Are there plans to send out a couple keys to some popular sim-oriented streamers and letsplayers?
It would boost visibility tremendously, a lot of indie titles earned success because of early exposure through content creators.
On a more personal note, I’m very likely to buy the EA when it goes live, but I’d be more comfortable parting with my money if I saw an episode or two from people like Quill18, Arumba and the like, and seeing it for myself that the delays actually resulted in a relatively stable experience (Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 taught me a harsh lesson in this regard recently).
A quick search on YT for the most watched LPs of games like Prison Architect, SimAirport and the like would give an indication on who might be a good candidate to contact for this.
I might hold out for a day or two and see how the general opinion goes before buying it. I hope all the delays were for a reason, but I’ve seen games be delayed much longer and still come out in horrendous states, so I guess 24 hours should be enough to get some feedback.
Giving out free keys to big Streamers and YT’ers is a sound marketing strategy. The devs have no way of telling if those prominent persons will purchase and feature their game but if they send free keys, that possibility increases significantly. And then, if the game is featured, maybe 10-100 (or even more) people who wouldn’t purchase the game sees the video or stream and purchases it, well that’s incredibly increased profit.
We as individuals may feel that this is unfair to us that have to buy the game but I think we all want to see the game do well and maybe that’s worth more to us since the devs will make more money and be able to continue to develop the game faster with more resources.
I certainly don’t have a problem with the devs giving out some access keys 24h in advance to select reviewers. Gets the video up on YouTube in good time for launch. Of course, it should be on the condition that the review is impartial (the reviewer declares the copy was free and has full editorial control over their content), but the devs are good guys and I’m sure they wouldn’t compromise the reviewer’s autonomy.
The devs need to make money on this project, so I’ll absolutely support them in marketing the game. On Thursday night it would be great to see reviews go up and people streaming on Twitch. That will help the success of the game.
I agree that it makes sense to give certain YouTubers who have reputations for playing simulation games and being fair and honest with their views. Realistically they need to have access at least 24 hours before release to get use to the game controls and systems, create a video, edit and script, record the script, process and then upload to YouTube. If you leave it until the time of release, you’ll be waiting another day for a decent video.
I’d also be quite happy for something to wet my appetite before the game actually comes out.
I don’t seem to understand why you are against them giving keys to you tubers. You’ve got to think of it as advertising, and not a giveaway. In theory the devs give a £12 game to the content creator and when they make a video of it, even if three people buy it they’ve profited. YouTube is a big driver for indie game advertisement.
But none of what you’ve said makes review copies less worthwhile for Airport CEO. GTA sells itself and even they benefit from sending out review copies (otherwise they wouldn’t) so it stands to reason that Apoapsis Studios would likewise benefit. In fact, probably moreso given they’re a new studio and this is th it first game.
I do hope you guys keep in mind that wether or not they do this is a business decision.
Those are the kinds of decisions that tend to be taken by the business owners, not the community…
Just sayin
