Yeah, but the bad part with this new method of announcing games so close to launch is that there is no time to hype the games up as they have in the past and the sales have suffered for it.

Look at the dismal sales for Excite Bots. That game was a victim of no publicity.

@joeshabadoo

A huge part of marketing of video games is the pre-release "hype" period. Same with movies. It's also the BEST kind of marketing because it's virtually FREE (unlike traditional advertising).

Get the potential audience excited for the release by putting out teaser info in the months-long lead-up to the release. Publicize the game with the major game media sites and they will hype the game themselves. Put footage of the game out there and gamers will market the game by word of mouth.

If they forgo that free publicity, then they really can't be surprised when the game posts terrible sales numbers.

@WiiLikeSportz

That's why they should take advantage of pre-release marketing with the big media sites and the word-of-mouth marketing that comes with that. That costs virtually NOTHING and it is seen by millions of gamers. Pre-release publicity costs far less than running television or print advertisements after the release.

Seriously, how much do you think it costs to release a few screens and videos every couple weeks to sites such as IGN, 1Up, GameSpot, GoNintendo, etc.? Virtually nothing. Just look at the sales of Excite Bots as the most recent example. No publicity = crap sales.