That arrangement requires the game to sell a ton, otherwise not enough is made to pay off the marketing budget with.
A risky move, though it shows how much faith CD Projekt has in the game and it's sales.
That arrangement requires the game to sell a ton, otherwise not enough is made to pay off the marketing budget with.
A risky move, though it shows how much faith CD Projekt has in the game and it's sales.
The budget information is pretty old news. Like really old. I'm actually glad that they have a sizable marketing budget this time [which is probably dwarfed when you compare it western AAAs] - making a good game is only half of the success, you have to know how to "sell yourself" to the masses as well. And I want The Witcher 3 to hit big and for that your regular cRPG players are not enough.
And guys... really... CDProjekt wanting a bigger audience doesn't equal simplifying and shallowing the game itself. I trust the Reds, they've been nothing but honest so far.
And guys... really... CDProjekt wanting a bigger audience doesn't equal simplifying and shallowing the game itself. I trust the Reds, they've been nothing but honest so far.
I can assure you, we are always listening. :look:
I can't comment on the current situation, since, as a Quest Designer, I am not really privy to that kind of information.
What I can do however, is give a bit of an explanation for marketing in games from experience in my previous company. Back then (about 2 years ago now), we released a small, indie game. It was a revival of an old franchise, mostly known in Germany and with very little brand recognition. We didn't want to go all out in marketing and we really couldn't. We did the best we could through social media and talking to youtubers and the like.
The problem is, we never really got the word out. Sure a core audience was alerted to the game. A lot of people who read blogs and watch youtube videos etc got to know our game and that was all fine and well, but we never, never managed to get into the mainstream media or into the attention of the general public.
I would like to point out that marketing itself, in our case then, had nothing to do with what kind of game we were making. Reaching a wider audience means exactly that. It means more people have a chance to see your game, to become aware of your game. It's not about what kind of game it is, what content it has or how it plays. It's all about someone saying "Hey, know about Game X?" and someone else replying "Of course I heard about that!" . When we released our game back then, even a year after release and some decent (but not quite happy sales), comments on new videos about the game would always include "How come I never heard about this before!?".
Granted, that was an indie game. This is a different cup of tea, but I do believe the principle remains. And like I said, I cannot tell you how things are handled here (not my department, marketing
) so I drew from previous experiences to find a comparison. From my perspective as a Quest Designer, I can assure you we all aim to deliver what The Witcher is known and loved for. Aaaand I will get back to doing that right now.
This is the hope alot of us are running with atm I think. Honestly that line was probably the worst thing for the core fans that anyone from CDPR could say in an interview, it can be interpreted in so many ways & it's really hard to not kneejerk over it. We've seen this go wrong a million times before.
Hopefully it's simply a matter of the Publishers wanting to market it bigger & play it up as a "Blockbuster Title" (Considering this is probably the biggest open world Next-Gen game coming & it is one of the few that's TRULY Next-Gen, no sacrifices to work on the PS3/360) & the game remains entirely in-tact, "Witcher-y" & all.
Just please CD Projekt oh please please I have barely recovered from it oh please..................................................................................................................................................................................NOT ANOTHER ROME 2.
:mean:
Ha ha no really on a more serious side,Witcher doesn't have to be dumbed down because if it does it will lose it's unique wibe and just become 'yet another so called rpg for the mums and younger sisters'.Also that part about publishers providing all 25 million dollars is kinda good I guess...............I hope.Hmmmmm maybe that simply means that they will make sure it reaches ears of wider audience and the game itself won't be damaged by potentional dumbing down because all the money is provided by CD Projekt.Or I'm wrong.Let's hope I'm not.
But rhetoric used in those articles is almost exactly the same to articles about Skyrim,Dragon Age 2 ,Rome 2 etc. before their release.Hmmmm if Jim Sterling gives it bad mark (because he gave the worst to Witcher 2 of all journalists cause he was way too dumb to understand game) then everything is fine.
If it however receives the same mark as COD #4215 and Jim is happy.....than I know I will be sad sad panda.
If someone from dev team could spare a moment of his time and just dismiss all these bad omens....it would be great.
Just......agh do not join the dark (EA) side.Resist !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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No really maybe this is arrogant from my side but if I was a game dev and head of independent studio I would always choose making one of the best rpgs in history and earning let's say 25% less money in worst case scenario (roughly 150 millions) over making Skyrim 2.0 and earning 200 millions.And probably keeping true to it's agenda CD Projekt is going to make even more money then trying to imitate Skyrim cause it won't be copy/paste but something fresh and original.
I know,I know maybe it's hippie but that's just me lol
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:mean:
Ha ha no really on a more serious side,Witcher doesn't have to be dumbed down because if it does it will lose it's unique wibe and just become 'yet another so called rpg for the mums and younger sisters'.Also that part about publishers providing all 25 million dollars is kinda good I guess...............I hope.Hmmmmm maybe that simply means that they will make sure it reaches ears of wider audience and the game itself won't be damaged by potentional dumbing down because all the money is provided by CD Projekt.Or I'm wrong.Let's hope I'm not.
But rhetoric used in those articles is almost exactly the same to articles about Skyrim,Dragon Age 2 ,Rome 2 etc. before their release.Hmmmm if Jim Sterling gives it bad mark (because he gave the worst to Witcher 2 of all journalists cause he was way too dumb to understand game) then everything is fine.
If it however receives the same mark as COD #4215 and Jim is happy.....than I know I will be sad sad panda.
If someone from dev team could spare a moment of his time and just dismiss all these bad omens....it would be great.
Just......agh do not join the dark (EA) side.Resist !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
View attachment 1596
No really maybe this is arrogant from my side but if I was a game dev and head of independent studio I would always choose making one of the best rpgs in history and earning let's say 25% less money in worst case scenario (roughly 150 millions) over making Skyrim 2.0 and earning 200 millions.And probably keeping true to it's agenda CD Projekt is going to make even more money then trying to imitate Skyrim cause it won't be copy/paste but something fresh and original.
I know,I know maybe it's hippie but that's just me lol
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"First half of the year." They do mean this year right? Right? Aaaaah, its coming! Today is the first day of the second month in 'the first half of the year'!
Ahh, oh, but...eehh...okay maybe I should calm down a spell.
Go CDPR!
Thanks OP for translation! Have an icecream!:ice:
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(Google Transtalor)
It is exactly the same as it was during the creation of TW1 and TW2. Also then it was about getting to the widest possible public.
TW1 purpose: getting to the widest possible public.
TW2 purpose: getting to the widest possible public.
TW3 purpose: getting to the widest possible public.
Only possibilities have changed.
This is a company so it works like a company.
I do not understand why some are surprised. It's like a surprised that there are death and taxes.
It is exactly the same as it was during the creation of TW1 and TW2. Also then it was about getting to the widest possible public.
TW1 purpose: getting to the widest possible public.
TW2 purpose: getting to the widest possible public.
TW3 purpose: getting to the widest possible public.
Only possibilities have changed.
This is a company so it works like a company.
I do not understand why some are surprised. It's like a surprised that there are death and taxes.
Skyrim sold 20 million copies since november 2011. If TW3 could sell half of that on all platforms in 2 years it would be a success. But I think they can do much better then 10 million copies..
Here's what I think:
Games that let playes do what they want in the world sell well. Look at Skyrim, GTA 5 or Minecraft.. if you can create funny moments and post them on Youtube you get views and potential buyers. it's free marketing.. Posters in local game shops or on the bus is waste of money in my opinion.
CDPR could let players use "console" and add commend system to spawn monsters or objects, make players stay after they finished with 100h with the game this is the key.. commend system or few secret cheat code that let you spawn a motorcycle or a 4x4 car. spawn 20 drunk npcs and let them wonder they town and see how crazy guards and people react. tons of ideas could be made...
There are tons of youtube celebreties who have millions of subscribers, Skyrim has tons of hours of content on youtube.. look at GTA or Minecraft.. PS4 and X1 never had any mods of tools for editing. Why not cashing on that. Give them something they never had..
I believe Youtube is a partly key too success of any AAA game if you are planning on selling a lot of copies.
Here's what I think:
Games that let playes do what they want in the world sell well. Look at Skyrim, GTA 5 or Minecraft.. if you can create funny moments and post them on Youtube you get views and potential buyers. it's free marketing.. Posters in local game shops or on the bus is waste of money in my opinion.
CDPR could let players use "console" and add commend system to spawn monsters or objects, make players stay after they finished with 100h with the game this is the key.. commend system or few secret cheat code that let you spawn a motorcycle or a 4x4 car. spawn 20 drunk npcs and let them wonder they town and see how crazy guards and people react. tons of ideas could be made...
There are tons of youtube celebreties who have millions of subscribers, Skyrim has tons of hours of content on youtube.. look at GTA or Minecraft.. PS4 and X1 never had any mods of tools for editing. Why not cashing on that. Give them something they never had..
I believe Youtube is a partly key too success of any AAA game if you are planning on selling a lot of copies.
Uf thanks CD Projekt for quick answer,I can sleep again lol
And I agree.Completely with what dev said.And that was my point all along.
Reaching as much as possible people and that not affecting the core game - great thing.
The opposite - not so great.
Anyway it's good to know that it was just that: PR marketing talk and nothing more.Of course I will be 100% sure once I play the game but still on the brighter side my pulse is back lol
I was just worried that CD Projekt started to think that being yourself (and that's an awesome game by all measures) is not good enough to get you good sales.I know it sounds strange but from my experience with Rome 2 it seems some PR guys do think so.Thankfully,CD Projekt is not run by them.
And I agree.Completely with what dev said.And that was my point all along.
Reaching as much as possible people and that not affecting the core game - great thing.
The opposite - not so great.
Anyway it's good to know that it was just that: PR marketing talk and nothing more.Of course I will be 100% sure once I play the game but still on the brighter side my pulse is back lol
I was just worried that CD Projekt started to think that being yourself (and that's an awesome game by all measures) is not good enough to get you good sales.I know it sounds strange but from my experience with Rome 2 it seems some PR guys do think so.Thankfully,CD Projekt is not run by them.
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Some people will agree with that though, different strokes for different folks.
Anyway, thanks to GingerEffect we can hype in peace again, kudos.
I can assure you, we are always listening. :look:
I can't comment on the current situation, since, as a Quest Designer, I am not really privy to that kind of information.
What I can do however, is give a bit of an explanation for marketing in games from experience in my previous company. Back then (about 2 years ago now), we released a small, indie game. It was a revival of an old franchise, mostly known in Germany and with very little brand recognition. We didn't want to go all out in marketing and we really couldn't. We did the best we could through social media and talking to youtubers and the like.
The problem is, we never really got the word out. Sure a core audience was alerted to the game. A lot of people who read blogs and watch youtube videos etc got to know our game and that was all fine and well, but we never, never managed to get into the mainstream media or into the attention of the general public.
I would like to point out that marketing itself, in our case then, had nothing to do with what kind of game we were making. Reaching a wider audience means exactly that. It means more people have a chance to see your game, to become aware of your game. It's not about what kind of game it is, what content it has or how it plays. It's all about someone saying "Hey, know about Game X?" and someone else replying "Of course I heard about that!" . When we released our game back then, even a year after release and some decent (but not quite happy sales), comments on new videos about the game would always include "How come I never heard about this before!?".
Granted, that was an indie game. This is a different cup of tea, but I do believe the principle remains. And like I said, I cannot tell you how things are handled here (not my department, marketing
From my perspective as a Quest Designer, I can assure you we all aim to deliver what The Witcher is known and loved for. Aaaand I will get back to doing that right now.
I see what you did here.
That's the voice of reason right there people. And I mean in a good way!
I have faith in you devs, you will pull this off as you always have. Thank you! :clap:
Well by your logic Pewdiepie who has over 20m subscribers should be hired by CD Projekt to market their game.Oh boy what a lot of screaming,bad rape jokes and other nonsense it's going to be.Well after all he is the most popular youtube celebrity,right?
If Witcher 3 is awesome game CD Projekt won't need to pay Machinima like EA and Microsoft do.And you can bet that both Angry Joe and TotalBiscuit (both have over 1,5 m subscribers) are going to praise it and that there will be a lot good Let's plays.
It doesn't NEED to become some other game.It has to sell in as much as possible copies but achieving that is not only possible by combining GTA,Minecraft and Skyrim.Then make Grand Minecraft Skyrim Elder game or whatever.
It's more than enough for them to make awesome feature and content rich game and market it well.It's going to sell like hell.Guaranteed.
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(Google Translator)
@saoe
It does not work so simply. If only enough to give Youtubers some material... Why do so many Youtubers drew attention to Skyrim? Because Bethesda gave a lot of money to show his own product many times, in the right places at the right time. Not only did Skyrim, but also earlier. Years of work and form their brand.
Do you really believe that Skyrim sold through the free marketing? Free marketing is like the movement of the flywheel. Like inertia. First, you need a lot of force, work and energy to fit it in motion.
Such cases as Minecraft occur from time to time and are difficult to predict. Regularly operating company can not rely on something like that. Nobody predict when it happens suddenly some further Gangnam Style.
@saoe
It does not work so simply. If only enough to give Youtubers some material... Why do so many Youtubers drew attention to Skyrim? Because Bethesda gave a lot of money to show his own product many times, in the right places at the right time. Not only did Skyrim, but also earlier. Years of work and form their brand.
Do you really believe that Skyrim sold through the free marketing? Free marketing is like the movement of the flywheel. Like inertia. First, you need a lot of force, work and energy to fit it in motion.
Such cases as Minecraft occur from time to time and are difficult to predict. Regularly operating company can not rely on something like that. Nobody predict when it happens suddenly some further Gangnam Style.
@GingerEffect Thanks for taking the time to reply, I know you guys are really busy so this is very much appreciated.
And yes, I understand the importance of marketing, everybody does, I hope. I suppose the concern is the target audience mentioned, namely the people who buy blockbuster titles and what kind of changes to the game that might bring, not the fact that CDPR is marketing their game. I hope you understand what I mean. So this in combination with statements like the ones Kinl3y mentioned in his post, "All that "games journalism" pampering from last year got me worried, then that interview about the difficulty "streamlining", now this. I hope to Melitele, Freya and Kreve that my assumptions are wrong, I really do." does warrant attention.
It's more of a "we really appreciate you and want the company to be successful, which is exactly why it's worth bringing this up just in case" type of thing, not a "god, they're gonna fuck it up" sentiment. So my hope is that this is taken in a positive way. Anyway, I wish you (and the whole team) all the success in the world for this and future projects and keep being awesome. I look forward to stumbling my way through the, no doubt, excellent quests you have, are and will hopefully contunue to come up with.
And yes, I understand the importance of marketing, everybody does, I hope. I suppose the concern is the target audience mentioned, namely the people who buy blockbuster titles and what kind of changes to the game that might bring, not the fact that CDPR is marketing their game. I hope you understand what I mean. So this in combination with statements like the ones Kinl3y mentioned in his post, "All that "games journalism" pampering from last year got me worried, then that interview about the difficulty "streamlining", now this. I hope to Melitele, Freya and Kreve that my assumptions are wrong, I really do." does warrant attention.
It's more of a "we really appreciate you and want the company to be successful, which is exactly why it's worth bringing this up just in case" type of thing, not a "god, they're gonna fuck it up" sentiment. So my hope is that this is taken in a positive way. Anyway, I wish you (and the whole team) all the success in the world for this and future projects and keep being awesome. I look forward to stumbling my way through the, no doubt, excellent quests you have, are and will hopefully contunue to come up with.
Please note that I did not translate Adam's answers, I summed them up instead - for the reasons mentioned in the OP. "They" in the line means CDPR, not any other company. TW3 has no publishers other than CDPR, all other companies like Namco or Warner Bros. will no be publishing the game, they will distribute its retail copies.
I think he brings up a good point. GTA, SR3 and Minecraft aren't what I'd call deep, hardcore games. The fun lies in doing whatever the hell you want, and often times, sharing that with the community. Rockstar and Volition consider this an extension to the experience they've crafted. It may seem trite to us, but with TW3 going open world, they're culling a whole new fanbase. People who will play it just to tool around and explore, enjoy randomly generated encounters. I'll bet there'll be hundreds of youtube vids showcasing monster hunting, wenching, various quest outcomes, exploring towns, etc. And all that's free advertising for CDPR. On the reaching a broader audience comment, it's not the first time they've said it. Still makes me uneasy, but if anything TW2 was advertised as a newcomer friendly game with a casual point of entry, when it was just the opposite. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull the same trick again: touting TW3 as a relaxing, easy to understand sandbox adventure, when in fact they are making a hardcore RPG with plenty of depth. Scheming bastards.
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