Why not give away a DVD of Das Boot with each copy of SHV?

[TDK1044]

With the Das Boot DVD now available for under $10 through sites like Amazon, I think it would have been a great idea for Ubisoft Sales And Marketing to have done a deal allowing them to give the Das Boot DVD away with each copy of Silent Hunter V.

For potential retail buyers to see a brand new U Boat video game for sale in retail stores, that is obviously based to some degree on Das Boot, and which includes a free copy of the Das Boot DVD, would be a great selling point to the all important 'casual gamers' in my view.

A free movie is a free movie, and when it happens to be probably the greatest WWII sub movie ever made, it could only boost sales of SHV.

This would have been an easy deal to do for Ubisoft, and even if it tipped the price point of the game to maybe $52, I think it would have been well worth it in terms of additional sales.

My two cents anyway. :)

[JU_88]

With the Das Boot DVD now available for under $10 through sites like Amazon, I think it would have been a great idea for Ubisoft Sales And Marketing to have done a deal allowing them to give the Das Boot DVD away with each copy of Silent Hunter V.

For potential retail buyers to see a brand new U Boat video game for sale in retail stores, that is obviously based to some degree on Das Boot, and which includes a free copy of the Das Boot DVD, would be a great selling point to the all important 'casual gamers' in my view.

A free movie is a free movie, and when it happens to be probably the greatest WWII sub movie ever made, it could only boost sales of SHV.

This would have been an easy deal to do for Ubisoft, and even if it tipped the price point of the game to maybe $52, I think it would have been well worth it in terms of additional sales.

My two cents anyway. :)


I really can't see Tri-Star/Columbia pictures agreeing to this. A U boat/ B.O.A TV Documentary would be a more realistic give away me thinks.
It was done in GMX media's B.O.B wings of victory back in 2005.

[TDK1044]

I think you might be surprised. 5 years ago I would have agreed with you, but we live in a different era now. Marketing is changing drastically, and I think a good WWII movie is much more interesting to mister casual gamer than a doccy. You're right though. It won't actually happen. :)

[oscar19681]

What if you allready have the normal version , the directors cut and das boot the original uncut version? Should i pay 52 euro,s as well then? And any true subsimmer should be ashammed not already having any of the das boot version already in the first place!!!!

[Jimbuna]

Then two sales options, one with and one without, perhaps :DL

[TDK1044]

What if you allready have the normal version , the directors cut and das boot the original uncut version? Should i pay 52 euro,s as well then? And any true subsimmer should be ashammed not already having any of the das boot version already in the first place!!!!

You completely miss the point. It's not about subsimmers who represent less than ten percent of total sales....they are a done deal... it's about attracting the other ninety percent to the game and improving that total number.

Members of this Forum and the other subsim Forums are a known quantity. They are all going to buy the game. Some of them will then moan and complain because ideas they wanted in the game are not in the game, and the modders will address some of those issues in the year after release. Been there. Seen it. Have the T shirt.

But in order for the franchise to continue, we need the casual gamer sales to be higher than they have ever been. That's what Ubisoft is looking for. Many of those folks may not have even heard of the Silent Hunter series, but if they see Silent Hunter V being sold with a free movie, that they also may not have seen but which looks good, then the package might interest them.

[FIREWALL]

Screw the other 90%. :haha: I'd rather have a Whiz Wheel. :DL

[Gezoes]

I like it! :up:

Then two sales options, one with and one without, perhaps :DL

Even better! I'm sure a lot of people will go for it anyway :smug:

[TDK1044]

I guess I'm hoping Ubisoft thinks 'out of the box' (if you'll pardon the pun) for once. It's no big deal to Tri-Star/Columbia pictures. They already have multiple versions of the movie pressed. If Ubisoft offered them a half decent deal then there's no reason not to do it. All they'd have to do is ship the DVDs. The movie is more than 20 years old, so I can't imagine that actor residuals are a problem. They just need to push for it.

This all takes me back to 1977, when a friend of mine in London had a great idea for a TV show that everyone told him would never get off the ground because the Agents representing the actors would never allow it because it would make their clients look bad.

The show was called 'It'll Be Alright On The Night', and it was the first ever out take show. It went on to be one of the most successful British TV shows ever. Paul wisely protected his idea, and to this day, any TV company anywhere in the world (starting with the US show Bloopers back in 1982) that wants to make an out take show has to pay him a facility fee.

I've lost count of how many millions he's worth now because of an idea he wrote down on a napkin in the London Weekend TV cafeteria back in 1977.

So come on, Ubi, if you want to increase your sales for the Silent Hunter series, come up with a better idea than this one and make it happen. :)

[Rapt0r56]

Then two sales options, one with and one without, perhaps :DL

Nice idea, so we bring people the same one quite realistic and believable film to watch closely, but I would personally like it better when a released a kind of an Collecter edition of Silent Hunter 5. With maybe a Captain's Hat, or Knight's Cross. :D

[DigitalAura]

I think that's a brilliant tied-product marketing campaign. Very plausible. (I'm a Marketing major).

[FIREWALL]

I want something that can really happen.

A cheap plastic AOB/Wiz wheel is something we really might get if we all ask for it.

Or waste their and our time with some dream stuff and get nothing.

[ETR3(SS)]

If you're trying to market to the casual gamers with a free dvd, then you've changed the entire marketing scheme. Which may possibly have an effect on the game.

[kptn_kaiserhof]

i agree with tdk1044's first post not just it will bolster sales the movie das boot would be a real life guideline to the game silent hunter 5 to the fact most events happend in real life

[Platapus]

Screw the other 90%. :haha: I'd rather have a Whiz Wheel. :DL

+1 :yeah:

[longam]

action figure :D

[Ilpalazzo]

I'll take one of those whiz wheels.

[Thomen]

I'd take a U-Boot Kriegsabzeichen, or a U-Boot Frontspange. :D

[Webster]

Why not give away a DVD of Das Boot with each copy of SHV?


for the same reason they wont give away free money or free copies of the game.


getting something free is only good for the one getting it and companies who do give aways rarely ever increase sales enough to offset the costs of these give aways.

im with firewall on this one, ubi could give us a wiz wheel for just pennies and thats something they might consider doing.

even if giving away a das boot dvd only cost a dollar, when you sell a million copies of the game and you do the math you will lose a million dollars from your profits so i would rather see the devs get a nice bonus then ask ubi to give us something for nothing.

as far as movies go, i watch it once or maybe twice and you can throw it away because i wont watch it again. knowing everything thats going to happen in advance ruins it.

[Monica Lewinsky]

With the Dasi Boot DVD now available for under $10 through sites like Amazon, I think it would have been a great idea for UniSoft Sales And Marketing to have done a deal allowing them to give the Dasi Boot DVD away with each copy of Silent Hunter V.

ugh, why would anyone/or any company want to "give away" their product?

If it is GOOD, you pay the market price. Just because it is related to game we all like does not make it a "good" idea to give it away at $10.

If I owned the movie, my message would be Up Yours! oops ....... meant to say ...

Up Periscope.

[GoldenRivet]

or give away a DVD or include on the disc - the making of SHV with developer commentary - concept art - special features etc. sort of like you might expect to see on a movie.

[Nexus7]

I'd take a U-Boot Kriegsabzeichen, or a U-Boot Frontspange. :D

Me too :rock:

[JScones]

It's no big deal to Tri-Star/Columbia pictures. They already have multiple versions of the movie pressed. If Ubisoft offered them a half decent deal then there's no reason not to do it. All they'd have to do is ship the DVDs. The movie is more than 20 years old, so I can't imagine that actor residuals are a problem. They just need to push for it.
No big deal to Sony Pictures (the entity that would make such decisions)? Essentially you are suggesting that they enter a deal with an unrelated and unestablished product. They have a lot to risk, not least reputation. Besides, what would they get out of the deal, remembering that they are a corporate organisation that exists solely for profit and appeasing their shareholders, and SH5 has no connection with any of their products.

Frankly, just because the subject of both is the same doesn't make it a good match. What such a coupling does is imply to the market that you are trying to capture that SH5 is a video game version of Das Boot, the movie, with the same level of "action and excitement" and characters...so imagine the potential outcry when said buyer finds himself sailing empty seas for hours on end (and with no Johann). I doubt Ubisoft would want to set themselves up for that kind of reaction. And I doubt Sony Pictures would be keen to promote such a very tenuous connection either; they get no return at all for taking on such risk.

This is besides the obvious licensing, production and logistical issues that would have to be addressed. Even a more logical approach of striking a deal with Sony to include a "$5 off Das Boot" voucher makes no business sense for either entity, when you consider market size and potential return on investment.

IMHO Ubisoft has this market sussed out well - offer a standard AU$89.95 priced package as well as a fancy AU$129.95 deluxe package for the more "hard core" players. Ubisoft realises that most of us will buy both, or at least the deluxe edition. By taking this approach they, in very simplistic terms (just to be clear to those marketing strategists that I am being simplistic) double, or at least increase, sales just through milking the same core market.

Hands up everyone that has two copies of SH4.

With this strategy in mind, why would they need all the other hassles?

The real question then becomes, how can they milk the core market more by enticing them to buy the fancier edition?

Someone mentioned including a U-boat Badge. Cost price $10. IMHO a nice incentive for the "should I/shouldn't I" crowd. A DVD including public domain footage and "making of" type documentary grabs a few more. Add a whiz wheel and you've got the hardcorers by the nuts. Charge $40 more for $20 more of product, and there's your obvious strategy.

[Rosencrantz]

Das Boot? I thought everyone have it already... :O:


Greetings,
-RC-

[JU_88]

No big deal to Sony Pictures (the entity that would make such decisions)? Essentially you are suggesting that they enter a deal with an unrelated and unestablished product. They have a lot to risk, not least reputation. Besides, what would they get out of the deal, remembering that they are a corporate organisation that exists solely for profit and appeasing their shareholders, and SH5 has no connection with any of their products.

Frankly, just because the subject of both is the same doesn't make it a good match. What such a coupling does is imply to the market that you are trying to capture that SH5 is a video game version of Das Boot, the movie, with the same level of "action and excitement" and characters...so imagine the potential outcry when said buyer finds himself sailing empty seas for hours on end (and with no Johann). I doubt Ubisoft would want to set themselves up for that kind of reaction. And I doubt Sony Pictures would be keen to promote such a very tenuous connection either; they get no return at all for taking on such risk.

This is besides the obvious licensing, production and logistical issues that would have to be addressed. Even a more logical approach of striking a deal with Sony to include a "$5 off Das Boot" voucher makes no business sense for either entity, when you consider market size and potential return on investment.

IMHO Ubisoft has this market sussed out well - offer a standard AU$89.95 priced package as well as a fancy AU$129.95 deluxe package for the more "hard core" players. Ubisoft realises that most of us will buy both, or at least the deluxe edition. By taking this approach they, in very simplistic terms (just to be clear to those marketing strategists that I am being simplistic) double, or at least increase, sales just through milking the same core market.

Hands up everyone that has two copies of SH4.

With this strategy in mind, why would they need all the other hassles?

The real question then becomes, how can they milk the core market more by enticing them to buy the fancier edition?

Someone mentioned including a U-boat Badge. Cost price $10. IMHO a nice incentive for the "should I/shouldn't I" crowd. A DVD including public domain footage and "making of" type documentary grabs a few more. Add a whiz wheel and you've got the hardcorers by the nuts. Charge $40 more for $20 more of product, and there's your obvious strategy.


I gotta say that I agree with 'Scones' sceptism here, if a game/movie combo deal made any kind financial sense, i reckon it would have done a million times over by now- especially with Movie Licence games, i.e. - like Batman vengence being bundled with batman Arkam asylum, its same subject matter but not the same thing.

Im certainly not against the idea, i just dont see it happening...

Another set back is that being 80s flick - Das Boot is a movie that just about everyone has already seen, its been of TV like a zillion times...
This is especially true of us hard core Uboat fanatics here; hands up if you dont own or haven seen Das Boot?
...yet we would be the target audiance for this combo package...
Speaking for myself, i already have the DVD and I'm not sure that I would want to pay for a second copy.

[TDK1044]

How about a WONKA GOLDEN TICKET idea? Ubisoft places sub shaped Golden Gift Certificates of the equivilent value of the game in each Country (for in store purchases only) in 100 copies of the game worldwide.

Of course, you could use the certificate as partial or full payment for anything other than Silent Hunter 5. It would certainly stir up some interest. :)

[AVGWarhawk]

http://kara.allthingsd.com/files/2008/05/goldenticket.gif

[FIREWALL]

Whiz wheel : pennies to UBI

Use by me : Priceless :DL

[TDK1044]

http://kara.allthingsd.com/files/2008/05/goldenticket.gif


The 100 tickets could be numbered, and one of the tickets is hidden somewhere in the sub in the game. Whoever has the ticket that matches up with the one hidden in the game get's to fly out and meet the Devs in Ubisoft Romania. :DL

[FIREWALL]

I'd prefer Tahiti, thankyou very much. :D

[TDK1044]

I'd prefer Tahiti, thankyou very much. :D

I know, but the Devs could potentially be stuck with one of us for a day!!! That would scare the hell out of them!:DL

[FIREWALL]

First a Thank You to Gutted :salute:

This would cost UBI pennies and could fit in game case :

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=156698


edit: And look at Hitmans w-wheels :woot: :salute:

[FIREWALL]

First a Thank You to Gutted :salute:

This would cost UBI pennies and could fit in game case :

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=156698


edit: And look at Hitmans w-wheels :woot: :salute:



bump

[Akula4745]

I want something that can really happen.

A cheap plastic AOB/Wiz wheel is something we really might get if we all ask for it.

Or waste their and our time with some dream stuff and get nothing.

I vote for the plastic AOB dial...

[java`s revenge]

I choose for the plastic AOB tool and i want to pay for it.

[JU_88]

How about a WONKA GOLDEN TICKET idea? Ubisoft places sub shaped Golden Gift Certificates of the equivilent value of the game in each Country (for in store purchases only) in 100 copies of the game worldwide.

Of course, you could use the certificate as partial or full payment for anything other than Silent Hunter 5. It would certainly stir up some interest. :)


Yes the golden Ticket winners win a trip to Ubisoft Romania,
Where Dan will greet them wearing a dappa 1930s suit complete with a top hat and a cane, he will then give them a tour around their office to demonstrate how SHV was created using machinary that functions in some scientifically impossible way.

The rest of the Dev team will have painted them selves orange (unless they are already that colour from drinking too much Red bull)
and will dance around singing songs (with moral undertones), every time someone pisses them off with an annoying request.

Finally Dan will hand over the keys to the office - to the least annoying golden ticket winner, before he steps in to his gravity defying glass elevator which transports him to his magical retirement castle in the clouds... to live happliy ever after. :o

Dont forget to bring uncle Joe.

(The only problem is that Ubi might have a policy or three in place - against the use of illegal drugs on company premises)

[FIREWALL]

AOB/Whiz Wheel = Possible

Golden Tickets to Neverland = Impossible

Lets keep it real and something costing pennies just might makeit into " EVERYONES " game case.

And SHV still at a reasonable price. :salute:

[Jimbuna]

Has anybody mentioned the cuddly toy? :hmmm:

[FIREWALL]

Has anybody mentioned the cuddly toy? :hmmm:

Doe's it fit in the game case ? :hmmm: