Is Participation in Gamescom Opening Night Live Worthwhile?

The notion that large game companies no longer require significant events to showcase their titles has gained traction in certain industry circles. Inspired by Nintendo's Direct online broadcasts, which have been running since 2011, many prominent developers and publishers have begun to question the value of participating in these showcases, instead opting to control their narrative through trailers and marketing strategies. However, data from Fancensus suggests that involvement in these showcases is indeed worthwhile. An analysis of the games featured in Gamescom's Opening Night Live event reveals that titles showcased on stage dominated 61% of total press coverage surrounding the event. A significant spike in media attention was observed for games participating in the show, with nearly 1,500 articles written about titles in ONL, compared to around 300 articles about games not on stage. Even before the event, games announced for the showcase received more coverage than those that were not, with this gap widening considerably during the show. Games featured in Opening Night Live also received greater prominence in press coverage, with 77% of articles mentioning these titles in the headline. In contrast, games absent from Opening Night Live were less likely to be featured in article headlines, with only 39% of Gamescom-related coverage featuring these titles as the headline item. The global nature of the event makes it worthwhile to examine how countries around the world perceived the games showcased. The Netherlands had the highest positive sentiment towards the games, with 78% of articles written about the event being positive. Fancensus measures sentiment by analyzing the severity of each sentence in an article, and the Netherlands' positive sentiment coverage far surpassed that of other countries, including Austria and Germany. Among the games that participated in Opening Night Live, Starfield received the most extensive press coverage, with 1,182 articles across 522 sites. The game also boasted the most positive coverage, with 40% positive sentiment. Although Starfield received the most coverage, Bethesda only accounted for 4.91% of total coverage, while Bandai Namco had the largest share of voice overall, with 11.54%. The company's multiple games at the show, including Tekken 8 and Little Nightmares 3, contributed to its significant coverage. The data suggests that simply showcasing a game on stage is not enough; to generate significant media coverage, it is essential to have a compelling narrative that will encourage media outlets to feature the title prominently.