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Hype. An oh so simply, yet oh so affective word that needs to be put to good use in the gaming world more often than it is. Here's why: without the key feature, hype, no game would be known about until the moment of it's release, which would certainly delay sales and would lead to the public not recognising the game. Hyping is a simple yet effective way to get a point across to the gaming world.
Hype can come in many forms, and can allow information to travel fast - in TV Adverts, on large banners, in posters in shop windows or just by word of mouth. Hype spreads fast, especially if the advertisment has a catchy feature to it, and when you see something in particular you'll be reminded of it. Something along those lines is required in an advert to let a game live up to its hype.
The success of a game is helped on so greatly by hype - take a look at Gran Turismo 3 - hyped so much that even before it was completed, many millions of people were already planning on investing in it. The same with Metal Gear Solid 2. These games have sold by the bucketload on PS2, because not only are they great games, but they had the right amount of hype to help propel them to the top of the Games Charts. These 2 games are perfect examples of what hype can do to a game, and if hype was put to use more often, we'd see many more great games branching out all over the place, or so it would seem.....
There are a fair few disadvantages of hyping though. Over-hyping is the main culprit, as it will bore the typical gamer, and when the game is released the gamer may just know a little too much about the actual game, which will make them think more about whether the purchase will last them long enough AND deliver fun at the same time. Over-hyping really doesn't help a game too much, which goes to show that developers need to get just the right build-up on a game to give it a good anticipation rating. Not too high a rating, and not too low either, just bam! Right in the middle.
One particular thing to watch out for around the hype area of gaming, is the hyping up of a bad game. Nothing can be worse than having anticipated a game for months on end, only for it to become a really poor show when it is released. There are endless examples of this type of hype, and I'm sure most of you will be sick to death of this kind of hype being thrust upon us. Hyping is both good and bad at the same time, and when the bad side takes its form, everyone'll just wish it was dead altogether.
I've noticed another thing about hype - it can actually start years before one particular game is released. Take Goldeneye for example: any game following it up was bound to do well, just due to the success it had in the sales market. Perfect Dark was that follow-up, and it did well, without many TV Addverts of it's own, it still managed to sell well, just because of it's predecessor. Goldeneye made Perfect Dark what it was, and even without the TV Adverts, the banners and the posters, Perfect Dark still managed to become one of the greatest selling games ever.
No doubt, hype will still be around in the next few years, whether it be hyping up a new Harry Potter movie, a new Crash Bandicoot game or a new Nintendo console, hype will still be the secret forumla that can help propel games right to the top if the world. Hyping has good results, IF developers keep hype simple, effective and not too over-hyped. It is the formula for sales, and it can be put to great effect - developers should use hype more often!
AJ.
Hype can come in many forms, and can allow information to travel fast - in TV Adverts, on large banners, in posters in shop windows or just by word of mouth. Hype spreads fast, especially if the advertisment has a catchy feature to it, and when you see something in particular you'll be reminded of it. Something along those lines is required in an advert to let a game live up to its hype.
The success of a game is helped on so greatly by hype - take a look at Gran Turismo 3 - hyped so much that even before it was completed, many millions of people were already planning on investing in it. The same with Metal Gear Solid 2. These games have sold by the bucketload on PS2, because not only are they great games, but they had the right amount of hype to help propel them to the top of the Games Charts. These 2 games are perfect examples of what hype can do to a game, and if hype was put to use more often, we'd see many more great games branching out all over the place, or so it would seem.....
There are a fair few disadvantages of hyping though. Over-hyping is the main culprit, as it will bore the typical gamer, and when the game is released the gamer may just know a little too much about the actual game, which will make them think more about whether the purchase will last them long enough AND deliver fun at the same time. Over-hyping really doesn't help a game too much, which goes to show that developers need to get just the right build-up on a game to give it a good anticipation rating. Not too high a rating, and not too low either, just bam! Right in the middle.
One particular thing to watch out for around the hype area of gaming, is the hyping up of a bad game. Nothing can be worse than having anticipated a game for months on end, only for it to become a really poor show when it is released. There are endless examples of this type of hype, and I'm sure most of you will be sick to death of this kind of hype being thrust upon us. Hyping is both good and bad at the same time, and when the bad side takes its form, everyone'll just wish it was dead altogether.
I've noticed another thing about hype - it can actually start years before one particular game is released. Take Goldeneye for example: any game following it up was bound to do well, just due to the success it had in the sales market. Perfect Dark was that follow-up, and it did well, without many TV Addverts of it's own, it still managed to sell well, just because of it's predecessor. Goldeneye made Perfect Dark what it was, and even without the TV Adverts, the banners and the posters, Perfect Dark still managed to become one of the greatest selling games ever.
No doubt, hype will still be around in the next few years, whether it be hyping up a new Harry Potter movie, a new Crash Bandicoot game or a new Nintendo console, hype will still be the secret forumla that can help propel games right to the top if the world. Hyping has good results, IF developers keep hype simple, effective and not too over-hyped. It is the formula for sales, and it can be put to great effect - developers should use hype more often!
AJ.
Good post. Hype is often crucial in determing the success of a console/game release, not only because it raises awareness of the product to the core user (who would no doubt no about it anyway), but spreads the word to other people who might not be interested. Developers are spending more on advertising campaigns and hyping games especially in the current console climate, because in such a closely contested arena, with three consoles vying for your money and your love, sales are more important than ever, and hype is an integral part of that.
The hype before reading this topic was large, and rightly so! Nice topic Mr. Afro.
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I agree hype will be around for ages to come and I hope it is used less in the future. I don't mind a few adverts here and there but (not being a fanboy or anything like that) company's like Gamecube constantly use hype for sales. I mean other company's do it as well but when you compare the amounts of other company's Gamecube goes WAY over board. Anyway great post AJ
Hype. An oh so simply, yet oh so affective word that needs to be put to good use in the gaming world more often than it is. Here's why: without the key feature, hype, no game would be known about until the moment of it's release, which would certainly delay sales and would lead to the public not recognising the game. Hyping is a simple yet effective way to get a point across to the gaming world.
Hype can come in many forms, and can allow information to travel fast - in TV Adverts, on large banners, in posters in shop windows or just by word of mouth. Hype spreads fast, especially if the advertisment has a catchy feature to it, and when you see something in particular you'll be reminded of it. Something along those lines is required in an advert to let a game live up to its hype.
The success of a game is helped on so greatly by hype - take a look at Gran Turismo 3 - hyped so much that even before it was completed, many millions of people were already planning on investing in it. The same with Metal Gear Solid 2. These games have sold by the bucketload on PS2, because not only are they great games, but they had the right amount of hype to help propel them to the top of the Games Charts. These 2 games are perfect examples of what hype can do to a game, and if hype was put to use more often, we'd see many more great games branching out all over the place, or so it would seem.....
There are a fair few disadvantages of hyping though. Over-hyping is the main culprit, as it will bore the typical gamer, and when the game is released the gamer may just know a little too much about the actual game, which will make them think more about whether the purchase will last them long enough AND deliver fun at the same time. Over-hyping really doesn't help a game too much, which goes to show that developers need to get just the right build-up on a game to give it a good anticipation rating. Not too high a rating, and not too low either, just bam! Right in the middle.
One particular thing to watch out for around the hype area of gaming, is the hyping up of a bad game. Nothing can be worse than having anticipated a game for months on end, only for it to become a really poor show when it is released. There are endless examples of this type of hype, and I'm sure most of you will be sick to death of this kind of hype being thrust upon us. Hyping is both good and bad at the same time, and when the bad side takes its form, everyone'll just wish it was dead altogether.
I've noticed another thing about hype - it can actually start years before one particular game is released. Take Goldeneye for example: any game following it up was bound to do well, just due to the success it had in the sales market. Perfect Dark was that follow-up, and it did well, without many TV Addverts of it's own, it still managed to sell well, just because of it's predecessor. Goldeneye made Perfect Dark what it was, and even without the TV Adverts, the banners and the posters, Perfect Dark still managed to become one of the greatest selling games ever.
No doubt, hype will still be around in the next few years, whether it be hyping up a new Harry Potter movie, a new Crash Bandicoot game or a new Nintendo console, hype will still be the secret forumla that can help propel games right to the top if the world. Hyping has good results, IF developers keep hype simple, effective and not too over-hyped. It is the formula for sales, and it can be put to great effect - developers should use hype more often!
AJ.
Hype can come in many forms, and can allow information to travel fast - in TV Adverts, on large banners, in posters in shop windows or just by word of mouth. Hype spreads fast, especially if the advertisment has a catchy feature to it, and when you see something in particular you'll be reminded of it. Something along those lines is required in an advert to let a game live up to its hype.
The success of a game is helped on so greatly by hype - take a look at Gran Turismo 3 - hyped so much that even before it was completed, many millions of people were already planning on investing in it. The same with Metal Gear Solid 2. These games have sold by the bucketload on PS2, because not only are they great games, but they had the right amount of hype to help propel them to the top of the Games Charts. These 2 games are perfect examples of what hype can do to a game, and if hype was put to use more often, we'd see many more great games branching out all over the place, or so it would seem.....
There are a fair few disadvantages of hyping though. Over-hyping is the main culprit, as it will bore the typical gamer, and when the game is released the gamer may just know a little too much about the actual game, which will make them think more about whether the purchase will last them long enough AND deliver fun at the same time. Over-hyping really doesn't help a game too much, which goes to show that developers need to get just the right build-up on a game to give it a good anticipation rating. Not too high a rating, and not too low either, just bam! Right in the middle.
One particular thing to watch out for around the hype area of gaming, is the hyping up of a bad game. Nothing can be worse than having anticipated a game for months on end, only for it to become a really poor show when it is released. There are endless examples of this type of hype, and I'm sure most of you will be sick to death of this kind of hype being thrust upon us. Hyping is both good and bad at the same time, and when the bad side takes its form, everyone'll just wish it was dead altogether.
I've noticed another thing about hype - it can actually start years before one particular game is released. Take Goldeneye for example: any game following it up was bound to do well, just due to the success it had in the sales market. Perfect Dark was that follow-up, and it did well, without many TV Addverts of it's own, it still managed to sell well, just because of it's predecessor. Goldeneye made Perfect Dark what it was, and even without the TV Adverts, the banners and the posters, Perfect Dark still managed to become one of the greatest selling games ever.
No doubt, hype will still be around in the next few years, whether it be hyping up a new Harry Potter movie, a new Crash Bandicoot game or a new Nintendo console, hype will still be the secret forumla that can help propel games right to the top if the world. Hyping has good results, IF developers keep hype simple, effective and not too over-hyped. It is the formula for sales, and it can be put to great effect - developers should use hype more often!
AJ.