ORIGINAL: Gil R.
ORIGINAL: JeanNYGUARD
ORIGINAL: Gil R.
I appreciate where you're coming from, but this is simply more complex than you realize. You have to bring large monitors, since you can't use small laptops and expect to draw attention. (And if Matrix is demoing multiple ACW titles, that means multiple monitors -- otherwise, Pocus, Joel Billings and I will end up enacting a new sort of civil war, as we fight for the lone monitor.) You have to be set up to accept credit cards, since people don't walk around with $60 cash to plunk down for a game, which may not be easy to do in the middle of a field. You have to be prepared for rain because of all the equipment. And there are several other considerations, as well. So in principle, I agree with you, but it's far from a simple undertaking, and far from certain that the benefits will significantly outweigh the costs.
The operation will be difficult... alot of logisitics will need to be sorted through and completed... theres no doubt in that, however not attending such events will be more of a loss. The total revenue and publicity gained from such a event will overshadow any expense. I recommend you try at least one reenactment ... and get a taste of this type of market.
One thing you need is publicity. During my tour of the event I questioned a number of reenactment units for contract purposes (Im in game development myself) and when I questioned them about the types of gaming products they enjoy... none of them were aware of Matrix games nor any of its products. I think this is a missed opportunity for the matrix games as well as the people, who they cannot play your great titles.
If you would like I could assist your staff with preparations and logistics... since I will be returning to these events for my work.
Feel free to email me @
JeanNYGUARD@yahoo.com
Thanks for the offer, but if WCS or Matrix were to go to such an event we'd have to handle all the planning. And I myself have visited every major Civil War site other than Fredericksburg and the Wilderness, so I have a fairly good sense of the lay of the land (so to speak).
I agree with you that there are Civil War buffs who haven't heard of these games, and should be reached somehow. I'm working on it!
Wouldn’t it be more effective to target a select group/market in publications ?
Battlefields and historical sites indeed may hook the occasional impulse buy but in large would be brushed off as just another expensive trinket to the tourist , from my experience people are more inclined to purchase the wooden cap gun for the kids then the PC title covering the historical events or conflict.
Anyway all of that is irrelevant most if not all of the sites your talking about are under Trust, which have strict guild lines and laws prohibiting outside sales of merchandise.
Simply put, no one is to profit from the site/park but the Trust itself .