What exactly is manufactured hype?

harSon said:
Lol. Defining Titanfall's hype as manufactured is always amusing. It was the next game from the developers of Call of Duty, and people were hyped for it since it was unveiled at e3 last year. It's been playable since day 1 of its unveil, and people who played it had nothing but positive things to say about it. Did it have a major media blitz behind it? Yes, but so do all of Microsoft's tentpole games.

Manufactured hype would be Advent Rising.
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The Titanfall situation has many facets. The media excitement and "most E3 awards won ever" and advertising and praise prior to the beta was definitely overblown because at the end of the day it didn't really move the needle for the Xbox One too much. It was meant to be a megaton punch to Sony's momentum according to all sources. Even pro-PS4 gamers (here on GAF, even) had pretty much accepted that Titanfall would cause X1 to outsell PS4 in North America for a while, at least a month. But that didn't happen and then the excuses went flying. "It didn't sell consoles because alotta people had already bought a console" was a common excuse. "It did great for EA and Respawn" was another side-step, but it was clear the game didn't make nearly the impact it was supposed to.

At the same time, I think the negative feelings toward Microsoft in general gave a lot of people glee seeing the game do not-so-incredibly-well. For some, it was...I dunno. Poetic justice to see a game mega-hyped and mega-advertised by Microsoft fail to gain traction? MS wanted it to be the next Halo. But it wasn't. Instead, it did okay but it was not much of a system-seller. In some people's eyes (and maybe I'm extrapolating too much) it was proof that Microsoft's mindshare and PR power (where their stuff sells, no matter what, no matter who says what) had come to an end and that made them happy. Therefore, it got pegged as some titanic failure. I think that was unfair to the game, but it's pretty easy to see why the attitude went that way.
 
Ubisoft is different. They show vertical slices that actually get people excited, but then blow smoke up the press' ass about when the game is coming out. They are two for two on this recently, we will see if R6 makes it out in 2015 or completes the trifecta.

As for the topic at hand, I don't see it applying to sequels all that much. People know whether or not they care about preview coverage for an Uncharted 4 or Halo 5. You are either into the franchise at that point or indifferent. To me it has been more prominent among new franchises where there is a total disconnect between how hard the press is pushing the game, and it's real world impact or interest level among gamers. It isn't manufactured (which implies some nefarious payola that isn't actually happening) as it is tone deaf.

Are people going to act surprised when Destiny is biggest "original" (read: non sequel) this fall? The hype is there among actual paying customers, which is what matters to a game's success. You can see the sheer volume of discussion on Twitter and Tumblr. Some of these other games... not so much.
 
harSon said:
Lol. Defining Titanfall's hype as manufactured is always amusing. It was the next game from the developers of Call of Duty, and people were hyped for it since it was unveiled at e3 last year. It's been playable since day 1 of its unveil, and people who played it had nothing but positive things to say about it. Did it have a major media blitz behind it? Yes, but so do all of Microsoft's tentpole games.

Manufactured hype would be Advent Rising.
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Just because Bungie is working on Destiny, that doesnt let the press say "OMG guys, this is the next HALO. Next Gen starts with this game, like everyone will drop COD and Halo5 for this!".

Thankfully its not this way. Tons of people played the alpha and it was so fucking good. Not "OMG greatest thing, blows HALO and COD" but "wow this is a fun game and I cant wait for the full game". Destiny though is multiplatform and seems to be running at proper specs for its time (1080P on PS4/XB1). Bungie/Act are really putting effort into this game unlike MS/Respawn. I think its hype is warranted. I mean people made a thread after playing the beta because of withdrawal. And the next beta is getting hyped as hell. I think Destiny Alpha/Betas have had more hype than say the Free TITANFALL weekend plays.

So what that Respawn was working on Titanfall? Is that alone to hype the game out of this world and end up being a standard run of the mill online shooter? What you were reading before the game came out from outlets was ridiculous and most of those who wrote reviews had similar things being said which to me it made it seem like they were fed what to tell their readers and dramatize the next coming of gaming christ.
 
When a publisher pushes a game at disproportionately levels with an implication that it's in response to demand that isn't obvious in the player base.
 
Games that have Pre Order DLC announced the very day the game is announced is what I consider manufactured hype. Usually when the box art is revealed the same day you know the marketing team has been getting ready for the reveal for a long time. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I'm very much looking forward to Evolve and Arkham Knight, and I consider those both to have some manufactured hype (and deserving as well). Titanfall and Watch Dogs are also good examples.
 
Darknight said:
Just because Bungie is working on Destiny, that doesnt let the press say "OMG guys, this is the next HALO. Next Gen starts with this game, like everyone will drop COD and Halo5 for this!".
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Because they wouldn't have even been remotely similar. Titanfall and CoD basically have the same gamplay so someone saying "Titanfall will be the next CoD" doesn't sound as dumb as someone saying a pseudo-MMO will be the next Halo. With CoD having an increased focused on mobility with the next game, it's an even more similar and apt comparison.
 
Probably Titanfall, WD, and any FPS game in general.

But man, TF was probably the worst.
I was like: eh, this game is so 90s.
Nothing unique from the gameplay, and stupid quote like "you need to rest or your heart can't handle the excitement", or "your brain can't process what you are seeing with your eyes..."

And that last quote will always be stuck with me because it is just like Lewis Black if it weren't for my horse joke, that shit will stuck with you FOREVER!
And as you can see, I am still fucking writing that eyes quote after the game is dead.
 
Darknight said:
Just because Bungie is working on Destiny, that doesnt let the press say "OMG guys, this is the next HALO. Next Gen starts with this game, like everyone will drop COD and Halo5 for this!".

Thankfully its not this way. Tons of people played the alpha and it was so fucking good. Not "OMG greatest thing, blows HALO and COD" but "wow this is a fun game and I cant wait for the full game". Destiny though is multiplatform and seems to be running at proper specs for its time (1080P on PS4/XB1). Bungie/Act are really putting effort into this game unlike MS/Respawn. I think its hype is warranted. I mean people made a thread after playing the beta because of withdrawal. And the next beta is getting hyped as hell. I think Destiny Alpha/Betas have had more hype than say the Free TITANFALL weekend plays.

So what that Respawn was working on Titanfall? Is that alone to hype the game out of this world and end up being a standard run of the mill online shooter? What you were reading before the game came out from outlets was ridiculous and most of those who wrote reviews had similar things being said which to me it made it seem like they were fed what to tell their readers and dramatize the next coming of gaming christ.
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Uh, Destiny being developed by Bungie was enough for ridiculous levels of hype. The only reason it didn't receive Titanfall levels of hype until recently is due to the fact that they were so damned tight lipped about the game, and it wasn't exactly playable until recently - nor was there a ton of media regarding the game. If there had been, the hype would have been there.
 
All AAA games use ads and the press to depict themselves as more hyped than they actually are, that's a working strategy. Sometimes the gap between that and actual consumer anticipation is really big and stupidly noticeable though.

Watch_Dogs is a special situation because it really did have massive anticipation when it was first shown, but it deflated completely when the downgrades became obvious. However, Ubisoft and the press kept acting like it was the most highly anticipated game of the year long after everyone stopped caring about it. Can't blame 'em, but that's just how it went.
 
Rembrandt said:
I think I just started seeing it first or a lot more often with Titanfall and I saw some people throw the word around for Evolve some, too. Would No Man's Sky be considered manufactured hype? Is there a noticeable distinction between manufactured hype and just regular hype?
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Titanfall. 'Nuff said.
 
Titanfall. I seen people refer to it as the GOTG before it even launched in beta. I also didn't really enjoy the beta so didn't buy the full game.
 
Rembrandt said:
I think I just started seeing it first or a lot more often with Titanfall and I saw some people throw the word around for Evolve some, too. Would No Man's Sky be considered manufactured hype? Is there a noticeable distinction between manufactured hype and just regular hype?
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I'd say the marketing blitz with gamespot is pretty recognizable attempt at manufacturing hype.
 
unbias said:
In the business world manufactured hype normally means hype created and generated by analysts and media. Why do so many of you believe it doesn't exist in the video game world?
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yea, there was very clear manufactured hype back when we hardly even knew anything about the game
 
Gun Animal said:
All AAA games use ads and the press to depict themselves as more hyped than they actually are, that's a working strategy. Sometimes the gap between that and actual consumer anticipation is really big and stupidly noticeable though.

Watch_Dogs is a special situation because it really did have massive anticipation when it was first shown, but it deflated completely when the downgrades became obvious. However, Ubisoft and the press kept acting like it was the most highly anticipated game of the year long after everyone stopped caring about it. Can't blame 'em, but that's just how it went.
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Not sure how you can come to the conclusion that nobody cared about about the game when it ended up selling so well. Regardless of the downgrade and the disappointment of a good sized contingent of Gaffers, it seems Ubisoft did a pretty good job of keeping the hype train going.
 
All hype is manufactured by the Player themselves. Manufactured hype is just a term player created to pawn off the responsibility of thinking so they can blame everybody but themselves.

Since hype is usually based on player's hope and dream for a game they have spent a very small or no amount if time with it.

No man sky is an example, a lot of people are considering it the new best thing since sliced bread. The problem, no of them have played it, so all their excitement are based entirely developer word. All their excited are based on the assumption that everything works the way Dev claim it does, but how rare does that happen.
 
I still think it's funny that Microsoft kept calling Titanfall the most anticipated game of 2014 when we had no clue what was even coming out past March.
 
I agree with Titanfall as an obvious one. The amount of hyperbole from the press was incredible. To me now it just seems like a modest game that tried some interesting things here and there but overall nothing huge. The hype surrounding it made it seem like a completely different beast.

I do NOT think Watch_Dogs was manufactured. They benefited from showing a really cool game at a lacklustre E3 next-gen game wise. This was pre-downgrade. Everyone was amazed. Everyone was saying Ubsioft had the best conference. And it just ballooned from there.
 
Titanfall is a perfect example. A game hyped to oblivion, talked up as a revolutionary game, the best game, a game that would single handedly shift things in the X1 favor, the only thing the press talked about for months, the single game that MS always pointed to and managed to bring up in almost every single X1 related comment. Yet when it came, and went, turned out to be just another normal shooter, and heck underwhelming even.

That's the very definition of manufactured hype, a game with tons of hype, but no the real kind that actually translates to the gaming audience.

No Man's Sky is an example of, I guess, "natural" hype. It's a game from a small studio that's being hyped up by the gaming community, not so much Sony, the devs, or the press (though they are hyping it too, for good reason). Evolve also feels a bit manufactured, MS is really good at it.
 
Toki767 said:
I still think it's funny that Microsoft kept calling Titanfall the most anticipated game of 2014 when we had no clue what was even coming out past March.
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I don't think MS said that. I think it won most anticipated of 2014 by VGX Awards and just carried from there.
 
-Pyromaniac- said:
I agree with Titanfall as an obvious one. The amount of hyperbole from the press was incredible. To me now it just seems like a modest game that tried some interesting things here and there but overall nothing huge. The hype surrounding it made it seem like a completely different beast.

I do NOT think Watch_Dogs was manufactured. They benefited from showing a really cool game at a lacklustre E3 next-gen game wise. This was pre-downgrade. Everyone was amazed. Everyone was saying Ubsioft had the best conference. And it just ballooned from there.
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I'd agree that Titanfall had more manufactured hype, but it's not an either or. Almost all games have some manufactured hype, just there are some games that survived on their hype(Dragon Age 2 anyone?).
 
Saying hype is manufactured by companies is a complete laugh. All companies present and show their game in the best possible light, speak only positively about it and pay actual real dollar bills in advertising to drum up excitement that may or may not be warranted.

Every company.

Every game.

All hype is manufactured before a game comes out. Just because the self selected group of journalists predisposed to enjoy a particular type of game play it and say they loved it doesn't mean that it was manufactured. It could have been coincidence that they all happened to like it, so it appears "unanimous".

Titanfall was not unanimously praised by the press. The people that liked it, really liked it and saw it as one of the only bright spots in a really tepid "launch window" lineup for this new generation. So when asked "What looks good on the new systems?" It appeared like everyone was slobbering all over Titanfall because it was one of the few things that actually looked alright.
 
Dragonborn said:
That's the very definition of manufactured hype, a game with tons of hype, but no the real kind that actually translates to the gaming audience.
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How do you explain Titanfall's beta then? Did the media pay people to tell all their friends about it and beg Respawn and everyone for keys, or did that happen naturally?
 
Hoho for breakfast said:
I see a lot of Titanfall and Watch_Dogs but let's not forget about Destiny. All I think are good examples of manufactured hype.
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Nope, the hype for the game only started after the excellent alpha. Before that a lot of people were actually questioning where the hype for the game even was since Bungie seemed so closed off and vague.

FaultTolerance said:
How do you explain Titanfall's beta then? Did the media pay people to tell all their friends about it, or did that happen naturally?
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The beta was okay, and it was well received, but it wasn't what the press hyped it up to be.
 
Rembrandt said:
I think I just started seeing it first or a lot more often with Titanfall and I saw some people throw the word around for Evolve some, too. Would No Man's Sky be considered manufactured hype? Is there a noticeable distinction between manufactured hype and just regular hype?
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Titan Fall seemed like the excitement was coming from media deciding it was going to be the next big thing rather than gamers saying it.

No Man's Sky hasn't shown enough to earn all the hype imo. It's interesting and innovative...but all the articles talk about how it's an impossible achievement as if it's proven itself. That's odd to me.
 
FaultTolerance said:
But if it was well-received, then it wouldn't be considered manufactured right? The hype was real at that point.
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I'm not saying there wasn't any real hype, of course there was, but most of it was just manufactured. It's pretty easy to see, especially given how it came out and then everyone suddenly seemed to stop caring and it (the X1 version) totally collapsed in the following month's NPD. Has any DLC even come out for it yet?

Essentially, the games massive hype from the press, MS, and EA, didn't translate to the general fanbase or at least not in any large amount.
 
Dragonborn said:
I'm not saying there wasn't any real hype, of course there was, but most of it was just manufactured. It's pretty easy to see, especially given how it came out and then everyone suddenly seemed to stop caring and it (the X1 version) totally collapsed in the following month's NPD. Has any DLC even come out for it yet?
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Yes, and multiple gameplay patches.

I've noticed multiple people claiming that Titanfall is dead because no one on GAF is talking about it, but there's a whole wide world out there outside of GAF to consider. GAF is but a fraction of the gaming public at large.
 
Dragonborn said:
Titanfall is a perfect example. A game hyped to oblivion, talked up as a revolutionary game, the best game, a game that would single handedly shift things in the X1 favor, the only thing the press talked about for months, the single game that MS always pointed to and managed to bring up in almost every single X1 related comment. Yet when it came, and went, turned out to be just another normal shooter, and heck underwhelming even.

That's the very definition of manufactured hype, a game with tons of hype, but no the real kind that actually translates to the gaming audience.

No Man's Sky is an example of, I guess, "natural" hype. It's a game from a small studio that's being hyped up by the gaming community, not so much Sony, the devs, or the press (though they are hyping it too, for good reason). Evolve also feels a bit manufactured, MS is really good at it.
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There is literally gamespot coverage called "the next big game" for No Man' Sky, with the most recent article called the biggest game world ever created.

Gaming media cycles constantly over inflate everything. All marketing does, that's what marketing is.
 
Dragonborn said:
I'm not saying there wasn't any real hype, of course there was, but most of it was just manufactured. It's pretty easy to see, especially given how it came out and then everyone suddenly seemed to stop caring and it (the X1 version) totally collapsed in the following month's NPD. Has any DLC even come out for it yet?

Essentially, the games massive hype from the press, MS, and EA, didn't translate to the general fanbase or at least not in any large amount.
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You're vehemently pushing that Titanfall was all manufactured hype..

..and then go on to saying the game completely bombed on Xbox one AND asking if it has DLC?

I'm done.

Is this how it usually is? People have no idea about a game but go on to be very opinionated about it. Negatively so?
 
Dragonborn said:
I'm not saying there wasn't any real hype, of course there was, but most of it was just manufactured. It's pretty easy to see, especially given how it came out and then everyone suddenly seemed to stop caring and it (the X1 version) totally collapsed in the following month's NPD. Has any DLC even come out for it yet?

Essentially, the games massive hype from the press, MS, and EA, didn't translate to the general fanbase or at least not in any large amount.
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What non-Nintendo game doesn't collapse in the second month of sales?

Which is hilarious now that I think about it. The Nintendo games with the hugest hype usually have the shortest tails...Smash, Zelda, etc. Whereas the games that don't generate that much pre-release buzz sell forever (NSMB, Mario Kart). And yes, please tell me about how you and your friends were the most hyped for those games, that will surely dispute the zeitgeist.
 
A game can have manufactured and real hype at the same time. They aren't mutually exclusive. There were people genuinely hyped for Titanfall. In addition there was a massive amount of manufactured hype from the media and Microsoft PR.
 
I guess a lot of games could fall into this category. Titanfall, Watchdogs and Destiny to name a few. I'm trying to think of games that gamers didn't like but the press was talking a lot about. Did it happen with Too Human? How about Lair?
 
Its always seemed to be that (from the times I've always seen the phrase used) - its manufactured hype when its a game you don't like/not interested in getting posted about a lot, and its just plain hype when its a game you do like/are interested in getting posted about a lot.
 
Dragonborn said:
Titanfall is a perfect example. A game hyped to oblivion, talked up as a revolutionary game, the best game, a game that would single handedly shift things in the X1 favor, the only thing the press talked about for months, the single game that MS always pointed to and managed to bring up in almost every single X1 related comment. Yet when it came, and went, turned out to be just another normal shooter, and heck underwhelming even.

That's the very definition of manufactured hype, a game with tons of hype, but no the real kind that actually translates to the gaming audience.

No Man's Sky is an example of, I guess, "natural" hype. It's a game from a small studio that's being hyped up by the gaming community, not so much Sony, the devs, or the press (though they are hyping it too, for good reason). Evolve also feels a bit manufactured, MS is really good at it.
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I'm not even a little surprised you made this post. Please tell me how Evolve is manufactured hype and No Man's Sky isn't. Evolve has been played by several people and they've liked it.

TrueGrime said:
You're vehemently pushing that Titanfall was all manufactured hype..

..and then go on to saying the game completely bombed on Xbox one AND asking if it has DLC?

I'm done.

Is this how it usually is? People have no idea about a game but go on to be very opinionated about it. Negatively so?
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That poster is always in topics concerning the Xbox One and has shown several times he/she has almost no idea what they're talking about, lol.
 
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