Gah... sort yer press disks out!

[Nick]

Ever since I started working for HEXUS, one thing about the whole industry has struck me as being rather odd, given the industry we all work in.

My first foray with HEXUS was CeBIT 2005, where, to my surprise, many of the companies we spoke to only had printed info on their products.

This sturck me as being a supremely archaic way of doing things, given that regardless of whether you were an online or print journo, you still had to type the info into a PC in the first place... so why give me printed info?

Surely having the info on a disk, with shots of your product, is far more sensible. At least that way all I have to do is load up the disk, grab the info I want and then I can give some exposure to what I think might be an intersting product.

Further, if you've got all you products on the CD, I might even cover the less exciting ones too as it's less work for me to get your product details onto my PC.

So I'm still slightly bemused when companies give me a sheaf of paper wrapped in a nice glossy folder... This has to cost more in cash and man-power terms and be less effective than just giving me a CD with everything on it?

So I was feeling a little better when, at E3 2006, the vast majority of publishers and many smaller companies all had their stuff on disk. This has allowed us to do the massive amount of coverage we have so far and has given me a HUGE back log of work to clear as all the info is right where I need it.

Some companies have even gone one step further with an even more cost effective solution to getting their media to me in a digital format. Instead of bothering with a disk, they just hand me a card with FTP access details on it and I can grab what I need from there.

Sure, it's an utter pain when the images on their FTP are bloody 15 meg, ultra-high res psd images that take 5 minutes per image to download, but it's still better than a damn leaflet.

However, some companies still need to work on their press kits. And, without naming names, here's a list of gripes covering how NOT to do a press kit:

1) Check your mastering: Giving me a press kit in a flashy case is all well and good, but if all the drives on my PC read the disk as being blank, I'm not going to get very far. In fact, check the disk has actually been burnt at all... (it'll be a different colour) unless you're trying to butter me up with two blank DVDs with your logo printied on the front.

2) Unless you're supplying images on a disk, keep the images sizes reasonable. A 15,000x12,000 pixel image might look ultra cool but I'm pretty sure there's not a mag or monitor in the world that'll display it without resizing. Whilst the art department will think this is cool, everyone else in the real world will hate you for it.

3) Don't supply a DVD full of zipped archives. This ties in with number 2. Get rid of those stupidly large image files and you won't need to compress your info. Don't forget, I want to SEE what I'm grabbing first, not un-zip and load of useless crap onto my hard drive to get one bit of info.

4) If you use an FTP server, try using a sensible file structure. Slapping the info I want at the bottom of /press/online/E3/game/release/europe/UK/screen/hi-res/gameplay/grabs/images sure as hell doesn't make it easy to find... especially when every other journo is grabbing stuff from your FTP so it's running at dial-up speeds.

5) Be honest about what you're showing me. If it's gameplay shots or footage, tell me that. If it's pre-rendered, tell me. I'll respect you more for it.

6) Cut the crap. I want screenshots and info and maybe a movie to look at. I don't want half a page of waffle from the some blokey I've never heard of telling me how this game is better than sex, I'll make my own mind up about that.

7) And finally, don't be offended if I turn down your offer of free gifts. I really don't want an inflatable sword with 'Conan' written on it nor do I want a bag full of laminated drinks coasters, rolls of zinc oxide tape, an inflatable wake board, a 115 page novella based on the game, postcards with screenshots on them, self-adhesive furry monsters, paper baseball caps, water based tattoos and more bloody glossy magazines. I just want the info in a digital format.

Maybe, one day, they'll get it right....

[herulach]

Originally Posted by Nick

7) And finally, don't be offended if I turn down your offer of free gifts. I really don't want an inflatable sword with 'Conan' written on it nor do I want a bag full of laminated drinks coasters, rolls of zinc oxide tape, an inflatable wake board, a 115 page novella based on the game, postcards with screenshots on them, self-adhesive furry monsters, paper baseball caps, water based tattoos and more bloody glossy magazines. I just want the info in a digital format.

Maybe, one day, they'll get it right....

Then get it all and give it away in compos, free stuff makes the world go round!

[Lee @ SCAN]

Originally Posted by Nick

7) And finally, don't be offended if I turn down your offer of free gifts. I really don't want an inflatable sword with 'Conan' written on it nor do I want a bag full of laminated drinks coasters, rolls of zinc oxide tape, an inflatable wake board, a 115 page novella based on the game, postcards with screenshots on them, self-adhesive furry monsters, paper baseball caps, water based tattoos and more bloody glossy magazines. I just want the info in a digital format.

Maybe, one day, they'll get it right....

Why not get this stuff and give it away as small prizes... I could do with an inflatble sword and wakeboard and some furry monsters

I know what you mean though Nick - I recently got an 8 Mb PDF which had roughly 12 EMPTY pages in a 45 page document. Why do some companies put 2 empty pages after nearly every chapter.

Such a PITA when scrolling through to see text..text...blank...blank...text..text and then the technical information enclosed is as vague as a photofit ID done by David Blunkett.

[Nick]

The problem with free stuff is getting it back to the UK.

I travelled light but I still had to cram my suitcase.

Hence I now have three 'E3 2006 Special Edition' copies of Magic The Gathering to give away.

(The 'E3 2006 Special Edition' means the boxes are all crushed from being rammed in my suitcase... )

[Lee @ SCAN]

You could always become a human mule Nick and smuggle everything back

Saying that, sitting down might be arkward afterwards, especially if inserting media

[herulach]

hey, ill have one, gimme gimme