Capcom Claims DLC More Effective Than TV

[Logan Westbrook]

Capcom Claims DLC More Effective Than TV

The success of the Dead Rising 2 DLC shows that it's a more effective marketing tool than TV, says Capcom.

Half a million gamers bought the downloadable DR2 [http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Rising-2-Xbox-360/dp/B002EE5ROO/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285334473&sr=8-1 ] prequel, Case Zero in just two weeks, which, according to Capcom's UK product manager Karl Reader, is about the same about of exposure as you'd get from a TV campaign costing millions.

Reader called DLC the "most dynamic sales weapon" Capcom had ever had. He thought that by offering a complete experience for a low price, Capcom had found a marketing solution where everybody won. He said that gamers got to enjoy the game, retailers got a surge of pre-orders they might not otherwise have gotten, and Capcom was able to more accurately gauge demand for the game and adjust its plans accordingly.

Reader believes that Capcom will set a precedent that other publishers will be quick to follow, resulting in a tide of episodic gaming with Capcom at the helm. He said that with development costs and risk rising, it was only a matter of time before premium DLC like Case Zero was common. Capcom isn't the first company to take a stab at episodic gaming - Valve and Telltale are just two developers that beat Capcom to it - but Case Zero might help the idea pick up momentum.

It's not really surprising that Case Zero was so effective; Xbox Live is essentially a direct channel to Capcom's target audience, whereas with TV advertising you can never be sure exactly who's watching. Dead Rising 2 is available today in Europe and will be released on September 28th in North America.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/41013/Dead-Rising-DLC-more-effective-than-TV-ads]





Permalink

 

[DTWolfwood]

so what DLC is different from a demo how?

also forgot to mention its an advertisement that makes them money upfront XD

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

I was really impressed with Case: Zero.

If they want to keep doing stuff like that for a mere 400msp then I'd be happy with it.

 

[CitySquirrel]

I believe this. I planned on buying DR2 but now that I have finished Case 0 I plan on buying it on Tuesday.

 

[skitskat]

yay its came out today in europe! and after wandering around town for hours, i've discovered none of the shops are selling the pc version at all!! i'll have to wait til the 28th for the steam release

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Go Capcom!

You took a risky idea, and made it work.

The demo version of Case Zero working fine as a demo for DR2, and Case Zero itself worked fine as a prologue.

People didn't have to pay $5 for a demo at all.

If they had no demo version of Case Zero, then I'd be pissed. But they did, so I played enough of it to know that it's not my kind of game.

 

[Kapol]

so apparently this is capcom saying "we dont want sales on the ps3, because this was our big marketing idea, we want this to be an xbox360 exclusive in all but name."

At least the PS3 is getting this one. Though the first game wasn't that great in my opinion anyways.

On topic though, I'd say Case Zero was a great idea. But if they had tried to make it $10 instead of $5, I know that I'd have never bought it. And Zero has honestly made me consider getting the game even though I wasn't even interested before. So basically, great idea, just remember to keep the price low if you want to have a decent increase in sales.

 

[TLatshaw]

I'd say Case Zero was a great idea. But if they had tried to make it $10 instead of $5, I know that I'd have never bought it.

Exactly. But if they had made a free demo that had no carry-over effect into Dead Rising 2, I don't think it would've generated as much buzz, and it wouldn't have put any cash in their pockets, either. It looks like they hit the sweet spot.

 

[icyneesan]

Hey Capcom, just remember you have some fans on the Sony and PC side too.

 

[Kapol]

I'd say Case Zero was a great idea. But if they had tried to make it $10 instead of $5, I know that I'd have never bought it.

Exactly. But if they had made a free demo that had no carry-over effect into Dead Rising 2, I don't think it would've generated as much buzz, and it wouldn't have put any cash in their pockets, either. It looks like they hit the sweet spot.

Well they could have made the current game free, which would have resulted in more people playing it. But I doubt that it would have been as good if it had been planned to be free, nor do I think that it would have really increased sales much more. I'm willing to pay $5 for an actual game like Case Zero is, and I personally think that it might be one of the best ways to have a 'try before you buy' system.

 

[Mookalakai]

So it wasn't a prequel or a demo, it was just a playable advertisement. We've been had boys.

 

[Danpascooch]

so what DLC is different from a demo how?

also forgot to mention its an advertisement that makes them money upfront XD

It's different because it contains a storyline and about 3 hours of gameplay that is not in the full game.

Demo = ripped from the game
DLC = new content

 

[Jared]

Well, since I dont watch TV much anymore, I would agreewith that statement entirely

 

[ldwater]

Personally it ticks all the boxes:

Cheap
Fun
Longer and more interesting than a demo
New content (ie, not ripped from the full game)

It was an excellent taster for things to come - Im really not surprised that they say it is more effective than TV - if you think about it what is better than TELLING you that a game is good, than giving you a worthwhile demo / short game to PROVE its good.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I wouldn't exactly cite Valve as an example of a company successfully implementing "episodic gaming" - they may have called a couple of Half Life products "Episode 1" and "Episode 2", but when you release those titles years apart and the gaming community has taken to joking about how Episode 3 will never be released, it is pretty clear that you are doing Episodic Gaming wrong - shorter games (check), for less money (check), that are released at regular intervals (big fat no to this one), that is what Episodic games are supposed to be.

Telltale is doing it right, Valve just called a couple of expansion packs Episodes.

 

[UberMore]

At least with a TV everyone who owns a TV can see the damn thing.
Not the consoles though. For some strange reason, the PS3 and PC were neglected in receiving Case Zero.
I'd probably know whether or not to buy the game if I'd have had a taster.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

so what DLC is different from a demo how?

also forgot to mention its an advertisement that makes them money upfront XD

It's different because it contains a storyline and about 3 hours of gameplay that is not in the full game.

Demo = ripped from the game
DLC = new content

DLC can also be ripped from the game indefinitly, so that they take you by the balls if you want some more...

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I thought I'd heard Case Zero was little more than just a glorified demo for the upcoming game.