Is Hype Good for games?

[Black Hand Smith]

Well, Here we are, many are getting hyped about advanced warfare while others just shrug it off and stopped giving a shit.

so now I ask a question....Is Hype good for Games?

 

There are 3 levels of Hype when it comes to games

 

No Hype - The " I don't know what that is and I don't care" type of hype

 

Interested - The " This game might be good, let me try it out" kind of hype

 

and of course.

 

Over Hype - The " HOLY SHIT THIS GAME IS GOING TO BE SO AMAZING GOTY!" type of hype.

 

In my opinion I believe over hyping a game can actually make a Good game look rather Shitty. A good Example is Titanfall. by itself it's a pretty good game. However before the game's release people were calling it the Cod Killer and praising the hell out of the Beta. When the game came out it quickly went from Titan Fall to Titan Fail. 

 

 

So what's your opinion about Hype? Do you believe it makes or will make good games into shit? Has there ever Been a game you were over excited to buy but then when you actually had it, you felt unsatisfied or you expected more?

[thegoldenspork115]

Hype is good for games as long as the individual knows that the game isn't going to be EXACTLY as they hope it will be. That's the way I see it.

[Lenne]

Watch Dogs is another good example.

 

But yes, hype can only lead to disappointment.

 

Games can also be over hyped to the point where it get's annoying and you don't even want anything to do with it anymore regardless of the fact if the game is actually good or not... right, @ZombieOfTheDead?

[MegaAfroMan]

Hype, for both us AND the Treyarch Zombie Team, helped make TranZit one of the worst received zombie maps of all time in my opinion.

TranZit was displayed, in my opinion, as having so much more content than it turned out to have, and I think honestly the devs were hoping and believing that they were going to be able to fit more into it than they did.

That last part is just a guess, but it's the only sensible excuse I can think of for why such a large map, and a season opener, is really rather empty. Otherwise the devs really just didn't notice it, and that is much more worrying.

[thegoldenspork115]

People didn't start hating Tranzit until Die Rise came out. But idk. Personally, I've always enjoyed Tranzit. XD

[Lenne]

People didn't start hating Tranzit until Die Rise came out. But idk. Personally, I've always enjoyed Tranzit. XD

There are people who hated TranZit the first time they played it.

[Slade]

Hype is good.

Assuming the game is going to be just as all the crazy hype suggests and then some is not and often leads to the disappointment Lenne mentioned.

People love to exaggerate everything nowadays. Go into a new game with a neutral pov, then after experiencing it make up your own opinion.

[Stop Mocking Me0]

In 2003 there was a game for the game-boy and gameboy advanced SP. 

 

It was titled: Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. 

 

You likely do not remember this game because no one gave forth any hype to it. 

 

This game was rated one of the best mario games of all time. It is my favorite game of all time. It's fun, can be challenging, and hilarious. 

 

A 10/10 game most people have never heard of. 

 

 

Hype does not matter. 

[Slade]

The Mario and Luigi RPG games are well known and praised around the world.

Back in 2003, no game had the amount of hype of today's standard.

[ZombieOfTheDead]

Watch Dogs is another good example.

 

But yes, hype can only lead to disappointment.

 

Games can also be over hyped to the point where it get's annoying and you don't even want anything to do with it anymore regardless of the fact if the game is actually good or not... right, @ZombieOfTheDead?

Don't even get me started on The Last of Us, anything made by valve, GTA5, and many others.

 

Hype for a game is only good if the game is actually good, and is something that you're interested in. So, it's pretty relative.

 

^btw, I've literally never heard of the Mario and Luigi RPG games, and I'd call myself pretty active in the gaming world. Paper Mario is the only Mario RPG that I knew of until now. No idea about back then, but can't say it's very well known now.

[Slade]

It's one of those series you only get the chance of discovering during the time a new entry is released.

However if it wasn't well know all the sequels probably wouldn't have made it to the West.

[lead_psychopath]

It's one of those series you only get the chance of discovering during the time a new entry is released.

However if it wasn't well know all the sequels probably wouldn't have made it to the West.

The hype thing is a touch out of control at the moment imo.

Much like pre-ordering.

Each new game that is expected to do well seems to be so over-hyped it just loses its umph. Call of Duty wasn't the franchise it is in one game, it changed and changed till Modern Warfare came along, then it just exploded.

All these Halo and Cod killer games that are praised to be the best thing since sliced bread. Then when played, it's a total let down. Youtube doesn't help, a big youtuber bigging up a game makes people want to go buy it, then it's a total let down.

For me, Hype is good, but over-hype isn't.

I learnt my lesson from GTA V. I was psycho-hyped for it, spent two days trying to find it cos I hadn't pre-ordered it, only to play it, and just get bored with it really quickly.

Since then I haven't let myself get hyped for anything, and I haven't been disappointed since!

[Black Hand Smith]

What about a Game Like Half Life 3? People have been going crazy about it for the Longest time. Like we see in Half Life 2, The controls are meh by today's standards and the Graphics are heavily outdated. So How do you believe a game like that could work after being in development for so long? I personally don't think it's going to Live up to the Hype. 

[ZombieOfTheDead]

It depends on the game. I honestly don't think Half Life 3 will live up to the hype because it's a shooter. Not many very innovative shooters anymore. Story-wise it'll probably be great, but gameplay... I just don't see it being so great.

 

Games that have been announced or hinted at forever can still succeed. It just depends on what type of game it is. FFXV and KH3 have been announced/hinted at forever, and they look fine mostly because we know more or less how they'll play, and the gameplay is still fine.

 

It's a very difficult question to answer since it's very relative...

[Undead]

Hype really depends on your personal interest of games and types of games really. But it's funny how if you basically idolize a game to someone, they seem to be turned off by it if it's already being overly hyped and then someone starts throwing it in their face even more. I'm guilty in both aspects, over hyping, and being the annoyed person being hyped to, lol. However, 90% the hype is real and you just gotta try it for yourself. I know I did that myself with Skyrim. I got tired of hearing all about the Elder Scrolls stuff when Skyrim was first released. I didn't care unless it had guns at the time. I even started talking about how lame a game I've never played probably was and sounded. Boy did I eat those words... 

[MysteryMachineX]

Hype is good because it raises awareness for the game, which raises sales, which gives the money, so they can make the game better. However, one thing you should know about the gaming community: it is full of the most hateful and unappreciated people the world has ever seen since the Spanish Inquisition. There are articles online you can read about how game devs get depressed on the job because they worked really hard and all the fans call the game crap because he forgot one light. I've heard about some who even quit the entire industry after working on games. Hype is good, but when something is overhyped enough, there's no possible way reality can keep up. And then the popularity is very easily prone to backlash.

 

So I just ask people to please judge a game on the game. Nothing else.

[GRILL]

On topic, hype is good for the selling of games.  Like getting pre-orders, getting all the investors stoked.  However, hype is BAD for the playing of games - meaning that sometimes hype will become more important then the actual product.  Hype can lead developers down bad paths like creating "fake" demos (Aliens: Colonial Marines & Watch Dogs).  Hype also takes advantage of the mystery surrounding the game - we get sparse details, but heavy promises (COD: Ghosts).

 

Now I'm not saying that games don't need hype - it's quite the contrary, hype is essential for a game launch to be successful... however, all the hype in the world can't cover up a lackluster AAA title.  Something that goes hand in hand with hype is the concept of "pre ordering".

 

Let's take a trip down memory lane.  Pre ordering a game used to only happen when there was a legitimate concern that the game would sell out on day 1.  Pre-ordering was reserved for the best of the best, the games that were clearly handled with care, were going to be blockbusters.  Because this was such a rare and basically outlandish thing (putting your money down on a product that you have yet to see), they wanted to reward consumers for loyalty and give them a pre order bonus.  As the years ticked by, and AAA franchises began seeing more and more annual renewals - the companies like Activision needed a way to reel in the consumers early on, to essentially trick them into pledging their money towards a product that they really have no idea how it will turn out.

 

Once pre-ordering started working to boost up hype and numbers for the investors and all that jazz, it became more and more common until nowadays.  Now, we EXPECT  pre order bonus' to come up with our games.  We expect pre orders availability as soon as a game is teased at E3 (even if it's not coming out until 2016).

 

The only way to get rid of the true evil of hype is to just stop pre ordering in general.  I've read some great articles on Kotaku about this very subject, and I believe I may adopt the stance of "not pre ordering" simply because the pre order bonus' have gotten out of hand.  Seriously, if you wanted to have every item and play every mission on Watch Dogs - you'd have to buy about 5 different copies and 4 different consoles.  It's this console exclusive DLC that really makes me sick - devs spend time on a mission that will only be played on PS4's.  Reaaaaaal cool.

 

tl;dr - hype is good if the game is good, hype is lame if the game turns out lackluster, and hype is bad if it's used to deceive the consumer (i.e. Aliens: Colonial Marines)

/endrant

 

 

 

People didn't start hating Tranzit until Die Rise came out. But idk. Personally, I've always enjoyed Tranzit. XD

There are people who hated TranZit the first time they played it.

 

 

Oh I hated that map right away.  Any map that seemingly punishes you for exploring is just rubbish in my book, plus it literally gave us no answers we were hoping for.  We had a killer cliffhanger, our hero's trapped on the moon - and 3arc completely glossed over it.

 

Also let's not forget the spoon fed garbage hype we got from Mark "Origins/115" Lamia pre release - "It's going to be a whole WORLD of zombies".  Little did we know he simply meant that the map selection screen would be a world map.

[lead_psychopath]

On topic, hype is good for the selling of games. Like getting pre-orders, getting all the investors stoked. However, hype is BAD for the playing of games - meaning that sometimes hype will become more important then the actual product. Hype can lead developers down bad paths like creating "fake" demos (Aliens: Colonial Marines & Watch Dogs). Hype also takes advantage of the mystery surrounding the game - we get sparse details, but heavy promises (COD: Ghosts).

Now I'm not saying that games don't need hype - it's quite the contrary, hype is essential for a game launch to be successful... however, all the hype in the world can't cover up a lackluster AAA title. Something that goes hand in hand with hype is the concept of "pre ordering".

Let's take a trip down memory lane. Pre ordering a game used to only happen when there was a legitimate concern that the game would sell out on day 1. Pre-ordering was reserved for the best of the best, the games that were clearly handled with care, were going to be blockbusters. Because this was such a rare and basically outlandish thing (putting your money down on a product that you have yet to see), they wanted to reward consumers for loyalty and give them a pre order bonus. As the years ticked by, and AAA franchises began seeing more and more annual renewals - the companies like Activision needed a way to reel in the consumers early on, to essentially trick them into pledging their money towards a product that they really have no idea how it will turn out.

Once pre-ordering started working to boost up hype and numbers for the investors and all that jazz, it became more and more common until nowadays. Now, we EXPECT pre order bonus' to come up with our games. We expect pre orders availability as soon as a game is teased at E3 (even if it's not coming out until 2016).

The only way to get rid of the true evil of hype is to just stop pre ordering in general. I've read some great articles on Kotaku about this very subject, and I believe I may adopt the stance of "not pre ordering" simply because the pre order bonus' have gotten out of hand. Seriously, if you wanted to have every item and play every mission on Watch Dogs - you'd have to buy about 5 different copies and 4 different consoles. It's this console exclusive DLC that really makes me sick - devs spend time on a mission that will only be played on PS4's. Reaaaaaal cool.

tl;dr - hype is good if the game is good, hype is lame if the game turns out lackluster, and hype is bad if it's used to deceive the consumer (i.e. Aliens: Colonial Marines)

/endrant

People didn't start hating Tranzit until Die Rise came out. But idk. Personally, I've always enjoyed Tranzit. XD

There are people who hated TranZit the first time they played it.

Oh I hated that map right away. Any map that seemingly punishes you for exploring is just rubbish in my book, plus it literally gave us no answers we were hoping for. We had a killer cliffhanger, our hero's trapped on the moon - and 3arc completely glossed over it.

Also let's not forget the spoon fed garbage hype we got from Mark "Origins/115" Lamia pre release - "It's going to be a whole WORLD of zombies". Little did we know he simply meant that the map selection screen would be a world map. On day one of BO2 release, a was playing a random lobby of free for all.

These two dudes summed Tranzit up for Me:

"you play zombies yet?"

"Yep"

"what the fuck did they do to it?!"

"I have no idea, but I used to love zombies. I'm not sure I do anymore..."

Sorry to cuss, but that's pretty much word for word what they said. And it's exactly what I felt. I didn't get back into zombies till that January when NTZ came out.

That's another downside to pre-ordering. I didn't really pay attention to what was in the Hardened Edition game. Had I realised NTZ was there, I would've got it. I just scrawled the Internet over the last 24h to find the best pre order bonuses for destiny. I can buy the game from Gamestop for €10 more than anywhere else, for specific pre order bonuses.

Only to have the specific bonuses available in a matter of weeks.

I've rambled a bit, but basically I'm trying to say that they promise all these things exclusive to pre order, then release them shortly afterwards.

Also, I really don't think individual retailers should have special pre order bonuses.

[GameChanger]

Without hype, there's no point in advertising your game. Hype is necessary and can even be good as it enhances your experience with the game, but you have to be careful with it. There is such a thing as too much hype. Watch_Dogs is the case and point. PC users who preordered had no idea they'd get the shaft in terms of optimization and DRM. Everyone was so excited for "GTA with Hacks" that they neglected the possibility that perhaps that game could possibly be lackluster. Regarding hype, Like my homie Tommy Angelo said at the end of Mafia 1,

 

"You know, I think it's important to keep a balance in things. Yeah, balance, that's the right word. Because the guy who wants too much risks losing absolutely everything. Of course, the guy who wants too little in life, might not get anything at all."