Hype: games' best friend or worst enemy?
- Thread starter Zera
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Hype is a game's worst enemy because of how much ammo it gives to the people who don't like it. I wouldn't hate Halo 3 nearly as much if it hadn't had all those 10/10 scores laid at its feet by reviewers. Now, when people ask me why I don't like it, I can say "Because it brings absolutely nothing new to the table, yet the paid critics were tossing 10/10 scores at it without hesitation. It is average, no more no less. That's why I hate it."
So, in essence, hype destroyed Halo 3, because not only would I not have as much ammo to annihilate it with if it hadn't been put on a pedestal, but I probably wouldn't even dislike it so much to begin with.
So, in essence, hype destroyed Halo 3, because not only would I not have as much ammo to annihilate it with if it hadn't been put on a pedestal, but I probably wouldn't even dislike it so much to begin with.
Hype is the best friend of games and the worst enemy of gamers.
The main goal of a game, for the developer, is to make money. Hype means more games sold. Look at games like Halo, Heavenly Sword, and about any game made by EA, which get hyped to the moon, and in the case of the halos, sell millions of copies, but then they turn out to be less-than average games. If every buyer had demanded to play a demo and scrutinize the game first, these games wouldn't sell beans. While the publisher profits from an explosion of hype and first-day sales, the gamer gets the short end of the deal. Gamers get tricked into buying crappy games, and when developers can sell games this way, they have less incentive to make better games, so gamers get stuck with fewer and fewer genuinely good games.
The main goal of a game, for the developer, is to make money. Hype means more games sold. Look at games like Halo, Heavenly Sword, and about any game made by EA, which get hyped to the moon, and in the case of the halos, sell millions of copies, but then they turn out to be less-than average games. If every buyer had demanded to play a demo and scrutinize the game first, these games wouldn't sell beans. While the publisher profits from an explosion of hype and first-day sales, the gamer gets the short end of the deal. Gamers get tricked into buying crappy games, and when developers can sell games this way, they have less incentive to make better games, so gamers get stuck with fewer and fewer genuinely good games.
Which is why nintendo is alive, it's because of god.Atmosck said:
In all seriousness though, nintendo is the one company that holds the gaming industry from doing another atari disaster.(i heard about that.)
The thing about hype is that it infects the fans, and in some cases whips them up into such a frenzy that they insist a game is amazing even when it's only fairly good at best. This is especially the case with established series that have dedicated fanboys (Halo, FF, anything by Nintendo) - they go blind and rabid with hype and the games get great reviews to appease them. Any criticism of the game is seen as pretentious or stupid, or simply not seeing the genius behind the game. And of course all the hype by the fans themselves makes others go out and buy it, and the game gets declared a best-seller, helping it establish its reputation even further.
Hype mostly goes bad with unestablished games. The recent Assassin's Creed for example, which was an okay game, but with a *lot* of flaws, and certainly didn't live up to the hype applied to it. There was no fanboyism to put down the intense disappointment and criticism after its release, and so it's been almost universally lambasted, scoring far lower in reviews than the developers were hoping.
Of course no hype for a game would mean it simply wouldn't sell well at all. I wouldn't call it an enemy of games. It can make new games seem like a disappointment, but it still gets them a lot of sales at the start. It's incredibly annoying, and almost comedic when the game turns out to be atrocious, but it's kinda necessary to get people aware of the games and make people want to buy them.
Hype mostly goes bad with unestablished games. The recent Assassin's Creed for example, which was an okay game, but with a *lot* of flaws, and certainly didn't live up to the hype applied to it. There was no fanboyism to put down the intense disappointment and criticism after its release, and so it's been almost universally lambasted, scoring far lower in reviews than the developers were hoping.
Of course no hype for a game would mean it simply wouldn't sell well at all. I wouldn't call it an enemy of games. It can make new games seem like a disappointment, but it still gets them a lot of sales at the start. It's incredibly annoying, and almost comedic when the game turns out to be atrocious, but it's kinda necessary to get people aware of the games and make people want to buy them.
Hype's good. Hype's healthy.
If it's coming from the developers that is. As soon as the fanbase or the press start foaming over it, things go downhill.
I mean, I didn't care too much that Molyneux can't deliver everything he promises. I won't be annoyed too much with Wright if Spore turns out to be nothing like I heard him promise. But I won't forgive any magazine for hyping up a game for months on end and then award it a perfect score just because it doesn't want to look moronic for hyping things to the point that it's the Second Coming of Civilisation II.
I dislike fanbases immensely. Genuine appreciation for a game lies in the ability to see faults in something as well as to obsessively love it. It gives you a little slice of normality to cling onto, and the subsequent ability to function as a human being. Being blinded by something because it's the latest installment of Brand H produced by Company B is dangerous, and it's this group that the hype fuels into the most visible aspect of gaming to the "outside world"
If it's coming from the developers that is. As soon as the fanbase or the press start foaming over it, things go downhill.
I mean, I didn't care too much that Molyneux can't deliver everything he promises. I won't be annoyed too much with Wright if Spore turns out to be nothing like I heard him promise. But I won't forgive any magazine for hyping up a game for months on end and then award it a perfect score just because it doesn't want to look moronic for hyping things to the point that it's the Second Coming of Civilisation II.
I dislike fanbases immensely. Genuine appreciation for a game lies in the ability to see faults in something as well as to obsessively love it. It gives you a little slice of normality to cling onto, and the subsequent ability to function as a human being. Being blinded by something because it's the latest installment of Brand H produced by Company B is dangerous, and it's this group that the hype fuels into the most visible aspect of gaming to the "outside world"
I don't think hype is a games best friend or worst enemy. It's more like its worst friend or best enemy. You know, like that cheesy prick who always manages to avoid shelling out his share for the pizza or that asshole at work who doesn't backstab you when he could because he wishes to best you in a fair fight.
But then, I suck at analogies.
But then, I suck at analogies.
Had I paid anything over $10 I'd have felt like Romero's *****. Anyone who bought that at $50 should have received a free leather-wrapped stick to bite down on.CyberAkuma said:
That's why I rent most of my games. My collection builds
(about 13 PS2 games over 5'ish years, and about the same for PSP over a couple of years (my biggest mistake, I hardly play my PSP anymore) ) over the years. Many of the games that I play were rented.
When I was younger I was a bit of a "ooh that one looks cool" kid, especially with the old Game Boy Colour, but I'm so much more cautious with money these days.
Every cent spent, is a cent gone so I'd only buy a game if I either
A: Rented it and loved it (provided that I didn't finish it)
B: Played some of it at a friends house
C: Played those in a previous trusted series (Final Fantasy), although I'm more cautious about that now, with the Halo 3 thing (although H3's multiplayer is AWESOME).
Bottom line. Let the rental stores get sucked into the hype, while you just "test" it from them.
(about 13 PS2 games over 5'ish years, and about the same for PSP over a couple of years (my biggest mistake, I hardly play my PSP anymore) ) over the years. Many of the games that I play were rented.
When I was younger I was a bit of a "ooh that one looks cool" kid, especially with the old Game Boy Colour, but I'm so much more cautious with money these days.
Every cent spent, is a cent gone so I'd only buy a game if I either
A: Rented it and loved it (provided that I didn't finish it)
B: Played some of it at a friends house
C: Played those in a previous trusted series (Final Fantasy), although I'm more cautious about that now, with the Halo 3 thing (although H3's multiplayer is AWESOME).
Bottom line. Let the rental stores get sucked into the hype, while you just "test" it from them.
I don't like that hype has started deciding the sales of games rather then actually merits of the game.
It when developers start spending more on selling their game then making it entertaining gaming will fail.
It when developers start spending more on selling their game then making it entertaining gaming will fail.
This is double post is now a test of sorts, if this thread is brought back please ignore.
Can?t. It?s. Chris? can?t it?s Chris?
Grey, dog, yellow, frog. Bubble: ?tree? {cord} [trumpet] (TV) {[(All of them together now)]}.
| \ / ? ! @ # $ % ^ & * ` ~
EDIT: Ha! It all worked
Can?t. It?s. Chris? can?t it?s Chris?
Grey, dog, yellow, frog. Bubble: ?tree? {cord} [trumpet] (TV) {[(All of them together now)]}.
| \ / ? ! @ # $ % ^ & * ` ~
EDIT: Ha! It all worked
Worst enemy by far. Even if a game is deserving of it, hype aversion alone prevents people who would otherwise love the game from even looking at it. Not to mention all the amazing games that get overshadowed by the Hype Machine (Beyond Good and Evil, Odin Sphere, Psychonauts)
Hype sells a game on day/week 1.
Once you've sold it you don't give a damn about how much the players hate it.
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Hyping a game too much leads to expectations far above what can be delivered and leads to a backlash when it doesn't descend from heaven and lead us to the promised land.
Those are the two sides of the coin.
However hype, spoilers and previews kill my enjoyment of games. Now I just ask:
Is it fun?
Whats its about roughly?
Then if i am still interested i play the demo and if there no demo maybe borrow it from a friend. I have thousands of friends online so you can borrow almost anything...
If its worth playing i buy it, if its not then i don't simple.
However in this age of impulse buying and when the game is bought as a gift the first side of the coin becoems important...
Once you've sold it you don't give a damn about how much the players hate it.
-----
Hyping a game too much leads to expectations far above what can be delivered and leads to a backlash when it doesn't descend from heaven and lead us to the promised land.
Those are the two sides of the coin.
However hype, spoilers and previews kill my enjoyment of games. Now I just ask:
Is it fun?
Whats its about roughly?
Then if i am still interested i play the demo and if there no demo maybe borrow it from a friend. I have thousands of friends online so you can borrow almost anything...
If its worth playing i buy it, if its not then i don't simple.
However in this age of impulse buying and when the game is bought as a gift the first side of the coin becoems important...
I think we can use this to talk about 80% of the games to this date. EA seems to be the champions to do this. (Just one of the huge pockets).
P.S: I think reviving this old thread is a good thing. (I didn't want to get a thread closed).
P.S: I think reviving this old thread is a good thing. (I didn't want to get a thread closed).
I hate hype. Not only because it rarely (even in best case scenarios) proves to be valid but because it convinces legions of slavering clods that completely worthless games are utterly amazing, even after the fact.
Nothing wrong with a little advertizing. I don't know if the eternal maxim, 'you sell the sizzle, not the sausage' applies to gaming, though. If you sell inferior sausage with superior sizzle in the gaming industry, people merely not buying your hotdog will be the start of your problems.