Off to GDC I go! Tomorrow.

Keeping with the tradition of highly frequent blog updates, here’s another highly frequent blog update! I’m heading to San Francisco tomorrow for the illustrious Game Developers Conference, a show that brings together loads of game-industry folks and those who would someday very much like to be game-industry folks for a few days of panels, lectures, [...]

Stay on message. OR I’LL BEAT YOU GOOD.

Ah, what a great vacation that was. So relaxing. I can still hear the sounds of the waves crashing on the white, sandy beach, tropical birds singing their alluring songs in the lush forest behind me. I really meant to update the blog from my cabana, but the resort was having problems with their wireless [...]

Evolve now rolling with the Paradox crew

I’m hoping to extend my streak of success with awesome PC-game developers — having thoroughly loved working with CD Projekt RED (The Witcher) and Stardock (Sins of a Solar Empire, Galactic Civilizations II) — as I announce the addition of Paradox Interactive to the Evolve family of clients. Join me in welcoming these wonderful Swedes [...]

Aww damn, now that’s a bargain.

In a sure sign that this is not just a blog on which I post insightful commentary on the ins and outs of public relations and marketing, I’m actually writing something about a client! Beware, for this can only end badly — shilling kicks all kinds of ass.
This week we’re celebrating the one-year anniversary of [...]

Reverb infiltrating the App Store?

Here’s a bit of deception to kick off your Monday (though the story was posted on Saturday, and it’s already evening today… so if your day is just kicking off… lay off the booze, buddy): MobileCrunch has tossed up a rather intriguing article alleging that Reverb, one of the industry’s more recognizable PR agencies, has [...]

PR: Controlling the Media Nation

“I was reviewing a big, anticipated game in a well-known, successful franchise from a top-tier publisher. It’d gotten plenty of slobbery preview coverage from ours and other outlets in the months previous, but the final game was inescapably mediocre. So I gave it the score it deserved.”
Just like any other day for a gaming journalist [...]

Firey blood dragons, unite!

How about a little quickie on branding? Dragon Age: Origins (not sure why Dragon Age didn’t work out on its own) and Guild Wars 2 are two fairly highly anticipated entries in the fantasy-RPG space. So how could they possibly end up with such similar branding? Check it:
I have to say I like the Guild [...]

I don’t have to take this, man. It’s total bullshot.

Throughout a game’s PR and marketing campaign, the publisher or developer needs to create promotional screenshots to show off a game’s visuals. It’s important to note that the final polishing of a game — those extra steps that take the game to final quality — often isn’t done until the last few months of the project. That will vary, of course, from one game to another, as some teams may aim to be “art complete” much earlier in development. Anyway, these shots will usually be created with whatever game content is available — so if a game is being announced two years before its release date, there’s a good chance that the aforementioned game content is not final, only partially available or completely non-existent.

Video Games Are Dead, or It’s All a Big Lie

Just finished watching the second part of Mr. Scott Steinberg’s video doohickey, Video Games are Dead, which he’s posted over at Digital Trends (Part 1). I’ve got some thoughts on the whole thing. (Video after the jump)
I think the video offers a fascinating look at changes happening in the games industry due to the spread [...]

Blacklisting. It happens, and it’s retarded.

The seedy underbelly of the games industry exposes itself. When a journalist goes rebels and does something as recklessly disrespectful and anti-gaming as write a negative article about a game or publisher, a lot of PR reps and executives forget that golden rule and do something so unimaginably dumb in times of duress that I just can’t wrap my batshit insane head around it: they put that journalist on their blacklist.