Ever play a really great game and wonder why everyone you ask has never heard of it? Ever to your dismay have you found out one of your favorite games was a commercial failure? Well so have I and this discovery has brought me to the realization that quality of content does not equal sales. In fact I now believe that getting a game positive exposure is just as important of how good the game actually is.

So when you think about what first gets you interested in buying a game you can see how big marketing is in determining how a successful a game is. From previews, trailers, website ads, interviews, and commercials the marketing of games is very much about selling the concept of the game to consumers. Games with little to no marketing are already risking becoming a commercial failure because when hardcore gamers that check gaming websites daily don't know about it more casual gamers will definitely not know about it. To me it's so obvious that I can't believe companies would release games without lots of marketing especially when your target audience is rather small. Though marketing can get expensive when advertising on websites and paying for commercials youtube is a free tool that can be used for marketing that I think is under appreciated by companies. So yes marketing is good for sales and I think most of us knew that however, there is a unfortunate flip-side to marketing.

There is of course marketing that actually has been badly handled leading to actually lowering the interest of consumers. Bad marketing usually can be linked to the advertisement not being able to convey the concept of the game effectively. In fact I think any game can be made to look good or bad based on how it is conveyed to someone. For example when The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker was first shown at E3 2002 there was an outcry from Zelda fans that did not like how cartoony and childish it looked but, this backlash could have been avoided if the trailer showed more of a badass side that is present in Wind Waker. I'm sure all of us are aware of the abomination that was the Super Mario Sunshine commercial that was trying to do the "so bad its funny" thing but, mishandled it and later had a different commercial. There is also deceptive marketing that is not bad for the developer but, more for the consumer that buys games they believe to be as good as the advertisements look.

Though reviews should be able to combat bad marketing and deceptive marketing because they are opinions from people that have actually played the game. Well not quite. Since reviews are opinions from individuals just like us they cannot be taken as fact or definitive proof that you will enjoy or dislike a game. The problem with this is with games that don't have great marketing that are met with not even bad reviews but, lukewarm reviews which often gets them overlooked. Even video games that receive 8s that are not advertised heavily can often be overshadowed by more popular games that receive the same scores. Video games that are unpopular also often don't get front page reviews which means even if the game gets a favorable review it can end up buried. Good reviews today are displayed on game boxes to attract potential customers further showing how important reviews are for video game sales.

So how important do you think marketing and reviews are for video game sales.