With Sony’s Hype train marketing involving SF5, what should/could MS do to better showcase KI Season 3 to the masses?
It would be nice to see some main stream commercial advertising. I think outside of these forums and other niche forums, not alot of folks may know about KI. I realize there is a cost associated with advertising, but if it could get more fighting fans aware of KI on PC/XB1 that could inevitably be good for the overall growth of the game and community.
If not commercial tv advertising, why not invest in some print advertising, again just spit-balling ideas here. what does everyone else think?
Maybe they feel comfortable with gaming sites posting some articles, expo news, and the scene carrying itself. It seems that’s the way it has been since Xbox One launched in 2013.
100% agree that they should, i only heard about it because I went out of my way to watch E3 coverage if it wasn’t for that I might not of known about this game. It needs to be advertised to the masses loads of people would be hyped to hear if a killer instinct remake. The fact its an exclusive game should have Microsoft plowing money and advertising to the franchise. It’s a decent game with a great fighting system it needs to be shown to the masses. I even hear of fight fans who own PS4’s specifically buying an xbox one for killer instinct. It was one of the reasons I decided to get an xbox one knowing you can get the 1st season for free via games with gold. Even the games with gold feature isn’t publicised enough, come on at least 2 free games a month who wouldn’t want that?
Definitely not enough advertising! The KI games with Gold AD should also be on the front page when you log into your xbox and it is not! Yet I can log in and see a bag picture of THIEF!! WTF!!!
They could do some really hype commercial like the E3 reveal trailer. It could be 90’s feeling and have the hype announcer going. There really isn’t anything like that these days, it would definitely stand out.
I agree, they have a huge opportunity here to make a nice S3 trailer/commercial to attract an entirely new fan base. I feel the trailers from S2 if cleaned up could be used as commercials. I am not talking superbowl lol, I would like to see more press exposure for this beyond these forums and tourneys. Just my two cents
There are a lot of ppl out there that do not even know there is a new KI!!! I cant tell you how many ppl i have engaged a conversation with abut KI and they were talking about the classics the entire time. Then they were like, wait a minute…you mean there is anew one? No way? I didnt know that…ect…ect…
Now if they have an Xbox one they pretty much know…but for ppl that dont have an Xbox one…they have absolutely no clue…they only remember the SNEN and N64 versions of the ga.me
Answer is simple. SF has a bigger built in fan base, there for Sony is willing to put money into marketing it. Also SF is still crowned as THE fighting game. KI is still has a small fan base in comparison. MS should have some kind of campaign, but it will not be on the same level as MS.
I totally agree they aren’t an equal comparison, but I would like to see something more, right now there is the bare minimum for marketing for KI. Like I said, even if they took the S3 trailer and made that into something. I felt the Season 2 combo trailer above would have been enough to help bring in more followers.
I scower Youtube all day, and I don’t see an Ad AT ALL for KI…
I feel like the meaning behind the trailer is one of the best in the trailers! TJ having everything, took a risk to keep his title, lost everything he had in life. Wracked with Guilt, he proceeds to take out his cybernetic implants, and Rise back to the title, with no type of enhancement. It’s one of the more relatable ones, and if done right, can help get some Ads going. But since S3 is right around the corner, I feel like they will do S3 ads instead, because Marketing Tactics…So I really don’t see them doing ads for anything BUT S3.
This is going to sound snarky and I really don’t intend it to be, but let’s look at why Sony’s marketing SFV, and no it’s not just because it’s SF.
Three Christmases in s row of selling PS4 with commercials where a VAST majority of games are multi platform. Selling multi platform games in bundles.
I mean, how many PS4 commercials have you seen with Destiny or COD? Only exclusives they’ve tried to put any marketing muscle behind are Bloodborne and The Order, and we all know how the latter turned out.
So yeah, they foot the bill for SF and now they have the first big exclusive worth talking about in a long time, you bet they want to promote it. Not a Sony hater, I just think that there are multiple factors at work here.
As for KI, it feels to me like they’re trying to grow the game from the tourney scene, the Xbox casuals and PC crowd. The question is how much would marketing help accomplish that? A commercial? An Internet ad? Is this something we want to see because Sony has SFV out there or would it be a good, cost effective way to bring more fans in?
I have to think that MS has weighed their options and came up with the best strategy for their money. The tourney prizes and reveals, making season one free on XBL, creating a PC version… These are all ways to help grow KI and I’m cool with that, even if every instinct tells me to show KI season 3 to everyone because everyone should be buying it lol.
You have to consider the way MS markets things too. Looking at the recent Halo 5 and Tomb Raider commercials over, you need to have terrible sound mixing including a pop song, no in game footage, and not much going on in the advert which is to do with the game. KI trailers so far have had in game footage, in game music and good sound mixing, so are completely inadequate as an MS sponsored advert.
Seriously, those two trailers I mentioned are awful. The Halo one contains a song I actually like but the way they’ve arranged the audio just kills it. The tomb raider one may be a good song (doesn’t personally sound like it’s my tastes) but again, the audio arrangement makes me never want to hear or see it again. If the advert itself serves to put you off buying a game then you really need to take a look at what you’re doing.
I like the Tomb raider commercial! It got stuck in my head…and def made me hype for the game. I wasnt even into Tomb Raider until I seen the reboot on Gold and the advertisement.
Now Halo 5 sucks IMO… I just got it with my elite controller and Im very dissapointed…I dont understand what all the hype is about???
KI needs something though… Im going to ask my local Game stop if they will do some sort of release deal for S3…maybe a tournament. Worth a shot!
Maybe they are increasing their marketing, has anyone notice the random increase in coverage on IGN? They posted about the interview Adam did with LCD, they posted about Tusk, and right now I see they just posted an unboxing for the Shago figure. This seems a bit random considering they stopped posting about character releases near Omen’s release.
I think IGN is just desperate for content - although I agree it’s a good step. The mere existence of the figures is marketing for the game.
I think people need to recognize what @Iago407 pointed out. It’s not just that Sony is marketing SFV, but they are using it to promote the PS brand. It’s “hey, we are winning the console war. We have great games and we are such a big deal that we have SF as a PS4 exclusive.” SF has huge name recognition for hardcore and casual gamers so Sony is treating it as a system selling exclusive. Emphasis on system selling. This is just an observation. I have no clue as to whether this is a good or bad thing.
Similarly it’s clear that MS is not treating KI as a system selling exclusive. They certainly were prior to the X1 launch. It had a prominent place in the lineup and was accompanied by video documentaries on Double Helix, press releases, media coverage etc. They almost certainly would not have released it with only 6 characters if it wasn’t viewed as a way to sell X1 first, and as a game franchise second. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. At some point, they switched to marketing it as a game. A property in and of itself. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. But it is certainly different.
Others have pointed out that they are marketing KI to the tournament scene and the hardcore crowd through a small but arguably efficient marketing program. This includes press releases, the community fund/tournament presence etc. I don’t know if this is good or bad. I’m not a marketing expert, and even if I were I don’t know enough about KI, its revenue etc. to make a judgment.
It’s likely we will see a marketing push with S3 and the PC release. What kind of push remains to be seen. I doubt we will see the type of bus ads like the ones I saw for MKX in Paris last year. Again, I don’t know if that’s good or bad. KI isn’t on store shelves and they aren’t trying to move 4 million units at launch to justify the five year development cycle and pay for work to begin on the next game. Unlike with SFV there are no retail partners with exclusive preorder bonuses or any reason to have in store advertisements for the game. So a lot of the “rules” for marketing a digital only yet still major release have not really been written yet. I just don’t know enough to say that it would make sense to run KI tv commercials during the SuperBowl.
