The folks over at Rockstar Games are betting pretty hard on Red Dead Redemption. Business-focused gaming site MCV spoke with Rockstar GM Neil Stephen, who revealed plans for a huge marketing push for the Red Dead Revolver sequel -- going as far as to call the game their "most ambitious" to date.
"We are spending a larger proportion of our TV budget pre-launch than we ever have before to ensure Red Dead Redemption is established as a massive triple-A title," Stephen told MCV, adding, "For the first time as a company, we will be running an on-screen cinema advertising campaign. We think the cinematic nature of the game makes it a perfect fit for cinema and we will be executing a nationwide ad campaign targeting the audiences of Robin Hood, Iron Man 2 and Prince of Persia."
In addition to airing Red Dead trailers before some of the year's biggest films, Neil Stephen revealed a supporting ad campaign involving bluetooth-equipped posters in movie theater lobbies, allowing fans to download unspecified game content while they wait in line for stale, overpriced popcorn. The publisher has also made deals with companies like YouTube, Microsoft, IGN, GameSpot, and LoveFilm to provide video and Xbox Live content from the game.
"In terms of sales projections, we are aiming high and as such are focusing more attention on retail channels than ever before. Once the game is released we expect that word of mouth and our massive launch media campaign will propel the game to excellent sales," the Rockstar GM anticipated. "This leaves us with very high expectations for what we think is our next blockbuster gaming franchise."
