Mostly spawned by one of the topics from General, I wonder how much effort and cost it would take to market posters with Cory's artwork on them. They're definitely worth hanging on a wall. Also thinking about T-Shirts, but I believe they would come later when the game is actually out.

A bit of merchandise I would like to buy:

- A Natural Selection board game ( If it is anything like Talisman, oh baby! )
- A Natural Selection graphic novel.
- A Natural Selection novel ( ideally written by like Matt Reilly )

talisman rox, but im not sure a ns version would work to well. i like graphic novels (im supposed to be doing an ns strip but its kind of stalled) and poster to would be good. donno about t- shirts tho.

I don't think there is enough demand for board games or novels to comes out before the game. NS2 will probably cost $20, so it's not a big budget game and there won't be much hype about it. Star Craft, a huge success, created novels after it became successful. If NS2 does become extremely successful, maybe other side products will follow.

You just had to bring logic into this didn't you.

Cory's artwork is good enough to sell, last I heard he makes a living from it. People buy posters still don't they? I hear deviant art makes some money doing that.

For the sake of maybe generating Charlie and Max a little more cash the NS Store has a poster{link} It's not NS2 stuff though.

Sorry, i couldn't help it

T-shirts, special edition art work, or NS stickers might get them some money AND advertising. It would not only give fans what they want, but would get NS2 name out into the public. I think they will do it later, though, when they have a finished version and are just polishing and working out small bugs. The worst thing would be to build up the hype and then not live up to the expectations.

Another idea is to let constellation members get a special, limited edition merchandise. That would give people bragging rights when the game comes out and might encourage new people to join the Constellation. (Note to self: join constellation)

Right now the E-Team can't really do much, except wait. The game is still in development and advertising isn't needed. But our time WILL COME!

*cough* Gorge plush toy *cough*

I did some thinking, and I think Natural Selection 2 can be really successful. So why not start planning for the merchandise now? Go into it with a game plan rather than just letting others throw deals at you, possibly changing what the NS mythos is and such to make a buck. Plus, the merchandise can help the NS intellectual property if done well.



Awesome, I want one!

i think kharaa plushies are an excellent idea, and have been requested in the forums for ages - well a gorge plushie at least. but a fade or onos would be great as well, i'd collect the whole set.

for the marines i'd love to see some action figures - vanilla marine, HA and JP, with interchangable weapons. i've got a Master chief action figure from halo, and a terran firebat from starcraft (excellent quality, i think its done by Mcfarlaine). with the starcraft ones you could get a hydralisk (i had one but broke the arm off and got a refund), so they could make some Kharaa ones as well.
if they are sucessful you could even make some additional accessories (armory, TF and siege cannons etc). i can imagine my little nephews playing with them, getting close enough to siege my niece's barbie playhouse =D

apart from that, i saw an advertisement for a "power wing terasol" basicially a remote controlled flying dinosaur... it looked a bit like a lerk, and they could easily modify it to look like one. there are a few different brands available, search for "RC bird" in youtube and you get the idea.,.

also, i forget the brand name, but there are remote controlled raptors you can buy, so they could make a similar skulk or gorge....

akimbo smiley!, sry have been playing to much Action Half-Life

I think the stuff in the current NS store are their best bet for NS2 related stuff, but it's best to wait after the release of the actual game... I still want to see plushies or action figures though!

Seconded! I would certainly buy one, if the price was reasonable.
Also, a huge plushie would be awesome, but
now I'm just dreaming...

I just want to let you know, that it is possible to arrange for gorgy plush toy line. In 1 minute i found this plush toy manufacturer: Binkley. The price depends on number of toys bought (minimum: 500), size, complexity, fabric and other characteristics. But i think it would be possible to get a decent toy for about $6 each, which could be sold for $20 to NS fans.

I don't think this endeavor should be placed on the developers though - they have enough to worry about. If someone is willing to take the lead for this "project gorge toy," it might very well become a reality. Here's a sample plan:

First important step is to make sure there is enough demand for these toys (by setting up a poll, for example)
finding a good company to deal with,
come up with a plush gorge design,
come up with start-up money (6x500=$3000),
discussing this idea with the developers,
set up a place to sell the toys (NS website),
make sure there is a place to store 500 toys,
finally take people's orders as they come in.

If there is enough demand to sell all toys and you put in $10 from every $20 plush toy into NS2 development, that would be $5000 (and the $4 left over could be split among the organizers and as a return to the original investment). And "NO, i would NOT like to do all this!"

I just picture Charlie and Max drowning in gorgie plush toys while working at the office.

Next podcast: picture of a mountain of plushies and muffled voices.

This had me chuckling for a long time!

Charlie says to Max: "It's quite obvious we have to rethink this idea of implementing the gorgerush™"

Would be nice if the early few hundred customers of NS2 would get a plush doll of some sort.

i'm sure the first 500 people that pre-order would be more than happy to pay an extra $20 to get a limited edition gorge plushie....

i guess you've also got to factor in shipping costs, but hell i'd be happy to pay for that ball of fluff to get air freighted down to australia, JUST GIVE ME MY GORGE PLUSHIE!!!

So like, how does this help promote the game?

I know and you know, that merchandise is only for fans.

In all honesty, I love to show off my gaming loot. You know, answering the inevitable question "What's that?" "Oh, that's a gorge from Natural Selection 2, only one of the best games evar"

Stuff like that - walking advertisements, conversation starters, gamer gear bragging rights, and "borrowing" shenanigans.

Nah. doesn't really work. Has the negative effect, actually.

Just this evening I saw this guy wearing a headcrab plushie-hat and I just thought, involuntarily, "...loser."

Game merchandise is very.. geeky. And geekiness doesn't sell - except only to other geeks.

I understand the walking advertisements thing, but that doesn't work for this sort of thing, it only works for Nike and Adidas and such, because wearing clothes with those labels is both mainstream and 'cool'.

Says you, I've seen enough gamer merchandise to know that this stuff is well within the realm of "cool". Geek is the new sheik.

You thought it was geeky because you all ready knew what it was. I would never wear one of those but there are more tasteful things than a headcrab hat than can be made.

The headcrab is awesome -_-

you mean chic?

and to you and local, i still disagree

geeky things are cool for geeks, sure, but they're not mainstream, so they're not 'cool' in general. though you are marketing to gamers, it's a big stretch to say all gamers are geeks.

edit: so in conclusion, all i'm saying (being sceptical about), or rather asking, is what can merchandise do to positively promote NS2?

there you have it, more people knowing about something = bad!

No, I definitely meant sheik, I have always thought that oil tycoons were easily some of the most blinged out individuals in the world. Have you seen the freaking island built in Dubai, UAE? Saw that on the Discovery Channel.

I disagree, geeks and especially gaming geeks have gone main stream, the amount of evidence is staggering but I could submit a bit of it for your viewing pleasure because this is stuff I am sure I wouldn't have seen in the 90s when games were still considered just the realm of "kids":

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=VEATbsSMGWw

http://ca.youtube.com/user/G4TV

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=o730MwS_mUU

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=X1VkkaPt1Ws


I'm sure others could come up with even more examples that display that with so many people playing games, we were bound to go mainstream at some point. When we get pretty ladies, a tv channel, expos, celebs whose careers don't take a dive when they admit to it, and whole lot more, how much more mainstream do you have to get before you see how it has been embraced as "cool"?

As I see it, merchandise does promote intellectual properties by showing off to your fellow man that you are actually willing to be seen with the stuff: t-shirts, hats, posters, collections of various collectibles, various alternative forms of entertainment... it all goes towards promoting our culture, and Natural Selection2 is definitely a part of that culture.

The benefit of discussing this stuff now is sort of like making a list for Christmas (or your birthday) to let others know what you would like. Also, I hope it helps make the Devs aware of other sources of revenue, especially where gaining the intellectual property rights in other forms of media - more money for Unknown Worlds is more money to build and promote the game with.

I'm actually surprised you seem to be against merchandise Har, I would have thought as a fellow fan of what Unknown Worlds is doing it would have been pretty obvious that there are people who want to give the Devs money in exchange for their products.

honestly i dont see the problem here.

lets say one geek shows off his plush gorgie to another geek that hasnt played NS before. the product introduces him to the game, which he may eventually buy, and possibly even some merchandise. the game gets promoted, the devs earn more revenue, WIN. they can(and will) target other audiences with different forms of advertising/promotions.

your arguement seems to base around the fact that "the cool kids" will be turned off playing NS2, because the "geeky kids" have a plush toy. yet you also say that the "geeky kids" will only show their plushies to other "geeky kids".....?

also, can you think of a better way to introduce the young female gameplaying audience to NS2, other than give them an ADORABLE, CUTE FLUFFY GORGE TOY??!?!?!?!?!

okay, maybe a black t-shirt with a hive picture and the 'natural selection 2' logo wouldn't be all that bad; but you know, when you start wearing headcrab plushie hats it's like "hmm..."

geeky openly-displayed merchandise will inevitably turn some people away, and you just can't afford that.

all i'm saying is that it(merchandise) doesn't do much, if anything, for the promotion of NS2, on a general level. and i'm asking you to prove me wrong.

as for the young female gameplaying audience -> adorable cute fluffy gorge toy
well, in general, girl gamers don't play, or aren't usually interested in, violent first person shooters, so.. ?

pfft and i know you just want those adorable cute fluffy gorge plushies

The same way pimping cars out with LCDs and gaming consoles apparently turns people away, right? Guess they should stop doing that in Pimp My Ride and other shows like it. Nah, who would want themed stuff, right?





My wife who love Unreal Tournament games would disagree with you, probably by gibing your avatar and later telling me funny stories of how she was accused of cheating and not actually being a woman. I guess she was mistaken when she bought a second copy of Unreal Tournament 2004 because my brother deleted it from the computer and we couldn't find the cd-key. Kinda like this:

OMG Girlz Don't Exist on the Intarweb!!!!1

in general
aren't usually interested in

it'd be nice if you actually read my post.

i'd say your wife is an exception. a growing exception that may eventually become a major demographic; indeed, but still an exception.

most of the girls i know that play any sort of video games - play console games, for one thing; there are few decent fps on consoles. they also generally play games like guitar hero, rpg's like final fantasy; and seem to hold a great interest in resident evil, but that's because they're into 'horror' or 'zombies' (strange, this, i'd say girls are more enthusiastic about the horror/zombie genres than guys are). as for pc games, well, the sims comes to mind... plus a lot of mmo's, ragnarok online for example.


now back to the geeky merchandise; i wouldn't say ns is a well-known or rather, 'cool' game; for the masses. pimp my ride is a well-known and 'cool' show. they -make- the trends, whatever they put on that show -becomes- 'cool'. ns doesnt really have that benefit.
now, if you could get NS2 on some well-known gaming sites, shows, etc...

Good point, I'm sorry if the general was glossed over, I just tend to be rather wary of generalized statements, they are all too often justifications for some terrible stuff.



While I have a tendency to just ignore other people's opinions on my own fashion sense because I came from a lack of resources upbringing, I think you are right on this, unfortunately in the broadest sense, Natural Selection has not been a trend setter like say, Halo *shudder* In PC gaming though, I think NS1 had some pretty decent play, it was mentioned in gaming publications as a recommended mod and it had very good numbers when compared to how much other mods were being played from what I vaguely recall seeing on sites like Game Spy.

I think timing is going to be everything on the push to get headline space for NS2 in the gaming world since we, the NS2 community, are being asked to help get the word out on this game. I'm not convinced we could maintain a sustained push over say a year, but a month or two before release would be more reasonable to expect us to try to get as much attention for the product as possible.

In the mean time, I wouldn't mind tossing Unknown Worlds some ideas on what to make sure they have the rights to when it comes time to bank on success so they can have future success by considering merchandise that could be sold now and in the future. Who here remembers a time when Blizzard or Valve were relatively new on the stage? I would hope the same level of success for Unknown Worlds if they are prepared for it.

Yes, the merchandise would be primarily for fans. As already stated, these fans would advertise NS to their friends and in the process increase exposure of the game. It's unclear how much the merchandise would help promote the game, although the effect would certainly be positive.


Your example doesn't support the idea of a negative effect of merchandise. It would support your claim if your thought was something like: "what a loser; losers play HL2; i won't play that game because i'm not like them." So far you are simply stating your negativity against geeks. And if more geeks buy the game, (without turning off other buyers) it would be a success.

I hope you, like most people, judged HL2 based on how good a game it is (using reviews, critics' score, friends' suggestions) and not based on some people's attire. I would expect the same for NS2. Having said that, plush toys and other merchandise would expose the game, so more people will give it a chance once it's released by reading its reviews and consider buying it.

I guess your fear is that because of plush toys NS2 would be regarded as a "geeky game" and that image would turn off players - this is very unlikely, because:
1) I'm not aware of any game that suffered from being perceived as "geeky" (as you know, HL2 is doing quite well)
2) Plush toys are unlikely to make the game to be perceived as geeky.

As far as: are plush toys cool or geeky? - depends on the person: geeks think they're cool; "cool" kids think they're geeky.

In conclusion: I doubt that the merchandise will be a big deal. I see making merchandise available as a service to the fans; plus, it gives fans a chance to support the game.

Maybe an inflatable onos? I used to have a giant inflatable penguin. How hard can they be to make D:?

I'd buy myself a shirt.

If anyone is interested to provide me good images for T-Shirts, then I would create some I have the required "hardware" and "software" for it.

I would like to wear a NS T-Shirt.

*skips half the topic* I got a cheap shirt making place that advertises aswell, they make great shirts for cheap price if u keep the diffrent colors at a medium, i can try them =)