The existence of games that are in development being leaked before the actual announcement.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
J. Schreier: "Don't let billion dollar marketing convince you it's a spoiler" [See Threadmarks for further clarification]
- Thread starter Musubi
- Start date
I like finding out about cool stuff as much as the next guy, but I do feel that people should have a right to be able to reveal stuff on their own terms and when they think it is "ready". I can only imagine the crunch hours a lot of studios have to put in to make sure their stuff is good to go for something like an E3 reveal only for someone to leave it in advance. Fans also enjoy having surprise event reveals to look forward to as well. I know Jason must agree to that to at least some degree because we know there is plenty of stuff he knows about in advance but chooses not to share.
You really think that's the meaning behind his tweet?
Certainly seems like you just can't stand having your commercials "spoiled" a day in advance.
Leaking game announcements is nit some "fuck corporations" thing. Let devs announce their game when they want. It's not harming anyone.
That said, it's true some people get way too invested in marketing presentations. In the end E3 is made to sell you stuff and you should be aware of that. Jumping up and down for game announcements is embarrassing for example. It's a trailer of a game, take it easy.
That said, it's true some people get way too invested in marketing presentations. In the end E3 is made to sell you stuff and you should be aware of that. Jumping up and down for game announcements is embarrassing for example. It's a trailer of a game, take it easy.
Yeah you're absolutely right here. You've actually jolted my memory too about Mario + Rabbids which seems like an apt game to bring up as well, as I remember at least one regular member of this site who was absolutely adamant that it would not be a good game at all simply because it had the Rabbids in it and Ubisoft had never prioritised a game they were in before, going so far as to post past MC scores of Rabbids games to 'back up' his assertion. And lo and behold the final game is brilliant which was always going to be the case from the moment it was shown off. But because it leaked in the way it did there was a long time where it was just a laughing stock and trolls like that could revel in it.
Sure you can argue how much all that matters in the end but IIRC the devs themselves commented how disappointed they were that that was people's first discussions about the game.
If devs were working on something and they wanted to reveal it in advance then they would announce it in advance, but we all know what happens when they do that. Which is why I don't think the movie comparison from Cooper works. Games take longer to reach a polished, presentable stage vs most any movie and the longer people have to wait for them the more the goodwill towards a given product can fade which is why they specify dates to reveal presentable material in the first place.
I wonder if for the devs Mario and Rabbids was fun to watch leak though. If only because it's existence was leaked before the Switch came out but basically nobody believed it and when it wasn't in the Switch announcement stream everyone decided it was fake lol
As mentioned in this thread already, this is simply a symptom of the games industry being shockingly antiquated. The fact that the *existence* of these titles is a secret is absurd. We know officially about movies and shows years before they even get cast. There's absolute no reason for games to be veiled in secrecy until just months before release.
Also, i's ridiculous to suggest that this matters to the mainstream. No one outside of enthusiast sites will see this shit.
Also, i's ridiculous to suggest that this matters to the mainstream. No one outside of enthusiast sites will see this shit.
Except your point was that it needs to change. And believe me a little twitter complaining is a very mild reaction. I would rather it didn't evolve into as harsh treatment of leaks as is the case in other industries.
Because game projects change drastically and are even called so often that it's just not possible to do what movies do. That comparison is terrible, I wish people would stop using it.
You were a kid. A grown-up adult being upset by a present spoiler would be weird to me.
Also, if you don't like leak you shouldn't visit forums nor website.
Journalists must report leaks and people will talk about that in forums. In your example, it's like if you were looking for something in the closet accidentally coming across your presents.
Sure it was still fun. But omg, the moment the RE7 logo popped up at the end of the announcement trailer, that was such an awesome moment. I prefer that.
Give me a fucking break.
One, he isn't in the business of reporting on things that haven't already leaked in some way.
Two, learning about a commercial a day early doesn't affect your enjoyment of the product. It shouldn't, at least. I have a sense it does for you.
Of course it's possible. Maybe with a different timing or level of detail but it's something publishers must try looking into. Of course, marketing is a powerful tool to create expectations even regardless of any quality so selling the game starts at its announcement.
I think everyone - not least Jason - gets that. Everyone gets why a dev has a schedule for announcing things.
What Jason is addressing is why consumers should care about whether they find out about something on a Friday or on a Sunday. And asking if people are actually interested in the games or if people are more interested in the conferences - the marketing machine - and the games and their announcement are just notches on some score card for those conferences.
Find me a creator who wants their shit leaked.
I mean it, I'm actually curious if that's a thing.
So far it doesn't look like any team is a fan of it.
All the leaks I can think of off the top of my head had negative repercussions like the Mario + Rabbids team feeling demoralized and crushed by the reaction online before they could explain the game, and the HL2 leak that completely fucked over that team and the development of the game.
We also have Corey Balrog and another verified user saying they're against it.
So maybe respect the wishes of the creators and quit telling people it's okay to leak shit when clearly people disagree.
I mean it, I'm actually curious if that's a thing.
So far it doesn't look like any team is a fan of it.
All the leaks I can think of off the top of my head had negative repercussions like the Mario + Rabbids team feeling demoralized and crushed by the reaction online before they could explain the game, and the HL2 leak that completely fucked over that team and the development of the game.
We also have Corey Balrog and another verified user saying they're against it.
So maybe respect the wishes of the creators and quit telling people it's okay to leak shit when clearly people disagree.
Ha! you just told me people love being misinformed by New organizations... Uhuh, you just said that, let that sink in, while I talk side of my mouth. By the way, as a news organization, you don't just have to spread misinformation to do serious damage to the general public. there are so many ways you can fuck shit up for everyone.
Classic example would be getting on TV, or on social media and leaking the identity of a serial killer before the police has a chance to move in on him, thus giving him a head start to run away... That would also be a serious "spoiler' and a dick move that does no good for anyone... well, anyone except the two parties: The serial killer and the news outlet/ social media page of the douche bag who got first dibs on the identity of the killer.
Last edited:
The factor that leaps out to me is the increased ability of consumers to watch livestreams of the conferences. No one (who wasn't a publisher/developer) cared about leaks when gamers were getting their news from monthly magazines, but technology has allowed these press events have become a way for companies to directly market to consumers on their own terms, and playing into hype/spoiler culture by making the conference a product of its own is a way to both keep the audience invested and further their own interests.
If you just see the E3 shows as a flood of information then I understand that it doesn't bother you if someone spoils stuff, but I see it as entertainment, like a TV show, or wrestling match, or whatever you may enjoy watching even though it's staged, not knowing stuff beforehand is what makes it so awesome. So I rather see the actual show first and spend time talking about the details afterwards.
Look into how though?
You know what's ironic about this thread? Is that Era is the same place where people constantly complain about Square Enix announcing titles years in advance. How developers should reveal games closer to launch for a shorter marketing cycle.
Now the narrative is, the video game industry is antiquated. They should be announcing the existence of games years in advance. Make up your god damn minds, people.
It's great when the surprise of a reveal can be maintained but the breadcrumb trail of leaks leading up to E3 is part of the experience. Part of what makes an announcement great is that it escaped that where other titles didn't.
And people are anticipating the Avengers reveal. Resident Evil 2 was an exciting reveal despite the announcement of development years earlier.
I'm sure it can be a shame for the developers, especially when it's images/video leaked in a poor quality. But I think the challenge of keeping the secret, where others haven't, is what makes those reveals so rewarding for them.
And people are anticipating the Avengers reveal. Resident Evil 2 was an exciting reveal despite the announcement of development years earlier.
I'm sure it can be a shame for the developers, especially when it's images/video leaked in a poor quality. But I think the challenge of keeping the secret, where others haven't, is what makes those reveals so rewarding for them.
You train people to feel that way by making announcements a spectacle.
Do you think it's just coincidence that no consumers get mad when leaks happen in industries where announcements where there isn't this same kind of spectacle? Maybe I'm missing it, but do these conversations happen when computer part specs are leaked? Hell, I don't even remember anyone ever getting mad about "spoilers" whenever console specs leak, since they're not marketed the same way as games and so the consumer hasn't been trained to see that as bad yet.
It's fine if you want to be surprised, but it's on you to keep that surprise, the rest of the world shouldn't have to play by the whims of companies. This isn't a Christmas present, it's marketing.
It's almost like Era isn't a person and is in fact a community of a bunch of people with differing opinions. Bizarre.
And those two stances aren't really mutually exclusive anyway. You can announce the game when it starts development and then market it in a short cycle before release. That's literally what movies do.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the negative reactions to the Mario Rabbids leak and how that impacted the devs! I remember the tears when it was later positively received.
I always feel sorry when I see things leak as I think of all of the people behind the scenes who were working on the announcement.
I always feel sorry when I see things leak as I think of all of the people behind the scenes who were working on the announcement.
Thank you, about fucking time someone pointed out that a result of a delayed game more likely than not has a lot worse (financial AND CRITICAL) effect on the game than a delayed movie has on said movie.
You're surprised because you didn't read I guess. Similar to how people could handle these leaks!
It has been mentioned a lot.
Understood. Why do you think its weird that people want to be surprised at the press conferance though?
The Resident Evil 2 remake team announced the game's development then were silent until they had had a release date.
I think it's the trailers years in advance of release that frustrate some people.
I love game surprises.
I don't agree that games should be announced years in advanced just to *announce*
Games are not like movies when it comes to development.
I don't know why you wanna take away that pleasure from gamers. That feeling when you see or hear about a game for the first time. Just amazing.
I don't agree that games should be announced years in advanced just to *announce*
Games are not like movies when it comes to development.
I don't know why you wanna take away that pleasure from gamers. That feeling when you see or hear about a game for the first time. Just amazing.
Straw-man arguments all around.
I'm against announcing games early in development AND I'm totally in for a more open and less secretive marketing cycle. The two things are not mutually exclusive. Publishers must definitely manage better their stunts to avoid playing too much on anticipation which is, sometimes, detrimental to the product.
Remember when the game actually came out and went to sell 2m+ copies with very good reviews...? Leaks or not, what matters is market perception when the product is out.
Simple solution: don't plaster leaks all over the front page, if people wanna see leaks they can see leaks, and if someone wants to avoid them they can avoid them.
But I guess the latter option doesn't get the clicks.
But I guess the latter option doesn't get the clicks.
I don't. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to know what is in the conferences, there is plenty weird about complaining that what is in the conference got leaked at all.
"Don't report industry news because I don't want to see it yet" isn't really a solution. I could see tagging news posts/threads with "E3" on them so that people could use a plugin or something to filter them out working though.
it does effect his/her enjoyment of the conference though
yeah, e3 (and the like) conferences are a show, people meet up with friends to watch them and like to be surprised by the announcement
it is not rocket science
i don't think people complain that things get leaked at all..they complain that they get leaked and not treated like a spoiler, meaning that the user has no choice if he wants to see them or not.
If you don't want to get spoiled stay off from gaming sites.
Or gaming sites can simply not plaster unfiltered leaks everywhere.
I have the self control to not look at the leaks 2-3 days in advance of their actual announcement, I also don't complain when it's actually E3 and there's barely any new surprises left, like most here seem to do.
They get spoiled early and then complain E3 was weak.
They get spoiled early and then complain E3 was weak.
Personally I don't really care too much if a random-day leak comes out ahead of time, although I do feel sorry for the devs involved.
However E3 is different for me, it's 3 days in the whole year where I just want to be off work, eat pizza and watch some amazeballs announcements. My life isn't too interesting, so it's these small events that I really look forward to. Yes, they're trailers and marketing, however its still meant to be an exciting flashy experience in of itself.
Also there's a difference between enjoying something and being a corporate shill zombie
However E3 is different for me, it's 3 days in the whole year where I just want to be off work, eat pizza and watch some amazeballs announcements. My life isn't too interesting, so it's these small events that I really look forward to. Yes, they're trailers and marketing, however its still meant to be an exciting flashy experience in of itself.
Also there's a difference between enjoying something and being a corporate shill zombie
I did ask the admins about that and they pointed out how such a strategy would be really hard to moderate even outside any potential disagreements about what constitutes a spoiler. Does make sense, I suppose, as there's much more of a rush to get leaks out onto the front page than, say, the Game of Thrones leaks last month.
That's why I made a Hideout Thread so people can still use Era whilst not having to go on the front page :)
So avoid gaming sites and social media for 2-3 days and you very likely won't get the show spoiled, you'll at the very worst have seen some possible leaks. Expecting people to not leak stuff or for stuff to just not accidentally leak is just asking to get spoiled. This site and journalist shouldn't have to move around people who just want to be surprised, yet are doing absolutely nothing to avoid spoilers.
I'm really starting to hate this deflection of "Era is a bunch of people with differing opinions". Yes it is, like any community, but as a community there are common opinions that bring those people together as well. I see a lot more hostility toward early announcements and reveals here than not.
And yes, movies do that, but I cannot stress enough how many games start development and get cancelled. Game development and movie making are not comparable processes and neither are the audiences, and thus require different approach to marketing. What's so hard to understand here?
There's something about his initial tweet that just feels a tad too cynical to me and yet his expanded thoughts on the matter also seem glaringly obvious. I think he's asking for more introspection than he believes the average consumer has which again is cynical though not without reason mind you, but still cynical. On the flipside, I also think some people genuinely like being surprised and learning about titles for the first time.
Idk about that. To a degree people should be responsible for protecting themselves from leaks but what Jason said is ridiculous. Especially considering he's a journalist who benefits.