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Is YouTube the Next Frontier for Marketing Games?

  • BitMob, Monday, July 2, 2012 3:30 PM

YouTube videos are a surprisingly effective way of marketing online games, BitMob’s Adam Carey reports. “A gaming-focused YouTube video with more than a million hits will unquestionably have an impact on sales of the featured title,” he says.

 

Carey uses the example of Minecraft, a popular online game with a huge community, that he says has grown “exponentially” since its first playthrough appeared on YouTube. A “playthrough” is recorded footage of someone playing a game overlaid with commentary. If you search YouTube for Minecraft, Carey points out that more than 5 million results come back, and many of these are playthroughs. 

 

Carey also notes that the most popular commentators are being given early access to games and beta versions precisely so that they expose them to their audiences. “YouTube is, and will be, a new and upcoming medium for game marketing -- especially for indie releases that lack funding for excessive ad campaigns,” he says. 

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