I've noticed a worrying trend in games that has gotten much worse in the last few years. Games are being revealed way too early. From the publisher's point of view they probably think a game can't be revealed early enough. The earlier the game is revealed, the more hype and anticipation that can be generated which should translate to large pre-order numbers. But revealing a game a year or two before its release can be double-edged sword that usually ends up hurting a game rather than helping it.
Watch Dogs is a recent example that is still fresh in everyone's minds. Flashback to E3 2012 where the game is announced with great reception due to its promise of next-gen visuals in an open world. But Ubisoft was then forced to backtrack by having to shift customer expectations due to not being able to deliver on what was initially promised visually. So all the goodwill and positive press they developed over a year and a half quickly turned negative overnight once new screenshots and video came out.
Another example of this can easily be seen with the next installment of Uncharted. It was announced and teased back in November 2013. Then a few months later we get news that the creative director Amy Hennig and game director Justin Richard have left Naughty Dog Studios. If the reveal/teaser had not been shown previously then no one would have known that production for Uncharted 4 had officially already started and that there is trouble in paradise. The fact they left or were let go during production usually indicates things really went south and that now brings up concerns for the quality of the franchise.
Triple A publishers are not the only ones guilty of this. Indie developers are also doing this but under the guise of "early access". When Steam announced the option to get early access to games that are not in even in a beta state yet, people jumped on the idea to get early access to games they were anticipating. But the way I see it, you are basically paying the developer to test their game for them. The saying that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression rings true. If my first interaction with game is it being buggy, unstable, and frustrating, it is hard to overlook those issues long enough till the game is polished enough for release. Some people may be able to do that, but I'd say that most people aren't that most gamers aren't that patient. By the time the game actually does come out, my interest in that game has probably withered away. I know, I know, someone will throw the example of Day Z and how much of a financial success it was. But they are the exception to the rule. Keep in mind, they already had a large user base from the Arma II mod.
So, what is the alternative? Imagine a scenario where Sony announces The Last Guardian at E3 in a few weeks and then says it will be on sale in just a month. The gaming sites, forums, and Twitter would explode with buzz about the game and its release being so imminent. Now replace the Last Guardian with your favorite upcoming title like Final Fantasy XV, Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, The Division, The Evil Within, etc... As a gamer, how can you not be stoked to know that a game that you weren't even aware was being worked on is going to be in your hands in a few weeks. I think publishers are holding onto the old marketing model of announcing a game a year or two before release and put ads in magazines and commercials for the game. We live in a connected world where news spreads quickly and things can go viral literally overnight for the better or worse of a game. When information about a game has gone viral, more than not, it is usually bad news. Publishers and developers should take advantage of the viral aspect and use it to their advantage to generate buzz about their game using new media with new approaches rather than relying on the old ones.
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I can see where you're coming from, but there is a lot more to it. As much as people jump to hating Nintendo, they have a long history of announcing things out of nowhere and releasing them shortly after. Not just small things either, but huge games like Super Mario 3D World was announced at E3 and released shortly after. While this is great in certain situations, it also leads to people having doubts about the system. In fact, I saw an article earlier today ( http://n4g.com/news/1518435... ) about how Sony's holiday line up is weak. This mentality also feeds into why it probably happens.
When companies announce things way in advance, it gives people an idea of just what to expect / hope for and that the system has a future (at least when the console is new). Thats what games like SSB, MK, Bayonetta 2, Uncharted and Gears of War are actually trying to do. Sometimes this does result in set backs, which suck, but it also prevents the game from possibly suffering from information overload. Imagine if Nintendo revealed SSB at E3 and did all the coverage they've done so far between its announcement and November 2014? We would be seeing new characters every other week, countless articles detailing the thing and you would probably hit a point where you're just want them to give it a rest.
Other times companies do things that are basically sending the game off to die. The perfect example of this is Soul Sacrifice Delta, which was announced a little while ago and then just appeared on The Drop a few weeks back. Sony pretty much released the game without detailing the cost, a possible discount for buyers of the original (there wasn't one Y_Y) or really anything until the day or the day before release. Needless to say, it probably didn't do too hot in terms of sales and this isn't the first game to pretty much release out of nowhere with no hype. In a lot of ways, a quick release without a strong marketing push is much worse than constant and spread out updates over a long period of time.
Anyway to sum it up, companies should probably put more thought into if this is or is not the time to reveal a game and be more upfront about potential problems. Especially in the case of Watch Dogs and Drive Club, since they were delayed out of nowhere and were set back a massive amount of time despite being delayed a little bit before release.
I agree. It seems like games are being revealed too early and in lttle drips just to give the new era of internet journalism something to report on each day.
Its not just expectations that are the problem, I actually think that revealing soomething too early is counterproductive for marketing the game. People were starting to get burnt out on Watch Dogs pre launch due to the over hype and the same can be said of Destiny which feel like it was revealed 14 years ago.
I would prefer to see games revealed and launched within 12 months, which provides ample time for marketing.
'Imagine a scenario where Sony announces The Last Guardian at E3 in a few weeks and then says it will be on sale in just a month.'
It sounds beautiful, the sad reality is like 90% of this gens big titles (specifically PS4) have been delayed or have just vanished. Shame on Sony for thinking devs were ready for the PS4, shame on the devs for saying they were ready for the PS4.
Rambling rant over, just gotta make the most of what we have I guess.
That's the issue with PC gaming in general very little to no hype when it comes to games so much so that gamers believe PC gaming is all about moba, mmos, and rts. In contrast console gaming lots of hype for their games and some not all not living to expectations. I guess the trick here is to hype a game a year before it releases taken from Nicaragua. Which I agree with his statement
I've been saying this for a long while, that games are being revealed too early. 12 months is very valid for marketing a game, and it keeps people interested when the game actually releases.
Worst case scenario is games like FF 13 Versus, The Last Guardian, Half Life 3 and Duke Nukem Forever etc. I remember when Half Life 2 Episode 3 was nothing but a false promise.
Another rant for another time, but i really hate how companies cram games into specific months, but leaving out other valid months with less competition.