In this exclusive interview, the[a]listdaily delves into the marketing of Ubisoft’s M-rated Wii title “No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle” with brand manager Michael Micholic.
By Meelad Sadat
No More Heroes
An original IP created by pedigreed Japanese game maker Goichi “Suda51″ Suda and developed by his studio Grasshopper Manufacture, No More Heroes is a slice of game culture that’s unabashed and thoroughly pure. The property has all the makings of one of those game franchises with legs, and it’s the purity of it that might help it linger. The purity comes from a premise made original by borrowing brilliantly, as an expert execution of intertextual references drawing from a broad swath of pop culture. It comes from effortlessly blending Otaku with Americana, a potent cultural mix for any type of entertainment. There’s also purity to be found in the series’ game play. As violent as it is, the experience comes across as authentic and comfortably familiar for anyone who has touched a game console in the past 20 years. Most importantly, both titles in the series have proven to be loads of fun to play. That could be why Ubisoft is sticking with it. The publisher marketed the first game in the West, then despite its publicized fate as falling short of expectations, picked up the sequel. In doing so, Ubisoft also set out to buck a troubling trend, the one purportedly telling the game industry that Nintendo’s Wii console is no place for violent action games aimed at adults. Ubisoft has never referred to the trend as affecting sales of the first No More Heroes game. The press has since documented how it may have stung publishers such as Sega, EA, and even Nintendo system stalwart Capcom, as they tried to launch mature games on the system.
Fortunately, “No More Heroes 2″ premiered last week to a solid tailwind. The game press has rallied behind the sequel, buoying its launch with enough acclaim to earn it an average review rating of 90 percent, as compiled by aggregator Metacritic. More notably, the buildup to its launch has been on the back of a marketing campaign from Ubisoft that’s arguably as unconventional and uniquely engaging as the game itself. Leading that effort has been Michael Micholic, Ubisoft brand manager on “No More Heroes 2.” As the industry watches to see if this memorable title backed by Ubisoft marketing muscle can prove one subset of Wii naysayers wrong, the[a]listdaily got the opportunity to ask Micholic some questions about the effort.
the[a]listdaily: What do you consider the most important thing gamers need to know about “No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle,’ and how did the marketing campaign try to get that across?
Michael Micholic: The most important thing to know is that “No More Heroes 2″ is a great game for gamers regardless if they played the previous one. As noted by IGN’s recent review and 8.8 score, “No More Heroes 2″ gives core gamers a reason to dust off their Wii. It is a true sequel. While it stays very close to the roots of the original, there are a number of big improvements to the game. Developer Suda51 and his team really listened to the gamers’ feedback and fixed the issues some players had with the first game. First and foremost, we are really happy with how the world of Santa Destroy has been re-worked. We feel that it allows the player to jump right into the action with no delay. Personally, I think the retro mini games are awesome. This feature is a great enhancement to the game and it’s not something that’s easily explained through traditional marketing executions. Instead we let the press get a deep look at the game during our preview event with Suda51, which allowed them to get hands-on time with the game to describe the experience in their own words.
There’s really no way a tagline, a print ad, or a banner can capture the game’s personality or what it has to offer. Everything we have done to market the game has really been focused on video assets. We had new playable characters, new weapons, new characters, and countless game play improvements. These features were introduced through our dev diaries and some of our trailers. That way, consumers could see it in action, rather than just read some bullet points in a fact sheet.
[a]: The game’s depth is a standout quality, everything from its unusual premise with sexually charged references to the mix of game play that this time even includes old-school 2D mini-games. One press outlet dubbed it No More Heroes‘ “eccentricities.” We think that’s a compliment, but when it comes to marketing strategy that might was well be a synonym for “difficulty.” What was your communication strategy with turning those eccentric traits from marketing threat to product strength?
MM: I would disagree that the “eccentricities” were “difficulties.” The eccentricities provided break through personality. When marketing a game, it’s important that the game stands for something and has a strong personality. There is no shortage of personality in “No More Heroes 2.” The game itself offers so much content that can be used in marketing. The originality of the content inspired us to be even more creative in our marketing. We created about 20 videos for this game and each had something interesting to say. They were entertaining, they made you laugh, and they weren’t just your typical game play featurettes. Our communication strategy was focused on putting the game out there and celebrating the eccentricities, rather than stifling them. From what we are seeing in terms of pre-order increases, buzz, and comments on the boards, it seems to be resonating with consumers.
[a]: The video trailers for the game have been off-the-wall and very funny. Will you tell us who was responsible for them and a little bit about their inspiration, both from creative and marketing standpoints ?
MM: We worked with our good friends g-NET to create all the video trailers for “No More Heroes 2.” They started off working on our first dev diary and it was clear that they really understood the game. They loved it, it made them laugh, and they were able to harness the craziness. They got it.” When we started to kick-off the rest of the campaign, we went to them because we knew they would be able to handle the scope of the project. It was important to find an agency that could embrace the personality of the game. I think some agencies would have taken a more conservative approach, but that’s not what we wanted for this game. In fact, we found ourselves saying things like “make it crazier, make it look lower budget, make it more confusing.” Stuff a brand manager probably doesn’t say too often. g-NET loved the opportunity and we’re very impressed with what they delivered.
Despite all of the great collaboration with g-NET, a lot of credit has to go to the mind of developer Suda51. There was no CG created for any part of the campaign. Every image was straight from the game. Most of the dialogue was straight from the game. We did a lot in terms of editing, music, pacing, but there was so much great material to work with that it made our jobs easier. We really let the game content speak for itself.
[a]: The web site deserves a plug. It’s creative and chock full of retro-goodness. For us it was the “aha” destination of what everything else – the videos, the messaging, Suda51’s talking points – has been trying to say about the game. How did the ideas for it come together?
MM: The entire strategy for marketing this game was to put the game’s personality out there through a collection of videos, and the game’s website (http://nomoreheroesgame.us.ubi.com/) provided a hub for consumers to access these materials. We did not want a standard website for this game. We wanted it to be an in-your-face experience just like the game. Once that was established, we worked with g-NET to create features to add to that experience. The shuffle feature with Travis “charging up” is one of my favorites. Staying true to the game, we definitely played up the retro feel with the pixels and sound effects, especially during the loading and transitions. We’d like to think that by spending a few minutes on the site, you are getting a really good feel for the world of “No More Heroes 2.” Hopefully consumers agree that it’s a fun world to be in.
[a]: What are your thoughts on the challenges recent mature titles have faced on Wii, and how did that affect the way you approached the campaign for “No More Heroes 2?”
MM: The biggest learning was that the Wii consumer of now is different than the Wii consumer of 2006. Back then you had your typical early adopter gamer picking up a Wii and buying games for it. Typically, they would buy traditional gamer games. Now, as the console has matured and introduced new peripherals like Wii Fit, the consumer profile looks much different. At one point everyone was saying “Wii is the next PS2.” While the hardware sales are similar, the Wii consumer now is much different and buying different types and amounts of games. There is clearly a big following and a dedicated fanbase for No More Heroes. We focused on creating content that would appeal to the core fanbase and assure them that this game was a big improvement on the last one. We also felt that through our campaign we would entertain and energize a new set of gamers to pick up their Wii and play “No More Heroes 2.”
