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Half-Lifeis considered a huge success, but it turns out this wasn’t always the case.
Like many studios, Valve had to find a way to get attention without expensive marketing campaigns.
TheHalf-Lifeseries is held in such high regard thatHalf-Life 2is being used to show off NVIDIA RTX Remix.
The packaginglikely didn’t appeal to those unfamiliar with Valve, even if it stood out.
What’s worse is thatHalf-Lifedidn’t have aggressive marketing like many games do.
Luckily, Harrington recognized the problem.
The game’s quality was undeniable, and there were plenty of publications that lovedHalf-Life.
That quality is what brings people back to the game today.
The game is great, but the sticker gave players a reason to buy it.
Custom Image by Jorge Aguilar
Harrington’s solution was to leverage the critical acclaim directly on the box.
The solution is ingeniously effective and can be produced immediately.
Harrington has changed the perception of the game from a strange stand-out to a must-have through a single sticker.
Custom Image by Lee D’Amato
The sticker was a striking element that grabbed attentionand argued the quality of a simple phrase.
It basically served as a third-party endorsement that a customer could see immediately.
It was a calculated risk, as it had not been done before.
However, adding a game of the year sticker to the box was a risk that paid off.
The game is great, but the sticker gave players a reason to buy it.
Word of mouth is so powerful, and a recommendation from a friend or trusted source works well.
According to Harrington,using a game of the year accolade had “never been used in that way.
“So this was another way in which Valve was a trailblazer in the gaming industry.
“I mean certainly it had never been used in that way…
It was unusual for that much of a plan to happen so quickly around this same thing.”
This ingenious idea was built on the fact that Valve had made such a groundbreaking game.
Shadows does have an eye-catching 100/100 fromGamingTrend, whichnames the game “the bestAssassin’s Creedgame of all time.
“I like Shadows, but I would never claim it’s better than the games that came before.
Assassins Creed Shadows gets a lot right and, in many ways, beats Ghost of Tsushima.
However, theres one mechanic where it truly excels.
This strategy used to be a lot more prevalent a few decades ago.
Half-Lifeseems to be the reason this marketing strategy exists, and it became an instant classic.
Source:PC Gamer,GamingTrends
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