(gamingunion)
And this is where the problem with Atlus games reside. Most of the games are usually quite difficult to get into. They don't just slide you in gently. Sure, they tried with Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, a game that is heavily on the cute side of things and quite an easy RPG relatively speaking. This still didn't sell. I don't believe the nature of the game is the problem though. Once people play them, most would enjoy the challenges the game presents.
Atlus make and distribute great games. They are difficult to market. If they had a generic package and a generic and stupid name that linked all the games, well, they would Ubisoft. It isn't, however, out of the realms of possibility for a good marketing company to come up with something.
Imagine if you will, that all (well most) Atlus RPG games had a single title that could be used to link all the games in a single marketing campaign. Like Touch! Generation in a sense. People are really into fantasy, so why not Fantasy Generation? Sure, it might pique the interest of S-E,'s lawyers but they don't own the word. Perhaps linking the word with another - Fantasy Realm. Grow the brand and give all the new games a single point of focus.
Whilst I have a background in Marketing, I am far from an expert here. My point is that just as Nintendo learned a profit generating experience with clever marketing, so could game companies themselves. Atlus have built there name on RPG, but only the hardcore gamers know about it. It makes sense to reach out to the new audience. Get them to try games outside the obvious. When they play them, they will realise just how enjoyable these games can be. They have the right cartoon/cute chibi style to be attractive to the new audience. Advertising needs to present these attractive images to the right audience of new players. Someone 'cool' to market them would help. I know this would make most of us sick, but a popular musician/actor would do wonders for the genre.
All games had to get their audience from somewhere, but I don't believe a cohesive marketing strategy is in place for Atlus. They are in a perfect position to have the new audience embrace them. With the right packaging and marketing, it could be very successful specifically with the DS (and the Wii as well).
If it wasn't for me, my daughters would not know a thing about these games. They are the target audience and Atlus can't rely on good and intelligent parents like me :-) they need to give them a reason to come in.
What are your thoughts? Are we willing to share a gem in Atlus and their DS games, or should we be greedy and keep the secret to ourselves?
Edit: Sorry for the typo in the header - I missed that :-(
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