Did Until Dawn deserve a bigger push from Sony?

Until Dawn leaves players out alone in the cold, but Sony may have done the same to the game’s promotion.

[Brotard]

I think so, but they seem to have not been marketing some other their titles excessively lately. Maybe it's more lucrative with their install base to let word of mouth do the talking. Like he stellar reviews that bloodborne and until dawn are getting will be a big selling point. Interesting that they marketed the order so heavy when it was clearly going to be their low scoring game. Wonder if their marketing of smaller or new ip is conversely related to what they think it will do critically. Uncharted has already had more marketing than both bloodborne and until dawn combined practically.

[Thatguy-310]

I agree. I mean look at Heavy Rain. They didn't market that title one bit and that game went on to become very successful. The thing is that with these type of game word of mouth plays a big role so they're maybe just letting that do it's job. The game resonated big with the media and youtubers so I have no doubt that it will follow Heavy Rain's success. Like you pointed out they don't seem to give a big push to titles that are aim to a niche audience. Most of Sony's niche titles do good base off word of mouth. Look at Heavy Rain, Journey, Bloodborne etc.

[TFJWM]

They did push it in some markets. I'm in NYC and over the past month it has had the most commericals on tv that I've seen during that time.

[Blastoise]

Bloodborne had pretty good marketing here in the UK, it was marketed as the highest rated next gen-game (which it was, until that one guy gave it a 7) with a cool boss.

I think these type of games get a bit more of a push in Europe. Beyond Two Souls had an advert on TV.

[Magicite]

Heavy Rain, Beyond 2 Souls and Until Dawn are amazing experiences that must not be forgotten.

[jb227]

It may be a better strategy to run a sale on the game and do a big marketing push around Halloween. People typically hold off on these kinds of games because they are so different from your typical title. This way the game can garner great word of mouth & positive reviews so it hits peoples radars, then when Halloween rolls around, Sony can pull 10 bucks off the price and give it a proper marketing push. I know I'll be grabbing it then, I'm on a bit of a blackout for it, I know it's quality so once Halloween rolls around I'm really gonna dig into this game after the Uncharted Collection and before Just Cause 3.

[Death]

I'm not sure how much more could be done or what kind of return Sony would get for their investment on a niche title such as this. In a perfect world all games would get millions in marketing, but the reality is that money needs to not only be made back, but a profit needs to come from the investment.

[DeadlyOreo]

This game is hugely popular. One of the highest streamed games on Twitch at the moment too. I feel like Sony marketed this game perfectly, not too much but enough for word to get out. I think Sony will make a lot of money from this title, and thoroughly deserved.

[SoapShoes]

It should have gotten a bigger push but word of mouth will now push it properly. The game is getting great reviews and feedback from users plus it's still holding in the top 20 on the Amazon top 100 list.

[bOObies]

Yes, it turned out amazing

[Hoffmann]

It got a big enough push, this game gets the real push from all the great reviews and word of mouth between us gamers though, and thats good so.

[pompombrum]

The game could have benefited from a better release date also. With MGS 5 out in just a few days, I know I'm temporarily skipping Until Dawn for at least a good three weeks.

[medman]

I disagree with you there...would it have been better if the game was released in July? Sure it would have. But it is fine where it is, considering it's a 8-10 hour experience for your first playthrough...it's not a huge time suck of a game where it's going to interfere with your MGSV playthrough at all. In fact, it might even give you a bit of a break from the open world MGSV when you need one.

I think Until Dawn is going to sell very well...it's getting good reviews and there isn't anything else like it on the market currently. Word of mouth will be good for this game as well...it's a great party game, it gets a lot of reaction from non gamers who watch others playing it, and it's that type of game that non gamers would actually want to pick up and play.

[PSIN4MANT]

Again, I don't think sony knew what they had on their hands, and they couldn't of possibly predicted the reception it got. I do however think they should of moved this to a halloween release.

But The word of mouth and reviews it's gotten should boost sales a little bit.

[elazz]

A Halloween sale will definitely happen with this one on the foreground

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Niche genres like this one are hard to market. Even if Until Dawn has been critically well received, that doesn't guaranteed everyone will like or that it will be peoples' cup of tea. Other known genres like shooter and action adventure are easier. I think with YouTube and some adds here and there will be enough

[kenwonobi]

Yea the flubbed the marketing. This game is excellent. Hopefully more than just a sleeper hit.

[Ethereal]

Probably.

[user81673]

Amazon could send me the game for starter, it was preordered and i'm still waiting..

[AstroCyborg]

yes it did i had high hopes of the game & from i've seen it to pass my hopes meanwhile sony would rather hype up crap like the order over this

[Subaruwrx]

This game is getting plenty of good press and exposure without a big marketing campaign behind it. Not every game has to have a multi-million add campaign to sell well. Pretty sure that Until Dawn is going to sell very well for a new IP. It's selling well on Amazon and at other major retailers in its first week of release.

[uth11]

Everyone claims that Sony didn't push this enough, but-
they've shown footage at the last several events, released numerous trailers

There was Until Dawn promo material all over Gamestop when I want to get my copy, including placed front and center at the register where it would be seen by everyone.

I heard rumors of TV ads running for it, but can't confirm it.

I feel like Sony HAS pushed it appropriately. It's more like many people tuned it out and are suddenly surprised by it.

[kenwonobi]

I think they can push sales of this game duringbtwo separate seasons. Now and Halloween. Maybe even make a special edition for Halloween with morecontent gameplay.

[WellyUK]

No because word of mouth and positive views on it will push it on it's own which is what's happening, haven't heard anyone say anything negative about it. Don't always need a massive marketing budget to have a successful game.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

I don't know. When it was first shown, not a lot of people were interested because of QTEs. Not sure what else Sony could of done.

[iceman06]

I don't know. I always thought this game was going to be a more word of mouth type of game anyway. Sure, they could have done a huge multimedia blitz. But, to what end? Would they have cut into their profits? We don't have any idea of what the budget for this title was. What we DO know is that the game is unique and has turned out great. Many of the titles like this, at least with Sony, go on to have long legs. I expect it to sell quite well, even if it might not sell huge amounts initially.

[GNCFLYER]

Probably, but good games find a way.

Look at driveclub with all the negative reviews and how it became a success. Hard to keep a good game down.

[ABBAJESUS]

I saw trailer of this game in movie theater couple weeks before release in finland