I received this interesting article by Liu from http://www.gamedesigncollege.com

Marketing a video game can be a unique experience. Unlike many other fields that use marketing to sell a product, a video game designer can be deeply involved in the process of selling their game.
The field of marketing can be much different from product to product, depending on audience as well as the nature of the product itself.

The video game industry is unique in the way that it markets its products. Although a number of traditional techniques are used, such as advertising on television and in print, video game designers
themselves can get participate in the marketing of their product in a variety of ways.

The best way for video game designers to market their product, whether they are a major developer or a small, independent game publisher, is by attending local and national conventions related to video games, sci-fi and fantasy, anime and comics. Many video game designers wait until these conventions to make major announcements about the games that they have in production.

They may also build anticipation about games by releasing playable demos at these conventions. This can be a great way of building anticipation about a game, as those who take part in the demos spread word about the game to other users in reviews, both online and in print.

Some video game designers might even release playable demos to the general public, cutting a few minutes to an entire level’s worth of gameplay and releasing it in a format that can be downloaded onto a console or computer to be played.

In addition to these downloadable teasers many video game designers have also begun to release side-games on devices such as tablets and smartphones. These games, fully developed, act as an advertisement for an upcoming game and help players to gain excitement about the title.

There are many other ideas that may be used to market video games that a video game designer may be able to use.

In the past video game designers have allowed gamers to vote on elements of the game such as character design, they have designed smaller versions of their games for users to play, and they have even introduced short multiplayer games in order to excite interest.

A good video game designer must think of not only the needs of their game but the needs of their audience. Because they understand their audience a video game designer is often the best person to market their game.