IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Interview: Peter Dille Talks God of War III Marketing, PS3 Lineup

Posted March 16, 2010 by David Radd

Recently, IndustryGamers had the chance to talk to Senior Producer Steve Caterson about the development of God of War III. For the promotion of the game and PS3 promotion in general, we chatted up Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and PSN.

IndustryGamers: I talked with Scott Steinburg last year right before the Killzone 2 launch, and he talked about how 2009 was going from strength-to-strength, with titles like Killzone 2, inFamous, Uncharted 2. With titles like MAG and Heavy Rain already launched and games like God of War III and Gran Turismo 5 coming, do you feel even better about 2010?

Peter Dille: No doubt about it. I think what he talked about came true; those games over-delivered and Uncharted 2 is the game of the year. Now the Worldwide Studios (WWS) has games like MAG with 256 players simultaneously and Heavy Rain, which is so different and it's a real delight to see it find its audience. God of War is the main reason we're feeling good about this first part of the year but we also have Modnation Racers and MLB 10: The Show which is blowing people away; some people are even calling it the best sports game ever. We have [PlayStation Move] and that will help fill our schedule for the full year. So we're very, very bullish.

IG: Heavy Rain struck us as a niche title, so we were pleasantly surprised when it was announced that it was selling well.

PD: Heavy Rain is a testament to the diversity of our audience – it's not just about sports games or shooters – every genre and every type of game. So hats off to the studio organization for working with Quantic Dream, and I think we did a great job with retail and the pre-sells were where we wanted it to be. It's done well critically too: we think a game that is as visceral and elicits these sort of emotions speaks to the PlayStation nation.

IG: I had a good chuckle over the TV spots I saw with Kevin Butler for MAG and The Show... will the God of War III ads feature him, or will they be like God of War ads we've seen in the past?

PD: God of War III will be enjoyed by Kevin Butler too.

IG: Slurpees have been a cornerstone of suburban life for over a generation – how did Kratos find his way into 7/11 for the myriad promotions?

PD: It's really a testament to our promotion team. The marriage between [7/11's] and our consumer is good and they're very active in our products and they sell PSN cards in their stores so they have gamers in there all the time. They were versed in God of War and were up for doing something with this. So we were pleased to see them do various promotions; have the flavor, all the cups and offer the codes where players can convert it to DLC to enhance gameplay. It's a great purchase driver to get outside to a different audience and we couldn't be happier. When the mass market consumer starts seeing it in their face they go, 'This is going to be big.'

IG: This is reminiscent of how, for blockbuster movie releases, they'll sort of arrest the attention of popular culture for a week.

PD: I think in our case, it's not just a week; it started pre-Christmas with God of War Collection. Remastering the PS2 entries for PS3 and putting the God of War III product demo has made it a good seller for us and priming us for the launch of God of War III. It's also a great way for players to remember the story from the first two God of War entries and to earn Trophies along the way.

We also worked with Sony Pictures to include the God of War III demo was on the Blu-ray version of District 9. That's helped get it out to more people and we've reciprocated with Sony Pictures trailers in some of our products as well. We've been working with our partners with distinct content so each retailer can have a particular items. The pre-sells are high and we've extended that even higher with the DLC. GameStop has actually decked out their No. 20 NASCAR with Kratos on March 20. 

There's also the Ultimate Edition that is going to retail for $210 dollars with the box that looks like you could find in ancient Greece and the documentary narrated by Peter Weller.

IG: You've had a chance to see the development progress of God of War III first-hand and go hands on with it, which has obviously made you very confident in the product.

PD: We've tried hard to put together the extensive campaign and we think it deserves it. The environments are four times larger than what is in God of War II – [Kratos is] navigating entire armies while on the back of Titans. The entire level is moving; it's amazing to look at. This will be a big system seller.

Everything about God of War, we run by the dev team and they had very specific feedback about how to market it; the game is a testament to their work. This thing will explode when it hits the market and we're shooting for a three-peat of “Game of the Year” titles: LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted 2 and now God of War III.

IG: Finally, while 2010 looks stacked for Sony, 2011 comparative looks much thinner – should we expect some previously unannounced product revelations at E3 this year?

PD: Well, of course! It's not uncommon to not have a full picture for the next year before E3 – there's plenty of good stuff coming. It's all part of that ten-year product lifestyle at our organization and I think the motion controller will be captivating. Another thing is 3D gaming on PS3 and that's another “Only on PlayStation” experience, so there's a lot to look forward to. 

IG: Peter, thanks.

David Radd has worked as a gaming journalist since 2004 at sites such as GamerFeed, Gigex and GameDaily Biz.