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[Kato]

By now we all know the importance of reviews.. It makes GAF explode on a monthly base and makes gamers invent the greatest nicks for reviewers from various online media and magazines.

But how important are previews? I never finish reading online previews because all the info I want I usually already have through movies, screenshots en news bits. Are previews really that important this day and age when every day another update on a game is made filling us in on all the details with the risk of getting spoiled.

I have a feeling previews are nothing more than a collection of info we already have absorbed put together in one article. Would you miss previews when they would disappear form your favortite online media..? I say online media because magazine previews are usually a bit different and make good reading material when you are taking a dump or when you travel if you can find the time and heart to put down your PSP/DS/GBA..

 

[Ranger X]

I prefer previews to reviews. I include in preview the movies and screenshots.
This said i guess i wouldn't really like to see previews diappearing. (but it ain't happening anytime soon anyway)

 

[olimario]

I like previews with gameplay footage included.
Between the description of how it plays and actually seeing how it is played gives me a great feel for a game.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Well, for people like us that read every single news, watch every single video and read every developer interview, previews could be quite unuseful, except for the exclusive ones that reveal new features of very secreted games.

But for average or casual gamers, I find them very useful: they resume in one place all the features of a future game, and could be a good read for less informed people. So yes, I'd say they're important.

 

[Kato]

I prefer previews to reviews. I include in preview the movies and screenshots.
This said i guess i wouldn't really like to see previews diappearing. (but it ain't happening anytime soon anyway)

I like previews with gameplay footage included.
Between the description of how it plays and actually seeing how it is played gives me a great feel for a game.

Well. that's what I really care for the most too. However I get that fix looking at some of the movies (mostly official trailers), news bits and by reading the impressions of the good folks here at GAF, mainly the gamers here with early access to the Japanese releases. But without the weird side effects like being spoiled with too much info about the storyline or characters, weapons and such, without a proper warning.

Well, for people like us that read every single news, watch every single video and read every developer interview, previews could be quite unuseful, except for the exclusive ones that reveal new features of very secreted games.

But for average or casual gamers, I find them very useful: they resume in one place all the features of a future game, and could be a good read for less informed people. So yes, I'd say they're important.

Ok good point!

The thing is, I find myself always forgetting the casual/mainstream importance of some news and articles like some previews. Maybe a tad egotistic from my part...

 

[APF]

I have a problem with previews when they're basically transcriptions of some trailer or other footage the writer has seen. There are a lot of times I've been interested in a game and have read a preview only to realize I've already seen the clip they're talking about, which means that 99% of what they're saying is redundant information. On the other hand, it's good to get progress reports of a sort, to see how a game is coming along and to maintain interest in interesting titles. I tend to prefer small preview blurbs/updates, mixed with a lot of media; I'd prefer to watch a video or look at screenshots directly, rather than have someone try to describe that media to me.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

I like watching videos of a game previous to its release. However, as a general rule I really dislike previews. Whether it's the nature of the system or just the limited information that game writers get, previews always seem like nothing more than marketing shill pieces for games. They are rarely if ever represenative of the final game. That makes them pretty useless.

 

[DarienA]

Previews are ok but you have to read them knowing you have to filter some of the particular websites' hyperbole to get any real info out of them.

I'm more interested in movie clips and just straight facts about what features are in the game on the front side.

As an ex-reviewer previews really are... "well yeah this game might have problems, but even try to spin that in a positive light" write ups of works in progress.

 

[echoshifting]

I basically gave up on previews after Devil May Cry. I followed every bit of preview information I could find...read every set of impressions, watched every clip, looked at every screenshot. While I still enjoyed the game immensely, there was an overwhelming sense of disappointment when I got to the last guy and realized that this was the only fight in the game I hadn't already seen pictures of or actually watched somewhere on the internet well before the game was released.

I'll still read the occassional impression for a game I'm looking forward to but not sure about, but for the most part I avoid preview coverage in all forms. Even with reviews, I'll generally kind of skim over them as most sites tend to be too revealing about the way a game is going to play out. I like to be surprised. That's one of the greatest joys of playing games and you sacrifice it by saturating yourself in preview coverage.

In fact, I get really pissed off when a game site includes screenshots of the second half of a game. Case in point: Gamespot's God of War review, which not only features a couple of late game screenshots, but actually has a screenshot in the review showing one of the game's puzzles being completed. I mean, yeah, the puzzle in question isn't too hard to figure out on your own, but still...that's a major no-no in my opinion.

edit: Also, what Musashi says is absolutely true. The flavor of game previews of any sort...Q&As, impressions, etc. read like marketing pieces rather than serious examinations of the game. I understand the fact that preview coverage can cause trouble if it is too critical of a game that isn't in a final state, but it would be nice if those who wrote them would grow a pair and let us know when they see a lemon, occassionally.

 

[Bishman]

I usually skim through previews because I watch all the gameplay videos and read all the interviews. Sometimes I can fall into the hype for huge exclusive preview for an AAA game.

 

[APF]

As an ex-reviewer previews really are... "well yeah this game might have problems, but even try to spin that in a positive light" write ups of works in progress.

Why do previewers feel the need to spin these games in the first place? Why not just give a flat, "this is what the game is about, here is some stuff you can look at to make up your own mind about whether or not you're interested," writeup? There should be a solid difference in the way a site/mag approaches impressions, previews, updates, interviews, dev diaries, reviews, etc., much like there's a difference between how other news organizations approach news reporting vs analysis vs commentary vs editorial, etc...

 

[spliced]

Previews can often be to optimistic because they don't know how the final product will be the give the developer the benifit of the doubt on many problems. But the when the game ships a lot of those problems never got fixed, and the game that sounded so good in the preview turns out to be poor.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Why do previewers feel the need to spin these games in the first place? Why not just give a flat, "this is what the game is about, here is some stuff you can look at to make up your own mind about whether or not you're interested," writeup? There should be a solid difference in the way a site/mag approaches impressions, previews, updates, interviews, dev diaries, reviews, etc., much like there's a difference between how other news organizations approach news reporting vs analysis vs commentary vs editorial, etc...

because that's why they get access to previews. and all the site hits new media causes, etc. their almost never questioning or negative unless it's a sure bomb of a game.

 

[APF]

because that's why they get access to previews. and all the site hits new media causes, etc. their almost never questioning or negative unless it's a sure bomb of a game.

I agree, but think it's a shame that things are like that; it's a cycle that feeds upon itself and contributes to what people are saying in this thread. Things probably wouldn't need to be that way if there were a clearer delineation between fact and opinion -based articles. As developer or publisher I imagine I'd be more upset with a harsh/unbalanced review than a relatively neutral preview. There's plenty of room to spin away and create massive, disappointing buzz in a column or blog posting (or somewhere you know it's a personal impression/opinion-based journalism). I'd just prefer more of a "judge for yourself" attitude in the previews themselves, if that makes sense.

 

[Ranger X]

I agree, but think it's a shame that things are like that; it's a cycle that feeds upon itself and contributes to what people are saying in this thread. Things probably wouldn't need to be that way if there were a clearer delineation between fact and opinion -based articles. As developer or publisher I imagine I'd be more upset with a harsh/unbalanced review than a relatively neutral preview. There's plenty of room to spin away and create massive, disappointing buzz in a column or blog posting (or somewhere you know it's a personal impression/opinion-based journalism). I'd just prefer more of a "judge for yourself" attitude in the previews themselves, if that makes sense.

But only because videogames are a business, it ain't happening.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Well, it wasn't a preview, but IGN's review sold me on Killer 7. Glad I got it.

 

[demi]

People read previews and reviews?

 

[Instigator]

Online reviews are pretty useless. All you need is access to some videos/images, to see what the game looks like, and an average of the scores given to the game. It's all you really need.

 

[pj]

Previews are cool as long as they aren't just the same facts sheet that everyone has plus a few filler sentences.

 

[APF]

But only because videogames are a business, it ain't happening.

Not to belabor the point, but there are lots of media that are both businesses and report on businesses.

 

[shuri]

You guys still rely on commercial website opinions of games?

 

[Wellington]

I prefer to read previews.

The only thing that isn't all too great is that a journalist really can't say too much negative about a game in a preview. So basically you're only reading all of the positives.

 

[Red Scarlet]

Previews help me far more than reviews.