Gota's Brief Blogs: Destiny and the Problem of Hype.

[Gotakibono]

Okay, so Destiny finally dropped this week. 

 

 

What is Destiny you ask? Well, let me give you the salient facts in a nice, short, bullet-pointed style manner:

• Destiny is a brand-spanking new IP developed by Bungie (the Halo guys) and published by Activision (the Call of Duty guys). So, it's essentially a lovechild of the people responsible for the two biggest FPS franchises on earth. Not a bad start for a new IP, in fairness.
• It'll roughly cost an eye-watering total of $500 million - over the next ten years - to develop and market four Destiny titles. (That's $75 million more than Avatar - which is only the most expensive film of all-time. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is mucho loco). 
• It is the most pre-ordered game ever. Like, ever. Yep... ever. 

 

In short: People really want to play Destiny.  And it's not difficult to see why, seeing as it's been crafted by the hands responsible for Call of Duty AND Halo; and both of those franchises were - and continue to be - you know, pretty fucking successful. And because of that inheritance, Destiny has been a ubiquitous talking point for the gaming community ever since it was first announced. 

 

Over the past year the incessant excitement regarding the game has grown tenfold into a bull-blown fever pitch. The game's veil has been slowly, seductively and expertly pulled back by the Activison marketing team in the months leading up to the game's release: a screenshot released here to capture the attention; a little snippet of game-play details there to moisten the lips; and fantastically well-produced trailers to instigate frenzied gyrating by gamers the world over. By the time it came around to it, the Times Square billboard was the icing on the already ginormous, gluttonous marketing cake. It showcased the kind of heavy exposure and marketing budget that would make lesser studio heads weep into their keyboards, punch a wall in frustration, and then subsequently hold a séance in hopes of contacting the ghost of Alfonso de Albuquerque and asking him where the fuck they can find the shipwreck of the Flor de la Mar.

 

 

 

All of this exposure and advertising inevitably leads to a certain term coming to the fore: Hype. Not just hype, but its ugly sister 'Overhype'. This a phrase that has become a more prominent feature in the lexicon of gamers over the past number of years. Why you ask? Well, personally I believe it's because this type of marketing is insanely new to the game's industry; never has so much money revolved around games and their respective consoles. And as much as we like to think it, we're not the small, tight-knit niche market we once were: our industry has well-and-truly gone mainstream. 

 

Anything universally anticipated always deters a few people and attracts claims such as, "It's so overhyped", and "I bet it'll be shite." You see, I'm a cynical bastard, so I understand approaching certain things with caution, but the phrase 'overhyped' is inherently annoying to me. For a simplistic example, no one forces you to buy a certain game, watch a particular film or eat at Nando's - the choice is completely up to you. Furthermore, claiming something is simply 'overhyped' is worrying about other people's opinions way too much; you're essentially summing something up using nothing but over people's excitement and admiration, as opposed to actually explaining why you personally disliked it. It's like taking someone's love and passing it off as a personal hate-filled opinion. 

 

 

 

Even as a cynic, it's okay to be excited about something. If somebody is enthusiastic about Destiny's release, then whatever. If somebody's favourite film is Sex and the City 2, then whatever. And if somebody says The Dark Knight is the best film of all-time, then whatever. You see, it's not my eyes, ears, nose and other sensory organs that have to be exposed to such things. I can rant and rave against such things, but to call any of the aforementioned things  'overhyped' would be to care too much what a multitude of strangers thought, as well as disrespect and ignore their enjoyment of said things. I would gladly debate their opinion with them, but I wouldn't begrudge them it. After all, when it boils down to it, matter of taste is unique to each individual and life's too fucking short; if you like something, then you shouldn't worry about what others think and just enjoy yourself. Unless you enjoy public masturbation whilst dressed up as Luigi - that's just fucked up.

 

What I'm trying to say is that if Destiny's mammoth marketing campaign doesn't pique your interest then that doesn't mean that it's 'overhyped': it means that you're not excited about it and others are. And that's cool with me and should be cool with you. Also, you're hardly expecting Activison to spend a couple of hundred million developing a game and not fucking advertise it? They're a business who've just pumped a shitload of money into this new IP, after all.

 

 

 

At the very least, even if you couldn't give a rat's dildo about Destiny, you should at least be excited about the amount of money being invested into the gaming industry these days. I hope Destiny does well commercially, as it'll help other developers be entrusted with even more ludicrous amounts of money in the future. Companies cannot cater to niche markets like they once did; the market isn't what it used to be, and marketing giants like Destiny will be a prominent feature of gaming's future. It's a necessary evil in an industry that is in uncharted waters of commercial success and financial backing. Let's just enjoy the ride together. 

Edited September 18, 2014 by Gotakibono

[Dr_Mayus]

At the very least, even if you couldn't give a rat's dildo about Destiny, you should at least be excited about the amount of money being invested into the gaming industry these days. I hope Destiny does well commercially, as it'll help other developers be entrusted with even more ludicrous amounts of money in the future. Companies cannot cater to niche markets like they once did; the market isn't what it used to be, and marketing giants like Destiny will be a prominent feature of gaming's future. It's a necessary evil in an industry that is in uncharted waters of commercial success and financial backing. Let's just enjoy the ride together. 

Well written as always and your surplus of awesome gifs mirrors my own surplus of random youtube clips

 

My only problem is the part I have bolded and that is because too often companies see games like COD or Halo and want a piece of that action. So you have games like Resident Evil 6 and Tomb Raider that sell great...but because Capcom and Square pumped too much money into the games they fell below expectations. If companies could learn to scale back and not "overhype" their games then they wouldn't need to sell COD numbers to be successful and we wouldn't have companies closing down left and right (See Big Huge Games for an example-edited because Ant proved I am an idiot ).

 

Also one more problem with your blog...no love for this gif

 

Edited September 10, 2014 by Dr_Mayus

[Daigashadokuro]

This is possibly the best reaction to Destiny I've heard so far. People really do tend to get passionate about things that don't really matter, and other people's opinions are possibly the biggest target. I personally think that Destiny is a tolerable concept with mediocre execution after having played the Beta, but you're right - this is, in theory, good for the industry - just so long as this level of production quality and marketing is applied where it's, you know... applicable.

 

I admire both your writing and your dedication to objectivity. Always love reading these. Keep it up 

[antithesis]

 If companies could learn to scale back and not "overhype" their games then they wouldn't need to sell COD numbers to be successful and we wouldn't have companies closing down left and right (see Team Bondi and LA Noire).

 

Team Bondi shut down because the CEO is a crook. But I digress...

 

I'm not normally one for falling for hype and I haven't in this case either. My game purchases are typically a year after release when they hit the bargain bin. That said, Destiny is one of two games I've pre-ordered this year (the other being Skylanders: Trap Team for my son), and only then, it was on the basis that I'll get the PS4 version for free.

 

I don't know that I'll like the game (I'm neither a CoD nor a Halo fanboy), but I enjoyed the hybrid FPS / RPG gameplay of Borderlands, I have mates who will play Destiny and it's a lightweight time-investment into more-or-less a shooter-based MMO that will be supported for years to come, so I figured "What the hell!" and sunk my dough in too.

Edited September 10, 2014 by ant1th3s1s

[FluffyAssassin64]

Awesome blog mate.

 

I agree completely; hype can be both a blessing and a curse. From what I've played of Destiny so far, it's pretty awesome, but it's hard to judge it based purely on all I've done to this point.

 

Like you said, it is exciting to see the amount of money being spent on video games these days; although I can also agree with Dr Mayus in that money doesn't always equal what the players want; it can simply be a publisher throwing cash at an IP and hoping it does well, or turning a (usually horror) game into an action game or something it's not.

 

Regardless, it's great to read blogs like this and to see what people think about these big issues in our industry. Kudos

 

P.S. I love your hilarious use of gifs

Edited September 10, 2014 by FluffyAssassin64

[Dr_Mayus]

Team Bondi shut down because the CEO is a crook. But I digress...

Actually as soon as I posted that I remembered what actually happened (that is my fault for relying on my tired brain as opposed to googling to check my facts) but I still stand by my other points and changed the company to Big Huge Games

Edited September 10, 2014 by Dr_Mayus

[dimonemt]

Well, it looks that game publishers have finally learned how to do business from their movie counterparts. Only time will tell whether or not it is a good thing though. And yes, Avatar, what a perfect example. I remember seeing posters in the theater, an awesome posters about the movie i've never heard before, posters with the name James Cameron on them. James Cameron.... the director of The Terminator and Titanic... My heart started to beat faster when i read his name. I remember thinking what a great movie that would be since they advertise it now, many months before the release... Many months later came the blizzard of 2009 and the movie was out during that time and everyone i know went to see Avatar, the film that was made by a star director, the film that was supposed to be the best of the best...

[Beyondthegrave07]

I don't worry about overhyping as much as I worry about mainstream games. And by "mainstream games" I mean companies that use what seems to be a "copy and paste" method for every single sequel to a game series. I'm talking about those games that seems REALLY similar to previous games in the series; the games that often lack that innovative touch that a sequel needs in order for it to feel new and refreshing. The game series that once excited become stale and boring. Then again, maybe that can be discussed and expanded on another day, another blog....

[Mendant909]

At the very least, even if you couldn't give a rat's dildo about Destiny, you should at least be excited about the amount of money being invested into the gaming industry these days. I hope Destiny does well commercially, as it'll help other developers be entrusted with even more ludicrous amounts of money in the future. Companies cannot cater to niche markets like they once did; the market isn't what it used to be, and marketing giants like Destiny will be a prominent feature of gaming's future. It's a necessary evil in an industry that is in uncharted waters of commercial success and financial backing. Let's just enjoy the ride together. 

 

I'm in the group that's not interested in Destiny and never will. However, it's nice to see that people are enjoying their game and it hasn't turned into another Aliens: Colonial Marines. I'm interested as to whether Destiny will outdo GTA V in sells records but that also makes me scared in another regard. The AAA game industry seems to have gotten out of hand and I don't believe this type of business is a "necessary evil." We can have niche games make some money rather than make all the money; Dishonored was a new IP that fulfilled stealth gamers and XCOM: Enemy Unknown proved that strategy RPGs are still wanted rather than FPS reboots (Syndicate, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified). Heck, Dark Souls sold around 2 million copies and proved to be a success while Resident Evil 6 sold around 5 million copies and was a failure. It took over a year for Tomb Raider to break even and it was the best selling game of the franchise. Game companies need to be cautious how the money is spent as the failure of Final Fantasy XIV almost made Square Enix bankrupt. We can have niche games make some money rather COD amounts of money, no one pressured game publishers to pump hundreds into marketing or development.

 

 

Well written as always and your surplus of awesome gifs mirrors my own surplus of random youtube clips

 

My only problem is the part I have bolded and that is because too often companies see games like COD or Halo and want a piece of that action. So you have games like Resident Evil 6 and Tomb Raider that sell great...but because Capcom and Square pumped too much money into the games they fell below expectations. If companies could learn to scale back and not "overhype" their games then they wouldn't need to sell COD numbers to be successful and we wouldn't have companies closing down left and right (See Big Huge Games for an example-edited because Ant proved I am an idiot ).

 

It's terrible to see that game publishers keep trying to copy the success of COD and Halo by copying them rather than doing their own thing. I liked Tomb Raider but it had no need to have a multiplayer and merely did it as all shooters have that component. If game compaines (i.e. Square Enix) can learn to calm down when it comes to graphics and game engines then they wouldn't be complaining about not having sold enough. It was a shame to see a promising group like Big Huge Games close and now Rhode Island is stuck with that mess.

 

 

If the AAA industry implodes from overblown budgets then I'd be fine with it as indie developers and some game developers (Rockstar, Bethesda, Nintendo) already know how to budget themselves and develop games they want to make rather than follow in the steps of COD.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Mendant909

[Dr_Mayus]

 

If the AAA industry implodes from overblown budgets then I'd be fine with it as Nintendo and indie developers would fill the gap and know how to budget their money.

Um...http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/

[Mendant909]

Um...http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/

 

Ouch, that sucks for Nintendo. I would have thought that it would have done better by now but that doesn't seem the case. I must have been a bit hasty on my thoughts and edited my response to add some other companies that aren't blinded by the COD train. I stil have faith in Nintendo as it's doing its "thing" but I can see how others can note Nintendo's failures (Yatzee does that constantly and I still love his show). All I can hope for the Wii U is to have the success of the Gamecube or to turn it around like with the 3DS.

[Dr_Mayus]

Ouch, that sucks for Nintendo. I would have thought that it would have done better by now but that doesn't seem the case. I must have been a bit hasty on my thoughts and edited my response to add some other companies that aren't blinded by the COD train. I stil have faith in Nintendo as it's doing its "thing" but I can see how others can note Nintendo's failures (Yatzee does that constantly and I still love his show). All I can hope for the Wii U is to have the success of the Gamecube or to turn it around like with the 3DS.

The thing is Yahtzee is like a lot of us gamers who want Nintendo to be a great company again and to move away from the garbage they have been doing lately (relying too heavily on nostalgia, casual games and milking properties).

 

Check out his Link Between Worlds review

 

[kidhero99]

With Destiny, and this is all subjective obviously, but from what I've read  and from what I've heard from people I know who have bought Destiny, the PVP suite isn't nearly substantial enough to make up for the lackluster and repetitive solo experience / story

 

There's also Bungie's history with Halo to consider. Not that Halo is in any way genius storytelling, but the universe and lore was pretty damn interesting I think. It had memorable characters, enemies, and some pretty epic setpieces throughout that original trilogy (ODST also had a pretty good campaign). By comparison, Destiny seems really disappointing with its lack of ability to draw you into its world and its boring mission design.

 

And you could say part of that is because Bungie didn't set out to make a single-player shooter like Halo, but I don't think they went far enough in the other direction to make up for that. just feels like a dull compromise between an MMO and a shooter.

[Gotakibono]

Thanks a lot for the kind words, guys - really appreciate it. 

 

Anyway, some reviews of Destiny have finally started to leak and they're less than stellar. I'm just curious to hear feedback from people here who've played the game: Did you like it, loathe it or were you completely impartial to the game? 

[JaneAusten69]

Nice blog.  I enjoy your writing style very much.  I'm also in the category of not going to play Destiny, but I'm excited to hear about it from my friends that did buy it. 

 

Also, the $500 million is actually the projected total cost of the Destiny Trilogy.  So that would be the cost to make all three games and marketing for those games.  Although, I'm sure Destiny 1 will probably use more of this budget than the future two titles because they had to build this one from the ground up.

[Xxleonardo97xX]

I finally understood the problem of getting hyped for games with Destiny, over-hyped .. but in reality ...just a boring ....shooter ...

[Parker]

Thanks a lot for the kind words, guys - really appreciate it. 

 

Anyway, some reviews of Destiny have finally started to leak and they're less than stellar. I'm just curious to hear feedback from people here who've played the game: Did you like it, loathe it or were you completely impartial to the game? 

 

Personally, I absolutely love Destiny. It isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination and there are a lot of features that I think Bungie needs to add to the game but overall it does exactly what I wanted it to do, it makes me want to keep playing and it brings me enjoyment, what else do you really need from a game? 

 

 

Parker

[Saltyie]

Anyway, some reviews of Destiny have finally started to leak and they're less than stellar. I'm just curious to hear feedback from people here who've played the game: Did you like it, loathe it or were you completely impartial to the game? 

 

I feel it is a great foundation, everything is there - the gunplay, the modes, the addicting loot collecting. But it is only a foundation, It felt pretty similar to Dragon Age 2, where the game ended before it was supposed to begin, and you're left with a 15 hour prologue. I do think it deserves an 7-8/10 though, I never have and never will trust any of Polygon's reviews (The reviewer said there were only 4 PvP maps? Clear sign he hasn't played it enough). 

 

Even though these things are probably planned internally but not announced, I couldn't help but feel that part of Destiny's shortcomings are due to the '10 year trilogy' planned. They could've included much more, especially in character development, but it feels like Bungie have had to limit how much they show, so there's content for the sequels, which I think is annoying and wrong. A game should be made to the best standard possible, and if it's successful and actually needs a sequel, Devs should focus entirely on the sequel. What they're doing here is thinking of the grand scale, planning each game out, when they should be putting all of it into one game and creating new ideas for sequels.

[Gotakibono]

Nice blog.  I enjoy your writing style very much.  I'm also in the category of not going to play Destiny, but I'm excited to hear about it from my friends that did buy it. 

 

Also, the $500 million is actually the projected total cost of the Destiny Trilogy.  So that would be the cost to make all three games and marketing for those games.  Although, I'm sure Destiny 1 will probably use more of this budget than the future two titles because they had to build this one from the ground up.

 

Why thank you - appreciate it. 

 

As for the $500 million, I'm not so sure that that's the projected cost of the trilogy. A lot of sources I used for the article have quoted that figure as being the complete budget/cost for both development and promotion of Destiny, not an estimated figure of an entire trilogy. 

 

However, if you provide a link to your source and it proves to be valid, then I'll update the article to include the proper information. I can't be spreading misinformation after all.

 

 

I finally understood the problem of getting hyped for games with Destiny, over-hyped .. but in reality ...just a boring ....shooter ...

 

Ah, I stopped getting lost in the monsoon of hype many moons ago. Although in saying that, I recently allowed myself to become excited about playing the latest Tomb Raider - given all of the praise and plaudits it's received since its release - but I was highly disappointed with it. I was actually surprised at how strongly I disliked the game.  

 

 

Personally, I absolutely love Destiny. It isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination and there are a lot of features that I think Bungie needs to add to the game but overall it does exactly what I wanted it to do, it makes me want to keep playing and it brings me enjoyment, what else do you really need from a game? 

 

 

Parker

 

What features would you like to see implemented? I think if you're enjoying the game and want to keep playing, then you've got your money's worth.

 

 

I feel it is a great foundation, everything is there - the gunplay, the modes, the addicting loot collecting. But it is only a foundation, It felt pretty similar to Dragon Age 2, where the game ended before it was supposed to begin, and you're left with a 15 hour prologue. I do think it deserves an 7-8/10 though, I never have and never will trust any of Polygon's reviews (The reviewer said there were only 4 PvP maps? Clear sign he hasn't played it enough). 

 

Even though these things are probably planned internally but not announced, I couldn't help but feel that part of Destiny's shortcomings are due to the '10 year trilogy' planned. They could've included much more, especially in character development, but it feels like Bungie have had to limit how much they show, so there's content for the sequels, which I think is annoying and wrong. A game should be made to the best standard possible, and if it's successful and actually needs a sequel, Devs should focus entirely on the sequel. What they're doing here is thinking of the grand scale, planning each game out, when they should be putting all of it into one game and creating new ideas for sequels.

 

So, you feel as if they've just sold you the foundation to a house, only to ask you to pay for the walls and roof later? 

[REDSHIRT64]

Nice blog sir! You have a very eloquent writing style that just flows like a river when reading. I agree with every point you make, are you a business guy? You get the business part of the gaming industry which unfortunately alot of gamers do not understand and therefore they base opinions on actions performed by gaming companies that they are not knowledgeable about.

 

As for Destiny, Im like Parker I am overly addicted to this game. I havent been addicted to a game like this in a very long time! i think it is a beautiful game with excellent content. I think most gamers are missing out on a wonderful experience due to reading reviews online that are not "full in-depth" reviews. I must add that I am not the type that likes to play online MP as I am more of a trophy hunter. But since I have been playing Destiny, trophies has not crossed my mind at all.

[JaneAusten69]

Why thank you - appreciate it. 

 

As for the $500 million, I'm not so sure that that's the projected cost of the trilogy. A lot of sources I used for the article have quoted that figure as being the complete budget/cost for both development and promotion of Destiny, not an estimated figure of an entire trilogy. 

 

However, if you provide a link to your source and it proves to be valid, then I'll update the article to include the proper information. I can't be spreading misinformation after all.

 

 

 

 

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-budget-nowhere-near-500-million-bungie-says/1100-6420802/

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/07/01/bungie-says-destiny-cost-nowhere-near-500-million-decade-long-story-planned/

 

Neither of these are the original video I saw, but they are similar.  They plan to spend aprox. $500 million over the next ten years on 4 Destiny titles.  The video I originally saw was on IGN and they explained it better than these articles.  

 

The original $500 mil. quote got blown out of proportion.  The guy interviewed just said off the cuff that they expected Destiny to be a $500 mil. investment without elaborating.

 

Either way, they are spending a crap load on this IP.

Edited September 17, 2014 by JaneAusten69

[IntenseFATE98]

Gota, you have got some amazing writing skills mate. I always enjoy reading your blogs. Maybe Sly should create a sub-forum just for you Amazing read yet again

[SuffyZorugelion]

Personally I've been enjoy the shit out of this game! I dont remember the last time when I've been playing with so many different people

[Gotakibono]

Nice blog sir! You have a very eloquent writing style that just flows like a river when reading. I agree with every point you make, are you a business guy? You get the business part of the gaming industry which unfortunately alot of gamers do not understand and therefore they base opinions on actions performed by gaming companies that they are not knowledgeable about.

 

As for Destiny, Im like Parker I am overly addicted to this game. I havent been addicted to a game like this in a very long time! i think it is a beautiful game with excellent content. I think most gamers are missing out on a wonderful experience due to reading reviews online that are not "full in-depth" reviews. I must add that I am not the type that likes to play online MP as I am more of a trophy hunter. But since I have been playing Destiny, trophies has not crossed my mind at all.

 

 

Why thank you for the kind words, Sir. I wouldn't call myself a business guy, I just like to view things from a multitude of different angles as opposed to just jumping the gun and presuming everything. I think people are just quick to put forth an opinion, even if it's about something they've no clue about. Like me, for example. 

 

 

 

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-budget-nowhere-near-500-million-bungie-says/1100-6420802/

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/07/01/bungie-says-destiny-cost-nowhere-near-500-million-decade-long-story-planned/

 

Neither of these are the original video I saw, but they are similar.  They plan to spend aprox. $500 million over the next ten years on 4 Destiny titles.  The video I originally saw was on IGN and they explained it better than these articles.  

 

The original $500 mil. quote got blown out of proportion.  The guy interviewed just said off the cuff that they expected Destiny to be a $500 mil. investment without elaborating.

 

Either way, they are spending a crap load on this IP.

 

 

I'll change the guilty sentence in the article now - thanks for the sources.

 

 

Gota, you have got some amazing writing skills mate. I always enjoy reading your blogs. Maybe Sly should create a sub-forum just for you Amazing read yet again

 

 

 

Thanks for saying that, but I doubt anyone truly wants to see an entire sub-forum dedicated to my ramblings.

 

Personally I've been enjoy the shit out of this game! I dont remember the last time when I've been playing with so many different people

 

That's awesome to hear. Seems like many people are enjoying Destiny for the most simple of reasons that anyone plays games in the first place: It's fun. 

[Sparkly-Twinkly]

Overhyped is another word for good marketing. Whether the game is good or not doesn't matter, apparently people are eager to buy it