Sony reveals 1 million pound advertising campaign for Uncharted
by Jem Alexander 
{ Nov 5th 2007 at 1:20PM }
Product manager at Sony, Phil Lynch, says that they have "booked extensive 16 to 34 male slots for November and December." TV adverts have been sorely lacking in the UK - both in number and in quality - so we're happy to hear that there will be more game specific ads on our tellies. The advert will also run in cinemas and the entire thing has been shot using PlayStation 3 rendered graphics.
The campaign goes even deeper with a partnership with Empire magazine which will run a feature about "every man" heroes, with comparisons to Uncharted's main character, Nathan Drake. Along with extensive online advertisements, this all looks to be shaping up to a worthy effort for Naughty Dog's latest game.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Aygie @ Nov 5th 2007 1:39PM
Empire is good place to advertise, wasn't going to pick this up (COD4 hell yeah) but the hype is intriguing
apease @ Nov 5th 2007 1:37PM
Sounds like Sony's pretty confident about the finished product :)
gamingeek @ Nov 5th 2007 1:46PM
@2 Honestly I am sick to death of FPS. Perhaps it because I own the FPSBox along with a PS3. But the PS3 games developed exclusively for the consale just seem far more polished and original. I'll def be picking this one up.
drdre74 @ Nov 5th 2007 9:20PM
I hope this game does great sales wise. It looks like a great game from what I can tell and come Thursday when the demo hits the PSN I'll know for sure. I'm really hyped up about this game.
HAAS599 @ Nov 5th 2007 1:55PM
I wont be buying this, but i'll be sure someone buys it for me for christmas :)
AND WHERE IS 2.0!?!?!?!
ryano @ Nov 5th 2007 2:05PM
COD4 PS3 is being built alongside the "FPSbox" version, not a port. Because of this lighting and textures will look way better in the PS3 version.
FPS have always felt better with a 360 controller to me (sorry never got into a K&M setup).
This is a good move for Uncharted to get it out there. I hope it does well enough to warrant a sequel. Good marketing has always worked well for games, especially Halo 3's year long march.
JR @ Nov 5th 2007 2:08PM
this one will be mine
Chameleon @ Nov 5th 2007 2:12PM
yes i own a 360, no i don't own a ps3 (yes i plan on getting one), but 'FPSBox' for some reason really made me laugh. kudos sir.
on topic this and mercenaries 2 will be my reasons to buy a ps3 asap ....
Jevanzz @ Nov 5th 2007 2:28PM
@ 5. Yet the 360 version limits the PS3 version again. 8 hours play time? Don't think I'm gonna pick up COD4 this Friday. If blu-ray was used to it's full capacity, and wasn't held back by 360's DVDs, COD4 would undoubtedly be bigger AND better.
Ninegauger @ Nov 5th 2007 2:34PM
Yeah and maybe if the price of the PS3 wasn't held back by the inclusion of a blu-ray player they might have a bigger install base with which to support a surely awesome title by the Jak and Daxter guys.
Oh, and you don't think the Xbox games of last generation weren't held back by the PS2? That's the price you pay for being late to the party... even if you are more powerful.
Jevanzz @ Nov 5th 2007 3:09PM
@9. There's as big a difference between the PS2 and 360 as there is between the 360 and PS3, within the next few years, that gap will widen considerably. Games being developed for the PS3 simply couldn't be made for 360, it's happening now, take Uncharted for example. Without a HDD in every console, blu-ray and Cell it simply couldn't happen, 3 things 360s don't have.
will @ Nov 5th 2007 3:16PM
just so you all know, that isn't very much for an advertising campaign.
the media agency will take 10% of that, and while a :30 spot on british tv is cheap, a single page print ad can run $50,000 or more in certain magazines.
top.slacker @ Nov 5th 2007 3:35PM
1 million dollars is a lot different to 1 million pounds =P. Which one is it?
Good news anyway
Frosty @ Nov 5th 2007 3:41PM
@ #3 Gaminggeek...
Just curious... do you really own a "FPSBox?" Because you only post in PS3Fanboy. Just curious. I always find it amusing when people seem to degrade a console they supposedly have.
At any rate... I do not have a PS3 yet (though I do have a FPSBox) and this game is the first game that has made me want a PS3. Maybe after the holidays I'll have enough giftcards to subsidize the cost and pick one up.
Byron517 @ Nov 5th 2007 3:50PM
All Fanboyism aside give credit when credit is due!! 91% of the Blue Ray disk used!!? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Not to mention the madness of positive reviews this game has gotten! I honestly feel Uncharted will lead the way for Sony in Christmas and coming into the new year which will be followed by other great games! HAZE, MGS4! I have a feeling we may start seeing a change in the game!
gamingeek @ Nov 5th 2007 5:29PM
@13 Some of the PS3 exclusive software degrade the whole FPS genre. Granted the box has somne other good exclusives it is known for it's many shooters. At this point I just bored to tears of them. Although Bioshock was a neat twist on a tired genre.
Titty Pink @ Nov 5th 2007 5:10PM
"Some of the PS3 exclusive software degrade the whole FPS genre."
Umm don't know which game you'r espeaking of there, but I'll give you a couple: Quake 4, Perfect Dark Zero.
As PS3 exclusives go, nothing tops these two as the worst fps exclusives to date. Does King Nong count?
As far as the million pounds (or damn near 2 million green backs), its NOT a lot of money. In the end games sell themselves though. I mean you need a good marketing push, but if your game is good enough, hearsay will move units for you. This is why the best albums go platinum slowly, versus some BS selling millions of copies in the first week. (that may sound familiar, speaking of FPS exclusives). Anyway, can't wait for Drake's. Its gonna be sick. I HOPE COD 4 doesn't have the same problems that Gears had, in that it's shiny and pretty but 4 hours long. If this is the case I'll pass. Can't wait for the official reviews to come out. Oh, and how bad is Timeshift??? I played the demo and MAN! Which is worse IYO, Timeshift or The Darkness?
gamingeek @ Nov 5th 2007 5:29PM
"I HOPE COD 4 doesn't have the same problems that Gears had, in that it's shiny and pretty but 4 hours long."
All the reviewers say the campaign is 6-8 hours in normal mode.
Larz @ Nov 5th 2007 5:47PM
Well, a million (or two) is not much, but better than nothing. At least Sony is finally doing SOME advertising. They shoulda promoted the crap out of R&C like MS did with Halo 3, ie: 100 million on advertising, 7-11 cross promotions, $800 reviewer (please-give-us-a-good-score) packages, and so on.
Larz @ Nov 5th 2007 5:51PM
Well, a million (or two) is not much, but better than nothing. At least Sony is finally doing SOME advertising. They shoulda promoted the crap out of R&C like MS did with Halo 3, ie: 100 million on advertising, 7-11 cross promotions, $800 reviewer (please-give-us-a-good-score) packages, and so on.
LaughingTarget @ Nov 5th 2007 6:40PM
(lame pun alert)
Dude! 1 million pounds! That's heavy! That's like 500 tons!
Anyway, this is the game that convinced me to get the PS3 (that and the $400 price point ... I don't care about BC, so that helped much).
Dru @ Nov 5th 2007 7:07PM
@15 No shit, huh? I was thinking the same about Timeshift (I figured I was the only one who thought the Darkness demo blew ass), but doesn't really matter since it's just another FPS in a sea of FPS's.
@17 What reviewers? It hasn't even been reviewed yet and I've seen that it was 4-6 hours (not 6-8 hours) on single player. Don't get me wrong I don't believe that length makes the game, but I do think that if Heavenly Sword is going to get dinged for "being short" than all other games must be held to the same BS standard.
Back to the point: 1 million quid might not seem like much, but I'd be willing to bet that Sony didn't spend that much worldwide for R&C adverts. Uncharted looks real good. I'll still be waiting on the reviews/gamer reaction, but I think I'll be picking this up eventually.
Andy @ Nov 5th 2007 7:16PM
Also I figured out why Sony had such huge loss's this quarter. You have to pay for adverts in advance. For all we know they could have made a profit and blown it on ads.
Dru @ Nov 5th 2007 8:33PM
COD4 - 5 Hrs for single player campaign on medium difficulty:
http://www.n4g.com/News-80347.aspx
TripleBlue @ Nov 5th 2007 9:37PM
@21 Dru. "Don't get me wrong I don't believe that length makes the game, but I do think that if Heavenly Sword is going to get dinged for "being short" than all other games must be held to the same BS standard."
I couldn't agree more.
"but I'd be willing to bet that Sony didn't spend that much worldwide for R&C adverts"
R&C is already a well-known franchise, uncharted is a new IP,plus all the people saying it's a tomb clone so Sony needs to really show the masses what this game really is.
Dru @ Nov 5th 2007 10:54PM
@TB
I agree with Sony needing to push a new brand with some heavy advertising. I've been telling anyone who will listen for the last six months that they're not getting the message out well enough in general. That's all changing now, especially in the last few weeks.
I do have to disagree with you on one thing though: In all my web travels I've yet to hear anyone sling the Tomb Raider crap and have it stick to Uncharted. Sure people have tried (rarely), but they've never gotten far. I've even seen gaming mags piss on the TR comparisons.
Sum it up, this much money spent in the UK alone for ads is great. I assume they'll be spending as much, if not more, in NA.
Sony seems to be on the right track now and I'm starting to like the way they seem to be doing it their way, with "their plan" (as they put it). I told a buddy in the summer that Sony would be stepping up at xmas and they are. I think that in the next 6-12 mos most of the negative stuff out now (e.g. should Sony have waited w/PS3, or movie company "a" won't ever go BD, or Xbox can't be caught in NA, etc) will be mostly coming from fanboys who will be grasping at anything they can to bash Sony. I think things are great now and I've never regretted buying a PS3. I just imagine that in another 6-12 mos. most of the rest of the gaming world will finally catch up with those of us who are already "getting it"!
Larz @ Nov 6th 2007 1:47PM
"Also I figured out why Sony had such huge loss's this quarter. You have to pay for adverts in advance. For all we know they could have made a profit and blown it on ads."
Yep, plus all the losses in selling the PS3. But the game division still made a huge profit after the losses, something like 700 million this year. "Operational losses" are what it costs to run everything... salaries, manufacturing, advertising, etc. They're not including any profits in those numbers.