Gamer-Hype: Merciless Videogame Executioner

It happens to the best of us. Everywhere you turn, there’s an endless ocean of online flash advertisements, television commercials, magazine exclusives, previews, and plot spin theories for a hotly anticipated title. Weeks before release, you dutifully follow the development to the point of borderline obsession. You eagerly read every interview, watch every trailer, and download every piece of leaked footage until you’ve convinced yourself that you’re reading about the next Halo killer, Zelda killer, Game of the Year. Then, that fateful launch date arrives.

Days later, the honeymoon is over and you find yourself disappointed… and not because the game was bad... Not because it didn’t do what it set out to do. You just feel empty. You’re not alone. Your beloved game was strapped to what is called the hype wagon, doused in gasoline by the media, set ablaze by the internet and sent careening off a cliff by the rumor mill, its shrill scream waning to a hushed echo as it plummets into the dark chasm of the forgettable...

Obviously, hype is not a new development in the entertainment industry, but hype seems particularly potent in establishing a game’s long term reputation. Hype can and does influence the average gamers’ perception to the point of completely skewing expectations, sometimes rendering them unachievable. Empty promises, development changes, misinterpretations, controversy, and internet rumors all contribute to what is gamer-hype. Furthermore, I’ve noticed gaming news resources (particularly internet gaming news resources) are sometimes so eager to break a news story that they don’t even bother checking how credible the information is, making the internet gaming community one colossal tabloid.

And this is precisely why I cringe when I see the marketing blitz for Resident Evil 5. It is so grandiose and expansive that I'm concerned the hype will stifle the actual release. It's not enough that Resident Evil 5 has the unfortunate privilege of following Resident Evil 4, one of the most celebrated games of the last generation, or the fact that it will be the first Resident Evil on the current wave of consoles, but we’ve also been completely inundated with promotional coverage for the upcoming launch.

To date, there's a viral referral site, a fake blog from Kijuju (the fictional African country where RE5 takes place), postcard generator, fan trailer mixer, numerous interviews, over 15 official videos, a Fox News segment on RE5’s mocapping, Gametrailers.com Bonus Round panel analysis, a RE5 event in Las Vegas with the game showcased on a seven story tall building, a Limited Edition RE5 360 Bundle featuring one of the first round of Jasper chips…

And then there's the media attention. The game was racist, and then it wasn't. The game was run and gun, and then it wasn't. The game was 20 hours in length, and then 7 hours in length. The game featured Sherry Birkin, and then didn't. Is Jill dead/evil/zombie/undercover? Every word, every photoshopped image, and every leaked piece of gameplay created a surge of excitement from fans around the globe.

Am I worried that Resident Evil 5 will be a bad game? Heck no. I have little doubt in my mind that Chris Redfield’s brobdignagian biceps and Rambo knife will provide a solid, entertaining gameplay experience. What I'm more concerned about is the taste that will be left in gamers' mouths a week after release, and how much of that will be impacted by the amount of superficial hype created. With each new piece of viral marketing, is the title edging closer to hype generated seppuku?

Resident Evil 5 is just a current example of a hyped upcoming title, but the same logic applies to all big budget, fan followed games. This is not to say that we shouldn't be excited for a game's release, but rather this restless anticipation should be tempered. Take everything with a grain of salt, especially if it's from the internet. Nothing's set in stone until the game is on store shelves, and with today's downloadable content, not even then.

Hype is an incredibly powerful force in today’s media. Generally, it seems to do more good than bad from a business standpoint, locking in those pre-orders and midnight launches, but at the cost of possibly ruining the game’s long term reputation.

The long term results of hype? Gamers are disappointed, even if all promises are achieved, and the game falls off the wayside as an overrated and pretentious title that still couldn’t satisfy the ravenous appetite of gamers everywhere. The game was fed to a monster created by its own hype and it was doomed before it was even released. I’m trying my best to remain relatively hype and spoiler free this last week before launch. I recommend you all to do the same for any of your highly anticipated releases. I bet you’ll appreciate the game tenfold.