Let's Talk About Marketing...February

[Mike Silbowitz.1827]

@Tekoneiric.6817

Great idea!

[Voxann.9482]

The emotional connection to the game that makes the gamer cheer, cry, laugh, surprised, etc when they go through living world stories, fight bosses, team up with guildies during raid/PvP/WvW, etc.

It can be in a campaign series of an emotion each video or one video of a combo of a few emotions.

Personally, that’s how I felt with gw2. It is so enjoyable to play and made me feel all these emotions in there game. It’s great.

[Donari.5237]

@Mike Silbowitz.1827 Aha, you are back at your desk! Could you let us know how to enter the contest via this website as opposed to social media? Both you and the contest rules have stated it is possible, but no one seems able to find the entry form on this site. A direct link to the form would be best. Thanks!

edit: Apparently the ping doesn't work with a space in the name, so I'm not sure how to ping Mike so he sees it. Here's hoping some ANet person is viewing :)

[ClaraFee.2579]

@"Rubi Bayer.8493" said:

Like I said earlier today, the community of Guild Wars 2 is a huge part of its appeal. So many players have stories of real relationships formed in the game...

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have planned, Rubi. However, I don't know that the existing playerbase is a good sample group for the marketing of products they already own. Especially on Reddit, players jump at the chance to be critical of ArenaNet's marketing, micro-analyzing and ultra-critiquing your tweets and ads the way Wooden Potatoes analyzes Living World trailers (the latter is a good thing though). Like, I own a Nissan, but I totally have better things to do (like drive my Nissan) than join in on discussions that are critical of the grammar in Nissan's tweets. Oh, and God forbid you charge gems for gem store items!

What I mean to say is: most of the playerbase consists of people who've never taken a business course in their life, or haven't (yet) attended college, and who erroneously use the word "marketing" as a blanket term to refer to numerous activities, plans, goals, statistics, and methods - all of which they also do not understand. These players, along with those that are just straight-up ungrateful and have entitlement issues, are the most vocal.

So during this month of love, don't forget that the whiners and griefers - despite their whining and griefing - really do love the game, and love you all for your efforts in making it so enjoyable. <3

[Tekoneiric.6817]

@Mike Silbowitz.1827 said:@"Tekoneiric.6817"

Great idea!

It could be followed up with a rapid montage of clips with the caption "get ready for a world of adventure or you could just enjoy a day at the beach" and the clip ends with a charr in shorts sunbathing on the beach on Southsun Cove. Each one of them could have it's own funny ending like the beach thing. As the following person said.

@Merrick.3905 said:

the male Sylvari should def be Canach with Rytlock in pursuit!!

[Mike Silbowitz.1827]

@Donari.5237www.guildwars2.com/friendships

[Donari.5237]

@Mike Silbowitz.1827 said:@Donari.5237www.guildwars2.com/friendships

Thanks! That link works when cut/pasted. I will get to my entry asap.

[Zedek.8932]

Excelsior.

The reason why I love GW2 is that I don't have to make "friends".Fake friends that are also located 2,000 km away are not for everyone.I often hear this game's solo-playability being praised in all the duty-finder riddled waiting games (looking over to you, FF14).Being a grumpy solitary Asura sniper is really enjoyable and THE reason why I love this game over the forced MY LITTLE PONY (only with friends you can get anywhere) message of your competitors.

[Vavume.8065]

I've played this game for 5 years, have over 15k hours invested, in that time I have never recommended the game to anyone, and I never will, why? because it's the least rewarding game I have ever played, I look forward to the day I uninstall this game and never look back, I have no respect for the people in charge of it's direction, since they clearly are playing pin the tail on the donkey while blindfolded. Mike Obrian asked for us to advertise this game for him, why should I ever do that when I have gotten nothing from your company, anything I wanted I had to sweat blood for, bottom line is as I said, the reward system is sadistic, if this game was rewarding to play I'm sure it would not have had so many players leave, gl marketing a game in this state, you have your work cut out for you. Point of this post is that maybe you should look at changing the reward system before you go on a marketing drive, you know, make the game actually rewarding to play...

[Mike Silbowitz.1827]

Hi @Vavume.8065

I’m not trying to be flip but honestly curious. If you feel this way why have you been playing for 5 years?

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

@Mike Silbowitz.1827 said:Hi @Vavume.8065

I’m not trying to be flip but honestly curious. If you feel this way why have you been playing for 5 years?

That was my first thought, as well. Perhaps, suggestions on how to improve would be in order, though I'm not sure here is the best place for those.OT: Happy to see the links and 'ads' to the Friendship campaign out and about now.

[Endelon.1042]

@Vavume.8065 said:I've played this game for 5 years, have over 15k hours invested, in that time I have never recommended the game to anyone, and I never will, why? because it's the least rewarding game I have ever played, I look forward to the day I uninstall this game and never look back, I have no respect for the people in charge of it's direction, since they clearly are playing pin the tail on the donkey while blindfolded. Mike Obrian asked for us to advertise this game for him, why should I ever do that when I have gotten nothing from your company, anything I wanted I had to sweat blood for, bottom line is as I said, the reward system is sadistic, if this game was rewarding to play I'm sure it would not have had so many players leave, gl marketing a game in this state, you have your work cut out for you. Point of this post is that maybe you should look at changing the reward system before you go on a marketing drive, you know, make the game actually rewarding to play...

Why have you played enough to get UD and Diamond Legend if the game is so miserable? Your post makes no sense.

[Sesbog.8705]

hidden text

[Vavume.8065]

@Mike Silbowitz.1827 said:Hi @Vavume.8065

I’m not trying to be flip but honestly curious. If you feel this way why have you been playing for 5 years?

Because I loved WvW, and I foolishly held out hope that one day Anet might actually figure out a better direction for this game, but in reality it's been 5 years of feeling like the game is still in beta with the constant testing systems out on us, reiterating them, reiterating them again, and reiterataing them again, not even exaggerating here. This game has always had such great potential but it has been wasted, sure there are plenty of people still playing, but the amount of people you have lost you can only blame yourselves for, Ive stuck with the game out of hope for change, and all I am left with is bitterness that the change has never come.

@Endelon.1042 said:Why have you played enough to get UD and Diamond Legend if the game is so miserable? Your post makes no sense.

Because I loved WvW, and I played it not caring for reward, the thrill of the mode was reward enough for me, however I cannot say the same about the PVE side of this game, and that is what I find most unsatisfactory, when I play pve I want to be rewarded for my time and I have never felt that I am, the game throws trash loot at you constantly, and you end up playing inventory simulator instead of doing something fun.

[Mike Silbowitz.1827]

@Sesbog.8705

I do love you and the rest of the community. I unfortunately can't change the Tonic but will make sure I look at different in game gifts for future programs. :-)

[Wilk.2965]

I can talk about Marketing as a player returned a little over a month ago and how has it been my experience:

In Spain I didn't know that PoF had gone on sale, simply none of the main Spanish media did an analysis of the expansion (as if they did with HoT) I do not know if Arena.net has completely forgotten the Spanish online press and not sent serials to analyze the expansion or what has happened here, but if I was 5 months delayed knowing that this expansion had come out is that someone in Marketing is really doing their job badly.

Then, the big mistake I find in GW2 is that when you reach level 80 or you finish your personal history it is difficult for new players to know what to do next. It is necessary an explanatory video or some type of ingame section, as have other mmo, in plan "adventure guide" that appears in the game at level 80 and / or when completing personal stories that explain what to do next, a section for New players updated on the web would also help. If it does not happen that the players do not continue playing, as happened to me previously.

What you need to get urgently: that every episode of the living story be published in all media, I don't know the rest of the world, but here in Spain only a few people now know that GW2 has updates every 2-3 months that the story continues, adds maps, etc. This will only be achieved with a cinematics of 2-3 minutes that explain the new ones in the story and everything that the update offers in an attractive way and get them published in the media.

I have the feeling that you have left the Spanish market completely and I do not like it, because each market adds up.

Sorry for the mistakes, I'm using google translate ^^

[Sesbog.8705]

hidden text

[Sesbog.8705]

hidden text

[Mike Silbowitz.1827]

Hoping you all got a chance to see this today

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Cute...and sweet. Was it professionally done? Certainly doesn't look like a player-submitted entry.
If it is, well done.

[Chilli.2976]

@"Mike Silbowitz.1827" said:Hoping you all got a chance to see this today

Is that Mike O'Brien Jnr?

[Mike Silbowitz.1827]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234

It was done professionally by the ANet Marketing Team

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Ahh. Ok. So, not an entry. Seems fair.I once met a paramour in Guild Wars (One). It didn't result in marriage.
I introduced my current partner to Guild Wars, and subsequently Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars (1, then 2) is how we keep in touch, partially. I see this person once a year; we've been together over 11 years, now.

Lol. Not much of a story.

[Gaile Gray.6029]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Ahh. Ok. So, not an entry. Seems fair.I once met a paramour in Guild Wars (One). It didn't result in marriage.

I introduced my current partner to Guild Wars, and subsequently Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars (1, then 2) is how we keep in touch, partially. I see this person once a year; we've been together over 11 years, now.

Lol. Not much of a story.

Actually, I think that's very sweet, Ic. Congrats to you both!

[Gehenna.3625]

@Mike Silbowitz.1827 said:Hi @Vavume.8065

I’m not trying to be flip but honestly curious. If you feel this way why have you been playing for 5 years?

It occurs to me that people often don't get how passionate people can be about certain things or even just aspects of a game and how that passion can carry them through much. I played GW1 a LOT. I still play it occasionally, in fact I just picked it up again. But it's also why I bought GW2 originally in the first place when it came out.

Now I will be honest, I tried GW2 a few times since then also but I just get bored too quickly by what I see as a tedious leveling process and I admit to being overwhelmed by what is going on at level 80 when I do give it another try. But so far I've tried the game at launch and stopped after a few months because it wasn't actually GW2 to me. It was something completely different and other than some names had nothing to do with GW1, in my opinion. I was really angry also I can tell you. I tried again some time later and got bored with the leveling and mindless event running after a couple of months again. Then I tried it a while after HoT came out. It actually had some nice things to it but again after reaching level 80 (and that was tedious again) I had a bit of fun with the gliding masteries but also got bored really quickly by the event farming and I really don't like the crafting system so making starting armour for raiding was not in the books for me. So I stopped again. Then just recently I started thinking about it again, but ended up playing GW1 instead.

So why do I seem to keep trying at least from time to time? Because my passion for GW1 was that great that part of me still wants to like GW2 but it's just not working. I want to move forward with Guild Wars but I can't. That's what passion can do. And it's a rotten thing sometimes to deal with as a player as well.

Now, I'm not telling you this to complain about GW2 but as an attempt to describe to you how people can be passionate about things and that can give them hope against hope and do things that are essentially mad. It's a powerful thing. He has it with WvW and that's just one dimension of this game but the rest just didn't shape up right for him and so finally he had to admit I guess that WvW itself was not enough to sustain him after that many hours in 5 years time.

I imagine it's a tough thing for a developer to please a wide variety of players and I think it's also why the revenue per quarter has been going down over time because it is hard to hold on to players or at least keep them spending. No judgement, just a reality as I see it. I dunno what you're planning to do with this marketing thing but it probably is a good idea to try some things to see if you can garner some more interest again. It seems that your B2P business model appeals to many players but it also keeps them from spending more regularly. Hate to be in your shoes but at the same time and, in spite of me not being onboard let's say, I do wish you success with turning things in a positive direction.