Watch Dogs Downgrade Controversy & Infamous: Second Son Weak Marketing Campaign [Gamertag Radio]

This week on Gamertag Radio:

*Xbox Gamer Radio Edition!
*Jack Tretton stepping down as President and CEO of SCEA
*Uncharted writer leaves Naughty Dog
*Watch Dogs downgrade controversy
*Infamous: Second Son weak marketing campaign
*Titanfall marketing
*Pete can’t find Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter
*Xbox One Titanfall Bundle
*Microsoft’s Phil Spencer responds to Games with Gold concerns
*Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare got better connecting online since the update
*Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (Nintendo 3DS) review
*Fan Mail

[GribbleGrunger]

Infamous weak marketing campaign? See my avatar? Everyone on Gaf has a beanie because Infamous is being hyped all over the place.

[porkChop]

It's being hyped online, sure. But where is the big marketing push with commercials, billboards, etc? The biggest PS4 game to date is about to release next week, and unless you're online you wouldn't even know the game exists. Sony had this problem all last gen with the PS3, and they're doing the same thing with the Vita. They release games with no real marketing and just expect the games to sell themselves.

[NewMonday]

Sony say the bigger push will start at release week and run commercial in the theaters for a month.

[SharnOfTheDEAD]

I see a trailer when I went to see non stop (ace film btw) which looked amazing on a Cinema screen. Also seen a few tv spots, so I wouldn't say it was weak. Also getting a Beanie with special edition XD

[TFJWM]

Do they really need to over hype it? If you have a PS4 you know its coming out. If you are looking for a PS4 you know its coming out. And if you just decided you want a PS4 you can't find one anyway because its sold out.

[frostypants]

Sony's never been one to put their games on the beverage cups and boxes at, say, Taco Bell. It's just not their thing. I think it may be a brand image policy...large corporations usually have strict branding standards that their various divisions must abide by. My guess is Sony treats the Playstation as part of the overarching Sony brand, where as MS kind of markets the Xbox as its own thing and frees the Xbox division to advertise it however they see fit.

This is all speculation but everything I've seen seems to back it up. I was shocked when they advertised Uncharted 3 at Subway, and I don't recall seeing them do anything on that scale more than one or two other times in the Playstation's history.

[SilentNegotiator]

Pretty sure the internet isn't good enough for a strong marketing campaign.

/s

[SixtyNine]

@ GG - yeah, 'cause online translates to the real world :D.

infamous never really had MASS appeal. infamous fans will be interested of coarse. And, it might even do better than the previous entries because there's hardly anything to play on PS4 at the moment. It's definitely not a system seller. Also the fact that there isn't much competition. It might just sell better than the previous games. I hope it does. I like infamous.

[GribbleGrunger]

But the so called under-hyped game has higher pre-orders than Titanfall. It's an illusion the media are now putting forward. I've seen nothing but Infamous, Infamous, Infamous for over a month now and the Youtube videos have gone viral because of it.

[SoapShoes]

It doesn't have MASS appeal in the sense of Battlefield or Call of Duty but it certainly is a system seller but to what degree we'll never know because it's not like Sony can magically produces millions more PS4s.

[AceBlazer13]

Infamous Commercial I began seeing last week
http://youtu.be/IspdAkgPJHo

Like Gribble said Infamous has more hype, Titanfall has the so called online hype. Some people know Infamous from back when it and Prototype always got compared. No one not following gaming news knows about Titanfall . Even with it trending on twitter all the tweets are from gaming news sites.

[its_JEFF]

@porkChop @TwelveBitHero

I'm not agreeing with @GribbleGrunger but IDK why you guys are scoffing at online "hype". Wasn't TitanFall's hype ALL online? It was getting hyped at all the big gaming websites, and all the popular forums... was that "hype" not real?

I've only recently seen TitanFall commercials on TV. But, the hype trains started much earlier than that... online.

[SteamPowered]

Microsoft had titans in the X1 launch commercials.
#JumpIn

[its_JEFF]

@SteamPowered

The only thing I'm saying is online hype is real, it was real for TitanFall. I can list all the TitanFall articles in my post but this page wiuldnr be long enough. TitanFall had huge amounts of online hype, that's the truth.

[its_JEFF]

Argh... damn these fat fingers! Mean to say "wouldn't be long enough"

[porkChop]

Online marketing is important, but the fact is most gamers don't look up games or gaming news online. The vast majority of gamers rely on kick ass commercials, magazine/billboard ads, word of mouth, etc. That's just the way it is.

[its_JEFF]

That word of mouth comes from the hardcore that look online tho, right? Are you the "designated" gamer in your family/friends circle? I am and they ask me what they should be playing or paying attention to.

I might be a special case, but I get most of my news/gaming news and info from the internet... I don't watch very much TV.

[OsirisBlack]

@12bH

Why do people keep saying "Theres hardly anything to play on PS4"? I have 11 games that are all quite fun and not enough time to get into them all .... then there are 4 I could download for free that are also fun but I would not have time for them either so..... I guess.

[SixtyNine]

guys, you need to understand that the internet is not representative of real world statistics.

@OSIRISBLACK
That's great for you that there are lot of games that interest you on PS4 at this moment in time.

In my opinion, there's hardly anything worthwhile to play on PS4 - - >in my opinion. I'm speaking for myself, not others.

I would buy a PS4 for infamous, that's only because i'm a fan of the series (the same can't be said for the average joe). Up until march I haven't had a reason to buy PS4. infamous is only one game so I'll continue to wait I guess. I might just cave in ^_^.

*sigh*

[jonatan221]

Beanifiedd!!

All the clips shown have people drooling over it, I really don't get this "weak" marketing.

The only weak part is people don't seem to like the HUD, personally I don't mind it. But maybe that day one patch will adjust it to please the mass.

[Meltic]

New image of Watch dogs. Doesen't look bad at all http://watchdogsforum.net/v...

[porkChop]

Still not as good looking as the PS4 gameplay from late 2013, but this screen doesn't look too bad really. It's 1920x1080 so it's a PS4 screenshot. But at the same time, this screen doesn't really look like gameplay so it could be another bullshot, though I hope it isn't.

[Meltic]

The screen is from a gameplay. Escaping the cops.

[frostypants]

Wow...their version of Chicago is apparently way, WAY off from reality. That looks like it's supposed to be Soldier Field, but Soldier Field isn't in a busy neighborhood with power lines everywhere...it's by itself between the park and the lake. It's also not a baseball stadium like that one in the picture apparently is. Actually it kind of looks like they merged Soldier Field and Wrigley Field into a single abomination, which would explain the location. I'm kind of wondering why they bother calling it Chicago in the game...every demo I've seen has just looked like anytown, USA, with a couple of Chicago landmarks thrown in.

[porkChop]

Which gameplay video is it from? Do you have a link?

[Aceman18]

i see plenty of ads on tv during my shows. also seeing Destiny, and Watchdogs PS4 tv ads even though there months away.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

I haven't see anything, I see Titans everywhere.

[king_george]

Im seeing Infamous: Second Son literally everywhere i go... whether im watching tv or on youtube. I dont understand how the marketing campaign can be considered weak

[Meltic]

Here in sweden they have putted up many posters at the bus stops everywhere. Its read '' Infamous second son march 21, only on ps4''

[imt558]

Despite InFamous's weak marketing, preorders are pretty high globally, higher than TitanFall's..

[Persian_Immortal]

not to mention the unofficial Infamous Bundles which were priced at nearly 600 are outselling Titanfall bundles at Gamestop. Inf is also dominating in Europe with their bundles, Amazons bestsellers paints a clear picture they are both neck and neck in sales. To add more spice to the convo PS4 solo bundle is dancing around Titanfall like Muhammad Ali did in the boxing ring.

[avengers1978]

^^^^
This

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Wait, what?
Unofficial bundles, selling at $600?
I'm sorry, but unless those are packing in a Vita, that's a waste of cash right there.
Infamous is a fun series, but it isn't $600 fun.
I wouldn't pay that much for any bundle without something extremely expensive in there justifying the price.
That goes for Titanfall as well, if someone is going to try pulling the same thing with it and an X Bone. There'd better be a Smart Glass or another couple of games in such a bundle, or it's just a money sink for first-worlders...

[refocusedman]

Infamous doesn't need a huge marketing campaign. The people who bought a ps4 this close to launch are hardcore gamers that are well aware of the launch date for infamous. These are the people who read n4g, ign, and gameinformer (amongst others). Advertisement s are for casual gamers, not for metacritic watchers or n4g readers who look to ign and other sites for review scores

[Ittoryu]

Has anyone considered the down grade in graphics could be so the Ps4 or xbone doesn't blow away the Wii U version? Just a thought.

[DC777]

There is no Wii U version and 3rd parties hate Nintendo so you are truly reaching.

[Ittoryu]

You should to check your fact before you open your mouth unless you like looking dumb....its been delayed but still coming out for Wii U. Gamerant.com/watch-dogs-wii-u- delay-explained/

[TheUndertaker85]

http://www.gamestop.com/wii...

[DC777]

I simply...don't care.

Right now there is no release date hence no Wii U version yet. Not to mention it is being worked on by a different studio.

Your obvious bias against Nintendo is ridiculous as is your underhanded bashing of the console in your comment. But if you really,truly believe that all this is somehow Nintendo's fault then go for it.

[Ittoryu]

Of course you don't care you were proven wrong. It's being work on genius by a studio more familiar with the Wii u hardware an was delayed to try and make it better. Yes I dislike the Wii U shocker I dislike a console that has no games I find good.

[CyberSentinel]

Let's not forget websites and tv stations want advertising revenue from Sony, so take what they say with a grain of salt.

[faysal]

infmaous trailer sitting at 3.2milk view in just 3 days.. yes there is a huge hype behind this game.

[iceman06]

It's funny because I actually saw the Infamous commercials before I saw the TitanFall commercials. They show it a LOT during the segments of ESPN that are sponsored by PS4. Sure, TitanFall has drowned it out in the last week. But, I expected nothing less from MS. That's what they do.

[Up_N_U]

infamous looks ok but i dont think its going to push units maybe titanfall will sell xboxes idk

[ado908]

Why won't it push units? Bundles with the ps3 are being sold out and outselling titanfalls bundle as well as pre order numbers are much higher on infamous over titanfall

[Up_N_U]

again idk maybe it will push units I hope it does but I know I don't care for the game.

[ado908]

Well to each his own but was your comment necessary tho? No disrespect intended it's just if you don't care for the game then you have no reason to make a brief opinion on how this game will not sell units and titanfall will yet when the game a ton more pre-orders and bundles being sold than Titanfall you say you don't care for the game. Everyone's free to give off their opinion, it's just weird taking your time to actually comment what you commented.

[Up_N_U]

or you could have just moved on and pressed the disagree button thing. no disrespect but haven't your parents ever told you if someone say something you dont like to IGNORE them? so i will state my opinion about infamous and titanfall and if you don't like it move on. again no disrespect.

[ado908]

It isn't that I don't like it, I'm just saying it was pretty pointless putting a comment like that and I don't use that disagree button because I really do think people can say what they want. I'm just saying why tho lol and no my parents were complete assholes my childhood so I don't live with them.

[Up_N_U]

well im going to be the first to tell you it was pointless for you to make a comment about my on opinion and im sorry for how your parents were to you but ill tell you if you dont like something the best thing to do is change it or in this case move on and ignore it and besides i just got a ps4 just to play infamous just to see what all the hype is about so im hoping its a good game but i played the first two and they were a mix of prototype and spyderman.

[ado908]

Fair enough

[AD705]

Wasn't it confirmed a few days ago that infamous had over 600,000 preorders world wide and this game is releasing in March 21st which is 11 days from now? I dunno about you guys but I think infamous 3 will do well.

[EverydayGuy]

Sony mostly use the word of mouth to spread their message.

[staticdash22]

These guys are completed uneducated on infamous marketing.

Lack of marketing? You mean this isn't? https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Or this? https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Wait, this isn't an ad too? https://www.youtube.com/wat...

According to these guys, live action must be advertising a game too. https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Compared to Titanfall's yes, but infamous is being marketed, and they don't need to drop $200 mil when Ps4 is still selling out 4 months after launch. What a joke, these guys lol.

[TristanPR77]

Weak marketing campaign and the game have 600,000 pre orders worldwide, more than Titanfall.

I can't imagine what would happen if they had an aggressive marketing campaign.

[TristanPR77]

also bear in mind that Sony doesn't need to throw Infamous for free or make a price cut to move sales. Sony is confident in Infamous, if they were afraid they would have make a price cut and make a bundle giving it for free... Oh wait lol