The Game Reviews: We are speaking with Alex Verres, Global PR and Communications Manager for the third party video game accessory manufacturer Mad Catz. Can you tell us a little bit about your title, and your lineage? 

Alex Verrey: I started in the games industry when I was about 12 years old over in the U.K., where I am from. The first big video game television show in the U.K. was called Games Master. I appeared on Episode 1 of the show, performing challenges as a kid of 12 or 13 years old. I played Sonic the Hedgehog on the Mega Drive, beat the game and the challenge, and won a prize.

About a year later, I got a call from the producers of the show, who were doing a spin off for satellite television called Games World. They were looking for really good game players, who were fun in front of the camera. They asked me to audition for a role on the new television show.

I tried out, got hired, and played a character in the U.K. called Big Boy Barry – kind of like American Gladiators playing a venerator. I would come out every week and take on kids playing the video games against them. That went really well, so the show came back for a second season and they offered me my own show. I got my own series, dressed up as a sitcom, called Barry’s Joy Pad. The show involved my living in a big mansion, with different guests reviewing games, and so forth. 

I did that for a few years, and a lot of video gaming television presenting in the U.K.; the most of anybody in the country. I still hold that record. I wanted to get a mortgage and realized I needed some steady income. A good buddy of mine ran a company in the U.K. called Joy Tech, a huge manufacturer of third party game accessories. He offered me a chance to do a little PR for one or two days a week, which I began doing, to supplement the television work. That situation grew and it suddenly turned into a full-time position.

Last year, in 2007, Take Two got a new Board of Directors and decided to go a different way. They could not quite figure out why they had an accessory company as part of their core business. Mad Catz acquired Joy Tech’s name and assets, including me. That is how I started working for Mad Catz, here in L.A.

TGR: That’s great. Can you tell us about what you do for Mad Catz?

AV: When Mad Catz acquired Joy Tech, they really did not have too much going in PR. I filled the position of Global PR and Communications Manager and it is my job to shout about Mad Catz and Joy Tech products around the world, as well as Side Tech products. Side Tech is another company that Mad Catz acquired soon after; they do PC accessories.

It is my job to shout about our brands and products, everywhere around the world. I make sure people are covering and reviewing the products, and getting us seen in the media. 

TGR: Can you tell us specifically some of the things that you do as the Global PR and Communications Manager?

AV: I write press releases, and am in constant communication with journalists and media sources around the world. I make sure that they have all the information they need on our products; that all journalists and media sources speak about our products. I "sell them the products," as it were. Whereas a traditional sales guy will sell products to retailers, I sell to the press. I explain why products should be covered.

I send images and press releases. I ensure they have all the information on hand to build and put together a campaign, and present the products in an exciting manner. I also take product samples down and meet one on one with journalists, show them what we have, why it is cool, and why it should gain coverage. I arrange competitions, sponsorships and promotions, among other similar kinds of things.

TGR: Do you also deal with the marketing side, as well?

AV: Yes. We all wear many different hats at Mad Catz. We are a relatively small company, so we utilize many different skill sets.

TGR: What is the best way for organizations to work with you?

AV: To call me to find out what we have, what is new and cool – and what is happening. It is really about communication; making sure you are in constant communication with people in the industry that matter. I think working for a company like Mad Catz, you cannot do good PR unless you love games as well. Thankfully, I consider myself first and foremost a gamer. I am a television presenter in a previous existence, a PR guy now, but really I consider myself a gamer. I love games, and I love the industry that we are in. I think it is the best industry in the world. I love playing games and talking about games. I think good journalists in the video game industry also love their games and that makes life much easier if you both have a connection in that way.

TGR: When it comes down to sharing your time though, because a lot of entities such as individuals, IGN, etc. request information, how do you deal with all of it? 

AV: I would say, "my name is Alex from Mad Catz, and I whole-heartedly recommend The Game Reviews."

TGR: We have sites that have 100,000 users, with a really good, decent enthusiastic calling. We are routinely asked how to get in touch with people, and if anyone is really going to pay attention to them. What is your suggestion to all the enthusiast sites that are out there that want to work with a company like yours?

AV: I think that is perhaps one of the most interesting questions I have been asked today, because it is a very good point. We are in a whole new world now. When I started to get into PR, there were the big magazines, and maybe a couple of big news channels that would contact us. The world of PR now is very different and it is very hard. We get now, on average, 20 or 30 e-mails a day. The problem is that when you are looking at an e-mail, it is faceless; there is no way to separate who is legitimate and who is not. That, and professional gaming leagues, seem to be everywhere.

A company like EA, Sony or Microsoft usually has a team of PR individuals who can sort through all of the PR requests. When you are from a company like Mad Catz, especially if you are working on a small team and in my case, it is pretty much myself, it is very, very hard and time consuming to work through that sort of stuff. 

On the other side of that fence, I do not ignore people. If people write to me, I will read their e-mails and I give them time, because you never know when somebody is legitimate.

What I would recommend to people who want to do business, is first and foremost, be honest. I do not like people who try to feed you some bull and say that they are the biggest website in the world, get a million hits a day, and then ask for free stuff. I prefer the honest, direct approach. Tell the truth about the number of hits per day, ask what the chance of looking at some reviews is, or to be added to a press list and see how it goes.

What I am looking for is proof; I need to know key demographics, who you are trying to hit and how popular your site and the kind of traffic is. Obviously, if you are doing so many millions of hits a month, then of course, we want to be part of that. If you are only getting a couple hundred hits a month, well that is okay, too. We are happy to talk to everyone, and provide you with information.

I might not be able to dedicate as much time as some of the other sources, but I will always try to be courteous and ask them to keep in touch. Perhaps they can send me an e-mail once a month, or every couple of months. Show me that you are growing, that your hits and popularity is going up. Then let’s review it, and look at things in three to six months’ time.