Killzone 2 Under Advertised

Are the media and corporate stores biased? GFN takes a look at the lack of corporate advertising for Killzone 2 and examines the causes and effects.

[Rico_Suavez]

First day sales of Kill Zone 2 have not been released yet so no one knows if it sold well or not. Until those numbers are released then i think that's when these type of articles are welcomed.

[andron]

It's more about the gaming media and their previews and hype journalism, not bashing KZ2 ads or sales.

[omodis420]

Dude learn to read.

[solideagle1]

well we will see what the numbers will be if we are talking about the sales but this article talks about the biased media/ advertisement etc etc.
thanks

[stevenhiggster]

It is actualy a very deceptive title, the article is pretty much nothing about Killzone 2, it is a good read though and it'll make some fanboys think before flaming.

[Real Gambler]

Particularly since in Canada, at least in my area, there was a Killzone "conspiration" (I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Yes, I've read the article)... So when I saw the title, I was sure it was about that!

My local walmart didn't had one Killzone until very late in the release day (one clerk told me they could not find them, even if they were showing in inventory... Guess they only got a very small box because when I came back at the end of the day, they only had a handfull on the shelf). But worst, FutureShop, one of the biggest electronic retailer in Canada didn't even advertise the Playstation THIS WEEK. (You can check yourself, the flyer is available online until friday. futureshop.ca) So forget about Killzone, or any other playstation games advertising from FutureShops. Yet, there's a full page for the Xbox and the Wii! But on the week where Killzone get released, they don't even advertise the Playstation or game itself!!! Well, at least BestBuy had them advertised and in stock. (Same owner, so, dang, here goes the end of the conspiration theory). Still very strange... I think it's time to call Fox Mulder to solve the conspiration! (now, just whistle the X-file music in your head!) : )

[Sevir04]

The journalism media have been good to KILLZONE 2 and Guirilla Games sans a few biased media outlets like Edge, but in terms of in store advertising. I think eitehr Sony left it up to retailers to market it or they are clearly biased. IE Gamestop, there was actually 2 that told me that the pure interest in KZ2 was so low i shouldn't even preorder it just do a walk in and get it. only to find that the night i picked up KZ2 from Gamestop they were all sold out and was only doing for those taht pre-ordered. LOL!! So there goe's the interest being low for the game...

Persoanlly i think both sony and it's retailers baised or not are undermarketing this game, whats funny though is that word on the streets and early retail chain information is claiming that KZ2 is selling exceptionally well. all over the globe. there were already 30,000 PS3 bundles sold in Poland and netherlands combinded. europe and UK sales are on teh increase and it seems that US retailers are reporting similar success. So we'll have to see. KZ should rake in about 2-3 million this month. i'm thinking the bulk of that will be form the EU?UKAUS/PAL region with the NA market ruffling up about 700k-1.5 million

[StoneySweatLeafs]

good article title might make you think differently but once you read it youll understand it

[tnkGODimATHEIST]

never

[gaylo001]

lol no bubbles for you

[chidori666]

its only preliminary expect kz2 sells 1.5 millions in day 1

http://news.vgchartz.com/ne...

[Elven6]

VG Chartz should be taken with a grain of salt, they have been wrong many times in the past by a wide margin.

[omodis420]

Duh

[TheColbertinator]

@Helghan

Vgchartz? LMAO Sorry dude you fail

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

I have seen helghan666 and many other PS3 fans on this site scream about how VGC is "unreliable" but then use it like he is doing now. Hypocrisy runs deep on that side of the camp, like when they include all of Sony's gaming products to up numbers but exclude the DS and PC for the other sides all in the same comment.

[chidori666]

also think that ...

[The_Zeitgeist]

This article proves that more than half the people on N4G don't even bother to read an article before they comment. No wonder there is so much misinformation being thrown around this site. People read something someone says in the comments section and then turn around use it as fact on another thread.

[omodis420]

So very true.

[Deadman64]

Is killzone 2 out?

[omodis420]

yea man its out.............wtf

[Blink_44]

I'm getting tired of all these KZ2 articles.

[panasonic23]

i know man the game is out now we see articles saying the game was under advertised wtf.

[The_Zeitgeist]

read it! the title lies. its not really about killzone

[TheTimeDoctor]

but she still sells well.

[The_Zeitgeist]

Read the article hommie. You'll feel dumb.

[TheTimeDoctor]

i just needed a medium for my stupid joke. suck it, you crazy conspiracy POS

[The_Zeitgeist]

That's the right attitude you ignorant teat.

[TheTimeDoctor]

that's the right attitude, you ignorant teat.

[Zeus Lee]

*Slow Claps* It took us 3 years to get to this short and simple statement.

I can't wait for the X720 to be unveiled,once Microsoft officially kills Used Game sales,you're going to witness something phenomenal take place across all videogame retailers.

[The_Zeitgeist]

word

[bobdog626]

At my store we have about 30 or more Killzone 2 game's we only sold 3 so far .We as Gammer's know what 's going on but Nobody i mean Nobody know;s what killzone is .Also there is No Co-op in the game (Big Mistake there)Average person walk's in (Has All Call of Duty's and every shooter out there, look's at killzone say's what is this ,no co-op , i will pass on this one)(No TV Advertisment No Co-Op No Sell easy as that)

[The_Zeitgeist]

Then you sir should be informing every customer you talk to about Killzone 2 then. Don't be a total slave to the man.

[TheTimeDoctor]

Then you, sir, should be informing every customer you talk to about Killzone 2. Don't be a total slave to the man.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

the4time2doctor0 stop stalking The_Zeitgeist, it's weird.

[ambientFLIER]

Why should it be his job to promote Killzone? If Sony spent all that money on it, and didn't feel like advertising to let anyone know about it, then f{_)ck them. Let it fail.

[TrooGamer]

As far as i remember Call od Duty didnt have co-op it sold mainly on the basis of it multiplayer. Simple facts are you should be informing yor customers if you want sales...

You have only sold 3 out of 30? Well advertise n promote the game more. Many places have sold out

Just a thought

[harrisk954]

anyone that knows what "co-op" means is most likely a gamer who will already know about Killzone 2. Sales have nothing to do with whether it has co-op or not. Sales are a function of buzz (amongst people who follow gaming news) and advertising, which focuses on people who do not typically follow gaming news. Anyone who is a gamer and has a PS3 will probably buy KZ2, co-op or not.

Unfortunately, while I think KZ2 will sell extremely well, it is likely that the sales will not be as good as they could have been had it been better advertised by Sony outside of its viral marketing campaign and outside of the gaming community. But, for those of us in the know, this game is amazing.

[James Vanderbeek]

especially best buy... You walk into any best buy and they have killzone 2 hiding up front. they dont even have the game on display on the shelves.. so the only people that actually know about killzone 2 will know its in the stores.. when i bought it some kid was like where is killzone 2.. i guess its not out yet.. i had to tell him they probably sell the game up front.. lol.. why is that???

I remember when gears 2 was released they had posters in the stores and they have shelves just for the game standing in the middle of the game section where every one could see it.. just like they do for big movie releases... they make sure the consumers know the game is there.. strange. i dont know if ms works it out like that or its just best buy..

they did the same thing for little big planet.. sh!t they still dont even have little big planet and other ps3 exclusives on the shelves.. you have to ask the people up front..

[caffman]

however, its up to sony to pay for banner adds. If they pay for add space, the website will put it on. Also I have only seen 2 killzone point of sale boxes. Hell asda (walmart) didn't have nothing to show the game was even coming out and didn't even put the game on the shelves till 8 the morning AFTER it had gone on sale. When Gears 2 came out they had posters everywhere!

[genesis013185]

Obviously this title has nothing to do with Killzone 2 directly, but the excuses that this guy makes people already know. I mean they get paid somehow and surely just hits to your site wont get you paid. Anyways the reason I say his point does'nt matter is because taking Killzone to Halo wars. The only reason I would see to advertise Halo Wars is because of it's first name. There's not alot of hype surrounding the game like it was for KZ2. You want clicks on your page why not go with the one that has more hype surrounding it? Which is Killzone 2, but no... Go to a gaming website and I bet you'll see a Halo wars ad. Killzone got it's hype from real people on real message boards posting about the new video that's out for it or new screenshots. Halo Wars did'nt have to do any of that. Only because those website's already chose Halo Wars fate. And that's that they thought it would get them more hits, but lets be honest... Really...More hits than KZ2. I think not. This is just another excuse for websites to remain bias. Stores do the same too. *Cough* Gamestop.

[DrWan]

Font too small, dont even want to read.

[jack who]

its true i have yet to see a killzone 2 tv ad yet i have seen 3 diff halo wars ads on tv for the pass three days.

[Enigma_2099]

First they say that Sony's underhyping the game... then they say they're overhyping it... now they're back to saying they're not hyping it enough?!?!?
Oy vey!

[ambientFLIER]

They hyped it up in their press releases, which is not advertising. Mot of the buying public does not read press releases, so most people are unaware that this game even exists.

[gnothe1]

there's a difference between over HYPING an over ADVERTISING!! MS OVER ADVERTISE their big games Sony OVER HYPE their games. remember E3 2005, remember all those lies they told to upstage MS, they showed fake footage that made there games seem a 10 fold better than what the 360 had to offer. no saying their wrong for what hey did because this is a business an their here to make money!so what ever it takes

MS will take a game like gears an halo an spend 20 million JUST IN ADVERSTISING(over doing it) but in return it sells like crazy!! Sony will take a game like MGS4 an KZ2 an spend 750,000 an say we're Sony people know were the great games are at(not doing enough)this is the reason why all of MS big games sells millions QUICKLY an all of Sony big games TRICKLY in a few million. its still a few million anyway you look at it but the 360 version reaches that number WAY WAY FASTER in most cases not all!!

[Enigma_2099]

... when the end result is the same? Both equal to teling a LOT of people about your upcoming game... so I fail to see the difference here... unless you simply mean the money...

"Sony will take a game like MGS4 an KZ2 an spend 750,000 an say we're Sony people know were the great games are at(not doing enough)this is the reason why all of MS big games sells millions QUICKLY an all of Sony big games TRICKLY in a few million. its still a few million anyway you look at it but the 360 version reaches that number WAY WAY FASTER in most cases not all!!"

No, this isn't a biased opinion... no, not at all... And when did Sony say that? Sony didn't trick anyone into buying anything. if anyone's guilty of anything, Micro$oft is guilty of throwing so much money into ad campaigns to convince you a game is worth buying, instead of letting the game stand on it's own merits.

[ambientFLIER]

Yes, there's a difference. Press releases are mostly for the insiders of the industry. Normal buyers don't read press releases. Tv commercials are far more effective, and are seen by everyone.

[evrfighter]

"No, this isn't a biased opinion... no, not at all... And when did Sony say that?"

Next-gen doesn't start until we say so....don't tell me you forgot about that =\

Anyways...He's right in that Sony put themselves on a high horse when they feel they don't have to advertise. Sure they can sell millions within a year. They make a profit either way don't get me wrong. But one of two things is happening.

1. They really are way up there on their high horse and REALLY DO believe that they don't have to advertise to sell games because next-gen doesn't start until they say so.

or

2. Their pride as japanese won't allow them to take up a M$ strategy and throw millions into advertising a game. AKA stooping down to "their" level.

Now if you'll look at Valve they also spent 10 million in advertising Left 4 Dead. A game which was released around the time Fallout 3, Wrath Of The Lich King, Cod WaW, Far Cry 2, And STILL sold in the millions even while most people (ps3 fans) seem to crap all over the aged but extremely fun source engine.

Some of you would think a game would net the same sales even without the advertising but this was proved wrong when Valve cut l4d 50% over steam for a week and it netted 3000% more revenue than it did on launch day. Probably because of the huge front page banner that pops up when u log into steam.

[Enigma_2099]

Next-gen doesn't start until we say so....don't tell me you forgot about that =\

Apparently I did... and if they did say that, well, I'll give that one to you... that's just as stupid as saying something like "As long as we beat Sony, we're winning..."

"1. They really are way up there on their high horse and REALLY DO believe that they don't have to advertise to sell games because next-gen doesn't start until they say so.

or

2. Their pride as japanese won't allow them to take up a M$ strategy and throw millions into advertising a game. AKA stooping down to "their" level."

You left one possible explanation off...

3. They don't feel that it's necessary to throw so much money into advertising a product because they have faith in it's ability to sell. Or rather, they don't have to throw oodles of cash into something to get consumers to buy it. Also, do you have something against the Japanese? Just askin...

"Now if you'll look at Valve they also spent 10 million in advertising Left 4 Dead. A game which was released around the time Fallout 3, Wrath Of The Lich King, Cod WaW, Far Cry 2, And STILL sold in the millions even while most people (ps3 fans) seem to crap all over the aged but extremely fun source engine."

And if it was good enough on it's own, that wouldn't have been necessary either. I don't know about the PS3 owners crapping over the car engine or whatever you're talking about there. That wasn't commn knowledge to me. Look, I'm not saying they shouldn't do ANY advertising, but don't you think $10,000,000 is a bit much?

No... no we don't think it would net the same sales... we think that it will sell, regardless.

[Chrisy]

Keep this sh*t away from the masses. The singleplayer is boring storyless crap and the multyplayer has broken controls. 4 years in development and they couldnt even hire decent writers or make a control scheme that works in both modes. Guerilla noob developer ah aha aha ahaaa!

[TrooGamer]

2 bubbles...i wonder why

Many people are enjoying it sorry if that pains you. Now back under your rock

[bobdog626]

My hat come's off for the hard work the Killzone2 staff put into Making Killzone 2 the Best FPS ever todate.But the Advertisment department fo Sony ,just say word's are not enough.If Killzone 2 should Fail ,just look at LBP/HOME everthing that needed Advertisment if you want to play the Blame Game.

[Slinger420]

I went to my local Gamestop and there wasn't one freakin advertisement to let those who are uninformed know that a phenomenal FPS just came out. There sure were a lot of Halo Wars signs advertising the game and it's midnight launch though. I can't understand it, I mean, I know there is a larger 360 fanbase but c'mon, Killzone 2 is awesome and people should know about it. The Hellghast on a billboard would have done the job, they just look so awesome.

[Cajun Chicken]

Those Killzone 2 adverts have stolen gaps between movies broadcasts on TV, I've seen them about 8 times already, so I think this subject is void for the UK TV anyway.

[OGharryjoysticks]

"Gamespot.com is owned by CBS. IGN.com is part of a huge network of sites owned by IGN entertainment group. Gametrailers.com is owned by MTV Networks who is owned by Viacom."

MTV and Viacom are actually partners with Microsoft.
Microsoft is a member of the IGN entertainment group (teamxbox).

Just because Microsoft doesn't put its name in these sites does not mean these sites are independent. If I said my name is Bob Nintendo and all I ever do is say great things about Nintendo you would not respect those statements the same way you would if my name was simply Joe Gamer.

[Superduper09]

I haven't seen a single TV ad of killzone 2 here in Australia and it has been like 5 days since the game was released here in Oz.

[Doomster1971]

Sony are starting to advertise on tv in the uk. So far I've seen adverts for killzone, lbp and mororstorm 2. That's more than they used to do over here. They are advertising more than they used to. I bet its having an impact on sales.