PR is the cheapest method of gaining awareness and creating ‘hype’. 

It is fair to say that there often exists a communication ‘hole’  between publishers and developers.  I believe that this is due to the major differences that exist regarding the outlook of a gaming product.   

A developer creates a unique, fantastic, extraordinary piece of art.  In most cases, a development team will devote years of their lives to the realisation of their ‘dream’.  They then look to a publisher to help with the mechanics of releasing their product to the market.  

To the publisher, however, the game is just that, a product and it will look towards maximising sales and sales alone, often to the detriment of the ‘dream’.

If PR potential is not reached, publishers tend towards Marketing as their promotional tool which affects the ‘bottom line’.  In my opinion, PR and Marketing should complement each other with PR taking the lead. 

Here in Europe, this strategy works best; extensive  free PR up until release and a short burst of Marketing around release date.  This also the most cost-effective.

With less publishers and more products, some games are not given the PR attention they either deserve or necessitate, and developers often cannot financially justify hiring their own in-house PR co-ordinator. 

Frazer Nash , Manager