GameSpot Chats With Dave Kaemmer, iRacing Co-Founder, About the Big NASCAR Deal
GameSpot took some time to chat with iRacing co-founder and racing game luminary Dave Kaemmer about the big iRacing/NASCAR deal that was announced yesterday and over the weekend.
The story went live this evening and looks fantastic. Our congrats to Dave and the iRacing team.
To read the whole story, click right here.
-PR_Flak
As we mentioned last week, we’re really excited to be starting up with iRacing.com to help them reach out to the video game audience. And yesterday, iRacing made a major announcement — that they are joining forces with NASCAR to create an official NASCAR-sanctioned online racing series within the iRacing service.
This is NOT just another NASCAR license; this is an actual, fully sanctioned NASCAR series. For you racing fans out there, think about it like this: in the same way that NASCAR sanctions the Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series — NASCAR has sanctioned this series with iRacing in a virtual space.
For you video game racing fans out there, think of it like this: starting in 2010, iRacing users will be competing in a special division that is licensed and sanctioned by NASCAR, against other players and NASCAR drivers. Yes, real-world NASCAR drivers who are also vying for the online racing title.
It’s a pretty exciting deal — if you are looking for the closest thing to being a professional NASCAR driver… if you think you’re the best at NASCAR games… if you think you can compete against legitimate — and sometimes professional — competition… then iRacing is the place for you to prove it.
There’s a lot more to talk about and even more things about it to be revealed later this year, but for now you can read about it in news posts at your favorite site, like IGN, CrispyGamer, BigDownload, and many more.
– PR_Flak
We’re really excited to announce that iRacing.com Motorsports Simulations, the most realistic racing simulation game in the world, has chosen Maverick PR to lead all video game enthusiast public relations outreach for the iRacing.com service.
iRacing.com is the brainchild of legendary racing game developer Dave Kaemmer (formerly of Papyrus Software – best known for creating the last great NASCAR racing game, NASCAR 2003, as well as the highly regarded Grand Prix Legends) and John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing.
iRacing.com: The Impala Roars Around the Track
MavPR’s old friend, Tom Ohle, who we knew first at BioWare during our work on the Neverwinter Nights franchise and then later when he was running Evolve PR, has launched a new blogging site for marketing and PR professionals called “Evolution of PR.” Essentially it’s a place where we can gather, post thoughts and discuss theory amongst marketing, PR and media professionals, focusing quite a bit on the video game industry.
Tom asked me to participate, and really, I’m more than happy to. Of course, it will be only from time-to-time so I can still share thoughts both on this site and on PR_Flak’s Flak Attak, but it’s a great idea and we’re really excited to support it.
The first post on EoPR is a reminder to aspiring VG PR professionals that working in this industry is about being a great PR person first, and a lover of video games second. If you don’t have a love of PR and a desire to learn more all the time, you’ll never make it, no matter how many times you’ve finished Halo 3 on the hardest difficulty setting.
Check out the post here. Hope you enjoy it.
– PR_Flak
In the event you missed it. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix just snagged the IGN’s Editor’s Choice award for the XBLA (Xbox 360) version of the game.
You can read the review here.
In the meantime, here’s a small taste:
Infinite Interactive took what worked in Puzzle Quest and expanded it into an even bigger, longer game. That means if you are a fan of PQ, Galactrix will hook you all over again. The zero gravity puzzle game is slightly more complex, and there is an entire galaxy of quests, mini-games, and characters to get lost in. Plus, the music is fantastic. The developers really hit on something with the Puzzle Quest formula, and I’ll be on board as long as they can keep it engrossing.
-Grok
Hope you like the updated look of the site. We made a few key art tweaks to better execute on the feel of MavPR and some additional behind-the-scenes adjustments to how this site is designed at its core.
We’ve also added a more detailed explanation of exactly what “Less Overhead, More IN The Head” means to us and why it’s such an important company motto. Go ahead and click on the link at right (or here) to read more about how we leverage our virtual office to offer senior leadership at a more affordable rate.
– PR_Flak
Welcome to Part III of The Art of the Screenshot. So far we’ve covered “big picture issues” – how it is PR’s responsibility to produce screenshots that do more than just look good and the importance of conveying emotions and attitude in assets.
Now that you understand the key ingredients, you’re ready to rock n’ roll! So let’s cover more hands-on material, namely, what you need to do to work effectively with your PD teams to secure great shots.
Do this wrong and you’ll get shots that aren’t perfect along with a PD team that thinks you’re a total idiot. Do it right… well, then you’ve got PR gold.
Over on PR_Flak’s Flak Attak, I take on the issue of MetaCritic and its misleading and distorting aggregation of review scores. It’s a major issue in our industry, and it can no longer be denied or tolerated.
I can’t tell you how many times I get emails from the development team after reviews post saying: “Hey! We got a B- on XXX site, but on MetaCritic it shows up as a 67! WTF!?!?” It happens all the time.
What I’d love to see is some kind of resolution that removes the obvious issues and allows editorial integrity to reign supreme. Hopefully we can find a way to get the scoring system fixed.
Meanwhile, here’s a <snip> for you, and be sure to head over there and check it out:
It comes down to a simple fact — MetaCritic casts a powerful shadow but it is constituted of editorial inaccuracy, factual distortions and unchecked subjectivity.
The Problem With MetaCritic – PR_Flak’s Flak Attak
– PR_Flak
…our job as PR and Marketers is to create an
emotional connection with our target audience…”
Before we get into the details of my advice for acquiring and distributing great and effective screens successfully, I want to take a step back to take another look at the BIG PICTURE.
Previously, in Part I, I suggested that screen shots should be more than just literal representations of what a game looks like; it is PR’s responsibility to ensure they are memorable.
In this edition, we’ll cover the importance of injecting attitude instead of action and showing the fun of a game rather than the activity of playing.
Over on PR_Flak’s Flak Attak, I look back at the process and fun of creating MavPR’s first item of swag — the [Skullcap of BUZZ] winter beanie. From failed designs to some rules that YOU should should use for determining whether to proceed with spending money on creating swag for a game, it’s a fun and informative read.
A SNIP:
“Swag can be really great and impactful, but swag can also be a colossal waste of cash — cash that could otherwise be budgeted towards PR activities that have a chance of producing tangible results.
You don’t NEED swag, folks. You DO need product tours. I really hate to see PR or marketing create swag just to fulfill a bullet point from a PPT in the hopes of generating “coverage.” There won’t be coverage from your swag, people. No one is going to do a cover story on your custom-molded USB key, OK? Get over it.”
Head on over and check it out! And don’t waste money on swag that doesn’t work!
– PR_Flak
News @ IGN News @ Gameinformer
