Over the past year, the developers at 38 Studios have been toiling away at their secret project, codenamed "Copernicus." Building a massively multiplayer online game from the ground up is no easy task, and the Ten Ton Hammer staff has been tracking the team's progress from day one. In their most recent appearance at the New York Comic-Con, the 38 Studios team - represented by Steve Danuser, Rich Gallup, Scott Cuthbertson, and Jeff Murchie - gave a presentation to a room full of rabid fans eager to hear more about the game. As always, Ten Ton Hammer has the exclusive video from the presentation, and we're proud to present it to you!
Ten Ton Hammer, as usual, you guys are doing a fantastic job. Scoring this exclusive from 38 Studios was a very solid move.
I wish I could say the same for 38 Studios' performance at your event. This company has the most unusual PR policy of any gaming company I've ever witnessed. They refuse to talk about the one thing everyone is interested in: their game. Instead, they talk about the personnel they've hired, the personalities behind the game, the tattoos they've gotten, and the cakes they've eaten. Heck, most of the photos in their Powerpoint presentation were interior and exterior shots of their office building.
I wonder if other game companies will begin to follow this trend. Perhaps Blizzard will call a press conference about their secret project, and then refuse to discuss it. They can put their developers up on a panel, and have them not answer questions about it. Or maybe Cryptic will be featured at a press event in which they refuse to discuss anything about Star Trek Online, but instead they give a slide show of the company Christmas party.
The general rule of thumb in the industry - one that is based on simple consideration for both the public, as well as the gaming press - is that if you have a secret project, you simply don't discuss it. You don't host a series of press conferences, Q&As, public events, and publish press releases in which you ask for attention, then make a series of non-announcements or play the "it's a secret" card. It leaves both the press and the public asking, "Then why did you call this meeting?"
Please understand: I like Curt Schilling, I love his humanitarian efforts with ALS, and I love the fact that he's a game geek. I also want 38 Studios to succeed in producing the next great MMO. I have to be honest in saying, however, that this is a definite pattern for 38 Studios, one they started at the San Diego Comic Con last year. I simply find their entire policy regarding this to be inconsiderate, quite frankly.
Pig: I know where you are coming from. I understand the point that you are making.
Now, in defense of 38 Studios, we asked them come and present at Comic Con. They didn't approach us with a presentation to end all presentations or promises of, well, anything.
We knew that they were still working on a project that is a "twinkle in their eye", so if you felt short-changed by their presentation, or at least by what was shown in it, then we are partially to blame.
The PR aspect of MMOGs is simply put, a balancing of expectations. I'll take the blame for this one and say that perhaps I, more than anyone else built up expectations of what the panels would be. I didn't expect the 38 Studios guys to tell us all about the game, but I can see how anyone who reads my columns could get that "feeling".
Your points are all valid. It was probably that the expectations were note metered well by us, and to some extent by 38 Studios, though they really are not to blame. They came and presented when we asked and for that we are very grateful.
Not everyone that we asked was able to attend or even chose to attend.
Keep up the great work on your site. I visit it often!
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John "Boomjack" Hoskin Loading...
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