Horizon Zero Dawn is on of my most anticipated titles. The lore is deep, the protagonist isn’t your typical mid-life crisis man and the gameplay looks vast and intriguing. I’ll wager that the PS4 exclusive goes the way of Uncharted and becomes a powerful franchise in Sony’s stable of games, and they seem to know it, too, considering their merchandising plan.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe believes that Horizon Zero Dawn is an incredible licensing opportunity that has everything needed to be a hit brand (I hate when games are referred to that way) in 2016. According to David Evans, European licensing manager at SCEE,
The epic feel of the game, its breathtaking visuals, strong character development, imaginative combat sequences and the marketing weight of the PS4 release all combine to make this a hot property for 2016. Guerilla Games have created a lush post-apocalyptic world that players simply won’t want to leave and licensed merchandise offers consumers a way to extend that extraordinary experience into their everyday lives.
What kind of merchandising are we talking about? Oh, you know, the usual – toys, collectibles, apparel, accessories, publishing and stationery. While I like to joke about merchandising for games, I actually think it’s the only way that retail will stay in business – I might end up buying more and more games online, but I will still want the matching bag or hoodie or robot dinosaur collectible statue for my desk, and that will only be available from proper retail outlets. An Aloy hoodie could be really cool, actually, and there had better be a rad robot dinosaur figurine for me to buy to continue cluttering up my desk.
Last Updated: October 8, 2015
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 08:44
This is putting the cart before the horse. Remember when Watch_Dogs punted the iconic hat thing?
Starcraft did not have merch until Brood War
Mass Effect did not have merch until the PC launch of ME1
Same with many many many other games.
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 08:51
Come now, be serious, OF COURSE they will try to maximize the profitability, by using a ballpark figure to leverage the granular content marketing, thereby making sure the mission critical brick and mortar approach will use the best practices of the herding cats. I’m not going to peel back the onion too much here, but the touchpoint here is upselling the next generation of new economy to ensure management visibility into fulfillment issues.
It might be early-stage, but downsizing needs to be avoided so that the best of breed building capabilities can ensure a quick-win return on investment with some value-added visibility into eating your own dog-food as it were
Raptor Rants
October 8, 2015 at 08:54
I’m not sure if you are talking about sustainable marketing or swearing at me….
hairyknees
October 8, 2015 at 08:55
Please hand over your bribe <3 thank you
Commander JJ of the Normandy
October 8, 2015 at 08:59
Coming from a professional reviewer and gaming journalist.
That’s rich 😉
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 09:01
As discussed, it is agreed that I will not post the picture of you in a Mankini
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:03
As for Dark Souls, they proved the opposite can work just as well. Only if they are confident of the game they made. They just depended on word of mouth and it became a cult classic over night.
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 09:13
And it is up to us to stop this BS!
First thing to go Pre-Order culture.
That being said I can wait for all my November Pre-Orders to arrive!
#HypocriteAlert!
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 09:16
Also only shitty companies would do that. Do you see any Overwatch merch floating around? (Other than the cool Blizzcon goody bag stuff ofc)
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 11:14
…
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 08:57
Assassins Creed had nothing, yet its my favorite entry. They nearly killed the franchise because of the low sales. Then they decided to get with the program and turn it into a Cow farm. It worked.
Also Mass Effect was never given the love it deserved as Microsoft were already planning on selling off the rights.
Dead Space only became popular because of word of mouth while RE5 drowned out its sales.
They have to market the crap out of new IP otherwise it ends up in the bargain bin. Actually part of the joy of game collecting in the 7th gen was the bargain bin. My best find was ICO ar R49 🙂
Commander JJ of the Normandy
October 8, 2015 at 08:58
Star Wars ep VII has had surprisingly little merchandising. But it’s probably just to avoid potential spoilers at this stage. I work with licensing and brands, and even we don’t have any info on new merch. So in that sense, I get it, but sometimes, especially with games, it helps to grow the excitement around a game.
Even long after a game is released, good merch tends to revive a brand.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it just doesn’t.
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 08:48
I suppose its the only way to plug new IP. Otherwise it just gets drowned out as 90% of gamers only purchase what they are familiar with. How much did Destiny spend on marketing? Ill give you a hint, it was 3x more than MGSVs production budget.
Give me a life sized dinosaur killing bow any day 🙂 and a grass leaf skirt.
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 08:51
I’d take one of those
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 09:08
Here you go…
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 09:12
I did the tutorial mission in warframe this week, to see what else changed, so played with Volt and the bow, man, what fun!
Cannot wait to get my own
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 09:43
So you’ve got the Mk1-Paris? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 10:08
I’d settle for ANY bow at this time
Got a Level 30 Braton I think
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 09:15
Did someone say Warframe!
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 09:29
A picture speaks a thousand words 😉
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 09:30
MR12, Red Veil 120 000 standing…i need more words xD
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 09:50
Wanna know why we saw so many damn Excalibur spamming exalted blade the last few weeks?
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 10:09
O_O
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 10:11
That MOD was broken as hell xD
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
October 8, 2015 at 09:29
That form doesn’t really reflect practicality, does it?
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 09:30
I don’t CARE!
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 09:34
Should be called the RECTa Cernos
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 09:31
It looks awesome and spiky and go’s VHOOOOOSH!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
October 8, 2015 at 09:34
It kind of defeats the purpose of firing a projectile when you are impaled by your own bow…
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
October 8, 2015 at 09:35
http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/856/438/e1c.jpg
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
October 8, 2015 at 09:37
HAHAHA!!! Exactly!!
Grand Admiral Chief
October 8, 2015 at 09:38
Lawl
Rock789
October 8, 2015 at 09:01
True dat. This game definitely has a ton of potential. I’m looking forward to learning more. Fingers crossed that it turns out as epic as it currently looks.
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:09
The art direction kind of reminds me of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. That game flopped because Namco Bandai have no clue how to market to the west 🙁 excuse the pun.
But I am stoked for NEW shit. Until Dawn is another one that got zero marketing yet its the most refreshing gaming experience that I can remember. I just dont get it.
Rock789
October 8, 2015 at 09:16
I had the same thought – a definite Enslaved vibe… And that’s a great thing – LOVED Enslaved… Such an underrated experience!
Told you (wrt Until Dawn). It’s surprisingly brilliant! Loved it. Can’t wait to do my 2nd playthrough and see if I can actually get everyone to live this time (killed them all off 1st time round… o_O Not completely on purpose – sometimes what seemed to be the right call just ended up being SO wrong! When I was down to only 3 survivors, decided to see what happened if I actively tried to kill them all off… o_O )
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:26
lol no matter how hard I try I am never able to give the right responses to get the horny bimbo into her underwear on the way to the cabin. STORY of my life 😛
Rock789
October 8, 2015 at 09:28
LOL 😀
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 09:30
Is the horny bimbo in Until Dawn or Enslaved? Because I’ll install the latter tonight.
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:33
lol Until Dawn, I managed to get her semi naked on my third play, halfway there. I need to watch Mel Gibsons What Women want first before scoring.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 8, 2015 at 09:38
🙁
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:39
🙁
HairyEwok
October 8, 2015 at 08:51
Me and my poor heart looking through our wallets for cash to buy a PS4…
http://i.imgur.com/2IuUuar.gif?noredirect
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 08:52
ZERO funds.
DragonSpirit009
October 8, 2015 at 08:58
I wouldn’t mind to collect the bow and arrow or Aloy! But apparently my wallet does mind so sad days may lay before me!
Commander JJ of the Normandy
October 8, 2015 at 09:03
As awesome as this game looks, it’s PS only. And different to what many game publishers believe, I’m not going to buy a PS to play a few games that I can’t otherwise. I’ll just end up skipping the game.
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 09:15
Hear Hear!
PC or GTFO! 😛
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:10
lol TOMB RAIDER comes out after this game. Just to put it into perspective 😉
Will PS4 gamers still bite tho?
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
October 8, 2015 at 09:19
Surely they will, the prospect of this game is that you won’t turn into a genocidal maniac that destroys ancient artefacts after being the only person to witness their actual existence….
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 09:20
Actually it may depend entirely on who has better Jiggle Physics. 🙂
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
October 8, 2015 at 09:22
HAHAHA!!! That would be MGSV…
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 09:25
Enjoy the Quiet … uhm I mean silence. 😛
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:28
The perfect woman 😛
Kromas untamed
October 8, 2015 at 09:38
Not really. I hear she does not go into the kitchen to make me a sandwich.
oVg
October 8, 2015 at 09:44
instead she would snipe everybody out the local Burger King and let you Fulton extract till your heart bleeds.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
October 8, 2015 at 09:28
You mean the jiggling silence?
Nikola
October 8, 2015 at 09:17
Game certainly has a lot of potential as it’s bringing something fresh and new idea’s. Let’s hope it turns out well it is still to early.