作者：Edward Wills

已经在游戏产业待了将近10年的我见证了一些优秀的游戏发行以及一些不怎么样的游戏发行。游戏发行可能成就一款游戏也有可能摧毁它，所以在经过辛苦工作将游戏创造出来后开发者必须更加努力去执行发行工作。他们可能需要为此做出大量计划并开各种会议，而这也也需要整支团队成员的参与，包括设计师，开发者等等，并不只是广告团队的任务。而我将在此列出成功进行游戏发行的6大关键元素。

successful game launch(from gamasutra)

1.拥有一个优秀的理念

这点真的很重要，因为如果你的理念不够优秀，你的游戏便只能止步于此。你必须让人们想要去玩你的游戏，并且在玩游戏的同时他们还能够从中获得乐趣。你的理念不需要太复杂，但却必须具有意义且拥有市场。你可以仔细思考你的目标用户是谁并且你所想出的理念是否能够吸引他们的注意。这是你最先需要做的事，如果你不能做好这点，那么不管你的发行多出色你都不可能获得成功。

2.测试，测试，测试

先发行一款游戏然后再去寻找各种漏洞将会导致两种情况。首先它将阻碍人们去玩游戏。其次它将为游戏招致一些糟糕的评论。

如果你拥有一支测试团队，那便是件好事，但是因为游戏中可能存在无数情景，所以你很难找到所有漏洞。而测试你的游戏的最佳方式便是获取几百，甚至几千个测试者。这不仅能够帮助你在游戏官方发行前发现任何潜伏着的漏洞，同时如果你的理念足够优秀，在你发行游戏时你的测试者将可能提供给游戏正面的评论并最终影响到游戏的销售。

3.瞄准社交媒体

社交媒体便是一种全新的电视广告。如果你拥有一件高质量的作品，那么口头传播速度将会很快。不仅如此，你还能够瞄准那些拥有特定兴趣的用户，这也是电视所做不到的。举个例子来说吧，如果你正在面向PC发行一款游戏，你便可以瞄准那些只对PC游戏感兴趣的用户。因为这些用户群体最有可能对你的广告内容感兴趣。

你应该在游戏发行几周前，即包括图像的发行前便开始做这些事。这能够帮助你的游戏创造一些热度，你也可以在发行前吸引更多人去关注你的游戏。

4.准备需求

如果你的发行很成功，你便会希望吸引更多用户的注意。这适用于游戏网站，并且如果你的游戏是通过网络运行于服务器上就更合适了。如果突然有些用户注册了游戏或想要玩游戏，你的服务器能否处理这种情况？如果你承担不起一个硬件去处理这种情况，你便需要着眼于更加轻松的配置选择。如果你做不到这点你便需要再次面对一些突然出现的负面评论以及用户不能游戏的情况。

5.创造一个电子邮件列表

如果你不能邀请人们去玩你的游戏，他们怎么能够知道游戏的存在？你需要收集齐电子邮件地址并确保你能够在游戏诞生时通知到它们所有人。你可以在你的网站上添加一个登录页面让人们提交自己的电子邮件地址从而确保你能够发送给他们最新消息。

然后你将在游戏发行日发送一封有针对性的电子邮件让所有人都知道是时候可以获得游戏了。如果你真的想为游戏发行创造一些热度的话你还可以提供给订阅者只有24小时时效的特殊礼物。

6.评论和推荐

既然现在游戏已经完成了，你便可以尽可能去获取更多评论和推荐。在给订阅者发送电子邮件的几天后你可以让他们对游戏做出评价，如果你不主动这么做的话多数人都不会去留下评论的。

为了让你的游戏能够获得在线媒体和离线杂志的推荐，你可以主动联系一些编辑和记者并提供给他们推荐你的游戏的理由以及你能够提供给他们什么内容，如还没有人看过的预览版或幕后信息。

通过遵循上述要点，你便有可能创造出真正成功的游戏发行。当然了你还有很多需要考虑的元素，但上述6点是我认为其中最重要的内容。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

6 Steps To A Successful Game Launch

by Edward Wills

Having worked in the gaming industry for nearly a decade, I’ve seen many great game launches and some not so great. The launch of a game can make or break it, so it’s crucial to get it right after all the hard work that’s gone into the creation of it. It will take a lot of planning and meetings, which should involve the whole team, from the designers to the developers, not just the advertising team. As a guide, I’ve outlined 6 of the key factors that I think will make a game launch successful.

1. Have a Good Concept

This is really important, because if your concept is not good, your game simply isn’t going anywhere. People need to want to play it, and while they play it, they need to have fun. A concept doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to make sense and have a market. Think about your target audience and whether the concept appeals to them. This should take place before anything, otherwise you could be setting up to fail not matter how good your launch is.

2. Test, test, test

Launching a game and then finding a ton of bugs is going to do two things. First, it will put people off playing, and second, will lead to bad reviews.

If you have a team of testers, great, but this doesn’t always find every bug as there are usually millions of possible scenarios. The best way to test your game is enlist a several hundred/thousand beta testers. Not only will this highlight any bugs that were undiscovered before the official launch it will also help when the game launches as if the concept is right, then your beta testers will likely praise the game and leave great reviews, influencing other gamers to buy your game.

3. Target Social Media

Social Media is the new TV advertising. If you have a quality product, word can spread fast. Not only that but you can target people with specific interests, which you can’t do on TV. For example if you’re launching a game for PC, you can target people who are only interested in PC gaming. This way you know the people who are going to see your advert are highly likely to be interested.

You should start this a few weeks before launch and include the launch date in your graphics. This will help to generate buzz, and you can get more people interested in your game before the launch.

4. Prepare for Demand

If your launch is successful, you want to be prepared for the large influx in users. This is applicable to the game website and if your game is being run on servers over the internet. If you have a sudden surge of users registering or wanting to play, can your servers handle it? If you can’t afford to have hardware that can handle the influx initially, you should look at options that are easily configurable just in case. If not you might again be looking at negative reviews popping up and users being put off playing.

5. Build an email list

If you don’t invite people to your game, how will they know it is there? You need to gather email addresses so that you can inform everyone who needs to know once the game is live. You can do this by having a landing page on your website that people are sent to asking them to submit their email address to keep up with the latest news.

Then send out a targeted email on the day of launch, letting everyone know that the time has come to get their game on. Including a special gift for subscribers which is only available for 24 hours can work really well if you want to really generate some buzz.

6. Reviews and Features

Now that the game is live, it’s time to pull in as many good reviews and features as possible. A few days after the launch email your subscribers asking them to leave a review, otherwise the majority just won’t.

To get your game featured in online media and offline magazines contact editors and journalists telling them why they should feature you and what you can offer them such as early access or behind the scenes information that no one knows about yet.

By following the above points above you’ll be helping towards a successful game launch. While of course there are lots of factors to look at, these are the 6 that I find most important.(source:gamasutra)