Is the secrecy surrounding the games industry warranted?

[Secretofmateria]

As we move on in the year, many people are eagerly anticipating any information at all on next generation consoles and nintendo's upcoming slate. The games industry has always been secretive. Game announcements are treated as events in their own right and people have built reputations on leaking information earlier than companies intended to. But is this all necessary? Would it be better to take the disney/marvel approach and announce what is in production far earlier? We can argue that the anticipation might be worse, but it might help to combat leakers, as well as the frustration from players when there is a dirth of information regarding a companies slate. For instance it the lack of a nintendo direct might be less frustrating if they had announced more early 2020 titles in september. Anyway, im sure there is a lot of money at stake, and im sure projects get cancelled constantly, those are the only two reasons i can think of.

 

[thomasmahler]

I like a good secret as much as the next guy :)

 

[Secretofmateria]

I like a good secret as much as the next guy :)

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Is there a financial risk if a project is known about earlier than intended? Btw i love ori, keep up the great work!

 

[higemaru]

If the receiving audience + investors weren't so reactionary, I'd say no, but people flip shit and stock prices drop if even a sliver of bad news comes out so I guess secrecy is the way to go. I'd love to know what, if any, projects a studio is floating at any given time even if they all got cancelled personally.

 

[Z-Beat]

Is there a financial risk if a project is known about earlier than intended? Btw i love ori, keep up the great work!

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It definitely makes the fanbase irritated and impatient (Kingdom Hearts 3, Metroid Prime 4, etc.)

I'd prefer that we not find out until the game is nearing beta. That way if there are any delays they likely won't be major unless something goes horribly, HORRIBLY wrong.

I think Capcom did good hiding RE3 behind REsistance until it was effectively ready.

And yeah Ori's an incredibly beautiful game

 

[Z-Beat]

If the receiving audience + investors weren't so reactionary, I'd say no, but people flip shit and stock prices drop if even a sliver of bad news comes out so I guess secrecy is the way to go. I'd love to know what, if any, projects a studio is floating at any given time even if they all got cancelled personally.

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This too. Investors want it and they want it now or they're out, which pressures a lot of companies to release/announce games long before they're actually ready

 

[nsilvias]

the secrecy is more for the benefit for the suits than anything. i remember reading how some devs cant even get sales numbers for their own games.

 

[FinalDasa]

Those movies are announced because Disney/Marvel has the majority of those actors in contracts. The production will happen, the movie will get created. And even then they don't always get made due to unforseen circumstances.
Video games aren't as set in stone.

Games take years to make. They undergo immense changes during development. And most developers will tell you they aren't sure how the game is coming together until the very end.

Not to mention the constant pressure and occasional harassment from consumers and the potential financial impact from investors.

 

[Rotobit]

It's worth keeping games under wraps because even the most sure-fire bet might not pan out

We even have recent examples of things falling through - the EA Star Wars cancellations. People are still cut up over Star Wars 1313, imagine if we saw more images and trailers from those canned games and they sparked everyone's interest?

I'm kinda glad we've left the era of publishers announcing games too far in advance.

Of course there are some secrets that shouldn't be kept, i.e. stats that are used to hamper unionization, harassment claims, etc. etc. but in terms of simple announcements, it's fine to keep those secretive

 

[Professor Beef]

I think a better question would be "is the desire to know every step a video game company makes warranted?"

Personally I think that unless you're actually an investor, you have no right to overstep your bounds in regards to wanting more information and can afford to show a bit pf patience now and again.

 

[Fadewise]

Alternate question: why do gamers feel the need to get themselves in such a tizzy about upcoming games? Just play what's available now and enjoy it; i guarantee that anyone who's waiting desperately for the next morsel of news from Nintendo could better spend that time finding some game that's out now (or god forbid, an older game that they might have missed) .

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

I think the culture is so bad you can't win with transparency. If the graphics take a hit or a feature isn't there "YOU'RE LYING AND STEALING MY MONEY" is usually the reponse.

That said, I think the secrecy helps breed that toxic culture by giving people all the silence to imagine shit that will never happen and get upset when it doesn't.

 

[Z-Beat]

I think a better question would be "is the desire to know every step a video game company makes warranted?"

Personally I think that unless you're actually an investor, you have no right to overstep your bounds in regards to wanting more information and can afford to show a bit pf patience now and again.

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Definitely not warranted, but generally we only find out BECAUSE stuff like investor meetings gets leaked by people with their ear to the ground. Stuff like switching devs doesn't get found out by the average joe walking into Gamestop asking when the new Metroid's coming out.

Can't really be helped.

 

[Professor Beef]

Alternate question: why do gamers feel the need to get themselves in such a tizzy about upcoming games? Just play what's available now and enjoy it; i guarantee that anyone who's waiting desperately for the next morsel of news from Nintendo could better spend that time finding some game that's out now (or god forbid, an older game that they might have missed) .

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I have to imagine they're single-console owners. There's so much out there to play right now that I can't be bothered to even *think* about what the next Nintendo Direct would contain, let alone count the number of days that have passed since the previous one.

 

[dgrdsv]

It's not secrecy, it's mostly customer expectations control.

 

[Lobster Roll]

I'm good with secrets, so long as they're worth the hype and the reveal. There are few things as annoying as a developer saying:

"Six weeks away from the BIG reveal! GET EXCITED!"
"Just five weeks to go ... what could it beeeeee players?"
*With four weeks to go, a tweet with nothing but a plushie holding the number 4*
"Three more weeks, and the secrets shall be uncovered."
"In just two weeks time, gaming will change forever."
"Don't forget to tune into the 90-minute stream next Thursday! Lifelong (blank) fans will have reality shattered!"

Fans tune in. Then it's either some dumb mobile game, some skins, a card game, a new map / stage, or a 10 second reveal of something that has no release date set. Fans are left wanting and very disappointed. Lazy reactionary folks swoop into the forums - "it's your fault for getting excited".

 

[Deleted member 2317]

Have you seen how gamerz react to Works in Progress?

 

[finalflame]

Yes. Marketing is a powerful tool and the games industry + media is much more fickle than other entertainment industries, with a lot more variables and complexity.

 

[Owlet]

Well, as a consumer I enjoy being surprised.

I think it adds to the experience and hype.

 

[inner-G]

No

I think the games industry can be pretty pretentious. It's mostly just marketing and trying to make people "feel cool by finding out all the BRAND NEW info" for a game that has really been being developed for years.

 

[Dache]

Gamer culture is so awful that I'd rather not. Announce nothing but a title and a "we're working on this!" press release, and you have chuds asking about it impatiently for years to come and disrupting other announcements or releases in a clamor for any new info whatsoever. Show everything you're doing as a WIP, and you just get complaints whenever anything changes or doesn't match when it's released. You can't win.

 

[Tawpgun]

Honestly nowadays we see such a diverse take on how to release and market games.

You have something like Apex which is completely secret and launches out of nowhere.

Then you have your standard AAA games with trailers, E3 shows etc. They selectively show you the game.

Then you have games like Sea of Thieves and other smaller titles that basically let people play a sizeable chunk of the game in alphas and betas. Not much is kept secret.


Keeping some things secret is good for some reasons.
1. If too much is revealed or played, it loses its punch, longevity, and wow factor.

2. The industry is rife with copycats. Some studios are more nimble to copy ideas off of others. So if one game announces a cool feature but puts it off, another company can come in and steal their thunder.

 

[Yasuke]

No.

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

I'm good with secrets, so long as they're worth the hype and the reveal. There are few things as annoying as a developer saying:

"Six weeks away from the BIG reveal! GET EXCITED!"
"Just five weeks to go ... what could it beeeeee players?"
*With four weeks to go, a tweet with nothing but a plushie holding the number 4*
"Three more weeks, and the secrets shall be uncovered."
"In just two weeks time, gaming will change forever."
"Don't forget to tune into the 90-minute stream next Thursday! Lifelong (blank) fans will have reality shattered!"

Fans tune in. Then it's either some dumb mobile game, some skins, a card game, a new map / stage, or a 10 second reveal of something that has no release date set. Fans are left wanting and very disappointed. Lazy reactionary folks swoop into the forums - "it's your fault for getting excited".

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Teasers for teasers are fucking dumb. Just reveal when it's ready.

 

[xxracerxx]

Would it be better to take the disney/marvel approach and announce what is in production far earlier?

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Games are already announced far in advance, so I have no idea why you think they are not.

 

[LordGorchnik]

I'm good with secrets, so long as they're worth the hype and the reveal. There are few things as annoying as a developer saying:

"Six weeks away from the BIG reveal! GET EXCITED!"
"Just five weeks to go ... what could it beeeeee players?"
*With four weeks to go, a tweet with nothing but a plushie holding the number 4*
"Three more weeks, and the secrets shall be uncovered."
"In just two weeks time, gaming will change forever."
"Don't forget to tune into the 90-minute stream next Thursday! Lifelong (blank) fans will have reality shattered!"

Fans tune in. Then it's either some dumb mobile game, some skins, a card game, a new map / stage, or a 10 second reveal of something that has no release date set. Fans are left wanting and very disappointed. Lazy reactionary folks swoop into the forums - "it's your fault for getting excited".

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This one sums up my thoughts perfectly.

 

[Deleted member 17184]

Absolutely. Being more transparent would only lead to more outrage, and that's the last thing game devs need at this point.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

Have you seen how gamers react to anything even slightly disappointing?

Anything can be perceived as an unforgivable sin in the game industry. Game taking too long? Cancelled? Decided to take a large chunk of the game in a different direction? An extremely minor graphical change ("downgrade")?? All (perceived) valid reasons for the gaming community to revolt against said developer, publisher, or both.

I'm sure there are publishers out there crunching the numbers about the best financially viable time to announce things. But it's also common sense to not announce things early and spend half a year trying to put out community-driven fires around said announcements.

 

[Deleted member 18379]

It's not secrecy, it's mostly customer expectations control.

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Plenty cases of that working toward the opposite. Just look at the Batman fiasco. When you tell people what something is, they expect that, when you hide things, give only hints or teasers; people go wild with speculation and end up disappointed. Even now in the case of a game I am looking forward to, whatever the next Mega Man is, I am hopeful it's something I want but I could end up with a very bad taste in my mouth if it's not because the lack of transparency lead me on. So yeah, I disagree with this and if it's why people do it, their logic is flawed. It doesn't work unless we the public has zero idea of what's happening, but even then people will gas themselves up with speculation. "What's this dev working on? Must be a sequel or remake to my favorite game ever" Ala Bluepoint games.

 

[Raysoul]

Imagine the big devs plan your favorite game only to have it cancelled because it is financially not feasible. I am VERY sure that there wouldn't be any GAMER outrage.

 

[ActStriker]

Gamers are pretty trash, so putting out things on your own terms and only when you want to tell them is better.

 

[Deleted member 364]

gamers can't be trusted to react reasonably to works-in-progress.

 

[jotun?]

Would it be better to take the disney/marvel approach and announce what is in production far earlier?

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Games tend to have much longer schedules and much higher risks of delay or cancellation than movies

 

[Cess007]

Maybe not, if customers could act more reasonably to the nature of game development.

Unfortunately, we know that's not gonna happen.

 

[Dyle]

Much of the industry's secrecy exists because there companies have a vested interest in having as much proprietary data as possible and unlike film, music, and books it was never taken seriously until after the corporate powers already had a pretty firm grip on the means of distribution and sale. On the other hand games tend to be pleasantly surprising in ways that other entertainment media rarely are, which makes it more fun for consumers to take part in everything than it would be otherwise (though of course that enjoyment arguably comes at the risk of excessive brand loyalty, inflated demands, and whiny fans, so there are certainly downsides to it as well).

 

[tacocat]

If anything I wish there was more secrecy. Hearing about a game years before release sucks. Plus, more than likely the game is going to get delayed so why not just hold off on announcing shit until there is a concrete release date?

 

[justiceiro]

As long players flip at every time plans change, yes, better keep under wraps.

 

[eraFROMAN]

Yes, the customer's only business is the final product. Airing out everything can mess up expectations and marketability. Games change a LOT throughout production, and setting expectations knowing that they're based on abstractions is not a great move.

 

[THE RABID MOOSE]

I guess it really depends what the secret is in all honesty. If it's something substantial that will have a big impact in the financial space like it's a reboot of some timeless series or a sequel in a well established line of games that people have been anticipating for years, it makes sense studios would want more secrecy and control on how it's first reveal is distributed. However, if it's and open secret like the fucking Batman Court of Owls game Warner Bros. Montreal has been working on forever, at this point just announce the damn thing.

 

[Asbsand]

I think the secrecy often boils down to you preparing your presentation for class on wednesday and obviously don't want to show everyone all your trials of having to read up on stuff you got wrong and your stammers in your first attempt to vocalize it.

 

[Glio]

Film industry is the exception due to historical reasons, it really is a bad example.

 

[Windu]

From what I understand games don't come together until close to the end of production. So probably best to keep everything under wraps until you know what you have.

Also, the gaming community can a bit....childish. Best to leave them in the dark as much as possible.

 

[Schreckweg 5000]

Would it be better to take the disney/marvel approach and announce what is in production far earlier?

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Weirdest example imaginable. Disney announces the titles in advance, rest they try to keep under wraps. Not spoiling Avengers Endgame was part of the fucking marketing campaign, reviews(which pretty much all promise to be spoilerfree to get readers/viewers) go online one day before release, trailers misslead about the stories on purpose and promo interviews are tight lips about the actual movie.

 

[est1992]

It certain situations it makes sense. In others, it doesn't.

For example, everyone under the son knows WB Montreal is working on a Batman game. Worst kept secret in the industry. Yet they haven't said anything besides a few cryptic tweets that people could give two fucks about. They are an example of someone who should just come out and say something.

Another example would be Rocksteady, who's most likely working on a Suicide Squad game. It's best for them to stay quiet, because the backlash of them not working on Superman or some other DC hero will probably be big. But, if they wait until the time is right and show something super cool, then it'll negate all those things.

 

[Horns]

I think the complexities of game development make it challenging to share accurate future release schedules. Most developers keep this information to themselves in order to not disappoint fans.

 

[Glio]

I will expand a little more: Most people superficially understand how a movie is made. While it is being done you can understand how the matter is going and also, being a very different task from a video game, it is more complicated for them to enter development hell.

People do not understand how a video game is made, how difficult it is to calculate dates. Announcing things very early would only lead to frustrations.

 

[banter]

I'm kinda glad we've left the era of publishers announcing games too far in advance.

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I wouldn't say we left that era just yet. The Last of Us 2 was announced in December of 2016 and it still isn't out yet.

 

[Milennia]

In terms of console manufacturers it serves a purpose, for games i'm up in the air on it
It always feels bad when games are announced many years prior to launch and I think the reasoning stems from that feeling (unless the developer does monthly or bi-monthly updates)
When it comes to movies I know it's just a 2 hour or so romp i'll sit through as opposed to something i'm going to invest hours upon hours into, just seems less impactful for my taste to keep movies a secret (theres also tons of leaks that happen in the movie industry, I dont recall a superhero movie I didnt know about months prior to its announcement all the way down to its casting)

My favorite recent advertising cycle was for fallout 4 because the game was announced months before release and before I knew it I was playing the game

 

[Secretofmateria]

It certain situations it makes sense. In others, it doesn't.

For example, everyone under the son knows WB Montreal is working on a Batman game. Worst kept secret in the industry. Yet they haven't said anything besides a few cryptic tweets that people could give two fucks about. They are an example of someone who should just come out and say something.

Another example would be Rocksteady, who's most likely working on a Suicide Squad game. It's best for them to stay quiet, because the backlash of them not working on Superman or some other DC hero will probably be big. But, if they wait until the time is right and show something super cool, then it'll negate all those things.

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i feel like the silence on wb's dc titles is
Strangest of all. Were heading on five years since knight releases, you would think they'd have announced or said something by now so the casual market doesnt think the series is dead.

 

[xxracerxx]

i feel like the silence on wb's dc titles is
Strangest of all. Were heading on five years since knight releases, you would think they'd have announced or said something by now so the casual market doesnt think the series is dead.

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The casual market doesn't care until the game is released.