While BioShock 2 did not quite get the same critical reception as the original, it still was highly praised (Metacritic of 88), and the game has also gone on to ship 3 million units globally. 2K Games had quite a challenge on its hands: how do you top such a unique and compelling experience that stands quite well on its own? 2K VP of Marketing Matt Gorman and Director of Marketing Tom Bass recently spoke with [a]listdaily about this very issue and how they crafted a special marketing campaign to support the sequel.
"One of the main things that was 'a blessing and a curse' was BioShock 1. You had many scores that were 100 and you had a lot of people who felt it was a contained, finite experience. So you had hardcore fans that weren't convinced that they needed a sequel and here we were two years later with BioShock 2. There were also people that never got on board and it was a challenge to detail to them they don't have to play the first to enjoy the second," detailed Bass.
"It wasn't a given our fanbase would buy this, just like there's no guarantee that those who buy Modern Warfare would buy Modern Warfare 2. So we had campaigns for the hardcore and we had one for those who weren't fans, with the understanding that the same message would not work for everyone," he added.
Check out the full interview for more insight into BioShock 2's campaign.
1 Comments
May 5, 2010
Bioshock 2 was hands down the most derivative game i've played in years. i can't even remember the ending, lol. luckily, i received my copy as a gift.
i can only pray they don't make another sequel.