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[Column] General: Do Conferences Still Matter?
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
With E3 in our rearview and other conferences just around the bend, players stay perched on the edge of their seats hungry for new information. But for MMO players, trimmings can be fairly light. This week, Chris and Ryan take their podiums to argue one question: do conferences still matter?
Read more of Chris Coke's and Ryan Getchell's Player vs Player: Do Conferences Still Matter?
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I go to gaming conferences, Music Conferences, Medieval conferences, work skill-related conferences, private conferences xD
Uhhh
YEAH
Sway all day, butterfly flaps all the way!
The modern day conferences we have for the gaming genre typically show off games that aren’t even being released this year. That leaves people a lot of time to build up their own theories and expectations of the game which rarely ever get met. Then all we’re left with are broken dreams of how good it could have been.
This is not a problem with conferences, this is a problem with the players. Too many players have yet to learn how to temper their own emotions and expectations.
Are conferences viable? Depends what you want from them. I think they are as they are a chance for people to see what is being considered/worked on and that can be exciting. But players need to stop being 12 years old (unless they ARE 12 years old) and start taking responsibility for themselves.
It's great to be excited but it's kind of pathetic to see the "YOU PROMISED" threads cropping up.
While I do think developers shouldn't announce games until they are close to ready, I can see the need to gauge interest as well as discuss with fellow developers.
And of course it's fun to connect with players as well.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
It's nice to have a place where lots of like-minded people can gather and get hyped for stuff. But as devil's advocate to Sovrath, I have to say that there is definitely some responsibility on the devs for what they show. Players expecting to receive what they saw should not be considered bad form.
Yes, games do go through many changes between phases, but I do have to point out that in the past, games usually looked worse in early stages rather than better. It is a bit counter-intuitive to see a game in an alpha state that looks better, has more features, and possibly even plays better than the finished product. It makes no sense.
I'm well aware of controlled environment demos, but it is a bit out of hand and I think it's a bad practice to continue. Show a CGI movie if you want to just build hype, showcase the game properly though.
Yep, they still matter. The (gaming) whole world tunes in to watch them, and to visit the sites that report on the events.
In some cases they've even begun selling virtual tickets (hello Blizzard), which must be pretty profitable since they've kept selling them after that first experiment with them.
Of course if VR really takes off, we'll all be visiting conventions virtually in the future.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
We do not need any of them,they are just avenues to make money of which none of it matters to the gamer.
They can show those same videos online or via advertising websites like this one without any need for buying space or gamer's buying entrance tickets.
These conferences reach a SMALLER audience and doesn't matter if the game is releasing or not,either way you want the internet a larger viewer base to see your product.Also the media outlets of today are on top of looking for advertising or potential advertisers,so these conferences do not need to reach out to any obscure media sites because there is no such thing as obscure anymore.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Well, now wait a minute, to be fair, I never said that developers should not be transparent and should have carte blanche to essentially "lie".
That's obviously the worst.
However, I've seen so many times that players add their own narrative and interpret what the developers are saying to fit their own desires/agenda.
If a dev uses an adjective then DONT' take that to mean anything other than the developer is excited and is using his/her own adjective.
epic, exciting, vast, etc, all these should be taken with a grain of salt because we don't know what set of references the developers are truly thinking of when they say these things.
Obviously vast means large but someone is going to say "but to me 'vast" means the size of an actual planet" or some such thing.
"'epic' means 'this' to me" and that's great but it only creates a snowballing effect which isn't really going to help matters once people bring their own interpretations to the forums/guild chat, etc.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
The smaller conventions still matter. Even bigger events like PAX and Gamescom matter, because they are about the players and developers getting together. E3 is basically a "oneupsmanship" show where we are able to get first looks at stuff in development, but it's really not about the players.
With all of the said, E3 is still very relevant. I think the viewer numbers on Twitch and YouTube streaming really showed how much interesting there is still among the gaming community. Twitch and YouTube are going to go a long way in helping to keep E3 relevant.
Other conventions need to look into Twitch/YouTube partnerships as well. Blizzard pay gating Blizzcon behind direct ticket is a tad ridiculous. Gamescom and PAX should also look into streaming their stages and advertising the crap out of it.
The problem with E3 is that it is nearly pointless for MMO companies to even show their face there. Practically can be said for the entirety of PC gaming. Most of the major game media sites focuses on "the big 3" consoles while completely ignoring the PC platform.
And if it is a multi-system game -such as Fallout 3- they'll do cross link articles that mainly focus on the console versions of the game and demos of it as well. Yes, you're reading a PC section article...of them doing a play through demo of the xBone of whatever game. Because they're all the same, right? I mean, just look at the latest Batman game that was... oh wait. That's right. The PC got the short end of that straw.
"Who won E3?" is usually a panned article on IGN, Gamespot, Polygon, and so on. And guess what? Never is the PC on there. It is always between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, focusing on their consoles and games coming to them (even if they're multi-system ports that are coming to PC as well). The PC could have 50 more exclusives coming to it that year and have some of the best games in the industry, but it wouldn't matter because they're overshadowed by those systems and written off as an outcast.
"As an MMO fan, I find the lack of coverage very disappointing. I don’t expect them to put on conferences like the heavy hitters, but I do expect something. Looking purely at MMORPGs, these conferences are definitely swaying away."
I don't think so. I mean, it may seem that way to an MMO gamer because their favorites are rarely at the conferences, but people aren't going to them for info on existing games, at least not anymore. Up until around 2007-2009 there were plenty of MMOs at the conferences, and they often had decent sized booths. At E3 2006, CCP had a two-floor booth, with a full bar on the second floor. Meanwhile, NCSoft had many of their current titles (Exteel, Lineage 2, Auto Assault, Guild Wars, etc) on display next to a massive stage with a rock band and fire dancers performing.
MMOs are pretty mainstream now, so the new ones you'll see pop up at the cons, but the expense and manpower of running a booth just isn't worth it for an existing titile compared to other acquisition channels.
It's also worth keeping in mind that not all conventions are for the players (ex: E3). Some are for PR, BizDev, Sales, Marketing, etc and companies like SOE and NCSoft may not have a booth present but definitely have reps there for meetings and such.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
last 2 - 3 years = overhype, mass pre-orders, money grab, released broken games, proceeded by dlc bleeding. wouldn't be suprized if fallout 4 ends up being a glorfied house simulator with a stupid dog that may grab things for with with a pointless fps attached to it.
These shows are only helping the developers rip gamers off, as has been showen over the last 3 years, nothing is released complete. And you end up wondering what they have been doing sinse they showcased the game if anything at all.