A few days ago I attempted to contact Gaijin Games but I couldn't. . The reason was simple: nowhere could I find a valid email address, postal address, telephone number, or anything for them. They didn't have contact info listed anywhere on their website. The only email address anywhere was on their page asking for donations. I decided to give that a shot, but my message was returned as undeliverable. Apparently their method for accepting free money doesn't work.
I didn't have anything really important to say to them, I just wanted to chat. I had some suggestions about their future projects and I wanted to congratulate them on what they've accomplished so far. I suppose I always could have just posted a comment on one of their blog posts (that was the only possible contact method I could find on their site) but I didn't want to comment on a blog post, I wanted to send them a personalized message just for them.
Eventually I emailed their publisher, Aksys Games, asking if there was any way to get get in touch with Gaijin. A day later Gaijin's CEO, Alex Neuse, himself replied! He was very nice and seemed to appreciate my letter, and I'm glad I was able to finally talk to him. If only it had been as easy for me as it should have been.
I don't intend to sound condemning of Gaijin Games, they seem like a great group of people. They've made a fantastic game and Neuse comes off as a really cool guy. Not listing contact information is a common problem with small groups in general, and just happens Gaijin happens to be one. Maybe their contact information was available elsewhere and I never saw it, but the fact is that I wasn't able to find it. Or maybe they just don't want to be contacted, although I wouldn't assume so.
Letting the public contact you is important if you plan on having a public audience. I myself made sure to make my email address as inconspicuous as possible, which has proven to have worked out very well. Comments, forums, live chat, and other sophisticated communication tools are all nice, but plain old email is the standard, especially for formal situations. What if I had found a game breaking bug in their software, or had any other conceivable kind of important message for them? Unless you specifically don't want anyone to talk to you, having a visible email address is important.
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1 comment
I had a similar issue in trying to contact Gaijin...I emailed them to donate, but got the "undeliverable" msg. BUT, I don't know why you think they don't want to be contacted. It's simple. There was a problem with their "info@" and now it's fixed. These things happen. I know this because Alex Neuse contacted me through email...personally. I think that alone says something about their company. I don't think either of us would have gotten a personal response from the CEO of EA games....right?
-geof.93