[a]list Games Launches Digital Marketing Services For Developers

Author: by Leigh Alexander, Kris Graft

New firm [a]list Games tells Gamasutra that "something's not right" with the digital game marketplace, as the Ayzenberg division plans to focus on marketing for small digital developers. [a]list Games general manager Steve Fowler announced the launch of the company on Friday, telling Gamasutra in an email, "The thinking behind forming [a]list games is that there’s something not right with the digital game marketplace." "There is plenty of evidence that this is a huge segment of video games that is not going away, to the tune of hundreds of millions of people if you ask a company like Zynga." The company plans to market small developers' games in a similar manner that big publishers handle big-budget releases, through marketing tactics like paid media and large-scale incentive programs. The company said it does not fund game development, and currently is focusing on developers of online, MMO, social and mobile games. Fowler said [a]list makes an upfront fiscal commitment on marketing spend for a game, and "stretches the budget with access to many essential services at-cost." "We end up as a fully invested partner whose success is simply tied to the game's success, and ultimately that of the developer," he added. Fowler added, "Game developers recognize this, with independent studios popping up left and right, many of them started by people who left cushy jobs in big game companies to chase this new market. If all of this indicates a rising tide in a blue ocean for the game industry, where are all the boats?" A statement from [a]list described the digital games marketplace as "burgeoning but cluttered." Standing out among the large mass of digital games is a challenge for small game makers, and [a]list said it can offer help. [a]list was launched by video game marketing firm The Ayzenberg Group. The company told Gamasutra that [a]list's advisory board includes former key Xbox executive Ed Fries, Smith & Tinker's Jordan Weisman, Big Screen Gaming's Alyssa Padia Walles, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, Meteor Solutions' Ben Straley, EEDAR's Greg Short and DFC analyst David Cole. "Our solution is to give game makers another option, to partner with a company focused only on getting their product to market and attracting the audience it deserves," Fowler said.