In the games industry products are usually taken to market after the completion of the post production, meaning all the necessary advertisements videos and documentation for the game has been completed prior to release. However, recently in game production they have been using tools like kick starter and early access as a form of advertising, there are positives and negatives with using this strategy of producing a game. When this method is used it mostly ends up requiring either an open or a fast development cycle as the game can rely heavily on sales or crowd funding, the hype around the game needs to be maintained and sometime even a bad review still attracts the attention of people, however a positive vibe is better and can help to the game continue to gain support and the development heavily depends on the reputation of the company.
Once a method of sale and development has been identified then a decision needs to be made on the direction to take. For example, large publishers dictate what the games theme will be, how long the development will last and what scope it will have on release. Where an independent developer will make the game and then look for a publisher to promote and release it, or they will go down the crowd funded route to independently publish the game.
Before full release there is usually a comprehensive advertising campaign, the scope and size of the campaign will depend upon the publishers budget but usual consists of social media advertisement targeting gamer’s in particular. They will also attend gaming conventions and set up trade stand where there is usually small playable sections of the game, keynote speeches by developers and the publishers and you can also get discounts on a pre-order of games when purchasing. Another way is to allow streamers that have large subscription numbers free access to the game, so that they can play and obviously promote that game to gaming audiences. They can also create you-tube channels where they promote there own game with developer video blogs, updates on progress, new technology and pre release purchases.
In conclusion there are may different ways for a game to be promoted and released each with the advantages and disadvantages. The direction that a publisher will take will usually depend on 2 main elements firstly the audience that is the target demographic and secondly the money available to push the game. Ultimately a game is only as good as its game play and as we have seen lately some massive games fail and small independent game make there creators into overnight sensations.
Jacob Lawther 