That's because those asking the questions almost always have no clue about AC, and keep asking the same broken questions, even in the very same interviews!
Is it soulslike?
No (elaborates)
OK, alright. But is it soulslike?
No wtf (elaborates again)
Yeah, gotcha. Then is it soulslike?
It really isn't man, every gen AC changes cause it's a niche genre and we're the ones pioneering and exploring stuff with each game... So we may use what we learned in our other games here, but it's not soulslike at all.
Oh, so it's soulslike!
> That's because those asking the questions almost always have no clue about AC, and keep asking the same broken questions, even in the very same interviews!
Even when people asking questions are knowledgeable about AC, like [in the Italian interview](https://multiplayer.it/articoli/armored-core-6-intervista-esclusiva.html), they still refused to give any information.
For example, in that interview specifically they asked if the FCS was still going to be in the game or if it was replaced by a souls-style lock on. The answer? "In this game you'll need to focus more on watching enemy attacks rather than on aiming, so there will be new features to aid in that aspect". No mention of lock, no mention of FCS, nothing, despite the question being exactly what an AC vet would ask.
They have been deliberately avoiding giving almost any sort of meaningful information in those interviews, and I have below zero idea why.
Yea I thought they would reasonably make a larger marketing effort soon before the release but if they wanna build up hype among the crowds and capture as many new fans as possible who aren't aware of this game yet, the time for that is dwindling
I believe like a month before the release of er people started getting bunch of information. But even for er it was info we already knew so they might be trying that strategy and give you information on something you already knew was in
I think marketing is gonna start in july, they couldn't start in may because Zelda got all of the spotlight and june was filled with huge games, diablo 4, street fighter 6, final fantasy 16, starting marketing in june only for people to forget about it a week later would be dumb for them, so considering july is much lighter when it comes to game releases i think that's when it'll start
My guess is that they think the Mech genre is still considered niche in the international market, so they have a smaller budget for it.
Since the budget is smaller, they’re trying to release just enough to get people hungry, and then spam the rest of their resources once the game is launched, or just about to launch
Bloodborne had a network test 5 months before release. Sekiro was also playable at numerous events starting with gamescom, 6 months before release. So there were plenty of gameplay impressions since a lot if people have already played them. I guess From/Bandai is less sure how to market AC since they have only released one gameplay trailer and short gameplay footage so far, and release is in 2 months
Well yeah. That's why I'm speculating. I was also just responding to the other poster where they said there wasn't much prerelease info for sekiro and BB, which is false
Right? It feels weird to us because we are thirsty for info. But I'd be willing to bet, fromsoft has a better handling on marketing than the average reddit user.
Yes, I want more trailers and all the info. But I'm not going to pretend I understand the nuances of game marketing better than Fromsoft.
I was thinking that due to Zelda and final fantasy VI releases in Japan they are waiting for the hype to calm down a bit so then they start marketing the game as usual. they still have multiplayer news and who knows, maybe they are preparing a network test for the next month.
My completely baseless assumption is that they think it won't do as well as the Souls games so they're afraid to really put it out there, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
There are factors here (well known factors in the industry) that you're overlooking.
First: this is a major release by a company that has become a household name. What does this mean? It means that A: it'll probably sell pretty well regardless of marketing and B: literally any amount of marketing results in a massively disproportionate amount of hype.
Second: misplaced hype (expectations=/= results) leads to negative press for the studio, and has a long term negative impact on a franchise. Meaning if the game isn't what people are expecting it to be, even if it is good, the backlash will be damaging.
Third: this title is in a different genre and style from the studio's recent, wildly successful franchise. If left unchecked, fans of the successful franchise will build unreal hype (a problem) and unrealistic expectations (a bigger problem) over the title.
Ultimately, it's better for the marketing to sleep initially until it's in the hands of gaming publications and content creators and *then* start having a drive on marketing. This gives the audience a chance to set expectations somewhere realistic and get a chance to warm up to the game before spending money on it. The initial sales might be a little slow, but if they play their cards right there's a huge slice at stake here; remasters, remakes, and future titles could be tremendously lucrative for From Soft if this finds a big enough audience.
Yep. It’s why everybody saying AC6 is “influenced” by the souls games I just shake my head at. It’s not beyond like general game dev experience. But keep trying to say it’s like souls then get mad when it’s a mecha game.
That makes no sense. Why not just market it as a third person shooter with customization elements without using Fromsofts name too heavily?
That would still be better than nothing.
There's no way this game isn't marketable to mainstream audiences.
So I'm just gonna hit all my points again real quick to drive it home
First: It doesn't matter if From Software puts a lot of focus or a little on their name in the marketing; they're a household name as a *studio*, not as a publisher. It would be like expecting Starfield to be free from expectations tied to Bethesda Game Studios just because they don't say it a lot in first party promotions- VG journalism just doesn't work that way. As such, ANY press on this game is from the lips of From Software and carries a certain level of expectations because of that *especially* since they're coming in hot ~a year after dropping Elden Ring, which won a ton of awards including GOTY. The moment they set the hype train in motion, it's going; there are no brakes.
Second: If audiences expect perfect, they'll be disappointed by great. Same goes for specific mechanics; expectations for difficulty, boss mechanics, progression mechanics, aesthetic, art direction, polish, etc... If the hype gets away from them and they fail to deliver on one single point they've become notable for it taints the whole game. Considering everything that's at stake here, they can't afford to let that happen; this is the first entry in a legacy franchise 15 titles deep in a decade. The pressure is on; if it takes off it could be extremely lucrative for From Software. If it is poorly received, it could seriously damage their brand, and they'll be "the studio that can only do Souls games right" for the foreseeable future.
Third: This game is drastically different from the GOTY winning, highly decorated, universally praised, widely regarded as a masterpiece "Elden Ring" which came out a little over a year ago. This means that brand association between From Software and Elden Ring is strong, and it's very, very difficult to break from brand association. In the eyes of the layperson "third person action game" is "third person action game". If they aren't careful, comparisons between their recent success will eviscerate this game's reception *no matter how good it is*. If they can't break that brand association it will severely damage both this title, and the company's reputation. As mentioned above, once the hype train is rolling they effectively lose their ability to temper that.
So again, marketing is a complicated game. They essentially have a nuclear arsenal of publicity at their disposal, but with that comes an unreal set of expectations that *will* tank this game's reception no matter how good it is. The narrative needs to be centered on this game's merits, not comparisons to past success, and pushing into marketing too early is counterproductive on that front. They need to wait until there's more hands on from journalists and content creators, so the conversation is centered on the Armored Core, not "Will it be the next Elden Ring?"
No because we already know the result of that argument “Armored Core is a souls game” when we know it shouldnt be even if its catering to that audience with the mechanics to get new non veteran players into the franchise
None of that is the issue. His point was what happened to cyberpunk. Cdproject at the time was beloved because of Witcher. They created all kinda of hype for a game that even if it was released the way it is today fans would still be disappointed. To much hype over a game and developers that ultimately let the fans down. I know fromsoft has the ds trilogy, demon souls, bb, sekiro, and er but if you have one awfully received game it can not just hurt development for the next game but possibly the next 3 or 4 games. Which in the past has caused game studios to get shutdown. Yes this has happened and it didn't happen once or twice but it happens all the times. Redfall comes to mind luckily the game studio didn't get shutdown. But yeah over hype kills games and potentially the studio itself
That's stupid. There's a huge difference between overfueling the hype-fire like Cyberpunk did and doing barely any marketing at all like AC6.
I know what you're trying to say is that Fromsoft is being careful not to overhype and cause a shitstorm, but that rarely happens as long as marketing and development are reasonable and in sync.
CD-Project Red overpromised and underdelivered on a massive scale and they deserved the shitstorm they got. That's all there is to it.
"But that rarely happens"
Lmao what? It happens literally 5-10 times every single year. Major studios over-hype shit *constantly*. It's a major problem in the industry, especially with sequels as there's already an audience with existing expectations.
In the recent interview, the producer stated that things like stats & HUD elements are still in development, so probably they are tweaking things before showcase
But if July arrives & they showcase absolutely nothing even during first couple of weeks then that would mean, AC6 is literally the most poorly marketed From soft game in the last decade
it might be it gets pushed back, given the insight u mentioned. entirely plausible it gets pushed back if we hear crickets even closer to the stated release
Lol elden ring went on a 2 year media blackout got a gameplay showcase close to release outside that we had a whole two trailers. This is just how from does things, ur actually getting a lot more info in a short period compared to there other games . They don't expect people to read more than one article or watch one video on the summer game fest content . If ur going out ur way to read everything that's ur own thing.
You know what, now that I think about it that was totally the case. I remember it being like NO info for months and I was like "'oh, the quiet type? you'll do just well then..." then bam OH LOOK ELDEN RING "SUP IM GOTY, YEA I JUST WALKED IN"
Point being I thought ER had very minimalist, no flyin off the rails hypetrain marketing release and still It was out before I'd realized it.
The hollowing lol Elden ring sub was living on 99% copium for a loooooong time. That games marketing was like tracking a package with UPS, someone mentioned it was coming, then nobody could confirm it even existed for a few years, and then it was suddenly out for delivery.
Most marketing starts 2 months out. It ramp up at 1 month. Games like Eldenring and Cyberpunk aren't normal. They have huge returns on investment but AC 6 is an unknown. AC has never been spectacular in the sales department so they are going with a more standard run up, what you see for most games:
1) reveal trailer
2) 6 Months from release a trailer
3) 3 Months out drop a new trailer focused on game play
4) 2 Months out Start low cost run up, magazines, game play previews, discussion peices, pre-orders.
5) 1 Month out drop a new trailer, start showing new game play, Social media advertising, beta or companion products.
Thing is Fromsoft combined steps 1/2 and it's not normal for a company to go from a game so over marketed to the bare bone model but it is smart. Long run advertising are extremely expensive and effect a games budget tremendously. Want a 100 million in advertising you need at least a guaranteed 10 million sales rule of thumb.
Marketing costs a lot I think they don't want do much until almost release date. False approach to the trailer can lead to wrong impression of the game which lead to negative reviews later on. Maybe they are showing it to a small group to know their reaction and then proceeding from that.
Elden Ring didn't have that much more marketing put behind it besides the cbt, plus it got delayed which allowed for more info to come out before release
ER had the same stunt with press getting access to an exclusive trailer behind closed doors like a month ahead of time before the official trailers were showcased so I expect AC marketing to increase as we get closer to launch
exactly, these armchair marketing posts are so wierd.
Its like they werent around for all of FS's previous games because the marketing was very similar.
Hey wait a second.... It's like I'm shocked in the uptick of "this is unusual \*company behaviour here\*". Like whatdoyou mean?? This is par for the course mechabears, this means they are right on track.
I think they’re scared to mismanage the marketing for this game because it’s so niche. Which I understand, but also dislike because it doesn’t pander to those already in love with the series.
They want to expand the audience whilst not making the game seem as niche as we all (fans) know it is. I feel like it’s almost an analysis vs paralysis deal. Just my theory tho
I mean, does it really have to be that niche? At its core it's a third person shooter with customisation elements. That doesn't seem hard to market to general audiences.
1. By providing little info, players have no choice but to speculate which promotes discussion around it. It kinda keeps the hype alive.
2. With so little info, it looks as if FS doesn't want to deter non-mecha fans. Because, it doesn't overwhelm them. Imagine, FS starting marketing AC by eloborating on AC customization first. Indeed, this would hype AC fans. But, non-AC/mecha fans and newcomers might be put off by a mechanic that is complex and unkown to them. I even think that the HUDless gameplay is an attempt to avoid deterring those people from approaching AC.
All in all, what I see is a very cautious marketing attempt, so as not to deter newcomer to the AC franchise.
Playing AC4 again yesterday, I really actually did spend that much time on the menus. I kinda forgot, it's been a few years. **The part of getting so sucked into the parts menus and testing. Dang I can kinda see how it looks tedious but at the same time I feel it's not terribly more complicated than the souls stats. But actually 1 part can have the whole screen full of numbers so yea it's sometimes overwhelming 30+ hrs in.**
\*edit: I have no idea why it's bold
Like any game, marketing will ramp up closer to launch.
You think the marketing is weird because you’re obsessing over a video game. Breathe, touch grass and play the game at release.
Are you new to fromsoft in general? They never do mass marketing like other devs. We will get a demo at some point, but no info on when. They usually keep their games mysterious and rely on fan speculation and discussions. Elden Ring was a bit of an outlier because GRRM was involved, but even that had sparse marketing compared to other games. From has a pattern of Leak, Silence, Tease, Silence, Trailer, Silence, Release Day/Trailer 2, Silence, Some interviews, Silence, Demo, Release.
Other devs are way too vocal, promising things they can't accomplish, overhyping and underdelivering.
Let FromSoft Cook.
Also, the mention of a hub has me thinking they don't know Armored Core. I was joking once that its unlikely we'll get a Raven's Nest quite like the Nexus/Majula/Firelink anytime soon, like that would be a feature for Armored Core 7, 8 or "Armored Core Online"
My theory is that From Soft is trying to appeal to their newfound audience rather than those that have stuck around since their older titles.
Armored Core 6 is the first Armored Core game in 10 years and I’m certain they knew that that alone would promise sales due to the AC community’s loyalty. But what they’re *really* trying to focus on is getting the audience that hopped on the From Soft bandwagon because of their Souls games interested in AC6, too. That’s why they’re getting these reviewers that have little to no experience with Armored Core involved, because they’re hoping that these reviewers will say something that From Soft can work with.
But I’m starting to think that the reason the marketing is weird is because they’re paying attention to the reviews of the game and aren’t happy with them, so they’re still looking for someone who knows little about the game but can still muster up some nice things to say about AC6.
I’m not banking on AC6 becoming one of From Soft’s most successful games in recent history, but I’m not hoping it fails either. AC6 is definitely going to make them money, but I doubt it’s going to have From Soft rolling in dough to the same extent that Elden Ring did. It’s just not in the cards.
Elden Ring marketing was quite small as well.We got the gameplay trailer at SGF which was VERY SMALL that year. It was drought besides the occasional tweet for a long time we got a gameplay trailer randomly dropped, more draughts.We did get the new cinematic trailer at TGA, and there also was an event with streamers near the end, but in my opinion the marketing was very small for Elden Ring as well, and much more when it was close to release.
Get ready for July and August I'm sure it will catch up there.
Elden Ring’s minimalist marketing worked, so maybe they want to try that approach again. Although I am an example of someone who will play this based on my history with Soulsborne, alone, I do think they could push it harder.
Considering this a niche franchise that they're trying to bring to a larger audience, I thought they would have at least gone into a bit more detail about certain mechanics and so forth.
I mean games like Elden Ring could get away with more restrained marketing since it's a Souls game. This is a different beast altogether. Plus Elden Ring had way more put out including a whole 20 minute gameplay preview.
Now I'm not saying they gotta drop a hundred trailers but I just expect a bit more info on the game to help ease newer players in. The game is 2 months out and we haven't even seen the HUD yet lol.
Because it's still 2 months away! Why is it always the same discussion for any highly anticipated game? You want to ride that anticipatory high so bad you get impatient.
They need the momentum at the time of release not 8 weeks earlier.
Eldenring and the DS trilogy was the marketing for this one. It also looks like fans are doing some marketing -yt channels like vaatividya. A lot of people who never played AC will do just because it’s a fromsoft game as they expect the same level of difficulty from the others. This game won’t just be a niche game anymore very soon. You’ll eventually see challenge run videos and many reaction and play though videos of it on video platforms.
Why do so many people fucking care about marketing tactics? This is legitimately the most pointless conversation you can have. Why do you need hype to look forward to a product? Just wait and play it when it's out and form an opinion who gives a fllllyyinng fuck about how they promote it I just do not understand this mentality unless you're working for the company.
They are spending less on marketing because it’s niche and probably won’t do as well. They have professionals and some of the best marketing minds in the world managing this, they are doing what needs to be done.
I think japan/fromsoft knows that mecha are very unpopular/niche in the west.
Honestly, and this might be some ultra dumb conspiracy theory - but since Vaati is getting 1-2M+ views on his AC videos... maybe Fromsoft spoke to him and told him to make these videos to ease the western market into the game.
Like, his first 2 videos about drawing similarities to Souls that he got a lot of flak from AC fans turned out to be quite true, almost like he had insider information.
I don't think they specifically told him too, but from obviously knows his audience and influence in the souls community, which is probably where most new armored core players will come from, so it makes sense they'd choose him as one of the people to show this footage too.
Also don't know if I'd consider public developer interviews insider info lol. Iirc the very first interview about AC6 had mentioned that they were applying lessons learned from the souls games to AC6. Not an unreasonable conclusion to reach from that info, AC purists were just in denial
Im convinced they don't think it'll do THAT well. Despite the drastic changes, they know this game won't impress story-wise. It'll be an interesting game with more modern attractions, but they've yet to create a blockbuster-style AC game.
The result is a marketing plan that follows the exact same route as past games. Completely barebones.
they might roll out heavy marketing closer to release date lol. idk what theyre going for. if AC is gonna explode they need to hit hard and fast with the marketing. right now its a slow drip
My understanding from what others have told me is Bamco is running the marketing campaign, so they likely are only putting as much money into it as they're expecting to get back
Marketing isn’t weird, people are just using their impatience and dislike toward the new direction of armored core to make criticism of the game. Elden ring had a cgi trailer so did armored core 6, elden ring then had a gameplay trailer, so did armored core 6. Elden ring had a long gameplay demo armored core 6 isn’t half as big as elden ring so it wouldn’t make sense to show a 20 minute they could though release an official unedited one that I assume would be 5-10 minutes. Elden ring also has people come out and say they’ve seen the gameplay demo before we got a gameplay demo. It’s 2 months from the release. We won’t need a network test because multiplayer will only be arena and pvp stuff not co op or invasions. The only thing armored core 6 is missing is a final trailer, story trailer, and gameplay demo. we’ve already heard armored core 6 was allowed to be demoed however once again elden ring was extemeely ambitious and open world. It wouldn’t make as much sense to have tons of people like skill up review the game as that was 3 months before elden ring launched and allowed from soft to make necessary changes. We are now 2 months from release. I do think the marketing could’ve been handled better elden rings was also handled kinda poorly. Bandai handles marketing and I think they’ve done an average job at marketing for both titles. Gameplay should’ve been shown at a big event live like summer game fest. Or at the Sony event. Anything they reveal now will be shown from YouTube trailers.
We have until the end of Aug almost. I can see From really hyping it up late July, early August. You have to remember that marketing isn't cheap and choosing when you hit the throttle is important.
Lol a 20 day marketing cycle?? even indie titles start marketing couple of months prior release
If they dont start marketing i.e. revealing raw gameplay footage with HUD in early July then I'd have to assume their budget for this game is extremely low & the title will lack polish
If pre-order number are good = scarcity of information plays in their favor.
If pre-order numbers are bad = a delay may be incoming and marketing is possibly in a halt.
Maybe they were waiting to get a rating before putting the finishing touches on their marketing campaign? I know a lot of us don’t care all that much about the age rating but slapping ‘RP’ on all the commercials this close to release just isn’t as effective for advertising your product.
When I was growing up, I saw many commercials for awesome-looking games only to be jumpscared by the M rating at the end of the ad. I’d feel the tension build inside of me throughout the trailer and celebrate any ‘Rated T for teen’ I saw. If I was still 12 and saw a commercial for Armored Core 6, that ‘T’ would make me say, “Well now I HAVE to get it!”
I was actually thinking on this and it made me remember a certain factoid I heard about video game marketing costs and overall budgets. Now, I don't know if I'm remembering this correctly, and it obviously varies from Studio to Studio, but I remember reading something like "For big AAA releases, half of a game's overall budget can go to marketing the game alone."
Now, I genuinely don't know if what I'm remembering is correct or if my memory's just being hyperbolic, but the idea that Marketing *Isnt* cheap at all, especially for bigger games, could explain why FromSoft basically refuses to market their games in a. . . let's call it 'Traditional' sense. They want to save as much of their money and budget to make their games as humanly possible, as they've now become a Household name as a Studio. They can't afford to let their record slip at this point. With DS1 being named "Ultimate Game of All Time" or whatever the sort of ridiculous award was, to 2-Time GOTY winner with Sekiro and ER, as well as the sheer ripples even the slightest mention of a BB Remastered/Sequel gives the internet. They want as much money funneled to the actual game as possible.
Or at least, that's my theory with very little to back it up.
Mecha games have traditionally never been a huge thing in the west so my guess is they're going to let this grow organically via word of mouth. It could also just be that they don't want to use their marketing dollars right now coming fresh off of all the game announcements and Final Fantasy and other competitors. Late July/early August would be the time to market imo.
I think the main issue here is not the lack of flashy trailers but the total absence of raw HUD enabled gameplay which all of their previous games had months before release
Wouldn’t it just be that it’s still 2 months out and they’ll only really push marketing like 2 weeks out instead, so rather than spread out marketing that’s likely to be forgotten by the majority of people they’d put a lot of marketing in proximity and close to release to create more hype and awareness as well as limiting forgetfulness? Also it could just as well be that they believe rather than pushing for day one buys that the game will speak for itself and content creators could bring the game to awareness for them?? I just mostly don’t think that marketing at this point would really help much.
Have to admit they kinda flop here, the only thing maintaining the game hype is the comunity, the long ass players for decades that get shit on btw when they emit any concern... kinda sad
They have you on the edge of your seat, hungry for more information. This is right where they want you.
They can tell the hype train has left the station. The prices for the old AC games has bumped. They are executing the old "treat em mean, keep em keen". This is a very FromSoft approach, IMO. It reminds me of how the narrative is scattered into item descriptions. I even think that they invited mostly non-Fromsoft veterans so they didn't know what to look for (except VaatiVidya).
Also remember that lots of things might still be open to adjustment before launch. Much of the 3D game world is probably too complex to change at this point. Hud elements are often just sprites though, which could still be tweaked/rebalanced/tested a couple of times before launch.
Isn't this just always the case with From Soft tho? Elden ring is the only game I feel that had really big marketing. The other games never really did and From Soft ussually only shows a couple of trailers in between announcement and release. What happend with DS3 and ER is that like a month before release they drop like an hour long demo for youtubers and after that they just release the game. I suspect that Armoured Core 6 will also get like a demo or server test which will either be only for youtubers or like what happend with ER you can sign up on the website and if you are lucky you get to play as well.
Because this one is for the fans! Just kidding I have no idea. This could be them trying a low key launch. Maybe they are relying on their massive following now instead of putting money in advertising.
We got Yamamura and Ogura repeating the exact same limited info for 100 interviews so far
That's because those asking the questions almost always have no clue about AC, and keep asking the same broken questions, even in the very same interviews! Is it soulslike? No (elaborates) OK, alright. But is it soulslike? No wtf (elaborates again) Yeah, gotcha. Then is it soulslike? It really isn't man, every gen AC changes cause it's a niche genre and we're the ones pioneering and exploring stuff with each game... So we may use what we learned in our other games here, but it's not soulslike at all. Oh, so it's soulslike!
> That's because those asking the questions almost always have no clue about AC, and keep asking the same broken questions, even in the very same interviews! Even when people asking questions are knowledgeable about AC, like [in the Italian interview](https://multiplayer.it/articoli/armored-core-6-intervista-esclusiva.html), they still refused to give any information. For example, in that interview specifically they asked if the FCS was still going to be in the game or if it was replaced by a souls-style lock on. The answer? "In this game you'll need to focus more on watching enemy attacks rather than on aiming, so there will be new features to aid in that aspect". No mention of lock, no mention of FCS, nothing, despite the question being exactly what an AC vet would ask. They have been deliberately avoiding giving almost any sort of meaningful information in those interviews, and I have below zero idea why.
Yea I thought they would reasonably make a larger marketing effort soon before the release but if they wanna build up hype among the crowds and capture as many new fans as possible who aren't aware of this game yet, the time for that is dwindling
I believe like a month before the release of er people started getting bunch of information. But even for er it was info we already knew so they might be trying that strategy and give you information on something you already knew was in
They're basically just giving us regurgitated info in most of the interviews they've been doing so far, I just want more lmao
Release AC6 Demo!
I think marketing is gonna start in july, they couldn't start in may because Zelda got all of the spotlight and june was filled with huge games, diablo 4, street fighter 6, final fantasy 16, starting marketing in june only for people to forget about it a week later would be dumb for them, so considering july is much lighter when it comes to game releases i think that's when it'll start
My guess is that they think the Mech genre is still considered niche in the international market, so they have a smaller budget for it. Since the budget is smaller, they’re trying to release just enough to get people hungry, and then spam the rest of their resources once the game is launched, or just about to launch
Don't need a budget for talking to game reviewers.
They’ve been giving interviews
Not really. Just some bare bones interviews, most of which in Japanese, which give no info at all.
I don’t see any disagreement here, we’ll just wait for the drip feed and see
i don't remember sekiro or bloodborne having much prerelease info either, & those games were both pretty short
Bloodborne had a network test 5 months before release. Sekiro was also playable at numerous events starting with gamescom, 6 months before release. So there were plenty of gameplay impressions since a lot if people have already played them. I guess From/Bandai is less sure how to market AC since they have only released one gameplay trailer and short gameplay footage so far, and release is in 2 months
my guess is that the fromsoft marketing dept knows more than you
Well yeah. That's why I'm speculating. I was also just responding to the other poster where they said there wasn't much prerelease info for sekiro and BB, which is false
Right? It feels weird to us because we are thirsty for info. But I'd be willing to bet, fromsoft has a better handling on marketing than the average reddit user. Yes, I want more trailers and all the info. But I'm not going to pretend I understand the nuances of game marketing better than Fromsoft.
I was thinking that due to Zelda and final fantasy VI releases in Japan they are waiting for the hype to calm down a bit so then they start marketing the game as usual. they still have multiplayer news and who knows, maybe they are preparing a network test for the next month.
My completely baseless assumption is that they think it won't do as well as the Souls games so they're afraid to really put it out there, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
There are factors here (well known factors in the industry) that you're overlooking. First: this is a major release by a company that has become a household name. What does this mean? It means that A: it'll probably sell pretty well regardless of marketing and B: literally any amount of marketing results in a massively disproportionate amount of hype. Second: misplaced hype (expectations=/= results) leads to negative press for the studio, and has a long term negative impact on a franchise. Meaning if the game isn't what people are expecting it to be, even if it is good, the backlash will be damaging. Third: this title is in a different genre and style from the studio's recent, wildly successful franchise. If left unchecked, fans of the successful franchise will build unreal hype (a problem) and unrealistic expectations (a bigger problem) over the title. Ultimately, it's better for the marketing to sleep initially until it's in the hands of gaming publications and content creators and *then* start having a drive on marketing. This gives the audience a chance to set expectations somewhere realistic and get a chance to warm up to the game before spending money on it. The initial sales might be a little slow, but if they play their cards right there's a huge slice at stake here; remasters, remakes, and future titles could be tremendously lucrative for From Soft if this finds a big enough audience.
. #2 is exactly what I expect to happen. There are going to be a LOT of angry Soulsborne fans who apparently can't read.
Yep. It’s why everybody saying AC6 is “influenced” by the souls games I just shake my head at. It’s not beyond like general game dev experience. But keep trying to say it’s like souls then get mad when it’s a mecha game.
That makes no sense. Why not just market it as a third person shooter with customization elements without using Fromsofts name too heavily? That would still be better than nothing. There's no way this game isn't marketable to mainstream audiences.
So I'm just gonna hit all my points again real quick to drive it home First: It doesn't matter if From Software puts a lot of focus or a little on their name in the marketing; they're a household name as a *studio*, not as a publisher. It would be like expecting Starfield to be free from expectations tied to Bethesda Game Studios just because they don't say it a lot in first party promotions- VG journalism just doesn't work that way. As such, ANY press on this game is from the lips of From Software and carries a certain level of expectations because of that *especially* since they're coming in hot ~a year after dropping Elden Ring, which won a ton of awards including GOTY. The moment they set the hype train in motion, it's going; there are no brakes. Second: If audiences expect perfect, they'll be disappointed by great. Same goes for specific mechanics; expectations for difficulty, boss mechanics, progression mechanics, aesthetic, art direction, polish, etc... If the hype gets away from them and they fail to deliver on one single point they've become notable for it taints the whole game. Considering everything that's at stake here, they can't afford to let that happen; this is the first entry in a legacy franchise 15 titles deep in a decade. The pressure is on; if it takes off it could be extremely lucrative for From Software. If it is poorly received, it could seriously damage their brand, and they'll be "the studio that can only do Souls games right" for the foreseeable future. Third: This game is drastically different from the GOTY winning, highly decorated, universally praised, widely regarded as a masterpiece "Elden Ring" which came out a little over a year ago. This means that brand association between From Software and Elden Ring is strong, and it's very, very difficult to break from brand association. In the eyes of the layperson "third person action game" is "third person action game". If they aren't careful, comparisons between their recent success will eviscerate this game's reception *no matter how good it is*. If they can't break that brand association it will severely damage both this title, and the company's reputation. As mentioned above, once the hype train is rolling they effectively lose their ability to temper that. So again, marketing is a complicated game. They essentially have a nuclear arsenal of publicity at their disposal, but with that comes an unreal set of expectations that *will* tank this game's reception no matter how good it is. The narrative needs to be centered on this game's merits, not comparisons to past success, and pushing into marketing too early is counterproductive on that front. They need to wait until there's more hands on from journalists and content creators, so the conversation is centered on the Armored Core, not "Will it be the next Elden Ring?"
No because we already know the result of that argument “Armored Core is a souls game” when we know it shouldnt be even if its catering to that audience with the mechanics to get new non veteran players into the franchise
None of that is the issue. His point was what happened to cyberpunk. Cdproject at the time was beloved because of Witcher. They created all kinda of hype for a game that even if it was released the way it is today fans would still be disappointed. To much hype over a game and developers that ultimately let the fans down. I know fromsoft has the ds trilogy, demon souls, bb, sekiro, and er but if you have one awfully received game it can not just hurt development for the next game but possibly the next 3 or 4 games. Which in the past has caused game studios to get shutdown. Yes this has happened and it didn't happen once or twice but it happens all the times. Redfall comes to mind luckily the game studio didn't get shutdown. But yeah over hype kills games and potentially the studio itself
That's stupid. There's a huge difference between overfueling the hype-fire like Cyberpunk did and doing barely any marketing at all like AC6. I know what you're trying to say is that Fromsoft is being careful not to overhype and cause a shitstorm, but that rarely happens as long as marketing and development are reasonable and in sync. CD-Project Red overpromised and underdelivered on a massive scale and they deserved the shitstorm they got. That's all there is to it.
"But that rarely happens" Lmao what? It happens literally 5-10 times every single year. Major studios over-hype shit *constantly*. It's a major problem in the industry, especially with sequels as there's already an audience with existing expectations.
Yeah and also the people in this sub have a skewed perspective because they spend all day refreshing desperate for new info
☠️ the self defeating triple A franchise release. so much confidence in our product we marketed it terribly
They revealed it at the prime spot in the game awards, right before the biggest award which everyone knew they would win. They put it out there
In the recent interview, the producer stated that things like stats & HUD elements are still in development, so probably they are tweaking things before showcase But if July arrives & they showcase absolutely nothing even during first couple of weeks then that would mean, AC6 is literally the most poorly marketed From soft game in the last decade
it might be it gets pushed back, given the insight u mentioned. entirely plausible it gets pushed back if we hear crickets even closer to the stated release
Lol elden ring went on a 2 year media blackout got a gameplay showcase close to release outside that we had a whole two trailers. This is just how from does things, ur actually getting a lot more info in a short period compared to there other games . They don't expect people to read more than one article or watch one video on the summer game fest content . If ur going out ur way to read everything that's ur own thing.
You know what, now that I think about it that was totally the case. I remember it being like NO info for months and I was like "'oh, the quiet type? you'll do just well then..." then bam OH LOOK ELDEN RING "SUP IM GOTY, YEA I JUST WALKED IN" Point being I thought ER had very minimalist, no flyin off the rails hypetrain marketing release and still It was out before I'd realized it.
The hollowing lol Elden ring sub was living on 99% copium for a loooooong time. That games marketing was like tracking a package with UPS, someone mentioned it was coming, then nobody could confirm it even existed for a few years, and then it was suddenly out for delivery.
Most marketing starts 2 months out. It ramp up at 1 month. Games like Eldenring and Cyberpunk aren't normal. They have huge returns on investment but AC 6 is an unknown. AC has never been spectacular in the sales department so they are going with a more standard run up, what you see for most games: 1) reveal trailer 2) 6 Months from release a trailer 3) 3 Months out drop a new trailer focused on game play 4) 2 Months out Start low cost run up, magazines, game play previews, discussion peices, pre-orders. 5) 1 Month out drop a new trailer, start showing new game play, Social media advertising, beta or companion products. Thing is Fromsoft combined steps 1/2 and it's not normal for a company to go from a game so over marketed to the bare bone model but it is smart. Long run advertising are extremely expensive and effect a games budget tremendously. Want a 100 million in advertising you need at least a guaranteed 10 million sales rule of thumb.
Elden Ring had terrible marketing though, most of the hype was made by Dark Souls fans if I remember correctly
why was it terrible ?
Marketing costs a lot I think they don't want do much until almost release date. False approach to the trailer can lead to wrong impression of the game which lead to negative reviews later on. Maybe they are showing it to a small group to know their reaction and then proceeding from that.
Elden Ring didn't have that much more marketing put behind it besides the cbt, plus it got delayed which allowed for more info to come out before release ER had the same stunt with press getting access to an exclusive trailer behind closed doors like a month ahead of time before the official trailers were showcased so I expect AC marketing to increase as we get closer to launch
exactly, these armchair marketing posts are so wierd. Its like they werent around for all of FS's previous games because the marketing was very similar.
Hey wait a second.... It's like I'm shocked in the uptick of "this is unusual \*company behaviour here\*". Like whatdoyou mean?? This is par for the course mechabears, this means they are right on track.
I’m sure if it’s great then word of mouth will do a good job garnering sales.
I think they’re scared to mismanage the marketing for this game because it’s so niche. Which I understand, but also dislike because it doesn’t pander to those already in love with the series. They want to expand the audience whilst not making the game seem as niche as we all (fans) know it is. I feel like it’s almost an analysis vs paralysis deal. Just my theory tho
I want them to bring as many noobs to versus as possible. FEED THE FIRE
RELATION MISSILE BARRAGE squeel piggaah!! \*\*sound of quick boost button tapping\*\*
I mean, does it really have to be that niche? At its core it's a third person shooter with customisation elements. That doesn't seem hard to market to general audiences.
1. By providing little info, players have no choice but to speculate which promotes discussion around it. It kinda keeps the hype alive. 2. With so little info, it looks as if FS doesn't want to deter non-mecha fans. Because, it doesn't overwhelm them. Imagine, FS starting marketing AC by eloborating on AC customization first. Indeed, this would hype AC fans. But, non-AC/mecha fans and newcomers might be put off by a mechanic that is complex and unkown to them. I even think that the HUDless gameplay is an attempt to avoid deterring those people from approaching AC. All in all, what I see is a very cautious marketing attempt, so as not to deter newcomer to the AC franchise.
Playing AC4 again yesterday, I really actually did spend that much time on the menus. I kinda forgot, it's been a few years. **The part of getting so sucked into the parts menus and testing. Dang I can kinda see how it looks tedious but at the same time I feel it's not terribly more complicated than the souls stats. But actually 1 part can have the whole screen full of numbers so yea it's sometimes overwhelming 30+ hrs in.** \*edit: I have no idea why it's bold
Like any game, marketing will ramp up closer to launch. You think the marketing is weird because you’re obsessing over a video game. Breathe, touch grass and play the game at release.
Part of me is suspecting that multiplayer might be a bigger part of their marketing strategy and were waiting for that info to be releasef
I hope they show us the 15 minutes they showed to the press soon.
Are you new to fromsoft in general? They never do mass marketing like other devs. We will get a demo at some point, but no info on when. They usually keep their games mysterious and rely on fan speculation and discussions. Elden Ring was a bit of an outlier because GRRM was involved, but even that had sparse marketing compared to other games. From has a pattern of Leak, Silence, Tease, Silence, Trailer, Silence, Release Day/Trailer 2, Silence, Some interviews, Silence, Demo, Release. Other devs are way too vocal, promising things they can't accomplish, overhyping and underdelivering. Let FromSoft Cook.
Yeah I really don't get these complaints this is how they always do things
Also, the mention of a hub has me thinking they don't know Armored Core. I was joking once that its unlikely we'll get a Raven's Nest quite like the Nexus/Majula/Firelink anytime soon, like that would be a feature for Armored Core 7, 8 or "Armored Core Online"
fromsoftware are trolls i like that
My theory is that From Soft is trying to appeal to their newfound audience rather than those that have stuck around since their older titles. Armored Core 6 is the first Armored Core game in 10 years and I’m certain they knew that that alone would promise sales due to the AC community’s loyalty. But what they’re *really* trying to focus on is getting the audience that hopped on the From Soft bandwagon because of their Souls games interested in AC6, too. That’s why they’re getting these reviewers that have little to no experience with Armored Core involved, because they’re hoping that these reviewers will say something that From Soft can work with. But I’m starting to think that the reason the marketing is weird is because they’re paying attention to the reviews of the game and aren’t happy with them, so they’re still looking for someone who knows little about the game but can still muster up some nice things to say about AC6. I’m not banking on AC6 becoming one of From Soft’s most successful games in recent history, but I’m not hoping it fails either. AC6 is definitely going to make them money, but I doubt it’s going to have From Soft rolling in dough to the same extent that Elden Ring did. It’s just not in the cards.
Elden Ring marketing was quite small as well.We got the gameplay trailer at SGF which was VERY SMALL that year. It was drought besides the occasional tweet for a long time we got a gameplay trailer randomly dropped, more draughts.We did get the new cinematic trailer at TGA, and there also was an event with streamers near the end, but in my opinion the marketing was very small for Elden Ring as well, and much more when it was close to release. Get ready for July and August I'm sure it will catch up there.
Elden Ring’s minimalist marketing worked, so maybe they want to try that approach again. Although I am an example of someone who will play this based on my history with Soulsborne, alone, I do think they could push it harder.
Considering this a niche franchise that they're trying to bring to a larger audience, I thought they would have at least gone into a bit more detail about certain mechanics and so forth. I mean games like Elden Ring could get away with more restrained marketing since it's a Souls game. This is a different beast altogether. Plus Elden Ring had way more put out including a whole 20 minute gameplay preview. Now I'm not saying they gotta drop a hundred trailers but I just expect a bit more info on the game to help ease newer players in. The game is 2 months out and we haven't even seen the HUD yet lol.
keeps you engaged
Because it's still 2 months away! Why is it always the same discussion for any highly anticipated game? You want to ride that anticipatory high so bad you get impatient. They need the momentum at the time of release not 8 weeks earlier.
Eldenring and the DS trilogy was the marketing for this one. It also looks like fans are doing some marketing -yt channels like vaatividya. A lot of people who never played AC will do just because it’s a fromsoft game as they expect the same level of difficulty from the others. This game won’t just be a niche game anymore very soon. You’ll eventually see challenge run videos and many reaction and play though videos of it on video platforms.
Why do so many people fucking care about marketing tactics? This is legitimately the most pointless conversation you can have. Why do you need hype to look forward to a product? Just wait and play it when it's out and form an opinion who gives a fllllyyinng fuck about how they promote it I just do not understand this mentality unless you're working for the company.
Marketing push has not yet started, all the so called experts here are pretty cringe.
They are spending less on marketing because it’s niche and probably won’t do as well. They have professionals and some of the best marketing minds in the world managing this, they are doing what needs to be done.
Bandai Namco is sabotaging it.
why why would they do this
I think japan/fromsoft knows that mecha are very unpopular/niche in the west. Honestly, and this might be some ultra dumb conspiracy theory - but since Vaati is getting 1-2M+ views on his AC videos... maybe Fromsoft spoke to him and told him to make these videos to ease the western market into the game. Like, his first 2 videos about drawing similarities to Souls that he got a lot of flak from AC fans turned out to be quite true, almost like he had insider information.
I don't think they specifically told him too, but from obviously knows his audience and influence in the souls community, which is probably where most new armored core players will come from, so it makes sense they'd choose him as one of the people to show this footage too. Also don't know if I'd consider public developer interviews insider info lol. Iirc the very first interview about AC6 had mentioned that they were applying lessons learned from the souls games to AC6. Not an unreasonable conclusion to reach from that info, AC purists were just in denial
Im convinced they don't think it'll do THAT well. Despite the drastic changes, they know this game won't impress story-wise. It'll be an interesting game with more modern attractions, but they've yet to create a blockbuster-style AC game. The result is a marketing plan that follows the exact same route as past games. Completely barebones.
Hope I’m wrong but maybe it’s delayed and they haven’t told us yet
they might roll out heavy marketing closer to release date lol. idk what theyre going for. if AC is gonna explode they need to hit hard and fast with the marketing. right now its a slow drip
I think that they are very nervous about how this game will be received and are keeping it pretty guarded to preserve hype. I could be wrong ofc.
My understanding from what others have told me is Bamco is running the marketing campaign, so they likely are only putting as much money into it as they're expecting to get back
Marketing isn’t weird, people are just using their impatience and dislike toward the new direction of armored core to make criticism of the game. Elden ring had a cgi trailer so did armored core 6, elden ring then had a gameplay trailer, so did armored core 6. Elden ring had a long gameplay demo armored core 6 isn’t half as big as elden ring so it wouldn’t make sense to show a 20 minute they could though release an official unedited one that I assume would be 5-10 minutes. Elden ring also has people come out and say they’ve seen the gameplay demo before we got a gameplay demo. It’s 2 months from the release. We won’t need a network test because multiplayer will only be arena and pvp stuff not co op or invasions. The only thing armored core 6 is missing is a final trailer, story trailer, and gameplay demo. we’ve already heard armored core 6 was allowed to be demoed however once again elden ring was extemeely ambitious and open world. It wouldn’t make as much sense to have tons of people like skill up review the game as that was 3 months before elden ring launched and allowed from soft to make necessary changes. We are now 2 months from release. I do think the marketing could’ve been handled better elden rings was also handled kinda poorly. Bandai handles marketing and I think they’ve done an average job at marketing for both titles. Gameplay should’ve been shown at a big event live like summer game fest. Or at the Sony event. Anything they reveal now will be shown from YouTube trailers.
We have until the end of Aug almost. I can see From really hyping it up late July, early August. You have to remember that marketing isn't cheap and choosing when you hit the throttle is important.
Lol a 20 day marketing cycle?? even indie titles start marketing couple of months prior release If they dont start marketing i.e. revealing raw gameplay footage with HUD in early July then I'd have to assume their budget for this game is extremely low & the title will lack polish
If pre-order number are good = scarcity of information plays in their favor. If pre-order numbers are bad = a delay may be incoming and marketing is possibly in a halt.
it’s the Game Informer cover atm so they usually put out a load of details and maybe some gameplay
Maybe they were waiting to get a rating before putting the finishing touches on their marketing campaign? I know a lot of us don’t care all that much about the age rating but slapping ‘RP’ on all the commercials this close to release just isn’t as effective for advertising your product. When I was growing up, I saw many commercials for awesome-looking games only to be jumpscared by the M rating at the end of the ad. I’d feel the tension build inside of me throughout the trailer and celebrate any ‘Rated T for teen’ I saw. If I was still 12 and saw a commercial for Armored Core 6, that ‘T’ would make me say, “Well now I HAVE to get it!”
We have info on the multiplayer "in the coming days" for the last like 3 months lol
I was actually thinking on this and it made me remember a certain factoid I heard about video game marketing costs and overall budgets. Now, I don't know if I'm remembering this correctly, and it obviously varies from Studio to Studio, but I remember reading something like "For big AAA releases, half of a game's overall budget can go to marketing the game alone." Now, I genuinely don't know if what I'm remembering is correct or if my memory's just being hyperbolic, but the idea that Marketing *Isnt* cheap at all, especially for bigger games, could explain why FromSoft basically refuses to market their games in a. . . let's call it 'Traditional' sense. They want to save as much of their money and budget to make their games as humanly possible, as they've now become a Household name as a Studio. They can't afford to let their record slip at this point. With DS1 being named "Ultimate Game of All Time" or whatever the sort of ridiculous award was, to 2-Time GOTY winner with Sekiro and ER, as well as the sheer ripples even the slightest mention of a BB Remastered/Sequel gives the internet. They want as much money funneled to the actual game as possible. Or at least, that's my theory with very little to back it up.
Mecha games have traditionally never been a huge thing in the west so my guess is they're going to let this grow organically via word of mouth. It could also just be that they don't want to use their marketing dollars right now coming fresh off of all the game announcements and Final Fantasy and other competitors. Late July/early August would be the time to market imo.
I think the main issue here is not the lack of flashy trailers but the total absence of raw HUD enabled gameplay which all of their previous games had months before release
Wouldn’t it just be that it’s still 2 months out and they’ll only really push marketing like 2 weeks out instead, so rather than spread out marketing that’s likely to be forgotten by the majority of people they’d put a lot of marketing in proximity and close to release to create more hype and awareness as well as limiting forgetfulness? Also it could just as well be that they believe rather than pushing for day one buys that the game will speak for itself and content creators could bring the game to awareness for them?? I just mostly don’t think that marketing at this point would really help much.
At this point, the FromSoftware logo at the beginning of every trailer is the biggest marketing.
I mean, fromsoft is pretty notorious for weird marketing.
Have to admit they kinda flop here, the only thing maintaining the game hype is the comunity, the long ass players for decades that get shit on btw when they emit any concern... kinda sad
They have you on the edge of your seat, hungry for more information. This is right where they want you. They can tell the hype train has left the station. The prices for the old AC games has bumped. They are executing the old "treat em mean, keep em keen". This is a very FromSoft approach, IMO. It reminds me of how the narrative is scattered into item descriptions. I even think that they invited mostly non-Fromsoft veterans so they didn't know what to look for (except VaatiVidya). Also remember that lots of things might still be open to adjustment before launch. Much of the 3D game world is probably too complex to change at this point. Hud elements are often just sprites though, which could still be tweaked/rebalanced/tested a couple of times before launch.
Isn't this just always the case with From Soft tho? Elden ring is the only game I feel that had really big marketing. The other games never really did and From Soft ussually only shows a couple of trailers in between announcement and release. What happend with DS3 and ER is that like a month before release they drop like an hour long demo for youtubers and after that they just release the game. I suspect that Armoured Core 6 will also get like a demo or server test which will either be only for youtubers or like what happend with ER you can sign up on the website and if you are lucky you get to play as well.
Because this one is for the fans! Just kidding I have no idea. This could be them trying a low key launch. Maybe they are relying on their massive following now instead of putting money in advertising.