review...

The only qualities that leads the mainstream press to talk about games is either innovation, technological excellence or lots of "contents" (artistic assets,long story, nice cinematics,etc....) and the mainstream publishers have been consistently providing that. There are (or have been in the past) a lot of low-quality mainstream or budget retail games that didn't even make it in the mags because there wouldn't have been any interest for the reader to read an article about them.
Innovation, technological excellence or content...let's be honnest, indie games don't generally have any of these qualities to offer...Do you imagine the reader wading through pages of bland uninspired match-3 or breakout clones every month?
And having a wacky plot idea in the indie "spirit", like a kung-fu fighting nazi bunnies car combat game, is not enough if the rest doesn't follow...
even the best looking best realized of the indie games (http://www.bytten.com/game126a.php) would barely reach the quality level of the games the press is used to.

[theshadowfan]

I'm always talking to the press and they love getting free games to review. Be friendly and straight to the point. If they want to have a conversation with you, then chat a little bit. You'll always need these contacts so make sure that you respect what they do.

[zoombapup]

electronicStar: Actually, if you look at the publicity Introversion are getting for thier games, this isnt true. Indie games CAN get publicity. But they need to be more than Match 3's. DefCon isnt exactly technically leading edge, yet its getting good reviews, good magazine coverage and is on steam etc.

Why?

Because they took the time to do something about it.

[SoftPressRelease]

So do any of you guys actually actively court game press? Do you manage your relationships any (i.e. follow up interest, chat to press regularly etc).

Its a skill I'm just starting to learn really.

So I guess the thing is, do any of us have interesting stories to tell?



Hello,

I think you guys can find the following article very interesting and useful. http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=693 It's called "How To Use And Abuse The Gaming Press And How The Gaming Press Wants To Use And Abuse You."

And you can read another article we wrote basing on our own experience working as press release distribution company. It's called "Press Release Distribution: Before And After" http://www.softpressrelease.com/articles/press-release_before_after.shtml

We tried to focuse on the most typical mistakes our customers make in their first attempt to get covered in press.

Enjoy!

Evgenia Kolobukhova
SoftPressRelease.com
eugenia@SoftPressRelease.com
http://www.SoftPressRelease.com/

[JPickford]

So far we've had very good experiences with the games press. They seem very keen on indie development. We've had a couple of excellent reviews of Naked War featured prominently on Eurogamer & in GamesTM. Thankfully, game hasn't been sidelined into an 'indie corner'.

I think Journalists want a story and indie development is inherently more interesting than a game churned out by a mega publisher.

[Sharpfish]

So far we've had very good experiences with the games press. They seem very keen on indie development. We've had a couple of excellent reviews of Naked War featured prominently on Eurogamer & in GamesTM. Thankfully, game hasn't been sidelined into an 'indie corner'.

I thing Journalists want a story and indie development is inherently more interesting than a game churned out by a mega publisher.

Yeah, your Games™ review was a nice breakthrough for the "indie-world", though along with the defcons and mutant storms I imagine they will be few and far between. Obviously making games like you did got people talking and passionate about them. You did a GREAT job.

Will be interesting to see if the game turns into a success or end up being one of those critically aclaimed games that not-so-many people buy (Gish, Darwinia etc). Hope it sells well for you! :)

[JPickford]

I agree ;)

[zoombapup]

I agree about indie games that get good press not always turning into good sales.

But at least its a start in terms of getting your game out there. I would imagine many games simply never make even the slightest ripple in the force.

I know that getting press interested is a skill. I know I need to learn it. I know that once that is understood a bit better, turning that into extra sales (or reputation) is another skill.

But it's like anything, if you dont practice, you cant get better.

[JPickford]

Well it's a bit early to talk about commercial success but good coverage definitely brings traffic to our site. This weekend we had a record in terms of turns being exchanged (629 in one day compared to our previous best of about 450). We even sold a few subscriptions!

Perhaps more significantly we're starting get publisher interest from the console world.

Back on topic though I don't think there's really any barrier stopping indies getting good coverage. It's just a matter of putting the effort in.

[zoombapup]

Well, in general, the one thing I tend to get. Is that the press arent so interested in indies that do "casual" games. Not until they are very successful somehow.

But luckily, they *are* interested in the more off-the-wall or hardcore indie style games.

Hell, I guess they'd be interested in the crossover casual/hardcore game too, if there were such a beast?

[JenaRey]

I don't think it's a case that the press doesn't like to talk about indies, but there isn't as much money in talking about most indies. Most Indie studios don't have much of a budget to pay into reviews and press coverage and the press, both hard copy and electronic, is still a business. They're looking to make money, and that means driving traffic to their site and into ads and other revenue streams.

I've asked to review indie games for a couple of medium press sites, and their comment was "Sure, but we can't pay you for it." So as a reviewer if I have the choice between reviewing a game I get paid to review and reviewing an indie game that I don't get paid to review...well...the pocketbook says the other game wins, and the indies get tossed in when I have downtime or something really strikes me as being worth the pro bono.

In the long run I do think the press wants a good relationship with Indie designers, because thethat make press for Iy understand that anything hitting the public just right may suddenly become big news, but it's a matter of balancing the risks and the rewards.

So I think as indies it's a matter of finding ways to shift that balance, and to create the relationships, with not just the press in general but individual reviewers and editors, that make Indie Games worth the extra effort.

[zoombapup]

The funny thing for me, is that at times I really dont want to be called "indie". Because somehow it devalues your game. Almost like a special case? Like a sympathy vote?

And yet, at other times, I want to be called indie, to champion the things I feel strongly about (independance of thought in videogame design being one).

So calling yourself indie kind of automatically puts you in "less than budget release" categories.

UNLESS.. UNLESS.

You can turn that perception on its head and become "cool". Then you are indie but COOL indie. The difference? I dont really know, but apparently it means you are no longer just some low-rent would-be game developer and are now a serious player and dare I say it, "visionary".

But how does one become cool?

You either ARE cool, or your NOT cool. Or so the theory goes. Only, that doesnt really hold water, because to be percieved as cool, you need someone to tell someone else you are cool. So its actually a third party thing. Which is why companies hire people to seed the thought that they are "cool". I.e. apple, microsoft, google?

I'm basically an old fart, making what are likely to be quite warped games, or ultra-niche, or generally out of touch. What chance of I got of being cool?

I dunno, maybe grey is the new black and being an old fart is "in" these days.

I suppose there IS hope on the horizon, in that Charles Cecil is getting plenty of press, at least I'm younger than HIM by a margin :)

Maybe in order to be cool you have to trade on your past glories? Maybe playing the "I've been in this business longer than you've been born" card is the one to go for? Ste? John? :)

I guess we could all start a special interest group and go around promoting indie games in the nude or something (no, thankfully I'm *not* serious!).

[KNau]

I know the professional marketers would disagree with me but I think it's more important to optimize your marketing to a few good contacts (say, a top 10) and let the rest slide.

If your story is picked up by the most influential sites then the news will trickle down to everywhere else. For example - if your story is interesting and appears on Game Tunnel then you're pretty much assured that it will also appear on TIGS, Indie blog and other sources of industry news.

You don't need to shotgun your story to hundreds of sites, it's just wasteful.

When I launched my first attempt at an indie studio I paid for hundreds of press release submissions and dozens (I think 50+) of download site submissions. I found that there was only a top 5 - 10 of each that delivered the most traffic and "trickle down" and the rest bordered on negligible.

That meant 90+ of the press release submissions and 30+ of the download sites that I paid for were utterly useless. It also meant that marketing was something well within my abilities to manage (a list of 10 press sites and 10 download sites) and not something I needed to pay someone else to do for me.

Whittle it down to a few sympathetic ears and you will find much better results than the "big campaign" style of marketing.

[soniCron]

I won't argue with your assessment, Kyle, but I do think you underestimate mindshare and ubiquity. I don't go out and grab a burger every time I see a McDonald's commercial, but if my stomach growls while I'm on the road, you can guess which fast food joint is the first in my mind! ;) Marketing is building a reputation with the public - becoming a trusted source of entertianment, in our case. This can't be measured purely by click-throughs.

Sequels, for example, are intrinsically valuable properties, yet that value only manifests when it is realized. "Diner Dash 3," can't be measured in dollar value as an abstract, but it is unquestionably valuable when realized as the title of a new game.

[KNau]

I agree. That leads to the other major flaw in the typical indie plan and that's failure to create a brand. If each game is wildly different from the last then there is no consistency for the audience and each new marketing campaign must be created from scratch. We're forced to "reinvent the wheel" every time we release a new game.

There's also the problem of assuming a brand when none exists. I've seen this in some developers that have 2 or 3 games out already (even though they're all completely disconnected from each other) and assume that their company is a brand already when in fact the name and reputation have no meaning to the reader. You can usually spot it in a press release that starts with 2 paragraphs about their cool company and hip attitude before they even get to the real story.