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It is becoming more common in a world teeming with media and corporate influence to find sponsored or endorsed games. The question is, why do game developers chose to endorse their products, does it really lead to better games? Or it a simple sales ploy to captivate a larger market?
Endorsement of a game is lending a famous name or corporate brand to promote a game. Tony Hawk's 3 is obviously endorsed by skateboard legend, Tony Hawk. However, how much of a say does Tony actually have in the game? The answer is probably very little. Many developers nowadays simply want the name, as it usually results in increased sales. Tony Hawk's 3 is an example of a great game, which also features endorsement. However, a niche does exist for poor games, which sell well on the basis of the name on the cover.
David Beckham's Soccer has been scorned by magazine previews, as ultimately terrible in contrast with other soccer games on the shelves. Do rage really think they can shift truckloads of copies of a fundamentally poor game by virtue of the David Beckham endorsement? Obviously they do. And with the release tying neatly in with World Cup 2002, Rage are set to make a packet.
So a gamer may get a raw deal, but what about in-your-face raw deals gamers face everyday due to rivalling endorsements? It is becoming all to common to find a Player X in a sports game, and by using backward logic, revealing that he in fact is tied up with another corporate game. Is this really what gamers want? The answer is a blatant no. Gamers want realism yes, but ultimately not corporate wars which result in gaping holes in their favourite games. After all where is the world champion BMX rider Dave Mirra in the Mat Hoffman series of games? Similarly where is Hoffman in Mirra's games? The two BMX gurus are obviously caught in the middle of contractual agreements which ultimately leads to a bunch of question marks forming over puzzled gamers heads.
So how far will corporate endorsement go in pursuit of profit? One day could we be seeing the England squad in our favourite football game having only two genuine members because the rest of the team are bound to their own games? This sort of action could drive soccer fans away by the truckload, and the corporation could actually lose out. I was one of many of the original ISS fans who were infuriated by the makeshift player names which we had to endure.
In a completely contrary view however, endorsement can in many cases prove as a plus to the gamer. It can also benefit endorsees exponentially. I am referring yet again to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Admittedly, I would not have heard of Tony Hawk but for the games, so it has proved a big publicity hit for him in the United Kingdom. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games are also brilliant and lucid games on their merits. They are fun, exciting, and rewarding. The endorsement aspect of Tony Hawk's actually does improve the game in my eyes, and you get the aesthetics of his skater crowd every time you play. This for me is one of the most rewarding aspects of the game, and I hope it continues for a long time into the future. However, if a rival company decided to sign up Bucky Lasek for example, resulting in him failing to appear in the next instalment, I would be more than a little begrudged.
So in summary, endorsement is a major part of the gaming market, and this point is unarguable. Many game developers think (for good reasons) that slapping a famous face on their games will sell copies. In fact endorsement is such a big business that games are beginning to suffer in realism as a result. What can we expect from the future? How long will our favourite games last with all the corporate and media influence? Only time will tell, but endorsement rules should laterally coincide with that of games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Endorsement is not a crime, nor does it have to be detrimental to other games, it just has to be carried out in an empathetic and productive manner that will not upset gamers.
Endorsement of a game is lending a famous name or corporate brand to promote a game. Tony Hawk's 3 is obviously endorsed by skateboard legend, Tony Hawk. However, how much of a say does Tony actually have in the game? The answer is probably very little. Many developers nowadays simply want the name, as it usually results in increased sales. Tony Hawk's 3 is an example of a great game, which also features endorsement. However, a niche does exist for poor games, which sell well on the basis of the name on the cover.
David Beckham's Soccer has been scorned by magazine previews, as ultimately terrible in contrast with other soccer games on the shelves. Do rage really think they can shift truckloads of copies of a fundamentally poor game by virtue of the David Beckham endorsement? Obviously they do. And with the release tying neatly in with World Cup 2002, Rage are set to make a packet.
So a gamer may get a raw deal, but what about in-your-face raw deals gamers face everyday due to rivalling endorsements? It is becoming all to common to find a Player X in a sports game, and by using backward logic, revealing that he in fact is tied up with another corporate game. Is this really what gamers want? The answer is a blatant no. Gamers want realism yes, but ultimately not corporate wars which result in gaping holes in their favourite games. After all where is the world champion BMX rider Dave Mirra in the Mat Hoffman series of games? Similarly where is Hoffman in Mirra's games? The two BMX gurus are obviously caught in the middle of contractual agreements which ultimately leads to a bunch of question marks forming over puzzled gamers heads.
So how far will corporate endorsement go in pursuit of profit? One day could we be seeing the England squad in our favourite football game having only two genuine members because the rest of the team are bound to their own games? This sort of action could drive soccer fans away by the truckload, and the corporation could actually lose out. I was one of many of the original ISS fans who were infuriated by the makeshift player names which we had to endure.
In a completely contrary view however, endorsement can in many cases prove as a plus to the gamer. It can also benefit endorsees exponentially. I am referring yet again to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Admittedly, I would not have heard of Tony Hawk but for the games, so it has proved a big publicity hit for him in the United Kingdom. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games are also brilliant and lucid games on their merits. They are fun, exciting, and rewarding. The endorsement aspect of Tony Hawk's actually does improve the game in my eyes, and you get the aesthetics of his skater crowd every time you play. This for me is one of the most rewarding aspects of the game, and I hope it continues for a long time into the future. However, if a rival company decided to sign up Bucky Lasek for example, resulting in him failing to appear in the next instalment, I would be more than a little begrudged.
So in summary, endorsement is a major part of the gaming market, and this point is unarguable. Many game developers think (for good reasons) that slapping a famous face on their games will sell copies. In fact endorsement is such a big business that games are beginning to suffer in realism as a result. What can we expect from the future? How long will our favourite games last with all the corporate and media influence? Only time will tell, but endorsement rules should laterally coincide with that of games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Endorsement is not a crime, nor does it have to be detrimental to other games, it just has to be carried out in an empathetic and productive manner that will not upset gamers.
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Your final point is very true Armitage, not all gamers can be bothered with magazine reviews or the equivalents. Many gamers will just pop to the local shop and pick a good looking title from the shelf. This is likely to be the audience that David Beckham Soccer will appeal to. World Cup Fans will pick Beckham's off the shelf expecting a solid footy game to play with their mates, oblivious that better games are available.
In response to RM18, and my morning posts....Well I'm writing now because I just got out of bed. I've got into a horrible routine where I go to bed late and get up late (noooo). Thus I write my posts when my housemates have gone to bed and I'm still awake.... God knows how I will be able to handle 9:30 mornings again a week from now....
In response to RM18, and my morning posts....Well I'm writing now because I just got out of bed. I've got into a horrible routine where I go to bed late and get up late (noooo). Thus I write my posts when my housemates have gone to bed and I'm still awake.... God knows how I will be able to handle 9:30 mornings again a week from now....
Wait until you start paying taxes.
That's because we're mildly raging against the machine.
More of a snooty sneer than raging.
More of a snooty sneer than raging.
I had absolutley no idea who tony hawks was before playing the game on the DC and i loved it and talked my brother into buying it... since then i havent bought another tony hawks game...
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