21 replies to this topic

[FriendlyFist]

Hey,

I was discussing with some friends about different games and how much hype they receive upon their release. There have been more games than I can mention that have built up a lot of buzz and failed regardless. I'm not saying Hawken will, and I'm pretty certain it won't.

Even so, Hawken has the most momentum I have seen for a game without it having a predecessor or even allowing a single consumer to play it. Just wanted to open up a discussion on gaming pr and how Hawken seems to top the charts in buzz. (In my humble opinion)

[UnnamedNewbie]

I totally agree. I mean, no one ever played it (besides a few alpha testers), but the forums here are busy as hell.
When I first saw it, I expected a fake or something like that, but it turns out to be real.
Great job, Hawken PR-team!

[Ezio]

I think their large involvement at many conventions as well as their involvement with machinima has really helped.

The refer a friend was genius tactic also.

Edited by Ezio, September 20 2012 - 06:16 AM.

[MechMechanic]

The BEST pr is exactly themselves.

Adhesive games developer speaking about their game is what makes the game concrete. They don't speak needless banter or useless babble. They go directly to the point illustrating their ideas within the game.

Hawken is the only game about fast paced mech combat. I don't want to see this ruined by the stupidity of Pay to Win and those annoying micro transactions. If the game turns out to be a money laundry, I'll pick Planet Side instead.

Up to now Hawken seems to be done by the book. They should continue hearing the community.


Unamed Newbie, it's easy to fake lots of names and forum activity as a start. There are programs designed to do that. Don't believe in everything you see. I will only believe once I have the game in my hands seeing if it is worthy or just another attempt. I wish the game remains PC instead of being infected and gimped to the old consoles.

If the game is a success, it will grow in graphics, quality and become a secured project for the next generation of consoles. We all hope this to be quality.

[FriendlyFist]

I completely agree that they are doing everything right. Running a closed beta, having the refer a friend, and being everywhere they need to be. As far as I can tell moderators respond quickly to people's concerns and are always visible on the forums.

I just want to make it clear that the Hawken team probably isn't in charge of all these choices. Their PR is done by  Mav PR. I think it is a combination of Hawken being something worth promoting and Mav PR being extremely good at what they do.

[pezzott1]

Shannon Gerritzen is their PR manager i believe.

[Pawken]

I hope it does really well and stays popular for a long while, I hate seeing an empty game lobby on games where I know people put a fair chunk of their lives and dreams into creating it. This must be becoming a really nervious and exciting time for all the devs involved.

[FriendlyFist]

Very true. What do you guys think they will need to keep people interested_ The game doesn't go live for another 82 days. How do they keep people excited about something they can't play for over 2 months_

[pezzott1]

FriendlyFist, on September 20 2012 - 07:20 AM, said:

Very true. What do you guys think they will need to keep people interested_ The game doesn't go live for another 82 days. How do they keep people excited about something they can't play for over 2 months_

Closed beta with no NDA.

[FriendlyFist]

So the Torchlight 2 approach.

[QuanZen]

No NDA would be really cool, and a good way to further the games popularity. I would just hope that people don't get burnt out on the countless YouTube videos that would follow.

[GunsnButter]

QuanZen, on September 20 2012 - 07:49 AM, said:

No NDA would be really cool, and a good way to further the games popularity. I would just hope that people don't get burnt out on the countless YouTube videos that would follow.

The reason the NDA exists is to prevent the competition from stealing ideas IE MWO, etc. I realize that they are very different games, but certain core ideas that haven't been ironed out yet need to remain secret until they are complete.

[FriendlyFist]

So how do you think they will keep the hype and buzz going, if they are keeping everything under wraps with a NDA_

[GunsnButter]

FriendlyFist, on September 20 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

So how do you think they will keep the hype and buzz going, if they are keeping everything under wraps with a NDA_

surely you've seen the PAX footage_ They're spreading the hype exactly the same way minecraft did: Word of mouth. They don't need to pay for advertising if people are willing to do it for them.

[FriendlyFist]

You do know comparing Minecraft and Hawken is a ridiculous comparison. Minecraft was a completely grass root campaign. Notch wrote about development on his dev blog and received traction. Then posted on tigsource and other indie sites.

Hawken went to E3! The amount of money being poured into marketing is more than you can imagine. It may not go specifically into Ads, but they are marketing the game full force! Thus being able to afford a pr agency, an expensive one...

[GunsnButter]

FriendlyFist, on September 20 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

So how do you think they will keep the hype and buzz going, if they are keeping everything under wraps with a NDA_

FriendlyFist, on September 20 2012 - 08:53 AM, said:

You do know comparing Minecraft and Hawken is a ridiculous comparison. *snip*

Quite simple. They don't need PR while an NDA is up. People are already hyped over what happened at PAX and E3, because of videos on the internet. Minecraft didn't originally go to E3 or PAX, but spread just as fast because of... guess what_ Videos on the internet.

[FriendlyFist]

You do know if an NDA is up, you can't post... "guess what_ Videos on the internet."

Also you may want to call MavPr, because they seem to think they are doing Hawken PR. They must be misinformed.

[GunsnButter]

FriendlyFist, on September 20 2012 - 09:06 AM, said:

You do know if an NDA is up, you can't post... "guess what_ Videos on the internet."

Also you may want to call MavPr, because they seem to think they are doing Hawken PR. They must be misinformed.

I meant the videos from e3 and pax that are already on the internet. As for MavPR, I have no clue. I am assuming them to be a non-factor until I see more from them.

[Greasy]

Because the game is beautiful in all graphical regards and is catering to a huge niche of gamers were we've had a hole in our genre field.

[Sprayed]

How many games announce a live action series before they are even released_ (Halo 4 doesn't count)