The Big Tease

Publishers will do anything, including annoying people with endless countdown clocks, to hype a title's announcement. But does all this effort actually make any difference?

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Glad to see someone who is not just complaining about the hype machine, but discussing it as well.

I think people in the indusrtry and the internet are not a good mix. Pure and simple they should not be allowed to talk to IGN or anyone else about thier games. Not until the day the entire game is finished and is being slapped onto dvds. They mention they have to delay a game for whatever reason. The internet goes haywire for the next 2 days while everyone cries "well eff them I just won't buy it." It wouldn't be delayed if they hadn't told us a date. Or my favorite is the ole bait and switch. You sit there and watch or read a "hands on demo" about how this game is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Only to see the same person write or recite a scathing review of the same game. The industry is really beginning to lose credibility. If a credible site doesn't rise up soon and all the industry does is rely on these tired gimmicks to sell thier games we are doomed. Askin someone to fork over 60 bucks for an entertainment service based on hype and lies does not bode well.

I think hype can create too great expectations of games. Just look at gears of war 2. It was a good game, it just couldnt live up to the hype so everyone was dissapointed. That being said, it is a necessary marketing tool that helps keep the games companies in business as it increases sales

Oh jeeze... I hate countdowns and the like. I'm totally paranoid of getting caught up in the hype and then wasting my money on disappointment. Thankfully that hasn't happened yet. Thank God for video game rentals. >_o

I guess hype is good for getting games sold on day one, but after that, unless the game is the Messaiah of its medium, selling copies gets trickier in the long run. =\

The only game I got hyped up about was SSBB, it was fun but after a while I stopped playing it, sure I pull it out every so often but it's still nowhere near my top 10. This goes to show how hype can only go so far.

It seems to me that the industry has multiple personality disorder with a spoonful of paranoia. On the one hand, they want to hype their game by announcing it to the entire world repeatedly. On the other hand, they don't want to leak any details about the game (sometimes even what it's named or about) because they are worried the competition will steal their ideas. Which one is it: are you announcing it or not?

I think the hype hurts more than it helps. Sure, it gets people talking about your game, but without any details, they start making up their own wild guesses. Next thing you know, it will make you supper, fold your laundry, and give you a hand job when it's done. Three years later the game comes out and people realize they were wrong -- it doesn't solve world hunger -- and they are disappointed. Even the best game will be called shit when it doesn't live up to the hype.

I think a big reason that they do this is to push opening sales. If they sell a million copies on release day, the execs can give wild sales projections, collect huge bonuses, and pat themselves on the back. It doesn't matter that those projections will drop off sharply once people realize it was only hype; the execs have been paid and are already starting on the next big project. If only they would have saved the money on the hype machine and put it into development, they might have had a game that made money over the long term, and that people actually enjoyed.

Instead, we get announcements three years in advance, rumors planted by marketers, pre-alpha previews from mindless shills, cinematic trailers that have nothing to do with the game, and a half-baked remake of decade-old IP that should have spent six more months in QA before it saw the light of day.

Hype is how the industry is setting itself up to fail.

it only means its so far out of production that it would take about a good two year or three to release think about this:

When the timer goes zero the title of the game is presented now we know what game it is but not when it will be release

I'm pretty confident that after the countdown were still gonna wait for the damn game to come out and one more thing if they told us the name of a game than simply a countdown there probably a bit more hype and publicity.

Hype... Hype is a marketing tool used in gaming indusrty to promote games *cough* Halo 3 *cough*. So I stick to the undershadowed games like The portal arcade game feturing new challenge maps. Too bad my friend stressed portal 2 to the point I can't stand playing the first damn game cause he jus says "O yea well in portal 2 there is going to be guns",load of crap and not true (I HOPE). Portal on seroids not good, portal with expansion pack good.

These days, hype just seems to depress proper gamers more when the title is a lot shitter than it was talked up to be.

I'd love to see company that just turns around to questions and says "Oh yea where making a game, it's quite cool. Hope you enjoy it." then simply answers any questions directed at it with the full truth. It would probably drop off the map, then a week before release, drop out a demo/trailer to gaming sites and such saying "We finished, pretty cool lookin' ha?".

I'd probably buy that game. I really would.

I usually make it a point not to keep up with the development of a game I want, for the simple fact that waiting for years on end for god of war 3, or the next Kingdom Hearts game, or Arkham Asylum, OR Banjo Kazooie N&B (I demand a next gen game for them that plays like the old ones dammit, but that's a whole nother demon) will more than likely drive one insane.

One of the biggest most recent hypes I can remember is the splash screen blizzard did with the WoW website in the week leading up to BlizzCon 08'. While I don't play WoW when a friend of mine told me about this I found myself checking each day to see what the ice was unveiling. To be quite honest I thought it was going to be something about their new expansion for WoW. Imagine my shock when it was a diablo 3 splash that was being revealed. Point being though my friends and I would talk about what we thought they were announcing at least once a day until the final unveiling.

meow.

kojima is a cute little asian so he can get away with it.

'tis my opinion. but i'm just a sucker. XP

Hype: Increases sales
Game Quality: Increases customer/consumer satisfaction level

Need I say more?