So as many of us know…when a huge game such as Halo 4 is on the way the developers of those games begin to release snippets of information as to maintain a desire for the game through out the year. This is important to all facets of the development process because not only does it allow the development team to tweak the details and refine them for the final product but it also makes the marketing team so excited that they start popping up dollar signs in their eyes. Regardless of how the above effects you the main point of this thread is if you were the Guardian of releasing this info to the public what order would you release it and why?
Teaser trailer- 1 year in advance…would contain no more info than what the previous title hinted at.
Custom trailer- 9 Months before release would peak the interest of the creative community with details on forge/map editor…as well as some multiplayer customizations.
First 5mins- 6 months before release…would give a sneak peek into the first five minutes of mixed cinematics and gameplay.
Beta- 3 months before release would give everyone a little beta to satiate their multiplayer desire…making sure not to use too many key elements that would either provoke or push away potential consumers.
The final Straw- 1 Month before release giveaways and free play events similar to that of ODST with the driving tour bus that allowed people in major cities to try the game before it came out.
The reason I did this layout for my preferred release is simple. Everyone should have a teaser this is a confirmation and begins to get people speculating. Next I went with the custom trailer…the people that keep a game going is the community and when it comes to building new maps and gametypes a custom trailer can give the community an idea of what they can expect when the game pops into their xbox and they plan on using certain features. I then used the first 5 mins…many people like to see the campaign a little before the release. The first 5 mins give players to figure out what kind of game is this going to be and omg what was that. Next comes the MP beta…Halo gets most of its draw from a solid MP that becomes sculpted by the community. Figuring out some bugs that can not be found on a closed network is very important. Finally you have the final straw. Giveaways and free play events give the consumer one last chance to check out the game before purchasing it. Giving them a contest to enter in a game few have played and awarding prizes to the winners is a great incentive and can be very cost effective when trying to promote a game even further before launch in major cities.
Well that is my explanation of how I would do things. If you have a cool way to do things post about it let everyone know so we can see who would do what and who knows compare our results with what really happens with the release schedule for Halo 4.
