So you want a job in video game public relations? Hope you have the liver for it.
At a panel this evening called “Puppet Masters: The not so invisible hands of video game PR,” one panelist voiced her opinion loudly above the rest and expressed how mass alcohol consumption is a big part of the PR effort for any game.
Stephanie Tinsley Schopp, owner of Tinsley PR, whose clients include Stardock and its breadwinner “Sins Of A Solar Empire,” said your liver might suffer should you choose a career in video game PR.
“It’s a lot of hard work, hanging out and getting drunk with press, it’s not all we do, but we do it,” said Schopp.
On a tad more serious note, Schopp indicated that PR is a necessary force in getting a game out there, but it can’t make a game better.
“PR does not make a game better. You have to manage expectation of what a publicist can do before it gets in reviewers’ hands. No matter how many shots at the bar or trips [to exotic places] won’t affect review score.”
There you have it. Alcohol and video games, like sugar and spice.
Booze is huge in ALL aspects of public relations. Most of those political fundraisers ain’t dry, and the same thing goes for the journalism conferences I’ve attended.