That’s the Name of the Game: PR Out of Control

Gamers are a very excited bunch.  I think I’ve already talked a lot about how the core gamer is always looking to the next big game.  “What’s coming out next?  What am I gonna play next?  I gotta have the latest and greatest!”  As such, big events like E3, hold a special place in the calendar year for gamers.  There’s bound to be some huge announcements, revelations, and sneak peeks, all of which will revolve around games about to be released over the next year.

Unfortunately, the public relations department can get a little wild over this.  Knowing full well what an excitable bunch gamers are, they’ll prey on that weakness in order to build hype for their games and in turn build monstrous sales.

In fact, I remember two years ago, at E3 2007, I wasn’t much of a fan of the Call of Duty series.  It was just another WWII shooter to me.  Then I saw the demonstration of CoD 4: Modern Warfare.  In it, the player is a sniper disguised in an advanced cammoflauge suit, with another sniper, they sneak through a level, passing by guards, until finally they have to lay prone in a field that becomes overrun with enemies and even tanks.  It blew me away, the gameplay, the graphics, the aesthetic, everything seemed really put together, really polished, and I’m sure hooking undecided gamers like me was what they were aiming to do.

Now, on the eve of another E3, the hype train is rolling again.  Unfortunately it appears to have pulled into the station a little early.

Take for example the screen shot from above.  It was taken from a teaser trailer that teases another trailer.  The gaming populace is being enticed with a few seconds of in-game footage in order to get them excited for a mere minute of in-game footage.  It’s a little ridiculous, in my opinion.  Why are we being led on like this?

Here’s another example: Kojima Productions, house of legendary game designer Hideo Kojima, recently published a web page with a countdown clock.  Much speculation was had: could it be another edition to Kojima’s blockbuster Metal Gear Solid series?  Or, could it be a teaser for an old Kojima title called “Snatcher,” whose last iteration was seen on the Sega Saturn game system two console generations ago?

When the countdown clock finally reached zero, more time was added.

I understand that PR is a means of generating sales, communicating with your customers, and generally “relating to the public.”  But this is rediculous.  Games are a very frivolous pursuit in life, I understand that, but if you care about something, it isn’t fun to be teased like a dog.

Luckily, the gaming public is a vocal bunch, and when PR goes a little overboard, we speak back.  Hype can kill a game too.  If a game is overhyped and sales don’t meet up to expectations, it can kill careers.  Hopefully that end won’t come to anyone as a result of these teasers, especially in this economic climate.  Instead, I just hope that these tactics find a nice place to quietly die.  They are tired and lazy PR tactics that much of the gaming community has started to decry.

Luckily, I’m still excited.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.