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The gaming experience is built up by a number of key elements. The most important include the hype and the actual gaming experience. It is the job of the publisher's marketing team to make you want the game. After all, if you want the game then you are going to buy it and you'll be damned if you don't like it. The game itself is important for obvious reasons. If you don't like playing the game, you are not going to bother paying for sequels or other franchises by that developer are you?
If the developers and publishers get them wrong, then the experience is going to be a bad one for the gamer and will eventually lead to a situation like that Acclaim has found itself in. So it is beneficial for all parties that everything is set right.
So then, why do you need to ask each other what games to get? Surely the hype machine has drawn your attention to atleast one game. Surely you know what you want to play?
If the answer is 'no' then the question you should ask yourself is, 'Do I really want a new game right now?' There isn't a law saying that a gamer must buy atleast one new game per 'x' amount of weeks is there? If I don't want a game, I wont buy one. There are many games I wouldn't mind trying, but right now I don't see the point in getting them. I don't want them. I'm just a little curious about them.
One example is Call of Duty. I have been told mixed things about the game and have come to the conclusion that it just doesn't interest me right now. I've not felt compelled to read up about it, nor have I felt the need to look at footage of the game. The one advert I saw for the game almost convinced me to take a look into the game but unfortunately for the publisher, their hype machine was as effective as oil in firefighting.
So then there's the whole image problem. Problem? Problem? 'What image problem?' you may ask. If you're a part of the online gaming community, whether it be a member of forums such as these I'm typing on now, or a member of a wider community such as Xbox Live, image begins to play its part. If you're like me, you will play the games you enjoy regardless of how it makes others percieve you. However, I know the majority of gamers care more about how others percieve them than they care for themselves. It's all about looking cool in this day and age. Although there's nothing wrong with that. It's basic instinct to want to look as good as you can. But it can cloud your judgement.
Take The Legend of Zelda for example. Atleast half of the games in the series have been brilliant, and all of them have been enjoyable at various levels. However, with The Wind Waker, Nintendo were faced with a problem that Shigeru Miyamoto, the series creator, did not expect. The game was rejected by many many fans of the series! Why? Because Nintendo did what they have done with every new generation of Zelda games and created a new look to the game, differentiating between the times of each quest. In this case, Nintendo took a risk and toon-rendered the game. This proved sucessful with Jet Set Radio, but was such a controversial move for Nintendo that it caused a bit of a problem. It didn't seem as cool as the "uber-realistic" Ocarina of Time, which wasn't actually realistic, just not so cartoon in style. Overall, the game gained from the graphical change, despite its other flaws (which are irrelevant to this argument) and because of the uncool, 'childish' look to the game, it didn't do as well as it potentially could have. This has forced Nintendo to give up on a toon-rendered Wind Waker sequel for the mean time in order to win back the fans, and hopefully gain more. I really enjoyed the game because I looked past the whole 'image' thing. After all, I'm not an American teenage girl in high school after the boy with the Buck Rogers helmet style blonde hair cut who happens to wear a sports jacket with a number 9 on it. No, I'm a 19 year old British male earning a living and intent on spending money to treat myself to what I want.
So do you really want any new games? You've already asked what games should you get for Christmas and probably made lists to give to Santa/your parents/etc in the hope of just having a larger collection. But maybe you don't want a new game. Maybe you want something else. Are you the teenage girl wanting to look good for the boys or are you your own person who can make your mind up for yourself?
I leave it to you do decide...
The gaming experience is built up by a number of key elements. The most important include the hype and the actual gaming experience. It is the job of the publisher's marketing team to make you want the game. After all, if you want the game then you are going to buy it and you'll be damned if you don't like it. The game itself is important for obvious reasons. If you don't like playing the game, you are not going to bother paying for sequels or other franchises by that developer are you?
If the developers and publishers get them wrong, then the experience is going to be a bad one for the gamer and will eventually lead to a situation like that Acclaim has found itself in. So it is beneficial for all parties that everything is set right.
So then, why do you need to ask each other what games to get? Surely the hype machine has drawn your attention to atleast one game. Surely you know what you want to play?
If the answer is 'no' then the question you should ask yourself is, 'Do I really want a new game right now?' There isn't a law saying that a gamer must buy atleast one new game per 'x' amount of weeks is there? If I don't want a game, I wont buy one. There are many games I wouldn't mind trying, but right now I don't see the point in getting them. I don't want them. I'm just a little curious about them.
One example is Call of Duty. I have been told mixed things about the game and have come to the conclusion that it just doesn't interest me right now. I've not felt compelled to read up about it, nor have I felt the need to look at footage of the game. The one advert I saw for the game almost convinced me to take a look into the game but unfortunately for the publisher, their hype machine was as effective as oil in firefighting.
So then there's the whole image problem. Problem? Problem? 'What image problem?' you may ask. If you're a part of the online gaming community, whether it be a member of forums such as these I'm typing on now, or a member of a wider community such as Xbox Live, image begins to play its part. If you're like me, you will play the games you enjoy regardless of how it makes others percieve you. However, I know the majority of gamers care more about how others percieve them than they care for themselves. It's all about looking cool in this day and age. Although there's nothing wrong with that. It's basic instinct to want to look as good as you can. But it can cloud your judgement.
Take The Legend of Zelda for example. Atleast half of the games in the series have been brilliant, and all of them have been enjoyable at various levels. However, with The Wind Waker, Nintendo were faced with a problem that Shigeru Miyamoto, the series creator, did not expect. The game was rejected by many many fans of the series! Why? Because Nintendo did what they have done with every new generation of Zelda games and created a new look to the game, differentiating between the times of each quest. In this case, Nintendo took a risk and toon-rendered the game. This proved sucessful with Jet Set Radio, but was such a controversial move for Nintendo that it caused a bit of a problem. It didn't seem as cool as the "uber-realistic" Ocarina of Time, which wasn't actually realistic, just not so cartoon in style. Overall, the game gained from the graphical change, despite its other flaws (which are irrelevant to this argument) and because of the uncool, 'childish' look to the game, it didn't do as well as it potentially could have. This has forced Nintendo to give up on a toon-rendered Wind Waker sequel for the mean time in order to win back the fans, and hopefully gain more. I really enjoyed the game because I looked past the whole 'image' thing. After all, I'm not an American teenage girl in high school after the boy with the Buck Rogers helmet style blonde hair cut who happens to wear a sports jacket with a number 9 on it. No, I'm a 19 year old British male earning a living and intent on spending money to treat myself to what I want.
So do you really want any new games? You've already asked what games should you get for Christmas and probably made lists to give to Santa/your parents/etc in the hope of just having a larger collection. But maybe you don't want a new game. Maybe you want something else. Are you the teenage girl wanting to look good for the boys or are you your own person who can make your mind up for yourself?
I leave it to you do decide...