Shame on you all

[Grosshaus]

Victoria is a great game that wasn't a commercial success, why can I not find it in Home of the Underdogs Hall of Belated Fame? With a good review of the game and a link to Paradox's E-Butik the game would most definedly get new fans.

There are lot of people around who say they would do anything to help Paradox, so why is ready to put their keyboard where their mouth is?

You might ask why I don't do it myself if I feel so strongly about it. Well, I don't think I as a beta can't write an unbiased review about it.

 

[Darkrenown]

I already have a review on amazon.co.uk BTW

 

[Lucky]

Hey, that's right. Funny I haven't ever thought about that, even though HOTU made me interested about EU2 in the first place.
Of course, I'm a lousy writer, and therefore won't try to review Vicky.

 

[unmerged(25612)]

What do you suggest?

Typing a review into Mikrobitti or Pelit lehti, as a non-reporter is just as efficient sales-booster as going outside and shouting "Victoria!!!!!"

Of course those people who actually are in a somewhat position to write an article that will actually be published, can do so, but as far as my knowledge goes they already have (During the beta).

Victoria was not a bad product, but it was marketed poorly, that appears to be the general concensus of the cause of its bad saling figures. The only answer that I see is a re-release. Sell it together with the upcoming Diplomacy title, just put some real thought into the game and release the latest version (With fixes of the many trivial things like shore bombardment) together with some mods and call it platinium.


I am not saying that I would not like to help, all I am saying is that I can not.


This is excactly why Paradox has marketing personnel to spam the world with promises and advertises. If the first release goes wrong, you don`t just leave the case, you re-release. If you can not afford/can not expect the game to sell well as it is, you put some sugar on top of it.


Just put some advertises to the other games - This is something that I have always found quite ackward in Paradox games. Why don`t they just put an advertisement about the next game on the current game. EUII released with an advertisement of Victoria, and you would have seen better sales rates.

"But Paradox does not know what they release next" - Bah! They do. What did it say in the HOI2 Beta application E-Mail adress? VIC2-Beta test. VIC2 !!!!! After HOI2 there will be Victoria 2. And besides Paradox could just aadvertise all their old games in the current game. If HOI2 is released so that the installer puts a link to these here forums as a desktop icon, and on top of that the installer and starting screen is literally filled with texts of "Europa Universalis II" and "Victoria" and "Crusader Kings", and the starting video says the words "Sequel" and "Latest of the series", then MAYBE, just MAYBE will the games sell better.


Of course I am not trained in marketing, but I would dare to make the outrageous claim that mentioning the name of the product is generally good for sales.






And if that does not work.... Then you always can rely on free T-shirts

 

[Grosshaus]

What do you suggest?

Typing a review into Mikrobitti or Pelit lehti, as a non-reporter is just as efficient sales-booster as going outside and shouting "Victoria!!!!!"

Mikrobitti an Pelit have full-time reporters who have already praised Victoria, in Pelit it was the game with the highest points in the Christmas issue. They did all they can, afaik Victoria sold comparably well in Finland.

Of course those people who actually are in a somewhat position to write an article that will actually be published, can do so, but as far as my knowledge goes they already have (During the beta).

HotU posts articles written by anybody, they just have to be good and from a game that isn't included in the database yet. The reviews of EU1&2 in there are made that way for example. HotU does not want anything made by the creater of the game, it's an independent media after all. Exactly for that reason I don't feel right to write it, it should instead be one of you who are only customers of Paradox.

 

[Thistletooth]

Victoria is a great game that wasn't a commercial success...

...afaik Victoria sold comparably well in Finland.

Where can I see the sales figures? Also, how can I tell, by looking at the figures, whether or not a game is considered a "success"?

I've wondered about these things for a while.

 

[Disturbman]

i've thought to do it some times ago but never did because my english is not so good and i'm sre i will not have make justice to this fine game.

 

[Grosshaus]

Where can I see the sales figures? Also, how can I tell, by looking at the figures, whether or not a game is considered a "success"?

I've wondered about these things for a while.

Paradox doesn't reveal sales figures directly, but Johan has posted that Victoria's sales figures weren't as good as expected.

The official Finnish charts were started last spring, so no Victoria there. I based my assumption on the fact that any game which gets 90+ points from the two biggest gaming magazines always does reasonably well, not to mention the effect of having the game on pretty good shelf positions (thanks to PanVision). The amount of Finns on the board is another factor that serves as an indicator.

 

[unmerged(16099)]

I have an IGN editor tied up in my basement and we are working on a revised review together.


--
EnPeaSea

 

[Golden_Deliciou]

The amount of Finns on the board is another factor that serves as an indicator.

I wouldn't be so sure. The Finns seem to be everywhere. Probably has to do with there being nothing else to do on those long arctic nights.

 

[FiPete]

I wouldn't be so sure. The Finns seem to be everywhere. Probably has to do with there being nothing else to do on those long arctic nights.

Guess you are right! Btw in Finland Victoria was treated better by the seriously taken gaming press than the game shops.

 

[Yakman]

The biggest problem with the marketing was the cover art. Put Vicky in a skimpy bikini, give her a .303 Enfield, and put her on some tropical jungle bayoneting bulky ethnic types who are charging her thin red line, and the game would've sold a million copies in San Marino alone.