Why has Valve been hyping "Left 4 Dead" spending so much?
I didn't really notice it until I was doing some reading while playing through "Left 4 Dead"in the past week (link to my review coming soon), but am I the only one who's a bit surprised that Valve was publicly bragging about the size of its marketing campaign and pre-sales? The company announced it was spending $10 million to promote the game (at Edge, first, it seems) and then regularly noted by how much pre-sales were exceeding last year's hit "The Orange Box" (60% in the Edge interview, 65% a week later, 95% two weeks after that). There was even a multi-page feature about Valve in EGM that included sales figures for every Valve game and projections for "Left 4 Dead" (can't find it at the moment, alas).
It's highly unusual for any company, especially a private one, to be so specific about what it's spending and how sales are looking before a game hits the market. While it does generate attention, it can also give the impression the the company is focused on dollars because it doesn't want to talk about the quality of the content, and can set up a big disappointment if ultimate performance doesn't match the hype. That's why most publishers never talk marketing spend and only boast about sales after a game comes out, if ever. This kind of pre-release hype is actually the kind of thing I'd expect from a TV network or movie studio.
It's particularly odd from Valve since it, of course is a developer known for top notch quality. And "Left 4 Dead" is definitely a game that can stand on its own. So why use it as an opportunity to brag about Valve's business prowess and why do it so early? It's unusual, and most certainly not necessary, for the sake of pumping sales. A big marketing campaign without a dollar figure and the universally positive reviews could have accomplished that. I tend to think there's some other reason Valve's getting so specific with financials at this moment. Though I admit I have no idea why.
Chris Morris reports on the business and culture of video games and offers analysis of recent events and industry trends.
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Posted by: buy hero gold | March 11, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Just curious, but couldn't this (and other decisions) also be the actions of a company that is looking to become a big-time publisher?
1. They're building a large back catalog of products.
2. Buying or working with other development houses.
3. Talking a lot about how much they spend on advertising.
4. Their own distribution channel.
5. Tons of money.
Posted by: Shabubu | November 28, 2008 at 12:50 AM
Sounds exactly like what Bungie and Microsoft did for Halo 2 and 3. By bragging about pre-orders, it makes Left 4 Dead sound like a MAJOR triple-A release, insinuating that people should check it out because it's "going to be huge" or that preorders somehow equate to quality.
While Warhammer Online didn't specify how much they were spending on marketing, they also made a big deal about how they had more preorders than any other MMO to date, particularly noting that it had more than WoW had when it launched. It's just another form of hype. One that doesn't cost hardly anything and it gets Left 4 Dead in the media some more.
Posted by: John | November 27, 2008 at 09:49 AM
It could just be that the guy at valve who does interviews is excited that they're finally in a position to do a big advertising campaign. It is an accomplishment for an independent developer.
Posted by: entr0py | November 27, 2008 at 05:18 AM
"Look at how much we're spending on this mod, it's almost as if it's a full game! Please pay full price (muffled laughing)"
Posted by: merv | November 27, 2008 at 03:28 AM
AFAIK, EA doesn't do marketing for the EA Partners program. So their inability to market HL2 has no bearing on that.
In the case of L4D marketing hype, a bunch of us devs have wondered about the same thing. It is rather un-usual but I don't think that it has anything to do with looking for a buyer because you can't sell your company on hype, only on what is on the books.
They didn't do this for Orange Box and it still was a hit. Note that L4D is developed by a third party, Turtle Rock.
And usually with those deals, royalties are paid on Net Receipts.
Which could mean that this $10m marketing spree is actually being paid for by the developers since - in all likelihood - it is probably getting deducted from their royalties. Which invariably means that they're already $10m in the hole. Couple that with - in my estimation - a $4m to $6m development budget, they'd be looking to recoup close to $20m before seeing a dime in royalties from Valve.
Recouping $20m is a lot tougher than recouping $4m.
Then in 2008, Valve buys Turtle Rock outright.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Rock_Studios
That deal could have many facets and my guess is that part of the buyout money could be linked to the performance of the title. Which brings us right back to Net Receipts.
At the end of the day, its anyone's guess why they're doing it, but my guess is that it more related to financial obligations than it is to seeking a buyer.
Posted by: dsmart | November 27, 2008 at 03:24 AM
Its possible they are trying to pimp steam as much as they are left for dead. From memory (could be wrong) the figures valve were quoting were steam pre-loads rather than total pre-orders.It also could be that they are trying to up the hype as this is a major console release and they haven't had so much success away from the PC as yet.
Posted by: Egore | November 27, 2008 at 12:59 AM
The most obvious reason is the massive failure of EA to properly market HL2.
To this point, I had multiple friends mention to me - whoa! HL2 is on consoles?
That was reprehensible considering it was PC GOTY numerous places and on boatloads of top ten lists.
EA has had significant problems with perception of their treatment with the studios they are affiliated. Thus give some serious money to Valve for a potentially big hit that has staying power. In other words, this may have a lot to do with EA throwing money at Valve and, at the same time, encourage Gabe & Co. to hype up the hype.
Posted by: jay tate | November 26, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Sounds like a company looking for either a financial partner or buyer. I doubt they're going public in today's climate. The press validation could help drive up their value/price.
Posted by: DJ | November 26, 2008 at 08:40 AM