[Review] Videogame Marketing and PR

[Tami]

Videogame Marketing and PR - Volume 1: Playing to Win
Scott Steinberg

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I bought this book quite some time ago, and I'm regretting not getting to it sooner. Having read a previous title by Scott Steinberg, I should have known better. Videogame Marketing and PR is packed with literally decades of knowledge and experience. Mr. Steinberg not only imparts freely with chapter after chapter of methods and ideas which he has practiced in his own career, he has presented a collection of brief articles from many of the key people in the videogame industry. From these men and women come gems of wisdom, because they have literally been there and done that. While there are many books sitting on shelves in many stores which can tell you all about how to market, none of them carry the unique situations which sets the videogame industry apart from other retail markets.

Videogame Marketing and PR is almost like having your very own personal set of industry mentors sharing with you the methods they have used to get to where they are today. Mr. Steinberg is a very personable author, infusing humour into his wisdom and along with catch phrases and quotes, he manages to get the reader's mind into gear and thinking about his or her product, company or project. In a world where consumers are bombarded almost every minute with product messages, it is important to find a formula which works for you, and as is mentioned in this book, there is no one single way to do things that will work for all products or all companies.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone considering going into not only game development, but for anyone working in area of the industry. It will help the non-marketers on staff understand what is needed to make titles and companies successful in the never-ending battle for market share and profitability. In my opinion, Videogame Marketing and PR should be on the required reading list of anyone entering the industry, regardless of the employment track they are following. I am greatly looking forward to the second volume in this series, Videogame Marketing and PR: The Essentials, because I have a feeling that Volume 1 barely touched the surface of all that readers can learn when it comes to videogame marketing.
We are in a creative industry, and this book encourages us to create our own marketing success and to reach for the upper pinnacles of this young industry by using the knowledge of our predecessors and contemporaries as our foundation.

Videogame Marketing and PR - Volume 1: Playing to Win is available for purchase from Amazon.com