It's hard to figure out how to market your games when you are a small developer somewhere in the middle of Siberia, and can barely speak English. The comprehensive marketing guide for video games in Russian is now out - Western studios beware.
Though 22 years have passed since the Soviet Union broke up, many Eastern European countries are still behind the West in their development. Recently I went to Ukraine, my first homeland, and I have to admit - the country has a long way to go in order to catch up with the rest of the world.
However, there is some good news, too. Over the course of the last few years we saw a rapid growth of tech companies from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, that along with their success brought some sense of accomplishment to many of their citizens. Wargaming, Game Insight, and GSC Game World (just to name a few) have given hope to many talented young people all over the post-soviet block, who are so bravely fighting for their place in the sun.
Doing business in Eastern Europe reminds one of a sadistically challenging action RPG, where merely surviving is an accomplishment. I remember when I proudly graduated with my M.A. degree, and went to work in the "field", and it turned out that everything I studied was as far from reality as Turkey is from Tofurky. The most challenging thing is the lack of information about international trends, and "real" hands-on experience and how-to guidance.
There are many unanswered questions raised by the Russian gamedev that wait to be uncovered. When I saw the news that Sergey Galyonkin released his free e-book on video game marketing, my first thought was, "Finally!" The Russian language book for game developers has arrived, and I am sure that it would interest many professionals in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, and help many of them to rethink their marketing and PR approach.
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 are all about pre-release preparation, from defining a game's target market, competitors, marketing and PR budgets, to analyzing the means and channels best fitted for getting the word out, keeping up with fans, and receiving coverage and publicity.
Chapter 5 is devoted to a game's release and post-release activities, which include community management, participation in industry events, and organization of corporate events and press-tours.
I personally found plenty of useful information in it, along with some thought-provoking case studies. If you know more then just "Privet" and "Do svidania", and appreciate the difference between Swiss and Russian army knives, then check this book out. It's available now for free download.
You can find it (in Russian) here.
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