Could this be a PR stunt?

[j8mie]

I know that companies have been creating viral ads for many years now to promote their latest products on the internet, but has anyone stopped to consider if Sony are trying a sneaky and slighty underhand PR stunt?

It's clear there are some finished copies in the wild, which so far has generated a lot of hype and interest with minimal effort from Sony. Think of the number of hits this site is getting, on top of that all the online press coverage on gaming news sites that only help to heighten peoples interest in the game. I but Sony are getting endless e-mails about the titles and no doubt this will snow ball into more sales.

Sony make out they don't want you seeing the latest videos, but for such a large fan site you'd think they'd monitor it more closely. How long is it between a video being posted and Jordan being asked to remove it I wonder?

I'm not saying for a second that this would/is the only ad campaign Sony would employ for such an important title, but it could so easily be the start.

I'm not sure I believe it's a PR stunt, I think there's more chance that it just so happens to be a genuine leak. Remember when Half Life 2 was leaked and it was then delayed a year. These things do sometimes happen.

Thoughts and comments are always welcome folks.

 

[BORDER323]

Remember when Half Life 2 was leaked and it was then delayed a year. These things do sometimes happen.

Thoughts and comments are always welcome folks.

Saying things like that is going to scare the BE'JESUS out of some people... lol

 

[Khaddar]

I'm sure the same thought has occurred to many of us. However I do think that if Sony were orchestrating this they'd ensure that the quality of videos we're seeing were higher, without quite looking professional. With the level of investment they've put into the product I think they'd be a lot more careful about how it's presented to us.

 

[final lap]

A lot of videos have been removed from youtube, I dont think its advertising. If it is its pretty bad considering the videos on youtube make gt5 look like crap.

 

[Owen.C93]

Nope.

 

[Greyum]

I would say that the vast majority of people visiting this site are people who are interested in finding out about the game because they are buying it anyway. These are not necessarily the people that SONY are interested in targeting, so I don't think this is any form of PR stunt at all.

As for Half Life 2, that was completely different. They had the source code of the game stolen by a hacker. This is a finished retail copy of the game that just got into the hands of an eager gamer a bit earlier than they would like. There is almost no chance of this turning into any further delay than they have already planned.

 

[xSNAKEx]

I'm sure the same thought has occurred to many of us. However I do think that if Sony were orchestrating this they'd ensure that the quality of videos we're seeing were higher, without quite looking professional. With the level of investment they've put into the product I think they'd be a lot more careful about how it's presented to us.

Agreed. OP, You're going off on a bit of a irrational tangent there.
I'ts almost certain its just a simple matter of the game has gone gold, begun production and some sneaky guys have gotten their hands on it.

If anything, the vidoes are making the game much look worse than it is so if its a PR stunt its a terrible one.

 

[Greyum]

If anything, the vidoes are making the game much look worse than it is so if its a PR stunt its a terrible one.

So you hope!

All the "lack of this", "lack of that", "huge assumptions" etc. really isn't good for them though, so with that said, I totally agree, it would be a case of PR gone wrong!

 

[Tesla]

Originally, I would of said yes. However, after seeing that most of the videos were shot in such poor quality and that dealerships, track lists and used car lists, I don't thnk so.

It is entirely possible, however, that Sony has contacted the video maker/makers to keep what content is seen under control. I mean, we haven't seen photomode, b-spec races, the X1 (However, after seeing you need 'levels' to purchase cars, excused), day to night to day transition (But then she/he would need to have unlocked endurance races, so only time will tell) . Headtracking was the most interesting IMO, with snow effects shown.

 

[BORDER323]

So you hope!

All the "lack of this", "lack of that", "huge assumptions" etc. really isn't good for them though, so with that said, I totally agree, it would be a case of PR gone wrong!

IMO, its gone wrong right from the word go.

PR stunt or simple fact its a leaked copy, its been a mess right from the outset, Sony should be ashamed at what a farse this has turned out to be.

Possibly the biggest anticipated game EVER, and look at the mess that surrounds it.

I have seen school children produce better planning than this.

 

[Greyum]

IMO, its gone wrong right from the word go.

PR stunt or simple fact its a leaked copy, its been a mess right from the outset, Sony should be ashamed at what a farse this has turned out to be.

Yeah, what I said has to be taken in context I suppose - it has been a complete joke of a project really!

 

[neosin]

definitely a publicity stunt!

Here are the reasons:

1. When was the last time a big AA title was leaked even before a release date announced?

2. This is not just 1 leaked copy, but many!

3. Why has sony remained silent on the leak or make comments about it?

= inside job

 

[BORDER323]

definitely a publicity stunt!

Here are the reasons:

1. When was the last time a big AA title was leaked even before a release date announced?

2. This is not just 1 leaked copy, but many!

3. Why has sony remained silent on the leak or make comments about it?

= inside job

1. Black ops was leaked before release. ( very recently )

2. The laws of average would say its highly feesable that more than one copy will get into the wrong hands.

3. Sony hasnt actually said anything about anything.. they are maybe a little embarrased at the moment and want to make sure the next public statement will be a final one.

 

[sam_i_am]

Warning: What follows is my personal opinion. Unsubstantiated allegations galore!

I don't think Sony marketing department is that well organized. From everything that happened since early Oct, this is a classic case of how NOT to handle your most prized title launch. 👎

Between Mr. Yamauch's autocratic style of managing GT5 development and Sony's irrational behavior in managing the product launch, this has been one disaster after another.

I personally would have been quite happy with an expanded GT5p with few hundred cars, 20-30 tracks and fixing some of the obvious shortcomings of multi-player and releasing it in 2009. From comments by Mr Yamauchi, I got the feeling that this was indeed what their original plan was. Then with Forza and PSP, things suddenly changed and features kept creeping in.

If they released GT5 in 2009 and released updated GT5 (call it GT6 or GT5 epilog) in 2010, I think they would have sold much more PS3 units as well as GT5 copies than this fiasco.

Sam
PS: There, I feel better now.

 

[BORDER323]

I don't think Sony marketing department is that well organized. From everything that happened since early Oct, this is a classic case of how NOT to handle your most prized title launch. 👎

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Bad Form Sony...

 

[jjaisli]

I just saw Bigfoot fly off in a UFO with Elvis. Not sure who was at the controls but they just narrowly missed the Loch Ness Monster. Anyway, what were we talking about again?

Ahh, yes, viral marketing. If it's not already clear how much credence I give this idea, let me just say, sometimes a duck really is a duck.

Could it be, that PD really didn't complete the game on time (as both they and Sony have publicly admitted)? Could it be, because of this, they missed a huge window and are having a bugger of a time to press 3 or 4 or 5 million Blu-Ray discs without upsetting schedules and their other customers who have already booked time slots? Could it be that Sony is now working like crazy to produce and ship copies of the game to thousands of retail outlets in countries all over the world? And could it be that they're really banking on a November 23~30 release, depending on if they've managed to ship enough copies on time, but don't want to announce anything publicly until they're sure? And could it be that until they know for certain, that they don't want to press on with their expensive TV and print media ad campaigns, which have probably been put together long ago and are all splendid and properly choreographed until a unified world wide release is set in stone?

And most important of all, could it be that Sony, as a huge world-wide corporation with a reputation to uphold, doesn't really want to associate themselves with people who (potentially) pulled copies of a game illegally and are basically ruining their planned multi-million dollar ad campaign?

Look, I'm sorry if I'm coming across in a condescending manner. But anybody who believes Sony is behind these YouTube videos just doesn't have a clue how things work in the real world. The idea is beyond preposterous.

 

[BORDER323]

I just saw Bigfoot fly off in a UFO with Elvis. Not sure who was at the controls but they just narrowly missed the Loch Ness Monster. Anyway, what were we talking about again?

Ahh, yes, viral marketing. If it's not already clear how much credence I give this idea, let me just say, sometimes a duck really is a duck.

Could it be, that PD really didn't complete the game on time (as both they and Sony have publicly admitted)? Could it be, because of this, they missed a huge window and are having a bugger of a time to press 3 or 4 or 5 million Blu-Ray discs without upsetting schedules and their other customers who have already booked time slots? Could it be that Sony is now working like crazy to produce and ship copies of the game to thousands of retail outlets in countries all over the world? And could it be that they're really banking on a November 23~30 release, depending on if they've managed to ship enough copies on time, but don't want to announce anything publicly until they're sure? And could it be that until they know for certain, that they don't want to press on with their expensive TV and print media ad campaigns, which have probably been put together long ago and are all splendid and properly choreographed until a unified world wide release is set in stone?

And most important of all, could it be that Sony, as a huge world-wide corporation with a reputation to uphold, doesn't really want to associate themselves with people who (potentially) pulled copies of a game illegally and are basically ruining their planned multi-million dollar ad campaign?

Look, I'm sorry if I'm coming across in a condescending manner. But anybody who believes Sony is behind these YouTube videos just doesn't have a clue how things work in the real world. The idea is beyond preposterous.

Totally understand what your saying.

But could it also be that Sony & PD have had 5 years no less to organise this.

As it has been said, this isnt a 3rd shelf game, its the Sony flagship.

Having said that, regardless of video's being leaked/ missing deadlines, do you not think Sony in particular have handled this whole scenario very badly indeed. ?

I appreciate the need and the importance of the next Sony announcement, and not wanting to end up with more egg on their face, but their most prized game is being being publically shown to the world by a nobody...

If I were head of Sony marketing, I would be very seriously worried for my job at this moment in time.

 

[Matti_Dude]

What I don't get is that clearly PD know about the leaked copies yet they still haven't announced a release date for the game and more and more videos are appearing as time goes on. It would have made sense to me if they announced a date as soon as possible rather than see more gameplay being leaked out. Unless I have missed something massive and they have actually announced a date.

 

[BORDER323]

What I don't get is that clearly PD know about the leaked copies yet they still haven't announced a release date for the game and more and more videos are appearing as time goes on. It would have made sense to me if they announced a date as soon as possible rather than see more gameplay being leaked out. Unless I have missed something massive and they have actually announced a date.

No they haven't as yet, and maybe with good reason. they as others have said in all probability want to be 100% sure the next release date is final before they announce it.

Or more egg on the face will follow.

 

[jjaisli]

Having said that, regardless of video's being leaked/ missing deadlines, do you not think Sony in particular have handled this whole scenario very badly indeed. ?

Without question, it could have and should have been handled better. Just the fact that, for example, Gamestop in Canada and in the US and Amazon in France and the US are completely at odds over the release date, shows that different Sony regions are not operating with a unified voice. But to be honest, had the game been completed on time and if PD truly understood what a deadline was, we'd all be playing it now.

What we've heard from Sony is the sound of silence. A big mistake. But I'm sure there has been and continues to be a helter skleter of activity behind the scenes that few people seem to appreciate.

 

[ANFD]

Personally, I doubt that this is a PR stunt as it destroys Sony's credibility with every day that passes. We are all GT addicts and are gratefull for Kaz's passion for cars and dedication to video games, but I for one have lost all respect for Sony as a corporation. Their total lack of communication to their fans and supporters is reprehensible in my eyes. Their total lack or response and acknowlegement to the "Fail to Connect to Host" issue in Prologue is similar in nature. They just aren't in touch with their customer base and are too big to seem to care. If the Japanese culture places a high value in "honor" then Sony is an embarrassment to Japan and Japanese people.

This rant brought to you by one very frustrated vidiot

 

[Greyum]

Personally, I doubt that this is a PR stunt as it destroys Sony's credibility with every day that passes. We are all GT addicts and are gratefull for Kaz's passion for cars and dedication to video games, but I for one have lost all respect for Sony as a corporation. Their total lack of communication to their fans and supporters is reprehensible in my eyes. Their total lack or response and acknowlegement to the "Fail to Connect to Host" issue in Prologue is similar in nature. They just aren't in touch with their customer base and are too big to seem to care. If the Japanese culture places a high value in "honor" then Sony is an embarrassment to Japan and Japanese people.

This rant brought to you by one very frustrated vidiot

I totally agree, and as much as I'll enjoy GT5, my next racing game will be what ever Microsoft release on their next machine because this is the last home console from SONY that I'll be buying. I'm not so keen on Microsoft either as a corporation overall, but at least their entertainment division seem to nail their marketing efforts and update games regularly.

 

[BORDER323]

Without question, it could have and should have been handled better. Just the fact that, for example, Gamestop in Canada and in the US and Amazon in France and the US are completely at odds over the release date, shows that different Sony regions are not operating with a unified voice. But to be honest, had the game been completed on time and if PD truly understood what a deadline was, we'd all be playing it now.

What we've heard from Sony is the sound of silence. A big mistake. But I'm sure there's has been and continues to be a helter skleter of activity behind the scenes that few people seem to appreciate.

Oh im sure there are Sony employee's loosing lot's of sleep at the moment.

IMO, so they bloody should.

I just cant get away from the fact this has had 5 years to be planned.

Yet it seems the most vital part, the advertising , the PR , the actual selling of this game has been left seemingly to the last 5 mins, and put in the hands of incompetant monkey's.

Whoever is in charge of gettng this game in shop's, on time should no doubt be given his P45, and replaced with someone that understands the importance of the game and is able to foward plan.

 

[jjaisli]

I just cant get away from the fact this has had 5 years to be planned.

Yet it seems the most vital part, the advertising , the PR , the actual selling of this game has been left seemingly to the last 5 mins, and put in the hands of monkey's.

My feeling is this.

I think Sony had a very carefully planned ad campaign in place for GT5, beginning a few weeks before and leading up to the release date and possibly through the holiday season. But when the game was late, everything turned on it's head.

I'm sure Sony has things in the works but we won't see anything until Sony and Sony's retail partners are satisfied that they'll have sufficient copies to sell in X amount of days. For all we know, it's the big 5 or 6 retail or mail order outlets that are putting pressure on Sony NOT to mention a release date until they can guarantee them a certain supply. Think of the chaos that would ensue if Sony would announce today "GT5 Release date on November 23rd". And then the 23rd rolls around and half the shops don't have it in stock. Or they do but only 5 or 10 copies each. That would be a MUCH worse PR disaster for Sony than having few thousand disgruntled hard core fans, who are angry for a few weeks, and who will end up buying the game no matter what.

 

[BORDER323]

My feeling is this.

I think Sony had a very carefully planned ad campaign in place for GT5, beginning a few weeks before and leading up to the release date and possibly through the holiday season. But when the game was late, everything turned on it's head.

I'm sure Sony has things in the works but we won't see anything until Sony and Sony's retail partners are satisfied that they'll have sufficient copies to sell in X amount of days. For all we know, it's the big 5 or 6 retail or mail order outlets that are putting pressure on Sony NOT to mention a release date until they can guarantee them a certain supply. Think of the chaos that would ensue if Sony would announce today "GT5 Release date on November 23rd". And then the 23rd rolls around and half the shops don't have it in stock. Or they do but only 5 or 10 copies each. That would be a MUCH worse PR disaster for Sony than having few thousand disgruntled hard core fans, who are angry for a few weeks, and who will end up buying the game no matter what.

Agreed,

But this could all have been very easily avoided in one simple step.

Instead of announcing release dates, this , that and the other before you have a finsihed product.

Finish the product first, then create merry hell over its release, and hit your suggested targets, that way nobody is left in this mess.

I appreciate even when the game is gold, thing's can still happen to scupper it's release, but this isntance it would have avoided all this.

 

[Khaddar]

Agreed,

But this could all have been very easily avoided in one simple step.

Instead of announcing release dates, this , that and the other before you have a finsihed product.

Finish the product first, then create merry hell over its release, and hit your suggested targets.

Except that announcing a "final" release date has undoubtedly shifted a lot of PS3s over the last 5 months. Mine is one of them.

I can understand your frustration, but given that half the posts in this thread are by you, ranging from irritated to annoyed in tone, I think you're getting a little carried away. The only definite 🤬 up we know of in this process was PD's failure to hit their handover deadline. Neither you nor the rest of us know in any detail what's been going on behind the scenes since then, neither the problems encountered nor the solutions found for them. You don't know, and neither do I, who has genuinely been a liability at the various Sony divisions or who has been an unsung hero.


And to drag this thread back to its slightly ridiculous topic, I'll throw out one little tidbit for the conspiracy theorists - the requests to GTPlanet to remove videos have come from SCEA, not SCEI or SCEE.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I PR stunt to delay a game 5-6 years. Not hardly.

 

[fasj6418]

I don´t believe the copies were stolen. If that was the case, then the guys posting videos and appearing in front of a camera would be very stupid.

They could be tracked down and arrested.

I think they bought it from the plan, having friends there. (czech guys and the australian DJ).

I bet the guy from the plant just sold those copies and it takes a long time to figure out that they have 455.574 copies instead of 455.575.

I don´t know if it´s a planned leak. Too risky. Sony´s brand is being damaged and they are perceived as incompetent monkeys that can´t figure out a way to sell a finished game. Way too risky to be a plan. And quite frankly, considering their marketing efforts so far, they are not smart enough to do something like this.

They can´t say anything at the moment because they want to finish printing the 8 million or so copies so they can assure Gamestop, EB, Walmart and others that they will fulfill their shipments.

 

[BORDER323]

I can understand your frustration, but given that half the posts in this thread are by you, ranging from irritated to annoyed in tone, I think you're getting a little carried away. The only definite 🤬 up we know of in this process was PD's failure to hit their handover deadline.

If you understood my post, then you would see thats my point entirely.

If the game were finished before any announcements were made.

As you have stated above, the only "mess up " was the fact the game wasnt finished.

So in fact your kind of agreeing with me.

In not Irritated or annoyed, more shocked at the confusion and mess GT5 is in right now.

And to drag this thread back to its slightly ridiculous topic, I'll throw out one little tidbit for the conspiracy theorists - the requests to GTPlanet to remove videos have come from SCEA, not SCEI or SCEE.

What does it matter which section of Sony orderd the Posts to be removed.

GTP is an american based site, stands to reason SCEA would be the first to see or hear anything from it, and then take action.

Also, at the last glance GTP is a discussion forum. This thread is to discuss if this mess is a PR stunt or not.

My view is, no it's just a complete sham on Sony's behalf.

 

[Stune]

I wouldn't rule it out from the company that promoted God of War 2 by slaughtering a goat: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...epraved-promotion-stunt-decapitated-goat.html

Shock tactics make the news. Any publicity is good publicity, and this isn't costing Sony anything (apart from professional respect)

Would this this a step too far? The vids have been amongst the most popular from the czech replublic and at some points top 30 in the world, but is it better than giving us a release date and posting an official car list? etc hmmm...