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Forums - Gaming - Today’s Marketing Robs Gamers of Discovery

RenderMonk on 18 October 2012

I’ve been playing video games since I was a kid. I have very fond memories of the first Mario Brothers, and Duck Hunt. Memories of games like Secret of Mana, The Legend of Zelda, and so many many more. Lately I find myself playing and enjoying video games, but not to the extent I did when I was younger. So I asked myself why is this? Is it because I’m just old, and don’t have that sense of wonderment, like I did when I was a child? Probably. Sure, that has some to do with it. But what about all the sequels, and iterations we see these days? Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Playing the same damn game over and over and over and over and just adding a 4 (or 14) to the end, doesn’t make it new, and doesn’t fulfill me as a gamer. But is that really the entirety of why gaming seems to be lacking in the way of joy and entertainment for me the way it once did? I think the answer is a resounding no.

So it’s got me thinking about how video games once brought me immeasurable joy, and now they’re just “okay.” Do you wanna know what I believe the true culprit is? ……..Marketing/Advertising. That’s right, I said it! We all love to peruse gaming websites and see the latest screen shots of the newest upcoming games. Sure we love to see that trailer with “in-game” action and gameplay. But are these means of marketing the game to get us to make that expensive purchase really helping us, or is it doing the video game industry the worst possible kind of injustice? Killing the joy of discovery! Video games are special because of the discoveries that are made on your own through the course of the game. Marketing and Advertising have stripped us of that by showing or “revealing” too much prior to a games release.

Let’s use a current upcoming game as an example. Think about a game like Assassin’s Creed 3.  AAA title that everyone knows and loves, but has really started to wear thin the appeal of it’s gaming concepts. So with AC3 we have been told that it will be a huge departure from the old iterations, and show us something new for the first time since the series’ inception. But, how much of this game do we already know about? How much of the game have we already seen (and in a sense, experienced it through seeing it) with demos, trailers, daily features on gaming websites, pics, and interviews with devs. Now at first glance we think, YES, I get to be sure my game is great before I buy it, so I don’t waste my money on a piece of crap! But, in reality, what we are really doing, is ruining the surprise and “Wow-factor” that brings us so much joy in the way of discovery in video games. Really think about that for a moment and let it sink in.

Like most of you reading this article, I like to stay up to date on every new piece of gaming news there is. But in the process, am I ruining the element of discovery and surprise for these new games that I love and want to play? Still using AC3 as the example, can you imagine how incredibly awesome it would have been to see the bustling town square for the first time while actually playing it? To discover, on your own, that you can board this enormous sea vessel and while out on the open sea, actually engage in Naval Warfare!  Or to get that “new” feeling from the series that’s being promised, by being able to leap branch to branch through the tree tops, as easily and effortlessly the way we have been over rooftops of buildings in previous entries. Those would have been truly breath taking moments to experience in the game as they happened. Moments that would be filled with real discovery and real excitement…..but no…..we won’t get that gaming rush. We won’t get that sense of amazement. Why? Because it was wasted on a marketing campaign where big business used all the truly great moments of the game to real you in, hook, line, and sinker to make the purchase. Much the same way they do with movies, and movie trailers. We’ve all had the experience, where we see a trailer for a comedy based movie, and the commercial looks incredibly hilarious. Then when we actually pay for our  ticket and watch this movie, we leave the theater disappointed. Why? Because they showed us all the good parts to get us to buy the ticket! The same thing is happening to our beloved gaming industry.

We didn’t have that in the days of NES, SNES, and PS1. We saw a games cover art, or heard about a puzzle in a certain level from our friend, or just plain took the plunge and bought the game because it was the genre we liked or from a developer that we knew made games we’d enjoyed in the past. All the joy and excitement of discovering the game elements for the first time, on our own….THAT was what made games of yesteryear great. Seeing the boss of stage 3 for the first time, brought a real rush of excitement, that wasn’t spoiled due to having seen it a dozen times on the internet months before release. Or how about when we leveled up, and got our first new ability, and couldn’t believe how awesome this new skill was. We couldn’t wait to get out there and use it! Now almost all skills and abilities are laid out, nice and neat for us, in charts and diagrams months before the game is even due to come out! Or how about when we stumbled upon a shop, and the store keeper had some new weapons or armor in stock, and we had slain just enough monsters to have the coin needed to purchase that sweet piece of gear. Upon concluding our business with the shop, we equip that new sword, or helm, only to find to our amazement and delight, that the physical representation of our look has changed as well and we look freakin bad-ass!!!!

Today we have all that revealed to us, prior to our purchase of the game, most times months or even years before we ever get our hands on it. Think about the games that we’ve waited for and heard so much about over the period of waiting, and then when we actually play the game in question, “ehh, it was ok.”

We get so used to being drip-fed daily updates on our most anticipated games, and even become upset if we don’t get enough. Now everything feels stale, and old before we ever lay fingers on the controller. Sure it gets us pumped for a hot new release. Sure it helps to inform us which games are going to be duds, but at what cost? Previous generations were the best times to be a gamer because we didn’t have this media frenzy that is the marketing beast. In the end, what it’s really doing, is robbing us of the joy of discovery which was once what made video games the undisputed activity for entertainment.



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green_sky on 18 October 2012

I agree. There is too much media press releases and demos. Uncharted 3 showed so much of the game before it even came out. Now if i am sold on the game i try to avoid seeing videos. It is hard not to though. I'll be avoiding any media on games like The last of us, Tomb Raider, South Park: Stick of Truth and Metro: Last Light among many others.

The thing is though if one is not completely sold on a certain game. The marketers have to keep showing more and more until there is something for that undecided consumer.



SnakeDrake on 18 October 2012

Yes I miss the old days of picking up games based on their boxart or games based on my favourite movie or cartoons :')



 

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Mr Khan on 18 October 2012

It's the unfortunate march of time, but largely inevitable. Even though (with inflation counted in) retail games are cheaper than they've ever been, who really wants to just plunk $40-$60 down and hope for the best?



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RenderMonk on 18 October 2012

It's always a tough call, especially with the games you aren't sure about. That's why I say read about it. Check to see if the videos that sites are showing, have a write-up on it as well (usually they do). Then you can read about it, and that seems to be less revealing, when it comes to ruining the game in advance for you.

And then for those games that you are 85% or more sure that you want it, do a total media black out on that game. As your enjoyment level WILL be higher, guaranteed. And you feel like you actually got your money worth. I tried it with Darksiders 2. Didn't read or watch a thing about it. I loved the first one, and knew I'd love the second. All I knew in advance about it, was that Darksiders 2 would have more RPG/stat based elements and loot. I was sold. So when the game came out, all the bosses, the weapons, the weapon-eaters, the crucible...all that was a happy surprise/discovery. Really made my purchase worth while. On the other hand, I've tried to black out AC3 and just clicking on a gaming site, I read the headline, and I've already had 2-3 elements ruined for me. So, I'll still get it, but I'll probably be let down with it, as most of the discovery will already be ruined.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and check out my site if you get some time. Lots of thought provoking articles like that.



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sethnintendo on 18 October 2012
SnakeDrake said:
Yes I miss the old days of picking up games based on their boxart or games based on my favourite movie or cartoons :')

Although most ads these days just show CGI cut scenes and not actual gameplay or if they do show gameplay it is very limited.  I bet plenty of kids and adults have been fooled thinking the game was going to be pure bad ass due cut scene ads.



sales2099 on 18 October 2012

You know you could always go dark on the internet and just see the tv ad the week before release. You act like gaming web sites are the life blood of any gamer.

Seeing game content before the release is your fault, not the devs who put it out there.



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SvennoJ on 18 October 2012

Yes, there was a better sense of discovering something great when I was a kid. But I had to go through a lot of crap too to find the gems. No problem back then since I pretty much pirated everything. Nowadays taking a chance on a $60 title, no thanks. Sometimes I'll still impulse buy an arcade title, but I rather read a review first.

I kept myself pretty well in the dark about Dishonored after seeing the first trailer. I expected a more open world rpg style game like AC or Batman AC. It was still good, but in this case it was less then I expected.