The evolution of PR for the video game industry in Mexico

Public Relations Marketing Digital Branding and Creativity

Hugo Juàrez

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“The video game press is a direct reflection of the audience for which it is created.”

John Davison, specialized journalist.

Video games are an essential part of a revolution that has changed the entertainment industry over the past 30 years. However, its influence in Mexico has been slowed by technological and economic constraints. Ignorance and disinformation have avoided the government from considering them as an economic development tool, as ingenuity enhancer, artistic expressions and information effective transmitters, which already occurs in developed countries.

Such are the barriers that impose a series of challenges to public relations professionals when working with this type of entertainment that many consider as "new" or "trendy". But the reality is that they change constantly, that it is not possible to define a period of "stability" in their evolution, that's the reason why they always seem "new".

In this text, we will discuss the video game industry in Mexico, the emergence of the specialized press, the difference between making public relations for video games and for other products and the particularities of target audiences and the specialized press.

MILLIONAIRES FIGURES OF VIDEO GAMES IN MEXICO

The relevance of the vide ogame industry in the Mexican market is undeniable. Let's see some figures that show it:

According to El Horizonte, in the current year the value of the video game market in Mexico will close at $27,032 million pesos, that means, 9.1% more than the $24,771 million reached in 2017. This figure already places video games above the Cinema industry and in 2010 it closed "only" at $12,857 million pesos.

Nevertheless, despite this growth, la firma The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU) mentioned that in recent months there was a sales impact due to price adjustments derived from the increase in the dollar. This 2018 figure could be modified.

Nowadays, there are 68.7 million gamers in Mexico (at the end of 2017), a figure that represents an increase of 15.1% compared to the previous year and that covers all types of gamers, from casual to hardcore, with smartphones the main access to the titles.

According to The CIU, Microsoft, with its Xbox, is the company most chosen by national gamers, followed by PlayStation (Sony) and Nintendo.

THE RISE, EVOLUTION, AND INFLUENCE OF VIDEO GAMES IN MEXICO AND OF THE SPECIALIZED PRESS.

70’s - 80’s

In its beginnings (the 70s and early 80s), both in Mexico and in other countries, the video games mentions in the press were linked to technology. This means they were treated as technological progress, "trend" and entertainment with potential, rather than talking about them as communication means, or storyline. The latter is understandable since, in its origins, video games did not tell stories.

After a while, video games left the laboratories and military installations to settle in the gaming machines (or arcades) and, later, in homes. This make interactive entertainment (the 80’s) much more popular, giving the media an identity, characters, and storyline, so the press began to treat it first as a mass phenomenon and then as a means of communication, giving way to the specialized press.

90’s

During 90's, the video game revolution finally took place, which was the creation of specialized festivals on the subject, discussions about its economic potential and its effects on society, the individual, and large releases, surrounded by marketing alongside the one already established to release a new Hollywood production.

While this was happening, the specialized press took a bigger boom and began to professionalize with emblematic magazines that were considered as "authorities". With readers eager for news of their favorite games, but especially, for opinions, since video games were not and are not cheap; so, well-thought decisions had to made. Magazines were a fusion between a purchases catalog and source of information.

At that time, such publications were the only way that fans could get close to video games. It was not until late 90's that they began to have more presence on radio and TV. It is also true that at that time, companies began to notice the importance of public relations.

Obviously, the panorama for both video game companies and PRs changed radically with the Internet since the beginning of the 21st century, but we will talk about this later.

In Mexico, during the 80's and early 90's, video games were still seen as "weird", but Nintendo's commercial influence in the country gave a push to TV shows such as "Nintendomanía" or "Intercontrol" and to media such as the legendary magazine "Club Nintendo", which opened the door to the video game industry.

2000’s

During 2000's, many companies followed the Nintendo example and established commercial offices in our country (Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Konami, among others). In this way, Mexico became indispensable for the commercial expansion of video games in Latin America, which brought to light the creation of a public relations department or agencies that knew the local market, which was very different from Japanese, European or American.

2010’s

Nowadays, the video game industry in Mexico is in a dilemma. In one hand, it shows maturity and power, on the other, it continues to depend on the foreigner and is affected by the dollar fluctuation. Likewise, there is not yet a developed local market that exposes its economic and artistic potential that is why governments do not pay much attention to it. Fans are still dependent on imports, but there are already some signs of local production that in a very short time could change the industry.

VIDEO GAMES, A FERTILE FIELD FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MEXICO

A public relations professionals job is essential to the success of a video game; however, this industry has very specific characteristics that PRs must take into account to better perform their job.

We will talk about them later. For now we must mention that despite the high numbers generated by video games, there is a great need to get these products to non-specialized audiences, which are not captive and often require to be demystified on the subject or that certain beliefs are disproved, because even though we are in 2018, many still believe in myths related to videogames as:

They provoke violence.
They cause physical, emotional or intellectual damage to those who play with such video games.
Are dangerous.
Are addictive.
Reduce the intellectual capacities.
Attack religious beliefs.
Are misogynists, among others.

Although some games sell themselves thanks to "word of mouth", the majority of sales are influenced by the press and messages transmitted through public relations opinions. Something similar to movies, but with a big difference: the cost of a ticket ($60 - $80) is much less than that of a video game release ($1,200).

Taking into account the releases, it is important that public relations professionals know how to distinguish the messages goal they are going to transmit in order to achieve the expected outcomes.

According to the book "Marketing Hero. Las herramientas comerciales de los videojuegos" by Juan Carrillo Marqueta and Ana Sebastián Morillas, the communication goals can be divided into permanent and conjunctural:

Permanent:

Generally, they are used to communicate with a video game console brand (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch) or a particular production house (Capcom, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Square Enix).
They seek to generate permanence in the consumers' minds.
They want to create positive brand judgments in the press.

Conjuntural:

Unlike the permanent, these serve to promote the image of a video game or new console.
They focus on describing the particular characteristics of that title or console.
They seek to generate direct sales.

As can be seen, there are several goals that can be covered with a public relations campaign, so the field of action is large.

THE TASKS OF THE ACTORS IN THE VIDEO GAME PUBLIC RELATIONS: AGENCIES AND PUBLISHERS

Speaking of its performance, video game public relations do not change much from other products or industries. So we have two main actors interacting with each other: publishers and agencies.

The publishers are the customers, this means, the companies that produce, publish and distribute the video game. They are usually international companies, so the information released from their Mexican representation should follow guidelines, and characteristics established from the global HQ.

Agencies are responsible for promoting products and helping brands reach new markets and as we will see later, many times, the most popular video games are promoted by themselves among specialized audiences. They need to "move" between new audiences, and this is when the public relations professional comes into action because they know the market where they work.

The agencies are responsible for providing the press all the necessary tools to carry out their job of a critic, prior, commentary, reporting, streaming, multimedia, etc. These tools are:

Physical copy (beta or final version) or digital of the video game to promote or editorial loan of the released console.
High-resolution images.
Facilitate interviews with developers and/or executives.
Creation of release events.
Videos.
Press trips.
Preparation and sending of press releases.

There is a particular subject within this whole system: indie or independent games. There are more and more titles developed by small studies or by a single person. The reality is that to have an adequate diffusion, it is up to the big publishers or agencies that make an important effort to place them in the press and gamers minds.

In this case the challenge is greater since often not even specialized press has them in mind; in addition, these companies do not usually consider in their small budget the hiring of a communication agency that helps them boost their creativity. Having this agency is key, especially for Mexican games.

MAIN CHALLENGES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR VIDEO GAMES DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

As mentioned above, the video game industry has certain distinctive features that make them different from other industries and, above all, from technology in general, with which it is usually compared. These aspects create special challenges for public relations professionals. Like:

Media will always be ahead

Due to the fact that the industry has its main HQ in Asia and United States, it is in these areas where the generated information, that in one way or another, will affect the Latin American market. Therefore, media go to external sources that allow them to be up to date on releases and news.

The presence of exclusive or news generation in our market is practically absent. Therefore, it is most likely that the Mexican media are several steps ahead of the agencies in terms of receiving and spreading information (it is common for journalists to begin to ask about issues that are not even confirmed to our market). This represents a challenge for public relations, so agencies must work hand in hand with the publisher to know how to act in particular conditions of our market.

Fans will always be ahead

Due to the above, fans usually consult foreign media to get information (especially after the arrival and establishment of the internet), so they give value to those who publish the information practically in real time, regardless of the language.

The immediacy of the internet and its forums, vloggers, specialized pages, influencers, memes, and gifs are the preferred sources of information by fans.

Moreover, video games have very passionate fans who have generally cultivated their hobby for years, starting since childhood and until now that some are already parents. That is why it is very important that whoever does public relations is as well informed as they are, that they go a step ahead, that they speak their language, since it is very easy for fans and the press (concepts that are often synonymous) to note that an executive is not well informed.

Given these conditions, it is important that PRs know to go beyond the information when communicating with the press and, therefore, with the fans. One way to achieve this is the creation of innovative and creative strategies, experiences that can not be achieved anywhere else and that are exclusive to the local market, in such a way that the media can create new information that is not found anywhere else.

The challenges attached to the client

Publishers will always want that their ROI (Return of Investment) be equal to sales. For this, public relations managers must carefully select with what media or influencers to establish a relationship that helps achieve that goal.

Challenges of the media

Video games, like other media, can not be classify, since they have different genres and themes (horror, fantasy, humor, action, adventure, puzzles, triggers, platforms, etc.) and are aimed at different audiences characterized by a great variety of tastes, ages, socioeconomic conditions, ideological and political positions, etc.

That is why public relations professionals must know the products with which they will work. Any particularity, ignorance or error will be noticed immediately by the audience.

Challenges of the industry

Speaking in terms of industry, video games are often seen as part of the technology industry, and it is true that they share certain characteristics, for example, that their evolution is so dizzying that what is news today, tomorrow will be old fashion. That is why agencies must go beyond "knowledge", but must go several steps further and propose 180 degrees strategies that far exceed the typical "newsletter."

We must remember that more and more games are distributed digitally, so in this case, the packaging or physical cd can not be used to draw the press or consumer attention in the store. In this case it is essential that the agency works on amazingly creative strategies and experiences so that the concept of the game remains in the mind of the target audience.

Relationship between press and PRs

On several occasions, the press is more fan than its own audience. We can't generalize about it. It is important that agencies keep this particularity in mind to create an adequate strategy that allows them to have a respectful relationship with the press, in such a way that both parties know each other and understand their goals, in order to collaborate to achieve them.

Non-specialized audiences

Many times the most popular video games "sell" by themselves, since both the consumer and the press know them beforehand and they look forward to them, so they dominate their information and characteristics. In that case, the agencies must ensure that the materials prior to their release arrive in time and form to the Mexican press, translating them appropriately when required.

This, although it sounds like something negative for public relations, can be a positive thing since it opens an interesting action field among non-specialized audiences that seek to entertain themselves in different ways and be part of video games.

However, the challenge here is to know how to reach this audience, for those who video games are one of the dozens of entertainment options they have. In addition, care must be taken in the way in which messages are sent to them because sometimes they forget that they do not know 100% of this media at first and that they may find them too impressive or they may encourage negative myths in the industry.

For example, Capcom, the company that publishes the famous saga Resident Evil decided to make an "activation" of leaving pieces of "corpses" soaked with blood in emblematic places in London to promote the fifth title of the franchise. After this, several Londoners reported the findings to the police and health authorities, as there was real chicken blood in the props.

Another negative case was that of Sony's God of War, in one of the promotional events, the company decided to use real goat carcasses to illustrate a "sacrifice". In Mexico, the case of a large company that decided to give the press as a "souvenir" a bag with chips in the presentation of an expected shooting game is remembered.

Confuse editorial activities with commercial activities

Video games, marketing, and editorial activities are concepts that effectively go hand in hand, but that should not be considered synonymous at all. When these terms start to get confused, it is very likely that the relationship between the press and agencies (and therefore, between the press and the brand) begins to fade away.

It is important to always keep in mind that the audience values the honesty of the media that reads, so it is not advisable to push the press across the barrier of trust to end up talking well of a game only in exchange for "favors" or gifts related to it. Remember that video game opinion leaders tend to be more fans than media professionals (see point 6 of this list) and often give editorial value to the gifts or "favors" mentioned.

MEXICAN LEGISLATION OF VIDEO GAMES: HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE PUBLIC RELATIONS JOB?

Before ending this text, it is important that we mention the video game legislation in Mexico.

Different administrations and congresses over time have tried to create a Mexican video game legislation, arguing, among other things, that the existing classification (coming from the United States and clearly exhibited in the packaging of video games) does not correspond to the national reality.

Therefore, the goal is for Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB) to classify the video games content (as is already the case with films and TV). Also, the stores could not advertise or publish games that don't have their classification properly visible and will avoid selling titles for adults to minors, in order to avoid paying a financial fine.

This initiative hasn't become a law nor has it modified the current one, given that legislators haven't yet taken it seriously. However, when that happens, some fear that there is censorship, that prices will increase (due to taxes or "administrative charges" to get the appropriate classification) or that video games will be more mythicise in the country.

None of these scenarios is confirmed, the theme is a field to explore for public relations since they will need more information about it and, as it is something only for Mexico, the national media will use the agencies to know the positions of the main companies and changes in the releases dates when there is no information from abroad. Undoubtedly, we have to be alert.

CONCLUSION

The video game industry is exciting, keeps changing and is far from a "stabilization."

New technologies (such as virtual and augmented realities), as well as the release of increasingly powerful consoles and gadgets, are opening more and more doors for developers to try to surprise an audience that is increasingly difficult to conquer.

In the case of public relations, the main challenge is to keep pace with these changes and take advantage of their collaboration with brands to always be one step ahead of the press and fans, so that their job is not left behind. For this, it is essential that professionals in this area test their creativity and expertise to create innovative experiences that appeal to fans, press, and customers in the same way.