Everyone that hates diatribes dipped in bitterness and come off as whiney, DO NOT READ THIS EDITORIAL. Omni does little more than cry about things he has no control over.

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Kicking, Clawing, Begging:

3 Years of the Armchair Empire

I was going to write a self-indulgent 3^rd Year Anniversary editorial -- a complete history of the Armchair Empire, complete with success, failures, double-dealings, scheming, racketeering, international intrigue and… MURDER! But the 4^th Quarter is coming… lurking in the shadows of September, ready to shred our spleens and suck out the contents of our intestines and my frustration level has reached levels I didn’t think were possible.

No, instead of some nostalgia, I’ll take out my axe and start grinding it. Maybe burn some bridges…

There’s a lot right with the industry: PR flacks taking flak from media types but still getting the information out, developers going the extra mile to finish Q&A’s, games coming out on time, games that make you feel you got your money’s worth, pretzels and other snacks at E3, and many other aspects too numerous to mention. But I want to lay bare some of the dark side of the industry that the casual gamer has no inkling of but drives guys like me and Mr. Nash nuts.

Our number one priority for the Armchair Empire at the moment is getting consistent advertising. We’ve got plans for AE, including entry into radio. But all these plans require money – money that we don’t have. And getting that money is proving to be a real bitch.

After spending weeks tracking down the right advertising people to pitch to, it’s almost invariably the same conversation. “Send us your traffic information, etc. and we’ll take a look.” Dutifully I’ll send off the most recent traffic information. Scraping ¼ million unique visitors each month and with the amount of new and variety of content, I figure we’re able to provide good exposure to advertisers that want to get the word out online. Then I hear back exactly… nothing. Even after follow-up emails and voicemails. After finally getting hold of them on the phone, it’s generally this response: “Who?” I jog their memory and quickly get a variation of, “We just don’t have the budget to advertise on your site.”

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Let’s fly back to Doug Lowenstein’s opening address to the media at E3 2003 in which he explained that sales for “entertainment software” in 2002 totaled $6.9 billion (US), an 8% increase over 2001. ($5.5 billion was console software.) That doesn’t really tell the whole story though. Sales have more than doubled in less than 10 years according to the IDSA (sorry, the ESA)! $6.9 billion!?! Keep in mind this is just software sales – this doesn’t take into account any extra revenues from licensing agreements, like soundtracks, t-shirts, and movies.

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Here’s an industry on the way up with sales of $6.9 billion for 2002 and no one has a budget for additional advertising? I’m not naïve enough to think that AE is tearing great big chunks from GameSpot’s or IGN’s traffic – the Big Boys when it comes to online advertising for games – or that the industry owes the little guys anything but pretzels at E3 but I do think AE’s a quality site worthy of a few bucks.

It sounds like I’m whining – I know that. “Cry me a river of salty, salty tears!” you’re saying. “You get all the free games you want for running a website!” you’re shouting, “Quit your whining!” You’d be wrong of course.

Case in point, Capcom. You’d have more luck pulling out the tongue of a rabid baboon, than prying a review copy of any game from Capcom.

For about 18 months we’ve been trying to establish regular communication with the PR and Marketing folks. When emails are returned it’s usually, “Here’s a link to out press FTP,” which we do appreciate because it eliminates hassles getting screenshots. But ask for a review copy of a game? Let’s just say Capcom has set the bar pretty damn high. They have a plan and I can respect that, but it doesn’t alleviate the frustration.

Of late, something that has frustrated me in particular is getting a chance to see SSX 3 or NHL 2004 – or anything the EA Canada is working on. When the wind is right, I can practically heave a rock and hit the front door. Why can’t Mr. Nash and I pay a visit and produce a Feature article on the trip? Bureaucratic tape. Of course, the teams are hard at work and maybe the producers just don’t have the time to spare. (Regardless the fact I’ve been trying to set up a visit since June.) Should we just show up at the complex and demand to be let in, maybe flashing a business card, spewing a random PR contact and hope for the best? The thought has crossed my mind. C’mon how much trouble could it be to have a couple of editors in for a few hours to ask some questions and maybe get some hands-on play? We’d even shower beforehand!

I suppose the upshot of all this and my actual point, is that you should never think we’ve got a free ride, getting games and other swag for nothing. After three years we’re still kicking, clawing, and begging – gaining bits of ground (inch by inch) but learning constantly. We get frustrated, annoyed and bitter when things don’t go AE’s way (particularly when I think about that $6.9 billion), but that just makes us try harder.

Game on!

- Omni

(September 21, 2003)


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