Hype?

[smurphy]

So as most of you know, from the sheer amount of exposure it is getting, that Modern Warfare 3 is coming out. What I find ridiculous is that we are still 5 and a half months away from launch and this game is getting more exposure than most new releases. With the marketing budget this game probably has you could probably make a few decent current gen games or, even better, improve the game and leave it up to a savvy public to buy it. And this trend of marketing games to such such exposure months before release is a more common occurrence nowadays.

Do you think it is wise for companies to do this? Or do you agree and think this is plain overkill by marketing departments?

[loaf]

They make a Call of Duty every year, this is the half way mark of their released. The info released for the games usually comes out around this time of year.

Also it's one of the Game of the Years; every year, this much exposure is typical.

Would you rather hear info on a new game you never heard of? or something you have been a fan of for a long long time and can't wait for the next one? (not saying you are but just the concept)

[Taco-Calamitous]

I haven't actually seen anything about Modern Warfare 3 yet. Then again, I don't pay attention really.

I think it's a good plan to get people all hyped up for killer apps so that they will buy them. Skyrim isn't coming out until November, yet there have been all kinds of stories and such for it online, and I am SERIOUSLY hyped up to get it. Well, I get not seriously, but when I think about it, I go, "Guh huh huh huh! " The longer the wait, the more excitement you cause. The more excitement you cause, theoretically, the more copies you'll sell. Unless your game sucks and gets bad reviews. I think. I am no expert. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[smurphy]

OK, all valid points, but with the excitement that comes along with the hype, doesnt that also leave a lot of room for disappointment as well? When FFXIII came out it wasnt necessarily hyped to a big extent but because I myself looked for material and hyped it up myself, I left room for the huge disappointment I felt that game was. Except in this case its not the individual hyping it, its the marketing machine. By setting a marker in the marketing of MW3 they are making promises about the game but since they have all their cards on the table there is next to no room for people to be pleasantly surprised by the game.

I know a lot of people that felt underwhelmed playing Black Ops and are now paying more attention to Battlefield 3. Since this may be the fault of marketers hyping games to such a large degree, I think I might use their terminology. I feel these people who are now paying more attention to alternatives are "early innovators" in the long run.

[Unknown Entity]

I don't buy into the hype. There's nothing to hype over - it's Call Of Duty, a FPS which has been made and played to death and has posters replacing women in little boy's bedrooms. They probably have to get the hype up to get people to buy a game which they know will just be recycled toot from the last recycled toot of a Call Of Duty game.

Also, word on E3 is spreading like wildfire lately. People are getting excited for more than just MW3.

[Rowan]

I don't buy into the hype. There's nothing to hype over - it's Call Of Duty, a FPS which has been made and played to death and has posters replacing women in little boy's bedrooms. They probably have to get the hype up to get people to buy a game which they know will just be recycled toot from the last recycled toot of a Call Of Duty game.

Also, word on E3 is spreading like wildfire lately. People are getting excited for more than just MW3.

Well contrary to what Unkown thinks, I believe there is something to hype over. its a fantastic game and im really excited for it to come out. Weather you like it or not, its going to be successful and money well spent on months pre-release advertising will give it the suspense to the most likely "sold-out" release date. Theres a reason the game was "played to the death" and im guessing it was because people liked it. But im just assuming that based on the fact it was played to death, I could be wrong.

[loaf]

I've been paying attention to Battlefield 3 since Battlefield 2 (not Bad Company)came out.

A lot of fans of CoD didn't like Black Ops. Me being an original CoD fan. (I only like CoD1 and it's expansion) actually liked Black Ops more then any other CoD after the first one.

I don't look to much into games, I get the information I want and then I stop looking into it till I play it myself.

[Xithor]

I'm with Unknown, I know that there are some improvements that have been done in each installment of the CoD MW series but it really lost me on Black Ops. I didn't like the online play levels and although I wouldn't buy it for the online play simply because I'm not great at online play, guess I can't react fast enough or whatever lol.

I haven't gotten around to the story of Black Ops because I don't own it and when I get to play it it's usually in a group of people and we play online. I'm not real excited about MW3 coming out but I do buy into hyping some games. I'm sure I'll play MW3 at some point when it comes out with a friend but I'm real excited for two other games: Assassin's Creed Revelation and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which have been hyped up a bit as well.

[Illusion]

I don't usually buy into the hype machine. It happens some times, but the way I generally get into game franchises that I had never had an experience with before is through friends that talk and talk about how great the franchise is. For example, I got into Mass Effect in part because of the hype and more because it was the kind of game that really draws my attention. Fallout 3 and Assassin's Creed got me because of all that was being said about them at the time of their release. Other games, like Kingdom Hearts, I tryed out because friends would tell me that it was really good and I was eventually convinced to play it.

At the end of the day, companies are only doing their job. The millions spent trying to sell a game to consumers are probably easily made up by the millions of players that will buy the game if their advertaising campaign is succesful. It's up to people to becareful about how much they want to believe of what is said about the games they want to buy. I think franchises like CoD are very solid and that, to me, promises very high quality.

[Aerif]

its a fantastic game and im really excited for it to come out. Weather you like it or not, its going to be successful and money well spent on months pre-release advertising will give it the suspense to the most likely "sold-out" release date.

While you're right that it is likely going to be successful and break release-day figure records, in my professional opinion the Call of Duty series is generic and has an overall poor design. The only reason for the success of the series is the marketing and word of mouth.

The success of the games are a fluke, brought about by the early stages of online multiplayer being common in today's consoles.

Oddly enough I've not really seen any advertisement for MW3 yet, I saw a teaser trailer or two, since there was one set in London (I expect some sort of line referring to a Scottish character being from England ).

I do think that hype and marketing can make or break a game. Psychonauts did poorly due to poor advertisement, Halo did well due to good advertisement. From the business side of it, hype > quality. FFXIII recieved backlash since it changed a common formula, so hype and similarity to prequels are what the average consumer is looking for nowadays.

DISCLAIMER: I don't like multiplayer FPS games. But still, that's because most of them are designed shoddily. There are unwritten rules when it comes to design and some of the more popular games get away with ignoring them. Bastards.