Is hype ruining our enjoyment of games? (long read, sorry)
This topic is locked from further discussion.
I'll use Halo 3 as an example. Halo 3 was unleashed on the world on a warm September 25, riding on a wave of marketing blitz and almost an insane amount of anticipation and hype. No one doubted the game would sell well and be critically successful. But here we are, only a scant two months later, and Halo 3 is already being portrayed as "old news", even prompting one Gamespot member to wonder if the game has already died a horrible, premature death. How could this have happened so quickly? Keep in mind this is Halo 3 we're talking about; the face of the Xbox, the savior of Microsoft Gaming Studios, and one of the most critically acclaimed powerhouse franchises in the history of gaming! And already gamers interest is trailling off, our short attention spans grabbing for the next game with shiny graphics. Again, I ask, how does this happen?
I personally think it all comes down to that something we all love and love to hate, hype. Developers spend millions of dollars on add campaigns to convince you that Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is the greatest game ever and you'll love it forever. So then you go buy the game, play it once, maybe twice, when you turn on the TV or go on the internet and BAM! You find stuff like "Assassins Creed is the greatest game ever made, and if you buy it you'll love it forever!" You get caught up in the hype and go buy Assassins Creed, totally forgetting you've just bought another game that pretty much gave you the same line. So you play Assassins Creed and BAM! it happens again, and you move onto the next "greatest game evar!!". For many thats not much of an exaggeration. Most gamers-myself included-get caught up into all the hype, drool over every screenshot, memorize every video for the next game that you're really hyped about. But then it comes out and you're already gazing into the future, already bored and looking for the next game. I think this, and the whole stupid cycle we have here on Gamespot*, are actually ruining our enjoyment of games.Â
Sorry for the rant, it kinda got away from me.
*Gamespot Cycle=the hype cycle of a game. A score is predicted based off of screenshots and editor previews, and if not met, the game is semi-officially declared a flop. This usually results in an obscene amount of damage control by fans of the game or its platform, and equally obscene gloating by the opposing side. If a title meets the score predicted, nothing happens. This is were the "battles" are fought for the "system wars", with "fanboys" acting as troops for whichever gaming company they swore a life-debt too.
FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE TO READ:Gamers are always grabbing for the "next big thing". This starts a cycle of marketing->hype->purchase->disappointment (usually).It's worth noting that the hype leads us to buying new games at too close intervals . What I mean is we buy games too quickly, and never spend the time to fully enjoy and complete games at our own pace. This lessens the impact of the games, as anyone whose bought more then one at a time can attend, I'm sure.Video Games are like good food; don't hork it down, enjoy slowly.
I agree, sometimes seeing a game a year or two ahead of time on sites like this, drooling over screenshots, videos, previews as you wait can be damaging. By the time the game comes out, it's almost like it's old news and your interest is already drooling over the next game that could be a year away again.
Basically I feel like I've lost that excitement when playing new games today. Like that excitement was already exhausted during all the unparalled coverage we have on the interent now during development. Back when I ws a kid, we just had one magazine that might come every month or so, with only a preview, maybe a still or two show once or twice. So it was like being teased and you had to have that game. Now, the teasing is lost, you can just be oversaturated to where by when you can get the game, you've lost interest.
I mean, when I got the 360 on launch, then shortly later saw screens to Mass Effect, Assasins Creed, I was like, holy bleeping wow, I have to get those games. But now, here they are, released, and I feel like it's lost that spark, and I have no rush to go and get them. But imagine if we only had learned about them a month before release, I would suspect it would be a totally different scenario.
We now know about and see media about games so early and so often that in our brains you can almost be tired of it before you even play it. Dare I say going on to gaming sites to watch a games progress and the forums is more addicting than actually playing the games.
I agree completely with you. I just had this conversation with a friend of mine on other day. I'm 26 and remember the time when you got one magazine in the mail a month and it left you excited and not overwelmed by the hype, ads, and crap everywhere. Do we really need a soda just for a video game? I think the internet and general popularity of video games these days is a huge part of the problem by the time a game comes out you've seen all the videos all the screen shots read countless reviews and seen more ads for the game than you head can process. The technology in video games is great now graphics frame rates online gaming but it seems we are getting shorter less fulfilling games more hype and more useless opinions and paying more which to many means we should expect more.
These are my opinions thats all
absolutely see your point but i have to partly disagree with you.
I think the fact that is not Hype to "kill the industry" but the fact that we live in the world of consuming and
there are tons of games coming out, lots of them so we mostly play a game for 2 or 3 weeks and we are after looking for the next big thing.
There is people already worried sick since next year there aren;t as many games coming out as this year and they wander what they will play ....WTH, did you really play all the games that came out this year?
If a game came out a fiew months ago is it already "old news" even though you never played it?
If you notice hype starts months (sometimes years) before a game comes out and finishes after less then a week from release date since everybody is busy hyping the next game that (may be) will be the bhest game ever.
I don't think it is hype that kills i think we just want what we cannot yet have and as soon as we get it we lose interest in it.
Welcome to capitalism LOL
I think you make some good points. It is very difficult to retain the excitement you have for a game when the coverage for it is, well, comprehensive, before and after release. I think that at some point, you have to break away from the hype machine (if that is even possible) and develop a manner to make your own mind up about a particular game in order to be excited every time you start it up. When you think about how much information is directing you to purchase--or not to purchase--a particular title, you wonder how much of your thinking is actually your own thinking.
I bought Halo 3 when it first came out, and I enjoyed playing it, although I had a feeling that it was going to be supplanted by other games 2 months later; but not because it was a game with limited replay value, but instead because there were so many other quality titles to hit the market. I have played it a number of times after completing it, and while I have an assortment of other games to hold my interest, I don't feel like it is "dead" or that it has run its course. There are far too many posts--and for that matter, articles by "professional reviewers"--all over the Internet that herald the deaths of games long before they have actually died, and they are the same people who declare how life-changing these titles will be months before they are released. I also feel that the amount of game hype in the media is a reflection of how many high-profile titles released in such a short period of time. It is hard NOT to feel that Halo 3 has fallen off because of it. But I am also fairly confident that Halo 3 will stay mainstream long after this holiday season is over, considering how long Halo 2 remained enjoyable to Xbox owners.
I enjoy the coverage and information delivered by GS and similar sites, but I draw a line when I feel that the "hype" overwhelms actual news. When I start seeing G4-style reports on games instead of actual, in-depth reporting, I turn my attention to something else immediately.
Totally agree. Absolutely 100%.
I mean, when I was younger, I didnt know what kind of recourses to use to get in-depth articles and stuff on upcoming games.
So everything was a suprise, and I was always excited.
Now hype is so easy to get, and to get excited for a game usually means a degree of disapointment.
I mean, it happens with music too, you anticipate a Bands new album, and because your so excited, it may disapoint.
It sucks, so I try not to hype things anymore, ruined a lot of games.
Bulldog55 said to, if possible, try to avoid getting caught up in the hype (others, like Demokk said this also), and Montauk basically testified to the effectiveness of this method.
But I think a complete cut from hype is also a bad idea, given that the gaming industry is almost completely dependent on it. The gaming industry is just that...an industry, and it's sole purpose is to make money by selling us games. And as we all know, advertising, whether it be in the form of TV, an impressive E3 demo, or leaking information, is quintessential to building up hype for any given product, and hype neatly translates into sale in most cases. Here's an anecdote; Irrational Games.Â
In the late 1990's, they released a game called System Shock 2. The game had great graphics for the time, had a deep and twisted story, and was critically acclaimed across the board for it's scary atmosphere and good gameplay. But the game didn't sell very well, because very few consumers were excited about it. Move forward to August of 2007, and the same company releases another brilliant game. It features a deep story, a highly intoxicating atmosphere, and great gameplay. Bioshock boasted impressive sales, thanks mostly to strong E3 showings, and word of mouth over the internet.
My point is that hype is a double edged sword; in the case of Bioshock it helped prove a truly original game can sell in this age of sequels, and paved the way for developers to make more games of that type. But hype can also lead to what has been discussed in previous posts. The hard part is to find a correct balance of excitement and perspective. The problem now is that almost everything we find on the internet is all hype and no perspective
Yea...HYPE is really becoming a thing that kills a game anymore. I remember back in the Atari 2600 days and NES days..You might hear about something coming out.."MIGHT"...But for the most part, you just went to the store and seen then and there. I kind of miss those simple days.
Now you have the internet people hyping, magazines hyping, tv shows hyping, commercials hyping, people in game stores hyping...and its over done and has really made a mess out of things.
JMHO
Please Log In to post.
Log in to comment