Turn Down The Hype Machine! - The Point

Bad start for Danny. Stating inaccuracies as fact just to back up a feature's point is weak. Get it together.

I learned a long time ago to avoid the hype train. As soon as a game looks/sounds interesting to me, I avoid almost everything about it until it releases.

It still shocks me how often I see people getting too excited about a new game. It needs to release first before you can play it, so why get so excited now? Why buy it before you know it's quality? Cognitive dissonance is annoying and I rather not participate.

Just be a Stoic and care about only those things that are within your control.

Great episode, a very good message for gamers everywhere! Hype definitely makes money so things aren't really going to change, but it's on us personally to maintain realistic expectations and practice due diligence when it comes to buying games (double true for people who pre-order).

Cheers Danny,

It's great to give this issue an airing and I agree with the point. I guess the contradiction is that hype can generate excitement but also lead to a nasty fall of bad reviews and disappointed consumers (I can't help thinking of the hugely anticipated but wholly underwhelming Watchdogs!). As you point out, the late announcement of Fallout may well have been part of its success. Would we have been so delighted with the product had we been repeated shown Fallout hype promos for two years prior to release, as we had Watchdogs. (hm, good luck, The Division)

Cheers - excited for The Point and Lobby in 2016!

Good show Danny! Always interesting topics! Cheers

What really stinks is when you don't buy into the hype but every game site spends what seems like weeks focused on one title you aren't interested in. This happens to me regularly. It's like I get punished for having my own mind.

Love Danny, hes the best editor at gamespot. no homo

I ignored final part of TW3 hype machine (trailers, interviews, previews, gameplays). It was worth it.

The worst is when publishers show a vertical slice of a game at e3 years before it's even close to being finished and make the game look way better than it will ever be, Watch Dogs for example.

I remember back in 2012 my friends and I were hyped for Watch Dogs because of this "gameplay" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcMRkyoHKeA

Then the game was delayed and the graphics were downgraded. https://youtu.be/Ml3jjWssiCs?t=26s

By the time it finally came out in May 2014 I had completely lost interest and never bought it, my friends who bought it said it was okay, but it didn't live up to the hype.

Man I still cant believe Bowie is gone.

What was that game at 6:04?

Really poignant episode, coming out of 2015. Last year was the year prelease made and broke games. Of all the games I played in 2015, the one I went into knowing the least about was Tales from the Borderlands. It was my favourite game of the year. I think hype is useful; like most people I have limited time and resources, so I decide what to buy and play based on trailers, reviews, recommendations. Sometimes journalists really don't help. The article posted on gamespot today, comparing the Division to Destiny, is exactly that. Hype is great, being really excited for a game for ages, as I have been for the Division since E3 2013, getting the game on launch day and loving it feels special. People's mistake isn't in getting hyped for a game. Get excited about it, and play it. Then make sure you can think about it in two ways. Compare it to what you thought it would, or wanted it to, be. And then try and play it objectively. How does it stack up, as a game, ignoring everything you knew or thought before you played it yourself?

Very true. But then again this is coming from a site that gave the Witcher 3, a score of 10 which is a score that is drenched in hype.

Thank you for the short clips of Bowie and Rickman. Made me appreciate you even more :)

awesome

Hey Danny you sound like you are auditioning for a spot in The Lonely Island with that intro.

I already ignore the hype on games. Witcher 3 I watched one trailer and then refused to open a single article with Witcher 3 anywhere near it from that moment on.

Same with Fallout 4.

Destiny was the final straw for me. I bought into the hype for that game so much I was already sick of it when it released. Then it turned out to be utter trash.

It's just not worth getting so invested in something before it is even a reality.

Sometimes I think I actually enjoy the hype more than some games. That Dead Island trailer (you know the one) was far more compelling than anything I ever experienced in game. I think it is on us as consumers to display a little more in the way of critical thinking when experiencing hype. Sure your game look good Mr. Publisher and you make some convincing arguments, but I really want to see the evidence for myself before I lay down my hard earned cash.

I also think there is also a direct three-way correlation between the amount of hype a game receives, its budget, and the actual quality of the game itself. If a game sucks (publishers know if they suck or not) and it has a huge budget, expect it to be hyped to the tits. If a game sucks and it has a small budget, expect no hype. If a game is great and it has a huge budget, expect a moderate amounts of hype, as the publisher will rely on reviewers and the public to carry it across the finish line. If a game is great and has no budget, tit hype (relatively speaking) cause you want to maximize that great investment you made.

That my logic, now tear it apart internet.

The Phantom Pain was the only game that I had high expectations of and was also blown away playing it.

OMG this intro <3 I love you Danny

Drenched from leaks... gross.

--expectation is the best friend of disappointment

--seriously though
--ive been gaming for a little under 30 years
--and ive learned at least one thing
--ALWAYS 'go into' a game(this goes for many other things also)
--with no expectations
--let the game 'be itself'

I do not understand why the division even has hype in the first place.