Games with Unique/Top Tier Marketing?

[Moonface]

A while ago a streamer I watch was playing through Dante's Inferno, and I forget why but at the time I went to the games Wikipedia page to read up something about it and somehow ended up reading the marketing section of the page. I'm glad I did because it has to be one of the top marketing campaigns I've seen for a game:

Those that pre-ordered the game were offered a $6.66 discount, the Number of the Beast.

Another secretly fake commercial for the fictional company "Hawk Panther" encouraged viewers to visit the Hawk Panther website in order to be able to steal their best friend's girlfriend. If the link to find out more about the Hawk Panther systems is clicked on a message appears stating, "TREACHERY!

Later in October 2009, EA sent a series of packages to Veronica Belmont at Qore, the PlayStation: The Official Magazine offices and Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of the Escapist's Zero Punctuation column. The package contained a small wooden box which, when opened, played the Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up", thus "Rickrolling" the journalists that received it. The music could not be stopped through any means other than destroying the box using the hammer and goggles provided. After destroying the box, such as Veronica Belmont who posted the act on YouTube,[23] a note read that they had given into Wrath as the note then found within the box predicted.

Source: Wikipedia | Dante's Inferno - Marketing


So I'm curious, what games have you seen market themselves with marketing campaigns you viewed highly or found to just be really unique?

[Maniakkid25]

The one that immediately comes to mind that, while not good, was certainly unique, is Mighty No. 9's marketing campaign. Why was it unique? Because it insulted a key demographic, of course! Yes, this is the meme-worthy "Make the bad guys cry like an anime fan on prom night" advert. That is, uh, certainly a unique way of wanting to let your audience know the game is coming! And it's still funny after all these years, because the only people crying were the backers once they found out about the state of the game. But that is another story for another day...

[Moonface]

Dang I forgot all about that moment in Mighty No. 9's marketing. Even ignoring that one line I think that entire trailer is a train wreck (combos on combos makes little sense to me, because chaining combos is just how combos work anyway?). That line though is definitely this games version of "Don't you guys have phones?" which was another stand out marketing moment for all the wrong reasons (and I don't even know if it was intended marketing or just an ad-libbed line in response to the crowd that was a very bad idea).

[Dragon Lord]

NieR Automata for top-tier advertising.

The mad lad Yoko Taro just went "thicc ass" and that was all that needed to be known. Game was destined for amazing success at that point.

[Maniakkid25]

That line though is definitely this games version of "Don't you guys have phones?" which was another stand out marketing moment for all the wrong reasons (and I don't even know if it was intended marketing or just an ad-libbed line in response to the crowd that was a very bad idea).

That was an ad-libbed line that was a very bad idea. Keep in mind, that came during the Q&A portion of the show, so there's no way that was scripted. That entire episode is an utter train wreck, and impressively stupid from start to finish. My favorite point is easily the guy who asks if this is an out-of-season april fool's joke.

See, the problem with that showcase was that they tried to advertise a mobile game -- commonly seen as a "casual" market -- to hardcore gamers who unironically call themselves "PC Master Race guys". There is no universe where that is going to fly. If it had been an original title, it probably would have been buried and everyone would forget. But this was a Diablo game, and Diablo had a legacy -- a legacy which was being dragged through the mud. The entire situation was doomed from start to finish, and it's impressive due to how completely out of touch with their own audience they were.

[Moonface]

I forgot about the guy who asked if it was all a joke and I agree that it was definitely the highlight of how absurd the whole thing was. If it wasn't for the audience asking questions you could probably trick someone into thinking that whole presentation was done at E3 with how cringe it gets.


Thinking of really stand out marketing off the top of my head, I'd say P.T. is up there for an incredible marketing pitch for Silent Hills. Most games would kill to get the level of recognition that teaser got with how people continue to talk about it and I'd say it played a big role in the resurgence of the survival horror genre in the AAA space.

[Maniakkid25]

I return with another result from Marketing Hell. Actually, a couple, both of them from the late-00s, and both in Europe, interestingly enough. First, God of War II. Now, if you were given the task of setting up a "Greek-Themed Party", how would you do that? Maybe some servants in togas, or a few statues of the deities? You probably wouldn't make the centerpiece an actual decapitated goat, but that's what Sony did!

Yeah, you wish I was joking!

Speaking of macabre viral marketing stunts, Capcom decided to get cheeky with their ads for Resident Evil 5, and leave fake dismembered body parts all around London, and make people go on a scavenger hunt for them, with the winner getting a ticket for two to Africa. So far, so disgusting. The problem was they then LOST at least one of the limbs! Welcome to London, Capcom! Don't leave things you don't intend to lose unguarded!

[Moonface]

Sony initially responded by apologizing for the event, recalled 80,000 copies of the magazine from circulation, and promised an internal investigation.

I always find it funny when a company says they're doing "an internal investigation" off the back of some big event that goes wrong that had to have gone through so many people to happen, and manages to make the company respond to the negative reception of the thing with a statement that comes off as if they were unaware of the event that happened until after the fact. I find it hard to believe a severed goat head just slipped under the table of people at the higher ends of Sony/PlayStation when God of War 2 would have been a first party title that would be promoted and have all aspects of it funded by Sony due to them being the publisher. I like how the end of the article has Sony saying this:

We are conducting an enquiry to establish the circumstances behind the event in order to ensure this does not happen again.

The circumstances were that people behind organizing the event actually signed off on the idea of using a dead goat. It's not like someone at the last minute just walked in the back door and was like "Hey guys look what I found we could use!" and produced a goat corpse to dump on an empty table.
I did try finding a picture of the actual incident but my quick attempt didn't give me anything with an image related to the actual incident.


As for that RE5 stunt, how did Capcom think none of those body parts would actually end up being moved by someone? I don't know where exactly they put them all but I bet a good number of them are in spots where they wouldn't be left alone.