Ideas to improve the success of the UK&USA release

[unmerged(358)]

This is meant as a brainstorming thread, with ideas and tips for Koch and Strategy First (as well as Paradox) and not any indication I'm very brilliant or my ideas are
I thought about how to get good reviews in English and American magazines and how to increase sales. The first part is that EU is getting better and better every week, and then I'm not talking about my appreciation of the game but rather the patches which almost comes out weekly or biweekly. As far as I've understood from Johan and Patric the game has gone gold for both the UK and USA distribution with version 1.08. That should imply that before the actual release date the game would have reached somewhere between 1.14 and 1.10 if Paradox keeps up the level of patches. Which again means the game will have improved quite a bit before it actually hits the shelves. So Koch/SF should notify it's customers of this in the readme and on their website, so the customers see the game for what it currently is.
Another thing that I've noticed a few days ago was that editing the scenario files so you can play a minor power is done in 3 minutes max. As long as the minor already exist as an entity that is, otherwise it takes about an hour. The extreme easy of which you can modify these files should be used by Koch and SF to make extra versions of the GC included in the game. F. inst. Koch should spend about 1 day with making a GC that includes Ireland, Wales and Scotland as playable countries from within the game! They need to edit some scenario files and make some other text changes, but all of it should be possible to do within 8 hours of work. And Voila you might increase the sales in Scotland, Wales and Ireland a lot more than the puny amount of work implies.... If it is too late to get this included on the gold disk, keep this ready at the time of release (and available to reviewers) on Koch's/SF's sites.

Hopes this (and the rest of the ideas that hopefully will be added by the great posters here on this forum) helps in securing the success that EU deserves.

Cobos

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If you are not part of the solution you are part of the precipitate.

 

[Warspite]

cobos thats a great idea buddy. i think you are hitting on some good points and i hope paradox really works to improve the game to the cusotmers needs. then market it wisely to the public and even schools and perhaps it will become a great hit and start a trend for good historical games to follow.

ya know ya know

 

[unmerged(430)]

Originally posted by warspite:
then market it wisely to the public and even schools and perhaps it will become a great hit

Serious question: if a game is marketed as educational, what will that do to sales? I for one would approach such a game with caution -- I don't have kids, but from the experiences among my friends who have them, 'educashunal' all too often means 'we know it's crap, but it's good for your kids'.

 

[unmerged(358)]

I agree completely with you Kekkonen about educational titles being crap or even worse the edutainment... it sure doesn't sound very promising to me....
But as my history teacher used the boardgame Diplomacy ( a great game BTW) and let us play it for some history classes to illustrate the situation before the WW1, I beleive you can use EU (the GC) for College students to try to interest them in the Renesaince Europe and the situation's there. So there should actually be some effort done to reach the history teachers in the US (and rest of Europe too) with EU as an alternative method and an effort to convince high school students that history is interesting even if it is in a region far away in place and time...

Just my 2 ducats

Cobos

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If you are not part of the solution you are part of the precipitate.

 

[unmerged(430)]

I agree with you 100% there. EU is 'stealth-educational' -- I have found myself wanting to know more about rennaissance Europe after playing the game. However, that's only a side effect of it being a really fun game in that setting; had it been a so-so game, the educational effect would have been totally lost.

Anyway, I hope the English version gets reviewed by the right reviewers -- it looks like the German version didn't. I don't know if EU is the kind of a game where a demo would do much good; however, Greven's Papal States AAR is a great ad for the game...

 

[unmerged(547)]

Wow, you had an instructor use Diplomacy? I had a military science instructor use Risk as an example one day (what the hell was he thinking??)...

To me, EU seems to enthralling to use in a classroom environment, (I am a teacher afterall), EU seems best served to a willing audience (naturally this is not a classroom including someone just needing another credit) enjoyed by one (or more if multiplayer) over a pizza and a few cold beverages.

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'What's a battle?' - Ralph Wiggins

 

[Dark Knight]

Originally posted by Cobos:
F. inst. Koch should spend about 1 day with making a GC that includes Ireland, Wales and Scotland as playable countries from within the game! They need to edit some scenario files and make some other text changes, but all of it should be possible to do within 8 hours of work. And Voila you might increase the sales in Scotland, Wales and Ireland a lot more than the puny amount of work implies.... If it is too late to get this included on the gold disk, keep this ready at the time of release (and available to reviewers) on Koch's/SF's sites.

Except that this would make it impossible for Scotland, Ireland, or Wales to be annexed (and the combined population of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales is insignificant compared to England much less the US). Probably a much better way to increase sales in the UK and US through a scenario would be to include one on the War of American Independence. This way Yanks could try to recreate their country's historical success, while Brits could attempt to crush those damn rebels .

And don't try to market the game as 'educational'. This would just turn off all gamers.

 

[unmerged(281)]

Speaking of population, I certainly hope you mean in the framework of the game, England's population did not execeed that of the rest the British Isles until some time after the Highland clearings, and potato famines. I believe the games pop. is more a reflection of the 'urban' population, and quite obviously England was much more urban then the rest of the Isles. As regards who people can play in the scenarios. Paradox should seriously consider giving the players an iniital option screen where they can select to play ANY country in the game, and choose ANY 8 countries to be the GPs, this would vastly increase the games replayability.

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History is a lie agreed upon. Napoleon

[This message has been edited by GulFalco (edited 23-01-2001).]

 

[Johan]

Originally posted by Dark Knight:
Probably a much better way to increase sales in the UK and US through a scenario would be to include one on the War of American Independence. This way Yanks could try to recreate their country's historical success, while Brits could attempt to crush those damn rebels .

There is such a scenario in the english release.. War of Independence, featuring USA vs England.

/johan

 

[unmerged(744)]

A game as great as this is will have no problems selling--as long as people know about it. Europa Universalis is a strange name compared to many others. This could work to your advantage, or more likely not. You have to get name recognition. Maybe on the cover of Marches computer games magazines, or a good review/preview in them. As there are many online previews, but I have not seen one in a magazine. Basically, what I am trying to say is anyone with an interest in this type of game will most likely purchase it. But if the stores dont carry it, dont prominently display it,or the Marketing campaign is weak. then chances are people will miss it-even if Europa Universalis is one of the 'Seven Gifts of the Computer Age'

 

[unmerged(538)]

Seriously there is a scenario of Independence in the US release? Cool, and it is version 1.06 yes? What other scenarios will be comeing with the US release?

Soon, I will get my own unique title , hehehehehehehe. Well Kronn and Hartmann have the title too. But that's ok.

Speaking of most frequent poster I would have to claim the title. Destroying all such competetion. And no, I just don't post to post grrrrrrrrrr. I have long thoughtful posts, although most would like to argue rather than do anything else, that's mostly because I start trouble.

I think I'm close to 475 now, in just a little over 5 weeks. I come here all the time everyday just to see if someone posted something. I often find myself up late at night reloading the page to see who else posted.

No that I am done degenerating to another topic. All I can suggest is to get on other forums and spread the word about the game. I have been talking with my online buds that play games with me and they have also become influenced.

Paradox doesn't have an advertising budget for it to be seen on tv, but possibly getting it into more magazines. They got 4 1/2 stars in computer games, which is where I first noticed the game, and there have been other advertisements in there as well, although people might be distracted by the EW cossacks ad right next to it.

The scenario bonuses are definitely a nice touch. This is what made civ II great, was the ability for anyone to create different scenarios and play them.

Will there be a scenario editing tool in the English version? Or is there one available for current EU owners?

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'We must do more than defeat their armies, we must destroy them.' General Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson

 

[unmerged(538)]

Eventually you will run low on ideas for patches though yes? I have seen less buzz about making new versions over the last few weeks. It's like a power function that is below 1. It keeps continously decreasing. Until it will reach the limit of 0, but never actually touching 0.

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'We must do more than defeat their armies, we must destroy them.' General Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson

 

[Dark Knight]

Originally posted by GulFalco:
Speaking of population, I certainly hope you mean in the framework of the game, England's population did not execeed that of the rest the British Isles until some time after the Highland clearings, and potato famines. I believe the games pop. is more a reflection of the 'urban' population, and quite obviously England was much more urban then the rest of the Isles. As regards who people can play in the scenarios. Paradox should seriously consider giving the players an iniital option screen where they can select to play ANY country in the game, and choose ANY 8 countries to be the GPs, this would vastly increase the games replayability.

I meant those countries present-day populations, since those are the ones that will be purchasing the game .

I agree that Paradox should definitely provide an easy way of choosing which countries are the major powers.

 

[unmerged(281)]

Oops, I completely misunderstood what you were saying.

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History is a lie agreed upon. Napoleon

 

[Sidney]

My thoughts: Ignore the education and the history. Folks that appreciate the latter will likely find the game. Instead dwell on the following subjects:

Deep Strategy, involved single-player game mode, and replayability. That should resonate with the Civ gamer this is targeted for.

I think all the efforts to say this is educational are off base. Education is not fun for most folks (or at least it doesn't sound fun) and I'm not sure how educational it really is. Plus, a game should be fun before anything else and I think the fun aspect gets lost a bit in our discussion about realism.

 

[unmerged(745)]

I keep sensing that 'we' are worried about bad reviews. A few of the US/UK dominated gaming review sites allow for users to 'do' the review. Maybe some of you folks that actually have the game (I'm in the US) should go ahead and write up a killer review. That way 'we' can...uh...help the sites to review it in a manner that is more fitting for a real strategy game.

__________

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'I am no Saint, no Spartan, no Reformer'
-Sir Robert Walpole

 

[unmerged(604)]

Gamespot gave a Feb 21st release date for USA and stated that there would be three new scenarios in N. America, Poland, and Germany. Johann stated above the American Revolution is one but what do the European scenarios deal with? Could the one in Germany be the rise of Prussia? Bestill my beating heart.

 

[Fossa]

Originally posted by Johan:
There is such a scenario in the english release.. War of Independence, featuring USA vs England.

/johan

How about uploading it in the scenario depot for us people that don't buy the UK/US version. Please.