Keighley on showcase selection
IndustryComments
The post doesn't mention the conversion rate from a World Premiere slot to actual wishlists. A paid ad slot is useless if the viewership is just skimming through without clicking through to a store page.
Does the editorial pick status include any actual marketing support from the organizers, or is it strictly limited to the few seconds of screen time during the broadcast?
This is just the sponsored content model of journalism applied to game reveals. Once the line between curation and advertising is this thin, the showcase becomes a commercial for the event itself rather than the games.
The term perceived value is vague for a developer. If these slots are free, does that mean the indie team has to give up a percentage of future sales or a revenue share to cover the cost of the slot?
If the slots were entirely editorial, the show would likely lack the budget for the high production values we see. Paid slots essentially subsidize the free exposure for the smaller teams that Keighley actually wants to highlight.
We saw this same justification during the 2019 showcases when several editorial indies ended up being owned by larger holding companies. It makes the free slot distinction blurry when a parent company is the one negotiating.