To buy, or not to buy
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Nechrol
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I was reading an excerpt in Edge magazine that referred to games advertising being accepted by the mass populous as credible nowadays. It got me thinking about how it’s evolved over time. It’s a lot more prominent now that a console is much a part of Joe Average’s entertainment setup than his wall-sized TV, Blue-ray player and Japanese love pillow; Himiko.
People are playing games at home, at their desk at work and on their journeys home. Given that these games are at best, described as ‘casual’. Let me state this now, I will never, NEVER, see the appeal of a Facebook game where I build and maintain a farm. If I see one more stupid request that my cousin, who works in an office, wants me to help him gather more grain or tend to his bush I will turn up at their office and smoother them with a shrub.
Adverts for games are everywhere though, on TV, in cinemas, in papers, on the web and soon to be pumped straight into my subconscious by a delightful Iphone App. Celebrities have always been the backbone for selling pretty much everything and computer games are no exception…although they have changed slightly over the years.
Look at the Atari ad from the 80’s featuring Morecambe and Wise, a comedic duo popular on British screens bust mostly irrelevant to everyone else:
I’m not sure who the advert is supposed to appeal to; they’re not capturing a youth audience. The advert seems promote a douche who gatecrashes your dinner party, subsequently stealing the limelight from the chicken goujons with a honey mustard sauce you spent hours slaving over. No one wants to be that guy; they want to wail on his head with a tough bit of wood.
Looks at today’s video advertisements for games with Liv Tyler, to name just one celebrity:
I immediately ran out and bought a DS after seeing that…that was of course after I had finished pleasuring myself to Liv…damn your sexy nightwear. It’s still the same question though; why would I want to buy it? Where do I make the connection that goes Liv Tyler>Brain Training>Me buy one. The only conclusion is that the celebrity endorsing the product acts like a shiny thing to a magpie; to draw consumers’ attention to the product and actually take notice of it. Perhaps the company wants us to think ‘well if a A-list Hollywood celebrity has a DS and looks like they’re having a damn good time then maybe if I buy one, I’ll become a celebrity’. Let me stop you there simpleton, you will not.
Adverts are mainly for the less ‘computer savvy’ I believe. The ones in the ‘know’ are already well aware of the games they want to get. We’ll read magazines, keep up to date with news from various games sites and play demos and beta tests. We’re already aware of what looks good to us and can make an informed decision on whether we want to buy it.
The myriad of ways we can see a preview or games news is something that has become more prominent with the dawn of the current gen consoles. Through Playstation Store and Xbox Market place the companies have free advertising reins. They can recommend us demos, show us trailers and offer interviews and behind the scenes looks at upcoming releases. However, if you’ve owned a PC then this is old news, which has been there for ages. I think this is because on the PC you’ve always had everything integrated, internet, services and the game have always been one entity. With last gen consoles they had always been very separate, that’s why the magazines and demo disks were needed. Now I believe they are dying out so advertising is the last vestige to try and rope the general populace in to buying the product.
You think that’s the hard part over and done with? Planting the seed of desire? You have to then muster up the courage and resolve to actually purchase the game. That may mean venturing to your nearest electronic retailer like a man readying himself to jump out of a plane and not knowing whether your chute has been replaced with cutlery. You’re palms are sweaty, there’s a knot of anticipation in your stomach, forget marriage or the birth of your child. This is the most important and fulfilling day in your life. Everything that you ever did has been leading up to this point. BUY!
Seriously though, some people have that much misplaced passion in games. I’ll happily look forward to a game, I’ll get goose bumps at the trailer, and hell I’ve had dreams where I was playing GTA4 before it was released…oh god.
The past few weeks I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a game. The game in question is Trinity Universe for the PS3; it’s from Nippon Ichi, who’s created games like Disgae and Grim Grimoire. If you’re into turn-based strategy then you know what I’m talking about. Deciding to purchase, or not to purchase was slowly gnawing away at my insides like a parasite. So I finally built up the resolve to get some games and trade them in at my local electronic retailer.
I skipped down the London high street with three games in my satchel. White Knight Chronicles, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. They were all good games but their time had come and I was ready to release them into the gaming wild like ducklings or a deadly virus. It seems though that the gods were not smiling upon me that day. I arrived at the shop and not only did they not have the game I desired but they offered me a measly £13 for the games. They had decreased faster than the signal bar on an Iphone-4 while being held by a left-handed person. Suffice to say; on the way out I pushed over the pre-owned section in a huff. I most probably would have gotten more money dancing the in the high street with a bucket tethered around my neck.
After all that procrastination I still haven’t bought the game, all I can do now is go to sleep and hope that’ll I dream of it…oh what could have been.
And one more thing for all the budding game designers out there, this is the life you have to look forward to: http://gamedegree.ytmnd.com/