VGPR #009: Going to Target, need anything?

My interview with The Verge’s Megan Farokhmanesh, PlayStation 5 fever, and great pitching advice from journos

Sep 22, 2020

[Hi, I'm Lizzie Killian, founder at FIFTYcc PR. You're reading VGPR, a newsletter featuring interesting developments and topics impacting public relations in the video games industry. If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please consider subscribing or sharing with a friend or colleague. Send feedback, questions, and ideas to vgpr.insider@gmail.com, or drop me a note on Twitter.]

In this issue: my interview with The Verge’s Megan Farokhmanesh, PlayStation 5 fever, great pitching advice from journos, new media updates and PR jobs!

PlayStation 5 Showcase

PlayStation’s reveal event looked great, and the hotly-anticipated price announcement sent the internet into a frenzy. While Microsoft’s announcement had to deal with leaks, Sony faced the opposite issue with lingering questions about the “where?” and “when?” of PlayStation 5 availability.

Geoff Keighley @geoffkeighley

Per Sony, #PlayStation5 pre-orders will be available starting TOMORROW at select retailers.

Retailers doing their own thing and uncertainty about timing contributed to the spread of rumors about how to get the new hardware. When retailers’ pre-order pages did go up, the anticipation and sense of scarcity created a virtual stampede, with many hitting their limit only minutes after going live.

Instantly selling out of your product is a great sign for Sony, but trying to order the new console became a dramatic or even frustrating experience for many fans. In response, Sony adopted a frank tone to acknowledge the situation, close the loop, and reassure fans. The update was covered by many outlets, and is a good reminder that a single tweet can generate hundreds of stories:

PlayStation @PlayStation

Let’s be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologize for that. Over the next few days, we will release more PS5 consoles for preorder – retailers will share more details. And more PS5s will be available through the end of the year.

On the plus side, Ars Technica’s Kyle Orland noticed some upsides of COVID-era announcements:

Kyle Orland @KyleOrl

Can I just say how much nicer it is to cover these trailer-filled "press events" from the comfort of a home computer, rather than a cramped theater laptop?

My Interview with The Verge’s Megan Farokhmanesh

“If you send me a pitch that you don’t seem to care about, why should I?”

Games reporter Megan Farokhmanesh talks about how to tailor your pitch to The Verge, her biggest PR pet peeve, and even apologizes for not responding to your email. Yes, yours!

Read her full interview here.

A Truly Pitchin’ Panel

The 2020 Game Devs of Color Expo Online wrapped last weekend and the “How to Pitch Your Game to Press” panel was rilll good:

Ana Diaz @Pokachee

Main takeaways from "How to Pitch Your Game to Press" - pitch your game for a talk show! journos can cover more in a podcast than on a website - become a source! you don't to have a game coming out to be quoted in a story (just DM and email journos that you can be one!) 1/?

Shannon Liao @Shannon_Liao

In sum, if you didn't manage to tune into our talk @GDoCExpo, journos would like to cover more indie games but it's an uphill battle. Keep pitching us, we don't bite and we want to hear from you. ✨ All we need for a story: A game code, images, video, and some interviews.

In the Media

Colin Campbell (most recently at Polygon) is launching a daily newsletter called “How Games are Changing the World.” Here’s a link to sign up, and if you have a client to pitch, Colin intends to highlight game stories that are “off the beaten track, or that aren’t part of the games news treadmill.”
Spawn On Me is now part of the Fanbyte Podcast Network
Imogen Mellor is joining GAMINGbible / LADbible next week
Hirun Cryer is now a freelance reporter for GamesRadar+