Black Gold Online will begin its Invitational Test for the North American server late next month (March). Hopefully, the game has been polished as I had a dreaded time playing in the first test phase of the China server (still in beta now). Snail Games also revealed Avril Lavigne as a “star fan”.
According to the press release, “Miss Lavigne is a fan of Black Gold Online’s artistic styles, mixing different themes into a seamless production. She took a few fan pics to complement the work of the BGO art team, showing that she’s a Steampunk rocker too.” Yeah, right…
I am not sure if this marketing gimmick will go full force in North America, but it seems the way in China. This inevitably reminded me of the epci-fail marketing campaign for RIFT China where American celebrities were brought on to promote the game to the Chinese gamers before closing shortly.
You see, Snail Games and Shanda Games (publisher of RIFT China) are working very closely, with Shanda providing the smaller Snail Games with resources. I have no doubt the marketing team in Shanda Games once again pushed this idea, hopeful of this “Americans rock” campaign will somehow draw the Chinese gamers. I am at a loss for words, but I guess the marketing team does know how to convince the bosses.
