So I just beat Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots for the Playstation 3 system and let me say….WOW…An absolutely incredible game!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I thought it was well made with a top notch, in depth story that had me glued to the screen sometimes watching some of the excellent cut scenes. Not mentioning the incredibly smooth gameplay though…Konami has taken a definite step in the right direction for the series here! The Marketing of Metal Gear Solid 4 was something that I did not think was done very well however, but you will learn more of this in just a bit.

One excellent innovative little feature that caught my attention throughout the game was that during special parts of the cut scenes you could actually hit the L1 button and change the camera view and hit the R1 button and view a flashback from the story of past Metal Gear Solid games. Just this little addon gives more depth to the game because it is just like you are remembering the flashbacks yourself. This is in the story mode I am talking about here.

Now even though I enjoyed playing this game a lot, as a marketer I was disappointed in their marketing efforts. I thought A LOT more could have been done with their marketing campaign to not just bring back other loyal gamers to the series, but to catch the attention of the ever growing gaming market. They seemed to have a mediocre campaign going in total which could have been dramatically increased.

I don’t know the specific sales numbers, but do know that they could have been much better. For a game that was released solely for the Playstation 3 system, a much better marketing campaign could and should have been completed. For example: I took a look for quality clips to show you here, you know through viral advertising, and there were insane amounts of trailers being more than 2 minutes in length and very few quick ads designed to build interest quickly. This was a big mistake in my personal opinion. But here is one ad that is decent:

If the quality of this game was any indication, the marketing easily could have been to the scale of its fellow Gaming release Grand Theft Auto 4. Both games are new additions for their series, but the hype built for GTA4 far surpassed that of Metal Gear Solid 4 otherwise known as MGS4. Did you even know Metal Gear Solid 4 was being released? Personally I didn’t until I went to the store and saw it on the shelf.

MGS4 has some advertisements placed throughout the game. This theory has been a very controvercial topic as many gamers do not know if they like the commercialization of marketing within games. Within this game specifically though, I feel that the advertising actually adds a bit to the game. For example: In one of the many cut scenes an apple laptop was being used. It clearly showed this distinction and it actually gave more of a realistic feel to the game. Apple had major product placement in the game which really did not bother me whatsoever. There are other ways of this product placement throughout the game too though…one of which I never used. Snake can listen to an ipod during his missions if you choose to do so. This is not a necessity by any means and is only at your choice.

Now to show the power associated with online viral marketing, a YouTube user created a tv spot ad for the game which in my opinion is better than most of the other ads available promoting the game:

I’m sure that ad caught your attention now didn’t it…you possibly even
now want to try out this amazing game!

Now I am a supporter of the Playstation 3…not that I don’t enjoy playing the Xbox 360 too though. I have been a Playstation since it originally came out. The fact that the Playstation 3 has a built in blue ray player is a huge advantage over the other systems and is possibly one of the main selling points for the system itself as it is up against a monster in Microsoft with the Xbox 360 and the highly innovative Nintendo Wii.

Here’s an example of one of the gameplay trailers I mentioned above:

For now, Metal Gear Solid 4 is not available for anything but the Playstation system. There has been much hype built however claiming that it will be released for the Xbox 360 about a year after the PS3…but I seriously doubt that. Because of the depth of the game, the size will not fit on a normal dvd…even a few of them. This is why it is so well fit for the PS3 since it reads (in my opinion, the way of the future) blue ray discs. The entire game fits on a single disc and as you already know I am very satisfied with it!

If I was an Xbox 360 user, I would actually consider purchasing a PS3 just to be able to play this game…along with watch blue ray movies! Yes, there are amazing games for the 360 that aren’t for the PS3…this one may just be the same…except as a PS3 exclusive. But with all the hype out, I don’t know this for a fact.

Overall, I highly recommend Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots. I would probably personally rate it around 9.5 out out 10, so in other words, truly incredible!

To Your Success!
Mark Garland

If you know me well, you will know that I enjoy gaming. I have a Playstation 3 which I purchased soon after it was released, so as you can imagine I pay extra attention to ads or commercials that include video game consoles or video games themselves.

I play all different variations and categories of games. In the past I have enjoyed the Grand Theft Auto series and they are releasing a new version on it on April 29th labeled “Grand Theft Auto IV”. Now I have not seen too awful much in terms of advertisements for this one on the television networks I tend to watch, but Rockstar has a very large marketing campaign going for it that includes television ads, internet ads, viral marketing, they even created an entertaining website.

Here is a preview of Grand Theft Auto IV. It looks amazing in terms of both graphics and gameplay.

In terms of marketing in my immediate area, I think that Rockstar Games could have done a much better job, but overall they have done a pretty good job! In addition to all of the new customers they will get, they will have a HUGE amount of repeat loyal customers because of the previous following for the game. I am sure that this game will be very well adopted by millions of consumers around the world.

Keep in mind though, that this game is not for children. It is extremely violent and graphic in nature.

The main reason I chose to purchase the Playstation 3 system instead of say the Xbox 360 is because of the graphics and the future potential. The Playstation 3 can handle much better graphics than the Xbox 360 can and has much better potential for the future as far as “graphics” goes. I am also used to the Playstation controller because I have been with them since the original playstation.

Currently it can be argued that the Xbox 360 is keeping up with the Playstation 3, even beating in terms of performance, but if you are a future looking person, the Playstation 3 should be a clear winner (in my opinion). The question in my head is “how long will the Xbox 360 be able to keep up” as the Playstation 3 software and game developers continue to advance and realize its true potential. But in terms of games, the Xbox seems to have a larger variety currently…thanks to Microsoft backing it!

Now, I do not compare the Playstation 3 system to the Nintendo WII because in my opinion the WII is more for group entertainment purposes. Don’t get me wrong though because it is incredibly fun to play, I just prefer to play games that have good graphics when I’m not playing in large groups of people. If I remember correctly, the Nintendo WII is based on the Gamecube graphics processor so is not even in the same league as the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 in terms of graphics potential. The interactivity is a definate plus though!

Do keep in mind that I am no console programming professional by any means…I am only a person who plays the end result (games). I am happy with the gameplay of both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The above is my personal opinion as a result of any research that made me purchase a PS3 instead of an XBOX 360 (PS3 vs Xbox 360).

Let me know if you are a gamer yourself and what you think of the Grand Theft Auto series.

To Your Success!

Mark Garland
AnalyzedMarketing.com