Ben-DutkaHype. Generated mostly by the Internet, journalists, and gamers who – let's face it – don't have enough to do, it's one of the more entertaining aspects of the industry. But is crazy amounts of hype good or bad for gaming's stability?
The Good
The benefits are obvious. Hype expands visibility, which in turn expands the potential for sales. Beyond the particular title in question, it expands overall visibility; i.e., the industry steps into the limelight and starts to garner headlines amongst mainstream news sources. Hype can introduce interactive entertainment to those who have never called themselves gamers; it can put a commercial before a curious consumer who goes, "damn… that's what video games have become?" With more visibility and more money comes expansion and, ideally, stability.
The Bad
But there's a dark side to the obvious. It often starts with hordes of journalists amping up hype with pointless headlines, designed specifically to create conflict between the always-vocal gamer groups. At some point, a fair chunk of gamers grow sour with the whole mess; they don't even want to hear the name of the over-hyped game. Plus, there's the theory that highly anticipated titles have strange effects on review scores: arguments can go either way; some say because the game is so popular, the critics are more lenient. Others claim the complete opposite is true.
Furthermore, let's not forget that only one or two titles (as is the case with the current MW3 vs. BF3 war) can overshadow a lot of games, many of which are worthy of more attention. Hence, those overshadowed products don't sell well, innovation may take a hit (especially if the over-hyped games aren't innovative at all), and the industry starts to get into a rut.
Overall, hype has a significant impact on the industry, and while some say it's essential in some capacity, others will say it has nasty side-effects.
I never buy into it. 😉
That's why I got out of COD after COD4:MW. Loved that game but with all the hype and then the following installments coming out and not being good at all. I just quite buying there games.
Very good article Ben, but I've always believed hype does more bad than good.
Not only does it raise people's expectations (and people are a lot likely to be disappointed by it as a result), but [over]hyped games such as Black Ops accomplished a lot more than it should've, such as massive profits and record breaker. This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for hype.
Hype also overshadows other games as you mentioned, which isn't good of course.
There's more, but I think you get my point. Just my $0.02 on the subject matter.
Last edited by Nas Is Like on 8/8/2011 9:46:59 PM
Agreed, the negative impacts of hype are greater than the positive. Artificially high expectations create a backlash among gamers and reviewers when a title doesn't meet the expectation created by the Hype. As you say, the Hype from one game can overshadow others. I also see the hype for some games creating un-necessary hurdles for other games such as games being reviewed in the context of as yet unreleased games that are anticipated to be somehow better than the game being reviewed.
Positive publicity is fine, but as ever when it evolves into Hype, and as that Hype grows, the positive of the publicity can turn negative in a variety of ways.
….Final Fantasy Versus XIII…. That is all XD
I think we've hyped that in our heads, SE hasn't said squat about it except it ain't comin' any time soon.
There's not even gunna be anything at TGS…
Seriously… I was expecting a release date for it next year, but at this rate we might not even get it for 2013… oh that hurts.
When is TGS, anyways?
September…17? It's the 14th or 17th, I cant remember.
Sad times for FF fans….
Simply put: It's fantastic as long as the game delivers… other than that it's no worse than Hollywood hyping up movies like Cowboys & Aliens… then … well you know.
That's a problem too, sometimes it delivers just fine but our expectations have just been raised too high by the talk.
That's exactly it, some of my best gaming moments have been with games I hardly had any expectations to other than being a decent game. And practically all my biggest disappointments has been with very hyped games. Had I only not read and heard all that talk prior to those titles I'm sure I would have enjoyed them a lot more.
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/9/2011 3:48:55 AM
I believe hype is a mixed boat, sometimes it delivers, sometimes the ship wrecks.
Very concise points made here. Hype is pretty freaky, I think it does do all those things mentioned. It can blind people just as easily as it can fill them with false justifications or plain old disdain.
For industry solidarity I think it has become a mess. What used to bring us all together or at least have us wish each other well now fosters a hostile atmosphere.
Division and divisiveness are the results of anxi9ety and selfish thinking. they are the hallmark of bad economic times and certain philosophies and ideologies. Sadly, many of us live in countries where these factors are driving greater feelings of division and polarization than at any time in our modern history. Such polarization has been growing in the gaming industry for a while now, but has reached a crescendo in the last 4-5 years, as it has within our societies.
What's that old truism, united we stand, divided we fall? We're awfully divided right now, personally, I'd rather not endure another fall. In gaming, as in life, it's time for people to come together rather than grow further apart.
Hype could be nonsense. I think it depends on the individual.
Hype- the thing that kills and makes games. I don't like it and I never buy into it. I know quality when I see it. If I like the game I buy it.
When do you ever buy anything just cause someone else does? That should never happen. But gamers out there like almost all of them COD fan boys who only play COD online all day and night and don't ever take that light disk out of the console is what makes this all wrong. They are not gamers and people like this only bought the game because a friend has it or to make them feel better when they shoot at a group of pixels on a screen and then yell into a mic to some kid who doesn't know there language.
I think Hype is not worth it. The bad side of the hype is just to overpowering for the good. I wish it would all just go away. I think you should just pay attention to games and learn about them and buy the game you like. Ignore the reviews and how good your friend says it is. Because they are not you. They played the game and they told you what THEY felt and what THEY like about it, but your not them and you need to make it up for yourself. The only way you know you don't like a game is if you have played it..
Like me, I played every COD after COD4 and I hate them all. COD4 is still my favorite.
"Furthermore, let's not forget that only one or two titles (as is the case with the current MW3 vs. BF3 war) can overshadow a lot of games, many of which are worthy of more attention"
R3, U3 and others come to mind.
I guess hype is good when it comes to PS3 exclusives… like Uncharted, God Of War, Heavy Rain etc… because you know its the truth…
I think targeted hype is good if you have the stuff to prove it, if you don't then you lose all credibility, hurt your brand and build mistrust amongst your potential customer base.
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Eh, hype's hype. The, let's call it moral alignment of it, depends on the level and slant of it. But it's no different to movies really. Quality will, nine times out of ten, shine through.
I have to be honest there are times where I just find hype irritating. I could not care less for CoD or BF3. If anything the FPS I am interested in the fall is Resistance 3! But everyone seems to be moaning at that…
I remember the drastic event of Final Fantasy XII. As a new FF game I was so excited. Even all the reviews regarded it highly, I went in a day before the release just to see if it was on sale. I was there just as the staff got the phone call that they could sell the game. I jumped in the que and requested it. Once I got home I brought the PS2 downstairs to the big TV. At first I enjoyed it, but by the end of the night I just became bored of it. And the horrible month ahead of me I played what was the biggest disappointment in gaming history for me. Of course as an FF game I was determined to complete it. But god, It really tested my patience.
don't feel bad. that is exactly how i felt about ff12. that game easily tops my list as one the most dissappointing games i can recall in recent memory. dull story, and dull characters. absolute snoozefest. what makes it worse is i was foolish enough to spring for the collector's edition. that only made it sting more.
hype is very unpretictable. i find it irritating at times as well. if i hear frostbite 2.0 one more time i'm going to scream. i try to pay close attention to where hype is coming from. quotes from marketing types get filed under BS. hype from gamers playing a beta i will tend to believe a lot more.
Frostbite 2.0
*blocks ears*
ha! i kind asked for that. as much as dice and ea talk about frostbite 2.0 they might as well slap that name on a box and ship it.
It's a case of large companies playing on the kids i believe. Show cod at every chance you get on billboards,Tv and magazines and get the kids screaming at parents for the must have, twitch gaming experience that all their friends will be playing to ramp up what will already be a huge income for established selling franchises so they can show off record breaking sales figures in inter-company pissing contests. Strangely though games like shadow of the damned, a new interesting ip that gamers should know about, disappear under the radar and have sales figures that (at least here in the UK ), are quite frankly embarrassing. this is where the hype should properly be getting generated to insure more innovation in the future.
It always seems pretty infantile to me. Doesn't help that majority of games put to work in the hype machine are infantile to begin with and perpetuate a unprogressive medium The most interesting games are not hyped to me.
definetly bad, because developers hype a game to kingdom come then it ends up falling well short!
anyone remember that video of KZ2 from E3 07 i think it was, the first time they finally showed some gameplay footage they had the first level of the game.
but instead of shooting all the enemies with that turret, you could actually use said turrent to shoot out the bottom pillars causing the building to collapse.
surprise that never made it into the game, not even its sequel!
thats the problem, developers promise 50M in gold, then only deliver 1000 in gold, if your lucky!
infamous 2s another perfect example, they hyped on so much about how much larger and more open the cities were, when they felt the total opposite.
or even them saying yea we dont do a GOW, we dont set you up with heaps of sweet powers then take them away from ya.
oh wait………..
LIARS!
…but Eight Days was going to be the best game ever.
Forget that they showed next to nothing of it…it's an unforgivable crime that Sony shelved it.
Self-generated hype is the worst kind.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 8/9/2011 5:05:29 AM
absolute unforgivable crime for shelving it, especially for that crappy eyepet game!
who the ^%$# is this, nintendo!?
self hypes not the worst, developer hype is, simply because if the developers say its true then you kinda expect it to be true.
i dont know what to believe, and what to doubt anymore!
I have 7 preorders, and none of them contain CoD or Battlefield.
Having realised that, if it weren't for Gears 3 and Dance Central 2, I would probably never buy a 360 game again. I'll most likely be peer pressured into getting Halo Anniversary though.
My PS3 preorder list is MASSIVE though!!
Resistance 3 Special Ed.
ICO / Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection
Batman Arkham City Joker Ed.
Dark Souls Limited Ed.
Uncharted 3 Special Ed.
MGS HD Collection
And will definitely be getting Bioshock Infinite on PS3 next year (Bioshock is bundled for free on the Blu-ray, so why not?) and Mass Effect 3 on PC, most likely N7 Collectors Ed.
As for hyped games like Battlefield 3 and MW3, I couldn't care less. I got MW2 on PS3 (which was a bit of a letdown) and Bad Company 2 for $7.50 off Steam (which was better for the strategist within me, hate CoD after playing this gem!!)
And when are my friends and work colleagues going to stop asking me about MW3?!?! Yes, I play games, that doesn't mean MW3 is at the top of my wanted list!!! As a hardcore gamer, I know there are a ton of better games to play then that!!!
What's the bet my 360 loving friends will peer pressure me into MW3 as well as Halo Anniversary, and most likely Goldeneye Reloaded too. Crud… I gotta fork out cash to play online with them… DAMN YOU XBOX LIVE with your party chat!!!
dude, i can relate on the whole peer pressure/xbox loving friends remark. let me guess, your xbox loving friends love party chat and won't touch a ps3 becuase it lacks that feature. am i correct? i think not having that feature has cost sony some sales.
But if they all play the same game (halo/mw3) is there a difference between party chat and ingame chat on the ps3?
Isn't party chat first and foremost of use when you *don't* play the same game as the rest?
I have never touched a xbox so I have to ask. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/9/2011 7:16:01 AM
party chat has advantages even when in the same game. it makes getting a game together easier. like in kz3 i will see friends in other kz3 matches and send out squad invites only to watch them time out. sometimes they just miss the text message invite. i'm guilty of that as well…being so into a match i don't even notice a squad invite from my friends. i can't speak to them becuase they are in another kz3 match. i can only speak to members of my squad. it would be great if i could talk to them to know what exactly is going on and make plans to get together. it just makes organizing a game easier when you can speak directly to your friends no matter what game or match they are in. a million times easier when you can communicate over a headset vs tapping out text messages. there are other advantages as well. you can chat with friends and family while playing netflix. it's just a convienent feature to have. makes online gaming go a lot smoother. i understand that people value it.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 8/9/2011 9:07:45 AM
Ahhh of course – when they play the same game but are on different servers! Of course. Dang that's a pretty useful feature indeed.
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/9/2011 2:44:13 PM
I think Hype is a negative influence on the industry and society as a whole. Too many people believe everything they see on the flashing rectangular box – whether it be advertizing or other content.
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