Microsoft Videogame Marketing — Late Nite Talk Meets Natal

How do you follow up a mind-boggling, jaw dropping demo of controller free gaming of Microsoft’s Project Natal at this year’s E3? Take the show on the road, or in this case on the small screen. Granted they chose to show off the company’s newest hardware peripheral  on a late night talk show but not just any late night talk show. They picked NBC’s Conan replacement, The Jimmy Fallon Show. Fallon, who had made his mark on SNL and is considered one of those “comedy hipsters,” draws the demographic that appeals to videogame publishers. So what does showing off a yet unpriced piece of 360 hardware with no announced release date do for Microsoft? Well for one thing it shows people using it who are not gamers — a comedian/talk show host, a star of “The Office” (Jim) and a star of a cable vampire hit, “True Blood.”

Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunado (Microsoft Game Studios) was tasked to be the guy to show off the demo and then get the other guys to “jump in.” So forget just seeing a trailer, commercial or footage from a convention hosted by and attended by the gaming community. This was a demo with a live studio audience and three out of four people who had no idea what to expect when they started playing. It’s as hands on as you can get with a genuine reaction from the people using this technology. As far as testimonials go, you can’t get any better than this. To see people getting genuine enjoyment out of this device is to see the potential fun anyone could have with it. Never mind the details of cost and how it could be that one person could step out and another person can step in or even how it works exactly. When you see this presentation, all of that becomes irrelevant.

It’s an interesting idea that could have some legs from a videogame marketing perspective as long as it’s something that has that sense of genuine appeal like the Jimmy Fallon bit rather than something staged like you would see on G4 or on one of the top videogame sites. It’s a very old-school tactic (getting the regular Joe test) that has been used over and over for all kinds of products and services but not so much in the gaming world. That all changed when the Wii took a swing at equalizing the playing field so that hardcore gamers or grandma could play games with ease. No one cared so much how it worked. They just reveled in the fact that you waved this stick around and move stuff. Project Natal has that appeal except now the technology has advanced to give it even more of a “wow” appeal.

The trick now will be if Microsoft can ride on the momentum of that “wow” and figure out a way to dole out more of this technology and how cool it’s going to be so that when we do inevitably find out how much it costs that it won’t seem outlandish. Going along with that, it will be crucial to not just show the device in use but show off more games than just driving cars and throwing balls. By the way it’s unclear why the guys are wearing orange jumpsuits in the video but rest assured, it’s not a required accessory.

Microsoft Videogame Marketing — Late Nite Talk Meets Natal