How can this game pique the interest of newcomers?

[Bionicle8563]

So now that its coming out in 30 days, which is hella exciting, I have but one question.
What kind of reception must this game have in order to attract newcomers? I am under the assumption that most of us here are not on the fence about picking up this game. Personally, outside of reviews, I want them to have a well directed trailer (Omen was great, but something more for TV/YouTube that's mostly shot in game). Maybe even have YouTubers either go to their studio to play/record the game, or get sent early copies of the game with the ability to post footage of certain sections of the game (so like up to chapter 3, only 30 minute sections at a time, no story mission cutscenes or something like that). In terms of reviews, I am thinking it has to sit somewhere around 85 to even pique the interest of the (and I hate this word, but I can't think of another atm) casual crowd. This is because of the fact that it has the name of Final Fantasy and Square Enix behind it. It will be expected to be one of the greats (although maybe that isn't quite right because of the public's view on XIII and XVI 1.0), and because of that people will immediately think of Skyrim and TW3, which both have scores in the 90s.
Idk, those are my thoughts on the matter, what do you guys think?

 

[DrBretto]

I feel less he word gets out on its own. And if the reviews come back and it's a huge hit, as I'm predicting, the buzz wildfire carry over.

I agree, there needs to still be another trailer with a little more literal footage and some gameplay. But, it think their biggest marketing tool is us. That's from the fans to the haters. They create the buzz, but we're the ones doing the buzzing.

 

[Koozek]

- Big Youtubers in the last weeks before release. That's just how it works nowadays, and that's okay. Times change. Don't be the old man yelling at clouds.
- High 80's MC.
- Great word-of-mouth. Not only for newcomers, but also to get back on board relapsed FF fans that left after FFXIII.
- Still one meaty gameplay + story trailer covering every important aspect of the game like open-world, flashy combat scenes, car driving and flying, Chocobo-riding, at least one summon set-piece, a few explosions (see the car chase scenes from the Afrojack trailer), the more dramatic cutscenes, cities, and camping. So that everything that makes the game special is in one single trailer for every newcomer to immediately understand the insane scale. Oh, and maybe give some of the main characters one of the optional costumes in some scenes in the trailer, lol.

The Omen trailer seemed to have worked, btw. I've never seen so many people come into FFXV threads on GAF saying "I've never played a FF, but this looks awesome. Where to start with FFXV? Do I have to see the movie?" etc. as in the last two days.

 

[ChingleeTribal]

Get Pewdiepie to advertise it(as much as I can't stand the guys content)

 

[Lulcielid]

Big Youtubers/Twitch Streamers playing the game.

 

[Bionicle8563]

In terms of trailers, do you think it would be better to have a series of trailers akin to what NMS did with its 5 trailer showing off the different aspects of the game, or do you think there should be 1 main trailer that tries to incorporate most of, if not everything this game is about. Personally I'd like just 1 meaty trailer, but I can see the merits of having multiple smaller trailers showcasing the different sides. Maybe like, trailer 1 showcases the battles, trailer 2 is about exploration and trailer 3 is story. Although if they do it incorrectly it could feel a bit disjointed.

In terms of having YouTubers and Twitch players showcasing the games, I hope that they have enough time to actually get good at the game. I just don't want the marketing of the game (in terms of gameplay) to be bad because the people playing it didn't get enough time to actually explore the depth of the system, or fully understand how the system works. Like, most of the YouTubers I watch are somewhat bad at games, they are just super entertaining to watch, but I'd rather not have those guys marketing the game and then have the comments be like "Yeah this game sucks, I mean just look at how bad the camera is" when its clearly an issue with the player. (I mean, I probably won't be any better, but no one's gonna be watching me fail at tackling a lvl 30 Iron Giant at lvl 10 )

 

[LeonBlade]

In terms of trailers, do you think it would be better to have a series of trailers akin to what NMS did with its 5 trailer showing off the different aspects of the game, or do you think there should be 1 main trailer that tries to incorporate most of, if not everything this game is about. Personally I'd like just 1 meaty trailer, but I can see the merits of having multiple smaller trailers showcasing the different sides. Maybe like, trailer 1 showcases the battles, trailer 2 is about exploration and trailer 3 is story. Although if they do it incorrectly it could feel a bit disjointed.

In terms of having YouTubers and Twitch players showcasing the games, I hope that they have enough time to actually get good at the game. I just don't want the marketing of the game (in terms of gameplay) to be bad because the people playing it didn't get enough time to actually explore the depth of the system, or fully understand how the system works. Like, most of the YouTubers I watch are somewhat bad at games, they are just super entertaining to watch, but I'd rather not have those guys marketing the game and then have the comments be like "Yeah this game sucks, I mean just look at how bad the camera is" when its clearly an issue with the player. (I mean, I probably won't be any better, but no one's gonna be watching me fail at tackling a lvl 30 Iron Giant at lvl 10 )

I don't think anyone should try to emulate anything from NMS. I think one trailer is good enough honestly.

 

[DrBretto]

This game seems to be reverse NMSing, too. I feel like expectations are still relatively low becof the decade of bitching, and that's all outsiders have seen this whole time. If it turns out as full and unique and good as I'm seeing, and keeps it up all the way through to a satisfying ending, then it pulls off the impossible combo of being crazy hyped and exceeding expectations. I believe that will get more people's attention.

 

[Bionicle8563]

.

Ahh so you think this game will do really well if its treated like a sleeper hit. Like, no one is expecting anything and then BOOM it comes out and literally everyone is flocking to their nearest store to buy a copy. Hmm as long as the post release Boom is big enough, it'll work as a sleeper.

 

[Ikkin]

Ahh so you think this game will do really well if its treated like a sleeper hit. Like, no one is expecting anything and then BOOM it comes out and literally everyone is flocking to their nearest store to buy a copy. Hmm as long as the post release Boom is big enough, it'll work as a sleeper.

I don't think they're going for "sleeper hit" so much as intentionally playing the comeback kid. They definitely want that Day One/pre-order money the same way any other AAA developer does (just look at the profusion of DLC bonuses if you have any doubt about that XD; ); they just seem to have decided that the meta-narrative of previewers saying "What the crud, this thing is actually good?!" immediately before release would be more useful than attempting to maintain good PR throughout the game's development.

No one knows the value of a good ol' fashioned underdog story the way Square does. Common knowledge says that Square was about to go bankrupt before it released the first Final Fantasy, but the game sold well and saved the company. This isn't actually true, of course, but the story is too compelling for that to get in the way. So it seems natural that they'd consider tapping into that well when promoting FFXV.

And, thinking about it, there are several advantages Squenix receives from this posture. Most obviously, it probably allowed them to save money on promotional builds. If they're okay with showing off the game in a less-than-ideal state, they can give effectively costless Kickstarter-like updates like tossing out screenshots from work-in-progress dev builds with half their systems turned off and do very inexpensive stuff like put a couple of guys on a tech demo that doesn't properly represent the final game's actual gameplay. Or, you know, show off a gold master candidate build that looks a half generation behind what the game is actually intended to look like without properly explaining that it's in no way representative of the final quality, then send a largely-unmodified version of their most current working build whenever a new show comes up to show how the game is coming along.

Furthermore, it gives them the chance to shake the cynicism surrounding the game by proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the members of the press lavishing praises on the final build would have been entirely willing to criticize it if it deserved criticism. Ironically, letting the press say that the gold master candidate is buggy and not exactly a looker but plays awesome anyway might have actually helped build credibility under the circumstances... especially considering how vast an improvement the game has seen since then.

It also just sort of takes advantage of the fact that if there's anything people are more drawn to than a train wreck, it's a miraculously-averted catastrophe. People love talking about that kind of stuff; we've already seen the effects of that in the way the gaming press have handled Squenix's continuous offers of demos. And, in a world where all of its competitors share its production values, that sort of narrative might be an effective way to differentiate itself.

I really wanna see what they're intending to do with regards to television ads, though. The comeback kid thing is clearly a benefit in the existing context of XV's long development, but trying to explain that context to the mass audience who hasn't been following the game's development might be weird.

 

[DrBretto]

Ahh so you think this game will do really well if its treated like a sleeper hit. Like, no one is expecting anything and then BOOM it comes out and literally everyone is flocking to their nearest store to buy a copy. Hmm as long as the post release Boom is big enough, it'll work as a sleeper.

Sort of like the effect of a sleeper, except more in the spotlight. It's been underestimated. Exceeding people's expectations should have a little bit of a springboard effect.

Narrative matters when it comes to mass perception. People all over the more popular sites, what an outside observer sees doesn't look good, because for the mist part all they see is people talking about how much such and such sucks. They're not fact checking, they're just seeing what the general vibe is.

As the vibe changes, and it will with so many intangible effects like the return if an emotionally charged series from a bunch of childhoods, mixed with the exceeding of expectations, as long as the game is good. When the narrative shifts, outsiders will be more interested.

 

[Rogue-Tomato]

I think a lot of word of mouth will play a big part in this. I also think there are going to be scores of gamers out there that have been waiting many years for this game to come out - Like me, which will buy it day one.

Given the evidenced amount of effort that has gone into this game it needs to top TW3 and the like and personally, I think it will.

 

[Edda]

A tie-in with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm?