Nobody Owes Your Game Attention - Why Good Games Still Fail
summary
Argues that a great game still fails if nobody notices, so marketing starts during design not after; highlights concrete tactics—store capsule, trailer, thumbnails, short clips on TikTok and creator assets—and tests to apply: the 5-second test, screenshot test, GIF test, and story test. Gives examples: a sim whose store visuals shift to a “space pirate sci‑fi” fantasy, and a dev who builds TikTok clips pre‑Steam to accumulate wishlists. Notes funnel metrics, A/B targets, and a stark stat: ~85% of Steam releases earn under $5,000.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Introduction and context
- 2:26Hard truth nobody owes games attention
- 8:30Competition beyond genre
- 17:24Marketing starts before marketing
- 29:13Game seen vs game played
- 36:44Building marketing into the game
- 43:46Marketing cannot fix everything
- 47:57Five key questions for developers
- 53:17Q&A: Early social media marketing
- 54:43Q&A: Marketing as an art form
- 56:52Q&A: Key takeaway for indie devs
- 58:41Q&A: Role of music in marketing
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