In the original AIW I was mainly an MP player. I fooled around in SP but nothing serious. I have always been enthusiastic about the game and found it especially enjoyable in MP. I played with around ~5 friends regularly. I knew of at least two other local similar circles of players. The most enthusiastic 1 or 2 players from my circle and the other circles have bought AIW2. The others are most likely waiting for MP. Based on that, Of the people I know, there is a significant portion waiting for the MP to come out.
Chris mentioned that the MP will be beta first. I think this is a great idea. This way when the MP update is pushed to the masses it has received polish beforehand. The MP release should be treated like the step from EA to release. The initial response from the players to the MP experience will be a huge factor in deciding the game longevity in those circles. I think this is one of the factors that will decide what kind of a sales tail AIW2 will have. Being on the lists of "great COOP experiences" around game sites and forums goes a way towards having a long sales tail. The boost to following expansion sales should also be a boon.
That said, I think the MP update needs promotion. Especially before and at release. I am no expert, but I have atleast followed the arc of the game from the steam news/patch section. The headlines play an especially important role in keeping me along with the times. I also follow the WIKI section about what in general is going on at this phase. I think Chris should post those PHASE news more also in steam? Also if steam shows a game having recently been updated on the store page, that always intrigues me. The keywords that need to come up are: Cooperative, multiplayer and update/expansion.
I hope someone could pitch in how to promote the MP update in other ways? How to reach the press and the gamers that gather around good COOP experiences?
PS. I talked in the AMA about the champions being a good tool in on-boarding new players in a powerful yet simple to grasp way. The game is much simpler to teach to newcomers than AIW1 ever was, thanks for that. Still I think some thought should be put towards this process.
