Self-publishers create demand for digital marketing
As we fast approach the Games Developer Conference 2010, the global developer community are frantically preparing tech-demos, filling diaries with speed-dating styled business appointments and in some cases actually playing their products with the North American media outlets.
This year, more than any other, will see the an influx of new breed, self-publishing developers at San Francisco’s GDC event. Their reasons for being there will be varied, but I’m pretty certain that some will be looking for ideas on how to promote their own games to a worldwide audience. Some of the British independent developers we represent are on a US media tours as I write this, and some will be flying onto LA shortly afterwards for more of the same.
If our GDC diary is anything to go by, then this will be a busy show for PlayReplay, continuing our very successful start to 2010. To pre-empt our visit to the US we decided to make an announcement about our new clients and their projects. A copy of the press release can be found below.
So it will be radio silence from the PlayReplay blog for a while (no change there then!), but we will follow up with a post about the event itself and what we thought of it.
Press release
As digital distribution models in the games industry gather commercial pace, independent studios, developers, games and content creators are now entering the digital download arena with a new set of challenges.
PlayReplay, the marketing agency formed specifically to tackle arguably the biggest of these challenges has seen an unexpected level of growth over the past six months.
PlayReplay Director, Oliver Birch comments:
“Increasingly, developers are willing to take market risk and all the associated issues that presents. The creative talent of this industry wants to connect with consumers in a way that has previously been impossible within the current retail publishing structure. Consumers are also increasingly interested in connecting with the people behind the games they consume. We’re in business to support the developer and we’re delighted that what we do seems to be so popular.”
2010 has seen PlayReplay pick up a number of new clients including:
- Relentless Software for the US launch of Blue Toad Murder Files on PSN.
- Indie mavericks, Beatnik Games for the PC download launch of ninja robot title, Plain Sight .
- Industry veterans, Strawdog Studios for the launch of their 80’s styled arcade game, Space Ark on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
- Sabarasa, the Argentinean developer of Save The Turtles on DSiWare soon to be availabe in Europe.
- VEEMEE, the games and virtual world developer for the global launch of their London Pub space in Sony PlayStation®Home.
“Developers create games because they love games, not because they want to spend their time executing international marketing campaigns across multiple media platforms.” continues Birch. “They want to take control and in doing so, have to find a way to talk to their audience. PlayReplay is growing because we understand both sides of this problem.
PlayReplay was set up in 2009 to cater exclusively for the promotion of digitally distributed games products and associated content. The agency offers a flexible range of specialist marketing and PR services allowing clients to communicate product information directly to digital download audiences.
