NetEase Promoting Its New Mobile Idol Game by Pretending It Being an Actual Live-Action TV Series

NetEase conducted a ceremony in Hengdian World Studios that looks like a typical launching event for a live-action TV show, but the starts are all cardboard characters from their new idol-themed dating simulator game Dream Chaser: the Showbiz.

TV shows in China have a long tradition to have some interesting launching rituals to wish for success, and the game’s open ceremony followed suit to an uncanny degree, by having a roasted pig head as a sacrifice, a Fengshui master to decide the event’s date and time, and traditional lion dance show.

During the ceremony, there is also a part where “reporters” can have an interview with the in-game characters, by pointing the microphone to the cardboard figures.

 The game, Dream Chaser: The Showbiz, is a dating simulator that sets in the glamorous world of, obviously, showbiz. The game claims to provide a fully immersive experience for players to feel what it likes to be an actual celebrity. The organizers really went all the way with this immersive idea, even using showbiz words like “Actor/Actress” to stand for the player, and the launch event is referred to as “getting the cameras rolling”.

 To add more immersion, the marketing team of the game even found a way to snuck a fake show starred by in-game characters into other TV show influencers’ content, making it on the list of the “most anticipated new TV show this December”.

Fans seem to be enjoying the marketing stunt so far, but for this game to have the success NetEase has hoped for in this saturated market segment, it takes more work than a pig head sacrifice.