Jimquisition: How To Sell Games Without Being A Lying Dick

[MrHide-Patten]

Nintendo proving time and time again that they should really go full on software. Their games are great, the console is the only thing stopping me from playing it. Maybe the Piss poor and the Xboner will get some nicer things when they've been out for a year or two.

If it weren't for the internet, E3 would pass me by entirely and I would completely ignore it.

 

[AJ_Lethal]

Jim suffers for their sins. Oh why won't they stop their sinful ways!

Because according to the book of Jim, he still has to be killed via crucifixion to a giant purple dildo so he can descend to the depths of corporate hell and defeat everyone in there, then resurrect after 4 days because of fucking lag so he can ascend to a higher plane of existence and become The Jim.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

How To Sell Games Without Being A Lying Dick

E3 was full of lies and conjecture, and that was stupid. At least one company was doing it right.
Also, Bug Princess.


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I think the advertisers and marketers are really an outdated thing now. At least, for what they cost vs how they perform, I think it is. Money can be better spent elsewhere. In my view, part of the problem of over-inflated gaming budget costs stem from the production, packaging and distribution of this kind of bullshit.

And I take this kind of attitude towards advertising and marketing with a little help...

Spoiler: From a voice 20 years past (NSFW)

 

[Branindain]

As a primarily Sony gamer I totally agree that Ninty's E3 is the way to go. If everyone did it like that I would actually pay attention to E3. I'm still a couple of years away from getting a WiiU to be my PS4's sidekick, but when I do Hyrule Warriors will be my first port of call, it really looks enticing. I'm curious whether the darling Zelda or the scorned Warriors series will carry the day come review time.

Oh, and thumbs up to the new intro.

 

[Mikeyfell]

The fact that it's almost impossible to go to a retail store and buy a game on Day 1 with out having preordered just leads to more preorders and it is reinforces that self perpetuating circle of lies and misinformation.

I haven't run into this problem before. Well, not since like, the PS2 days. I think the last time I actually had to pre-order a game was Burnout 3, which is a decade old. Game stores seem to overstock at launch in most cases.

Unless you're talking limited editions and the like, but that would strike me as the point.

Really? because that's happened to me with the last 3 high profile games I tried to buy (And I do mean last as in final because it's highly unlikely that I'll ever pay money for a high profile game again)

GTA 5, Dark Souls 2 and Watch Dogs.
they weren't available on Day 1 unless I preordered them so I didn't buy them. and still haven't.

 

[Stutastic Fantastic]

Jim, You are so great

 

[NoeL]

I'm worried that the attempts at open-worlding the new Zelda will make it not FEEL like a Zelda game. Still, fingers crossed.

Looks like they're trying to bring back some of the Zelda 1 and 3 feeling, with those being largely open-world and all (more so the former). Will be interesting to see if they ditch the "do three dungeons -> open up real game" formula and maybe have a "short/skipable tutorial -> open up real game" instead. I'm sure the world/animations/combat will all deliver that Zelda feeling, but I hope they really change up the way items are used. I don't want to see more "use item to complete dungeon puzzle, use item to defeat boss". Maybe have items from other dungeons open up alternate routes or secrets etc. And they should make finding the actual dungeon a puzzle in itself again! It was fun trying to find where you had to go, rather than having some flashing dot on the map.

 

[immortalfrieza]

The awful truth is that they don't need to learn this lesson as long as we keep giving them money.

The even worse truth is that for every one person that wises up and stopped giving these people money, there's a hundred more casuals and blind fanboys who either don't know or don't give a damn about how they are being royally screwed over just coming into some disposable income who will give the industry money anyway, meaning that refusing to give them money is ultimately meaningless in the end.

 

[Meinos Kaen]

Damn, I'm so, so fought... I mean, on one hand, yeah. Nintendo's policy of dealing directly with the customers is nice. I like Nintendo Direct.

But on the other, Nintendo wants to start a personal affiliate program on Youtube to get their piece of minuscule pie (are they that desperate for money?!). They seem to only be able to stay afloat thanks to their first party titles and even that isn't doing them as much good as needed, since their last two consoles in a row are rushed out pieces of convoluted hardware based around a gimmick that no one seems to know what to do with it and it also is a pain to develop for. And the less said about their Online Store's offer, the better.

Bottom line, Nintendo is exclusively doing good things for Nintendo fans. If you're a gamer on the fence, they offer very little for you. Even less if you're a third party/indie developer.

By comparison, Sony is getting much more of my respect because they learn from their mistakes and have understood that they can't survive and win by ignoring gamers -like Microsoft tried to do- and third parties -like Nintendo does-. Now, if only they would lower the prices for the Vita storage cards and stop talking about it like it's just a horseshoe for their Ensemble Dark Horse the PS4...

 

[Scars Unseen]

But I'm curious as to what the take on the supposedly "in engine" obviously scripted and edited (cause ya know, that slow-mo complete camera shift is blatantly obviously not an ingame thing and I don't know how anyones expected to believe it is) Zelda Wii-U thing is.

Well noticed. Nintendo doesn't have a clean record when it comes to E3 Zelda games. Wind Waker was bashed when it came out for the Gamecube because it looked nothing like the Zelda they showed up in the E3 a couple of years before.

Your statement is misleading. There is nothing wrong with Nintendo's record. What you are referring to is a tech demo that they did in 1999. They actually showed Windwaker the following year(still 2 years before the game came out). Yes, some people criticized Nintendo's decision to go with a cel-shaded art style, but it wasn't because Nintendo misrepresented themselves. And time has proven most of the original criticism to be full of shit, as Windwaker is a pretty well loved iteration of the series.

 

[Hover Hand Mode]

Does anybody else think Nintendo's E3 showing this year was so good simply because the actual presentation was an easy-to-digest 45 minutes long? There was very little filler (except maybe the walls of yarn) and it's easy enough to rewatch the whole thing and get even more hyped over all the sweet gameplay (not bullshotty trailers). If you haven't seen the video of Super Best Friends watching the whole Nintendo digital event this year, I think it's worth watching. They were legitimately amused!

All in all, this year's E3 talked me out of buying a PS4 and made me very happy to be a WiiU owner. That should say something.

 

[Dragonbums]

But I'm curious as to what the take on the supposedly "in engine" obviously scripted and edited (cause ya know, that slow-mo complete camera shift is blatantly obviously not an ingame thing and I don't know how anyones expected to believe it is) Zelda Wii-U thing is.

Well noticed. Nintendo doesn't have a clean record when it comes to E3 Zelda games. Wind Waker was bashed when it came out for the Gamecube because it looked nothing like the Zelda they showed up in the E3 a couple of years before.

But those were explicitly stated as tech demos. Not claimed to of been part of an actual game.

 

[AgentLampshade]

The thing about being a prophet is that nobody takes you seriously until it's too late.

 

[Xelzeno]

It's funny. For me the only appealing console is the Wii U and that is because to me, it does what consoles is supposed to do. Give out a lot of fun co-op, party and gimmicky games that you can sit down with a friend or two and play.

For the singleplayer experiences with nice graphics and such I just buy it for my PC, why would I need a console to do the same thing as my PC? Just worse.

 

[Atmos Duality]

They will stop lying as soon as people stop blindly pre-ordering their games.
That's it. That's all it will take.

AAA PR and marketing is laser-focused on one thing: Getting the most sales on launch. "Slow burn" sales have significantly less emphasis on them because the quicker they make back their big bloated budget, the better it looks to investors on that quarterly report. (that, and due to media bombardment, it's becoming increasingly difficult to impress and hold the attention of prospective buyers; the "shelf life" of a video game is pretty small these days, even for big titles)

And even when a scandal occurs, even when they get caught red-handed, it's still profitable to overhype and lie, then apologize later (or lie some more).

That's why EA and Maxis lied through their teeth about SimCity 13'.
That's why Gearbox heavily doctored their demo for Aliens: Colonial Marines.

And that's why Ubisoft not only doctored their Watch Dogs' demo last year (and then buried the settings in the PC version to preserve parity with consoles), but offered several different pre-order editions and day 1 DLC.

 

[Mangue Surfer]

But I'm curious as to what the take on the supposedly "in engine" obviously scripted and edited (cause ya know, that slow-mo complete camera shift is blatantly obviously not an ingame thing and I don't know how anyones expected to believe it is) Zelda Wii-U thing is.

Well noticed. Nintendo doesn't have a clean record when it comes to E3 Zelda games. Wind Waker was bashed when it came out for the Gamecube because it looked nothing like the Zelda they showed up in the E3 a couple of years before.

There's a tradition of Nintendo showing they new hardware it a Zelda inspired tech demo. Happens since N64, the Wii may be an exception, I can't remenber. But the tech demo never is related with an actual Zelda game.

 

[templar1138a]

And they should make finding the actual dungeon a puzzle in itself again! It was fun trying to find where you had to go, rather than having some flashing dot on the map.

I suppose I could put up with that in a three-dimensional world. I tried playing the first Zelda game on Gamecube and couldn't stand not having any idea where I was supposed to go. I've never liked isometrics that much.

 

[KazeAizen]

I really can't wait for Hyrule warriors.
Also, I like how Bayonette 2 video had her dressed as Link, that looks cool

That was actually Bayonetta 1. Nintendo is fixing the Bayonetta issue by giving people the first game when they buy the second. I presume through download or something. That version will also come with Nintendo themed costumes as you can plainly see in addition to her usual flair. Again more of Nintendo doing something right. A lot of the fanbase was mad it was a Wii U exclusive. Now they can have both on one console AND rope in new people by giving them the first iteration. Probably one of the best examples of cultivating a new IP, that has more of a cult status now, into a full blown franchise. Also their Gamecube controller adapter is just $20. How freaking awesome is that?

 

[Something Amyss]

Usually (but not always) companies get crap for it not because they're using in-engine footage in place of in-game footage, but because they're being dishonest about it.

Well, no. They routinely catch crap for doing just what Nintendo did.

GTA 5, Dark Souls 2 and Watch Dogs.

I bought GTA V online, admittedly, and couldn't give less of a crap about Dark Souls, but I know people who walked in and bought Watch Dogs day one.

Edit: Come to think of it, I have at least one friend who bought GTA Day one, because he tried to "surprise" us with it.

 

[Something Amyss]

The awful truth is that they don't need to learn this lesson as long as we keep giving them money.

The even worse truth is that for every one person that wises up and stopped giving these people money, there's a hundred more casuals and blind fanboys who either don't know or don't give a damn about how they are being royally screwed over just coming into some disposable income who will give the industry money anyway, meaning that refusing to give them money is ultimately meaningless in the end.

As long as people keep telling themselves to justify their purchases, it really will be meaningless. But then, that's less because it's true and more because declaring it meaningless as a justification to keep buying games while protesting gaming is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's also rationalisation, and gamers have got real good at rationalising.