Hitmonchan107 said:
Here's my issue:
I think game studios shouldn't rely on their games to keep the fans coming back, especially with the hyper-connectivity of social media.
Look at 343's success with Twitter. David, Veronica, Frank, Jessica and Dan are constantly communicating with the fans on Twitter. The studio had a massive following long before it announced its major projects, and I'm willing to bet those fans would call themselves 343 fans as opposed to Halo fans.
For the past 10 years, Bungie cultivated a fan base around the motto, "We make Halo." That's not the case anymore. Now, Bungie has to ask itself: Are these people Halo fans, or are they Bungie fans? Bungie's silence has left fans skeptical and willing to attach themselves to something safe and vocal.
You could see it at PAX. I felt like people had already forgotten about Bungie. 343 has taken the leap into the next generation of community outreach, and I feel like Bungie hasn't taken that necessary leap yet.
Connecting the fans to the studio is the future of gaming community, and in this new social era, it's going to be crucial to the survival of studios.
I don't quite follow. What is 343 doing that Bungie didn't?
Weekly update on their site to inform and keep the community returning to the site? Bungie was doing that.
Podcast? Bungie was doing that.
Active in community forums (including NeoGAF)? Check.
Community forums on their site with interaction with Bungie? Yup.
Forum for playlist feedback, and monthly playlist updates? Yup.
Active on Twitter? Yes, though the 343 folks are chattier (which is great).
So in what way has Bungie "not taken that necessary leap"?
The real difference is one of timing, with Bungie being a studio that is deliberately turning inward for a gestational period, while 343 is actively building theirs as they ready their first real product. 343 has been working overtime to draw the Halo community - and that is much of Bungie's community - into their fold. Bungie has gone quiet to focus on their next thing. They cut the tether to Halo, and 343 is now working to corral and draw the attention of the Halo community. They've done a pretty great job, I think we agree. (Though, I wish they'd been more ready to take on active management of Reach - no one was at the wheel for three months.)
Bungie's silence is intentional and I don't think now is the time to be drawing conclusions about how effectively they are engaging their community through social networks. Once they start their community outreach again, we'll have a better sense and such conclusions can be drawn.
Which has me wondering: will that process start with a bang - an unveiling at a convention somewhere - or will they restart their community outreach and interaction beforehand? I'm hoping they warm back up leading up the announcement, myself. I do enjoy the teasing.