When Marcus Perrson (notch) of Mojang Spec. Minecraft fame managed to get a little coverage from websites such as IGN, popularity soared and last I heard, he was wiping his bum with gold leaf and sprinkling diamond dust on his cornflakes...
Certainly did a lot for his game, anyhow.
That game was (and is) distributed through his own site, that's been going for a few years. Started as a web-browser game, evolved into a client. That was Minecraft's digital distribution platform.
(wow, Universe Sandbox is even mentioned in the Minecraft Forums being given a good review. But then, Minecraft is mentioned here, so it could be a certain someone plugging it)
We did some competitions back when it was before the infdev iteration (before alpha and current client) and when most of the "marketing" was performed by the community by word of mouth. Youtube videos, fan-sites, forums - there is no Steam Forum as yet, for Universe Sandbox but that could be intentional to get ppl here, I guess - galleries, etc...
Now Universe 2 has a high-end distribution platform and is even easier to access (even if it's a trade for sales over per unit price) if ye wanted to get things moving a bit in order to be able to plough capital into development for the next fits, then getting the attention of a few people at some places that this would appeal is not just the developer's job. If the fans want to see it succeed.
- IGN has Universe Sandbox listed, giving it 8.0, but says that Codemasters developed it... XD
- There's some news in the Astronomy pages, around the 'net, but nothing I've seen mentioned in periodicals.
- Steam News has something, but not many people read that unless they have the game or catch it as it comes out. Think it's on the front page, atm.
- Bit-Gamer has a short review that was worded to give it a lilt (they always leave the criticism to overshadow the good points, at the conclusion. I don't like their reviews. Too negative), giving it 80% / Approved, had attention for a few days before it degenerated into an argument over misunderstood mathematics and ended in a link to another sim :/
- FastcoDesign has a nice looking review, unsurprisingly since they're design snobs. Surprised they even have Windows PC's, since you usually can't stick one in yr pocket and they don't have an apple logo...
- Playthisthing, ComputerActive, SimulationWorld and other community sites have given it above average reviews, if only a few paragraphs and pinched screenshots - most community reviews are for US-V.1, trending toward current version as cover improves & interest rises.
- Facebook and Twitter have good feedback, which is always good. Facebook doesn't have direct clickable links to Steamworks' store, nor the Wikisite.
- Wikisite is there, as is game "other" wikipage but you wouldn't find it unless you went out looking for it; I haven't seen links to it anywhere yet... Not even in the game (I've only clicked on actual wikipaedia links).
- The combined IQ of Giantbomb.com's users probably adds up to Bit-gamer's score ;)
- Not much chatter in the educational arena, but there is some at least. Lack of application appears main concern.
- Ironically, one of the best, most comprehensive reviews is from MacGamer, who want to drum up interest to ensure an OSX version.
- and, of course, there's a few hundred torrents and "free" download sites. Even some of the big names in software piracy have picked it up. Inevitable, but does provide the guilty /honest dollar.
Most of these are pretty obscure, but then - I guess this is a niche "game".
Hopefully with some user-created content, reviews n stuff and SPAMMING TEH INTERENT! someone like PC Gamer might pick it up and boost interest amongst the gaming market, if that's the target atm?
Sometimes those guys need a little tweet from a user-birdie to let them know something's available. Like with Greed Corp.
Steam - love it or hate it - has always proved to be a great spring-board for any sim/game (that and a piracy menu...), so I really hope (because I want a bloody undo button and to be able to save my painstakingly made orbital relationships to copy and paste to another system) that this game does well!
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If you see Universe Sandbox mentioned anywhere on the internet, you can help spread the word by putting the name of the place (maybe even a link or a quote, if it's not here already) in this thread, to increase the number of spidery tendris the internet can weave into everything :D
Topic: Universe Sandbox, on the Web; in the Press (Read 3720 times)
