Justin Ko's Blog

Stumbling on this gem in a blog post by Clarence So (found here), has provoked some thought into  how effective pricing can solely determine the success of a game. To make it clear at the beginning, I am biased towards DotA and see all of these new iterations as cheap imitations to the original great game that defined the genre. However, it intrigues me how a game of inferior quality has managed gain such a loyal following and in some ways surpass the original. I feel the answer lies in effective application of the pricing elements.

Riot Games uses a sales and competitor oriented objective to determine the pricing of their product. Competitors such as DotA and HoN offer their games at very low cost, the first being a free mod for Warcraft 3 and the latter a standalone game originally retailing around $30. In order to take part of the loyal following from these games, LoL has decided on the most extreme pricing strategy and offered the game for free. This is a perfect reaction to the price war between the big players in the Action RPG genres that has essentially driven the base price to zero. Further, due to the large amount of substitutes and high elasticity, decreasing the price has a substantial effect on the quantity demanded to maximize the market penetration. Unfortunately, there is a cost of making a online game that is frequently updated. Riot used a system of micro transactions to basically capitalize on the loyal LoL followers to essentially finance the development of the product. These consumers are more than happy to support the game they like so much, while others are able to enjoy the game for free.

LoL…this is a perfect example that free is the best price.

Having seen some really great examples of product placement in media during today’s class, my awareness about the subtlety of this form of promotion has greatly increased. Starcraft 2 is my new addiction as mentioned early and I have been playing since the release of the game back in the summer. Just recently, I have become aware of all the subtle product placement in the game. Well, it is not really product placement but it is a really interesting take on how rampant product placement has become. When playing through the campaign, the Starcraft developers put in many Easter eggs to give the players a laugh. The most notable is the iPistol ad parody of the Apple iPod.

This is a testament to how popular and widespread the Apple brand and advertising has become. Without specifically mentioning Apple at all in the spoof ad, I as a consumer was able to immediately draw the connection between the iPistol and the iPod.  The style of the commercial is a direct imitation of the iPod commercials released over 5 years ago. Interestingly enough, the connection can still be drawn years after the first commercial was aired. The encoding of the Apple brand has been so well executed that the colours, tunes and the art style has become almost as strong as the brand itself.  At first I saw the advertisement as a great little cut-scene; however, through my growing knowledge about marketing, the advertisement has become so much more. It now appears that the iPistol Easter egg is a tribute to how ubiquitous Apple and product placement has become.

It never dawned on me how clever Razer was when it influenced my first gaming mouse purchase. Having never owned a high end mouse or know any of the technologies, a trip to Razer’s website seamlessly communicated all the information I needed to know about making my first purchase. Upon reading about the integrated market communications it dawned on me how effective Razer was at building up interest in their product. The website channel with all testimonials and technical specifications communicated the message of why a gaming mouse is so important. Perhaps even more importantly, it communicated why a Razer mouse is so important.

The AIDA model is the backbone of the Razer mouse guide. The awareness of gaming mice are first established as soon as you enter the site. The latest products are always showcased on the front page and the Razer brand is incorporated into the design of the website. The interest is developed when they give specifications about mice in the Razer Mouse Guide. Educating the consumer is key when they have little prior knowledge. The technology and the functionality are explained to the consumer building interest in the product.  To push consumers to desire the product they have a mouse configurator that will recommend a mouse based on your own personal preferences and usages. The action to buy a mouse is then easily facilitated by linking to the online store where the mouse can be ordered and shipped.

If you want to experience high end computer performance, let Razer communicate the message with this easy to follow mouse guide.

When it comes to common or specialty computer parts, mt first choice of retailers is always NCIX.  The reason why I have always chosen NCIX is due to their much larger variety of computer parts compared to the other big name electronic stores like Best Buy and Future Shop. The lack of vertical integration in the stores, means that NCIX has no loyalty in choosing their suppliers and as a result, seek out a wide variety of manufacturers based on recommendations from customers on the NCIX forums. In recent times, the former internet retailer NCIX has expanded its distribution channels and have become multichannel to accommodate an even wider variety of consumers. During the past year, NCIX has opened stores in Coquitlam, the United States to further widen their channels both nationally and internationally.

The most attractive aspects about the NCIX stores are the personal service, browsing opportunities, and the entertainment experiences. The sales associates are knowledgeable about the specifications of the computer parts and the are more than eager to use the in-store demonstrations to show off the newest innovations in the computer industry. However, the physical experience of computer shopping is only secondary for many computer users as they have a great deal of experience with using the internet. The internet is where NICX really captures the bulk of its market. By offering a wider variety of items at a lower price and allowing for in-store pickup to avoid the shipping costs the main benefits of internet shopping are capitalized. When it comes to the competitive market of computer retailers,  by offering a wide variety of cheaper products through multiple retail channels NCIX does what other retailers fail to do.

Stumbling upon an interesting blog post by Cyrus Cheung, I was amazed to find out that I was not the only DotA fan in the school. Reading the post about the sequel reminded me of  my high school and first year university late night gaming sessions. However the game has been through some tough times  recently. I feel that many of the consumers who have advocated the game in the past have moved on to newer iterations of the game such as Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends. Even then, the charm of the genre has so far disappeared as the lack of innovation has consumers moving onto other popular genres of console and PC games. I too have broken my DotA addiction…only to get sucked into Starcraft 2. In terms of the product life cycle, the action RPG genre is sadly in its decline.

DotA 2 might be the rope that can pull the declining genre out of the pits. Revamping the graphics and keeping the game play formula the same might be all that is needed to extend the product life cycle of this dying genre. As the primary reason for many of the players moving onto different genres is the outdated graphics engine, the updated graphics in DotA 2 might be all that is necessary to win back many of the consumers. By keeping the core game play elements the same and only  improving on the interface, the consumers will know exactly what the sequel will deliver and will be sure not to disappoint. I for one will be glad to jump back on the DotA fan base once the sequel gets released later in the year.

For those who are wondering, this was my best hero.