Video Game Hype

Today is a good day to discuss hype for video games. With the crazy marketing and word of mouth that games like Max Payne 3 and Diablo 3 get, it's very easy to get caught up in the excitement. Some people get so caught up in the excitement for a game that they buy a game based solely on the hype. Often, these people will buy games outside of their comfort zone (like FPS players buying StarCraft 2) and end up hating the game or barely playing it.

So, do you get caught up in the hype and buy games that you'll barely play? I don't usually get caught up in the hype for games. But, that's mostly because of my economic situation. I can't really afford to buy games at release, hell I'm still waiting to get games that are 2 years old.

I try to avoid doing so, but it has happened. One of my best ways to accomplish this is to avoid previews for any game I think I might be interested in so my expectations do not sail too high.

In the past I got caught up in the hype, but since Operation Flashpoint : Dragon Rising (so sick of getting shot in the head by an enemy 500 yards away the first 10 min. of the game every time!), I learned to wait and see what the reviews said. Not that reviews were the end all, be all of what I based my decision on, but I waited to buy games, instead of having a snap & rash decision to buy something that didn't even come out, and only saw a sparkly trailer for.

I bought Skullgirls even though I was telling myself not to, mostly based on the hype surrounding it. That was a hell of a mistake.

Did the same for Bastion, but I got it during a Steam holiday sale, so it wasn't purely because of people's excitement for it.

@TekZero: Sort of. I rarely buy games on their release date due to hype unless it's a franchise I follow or a brand new IP that I'm really interested in and want to support.

The last game I bought on launch day because of hype was Twisted Metal. I played it like mad the first week then just lost interest. I will play the game again perhaps, but my interest just faded then annihilated when Mass Effect 3 dropped.

On the other hand, I picked up Xenoblade Chronicles at launch because of the hype and I just hit hour 70. I'm having fun with the game though the side quests get a bit overbearing.

So far I have been buying into some hype but my choices were never mis-informed and I have not been dissapointed yet. Notable examples have been Trials Evolution and Minecraft xbox 360; I love both those games.

I almost fell into the Dragon's Dogma hype but I know better. One day I will buy a game and severly regret my decision.

I find it impossible to get hyped about a game that's outside my 'comfort zone'.

Not usually. In fact the only game this gen I think I've bought out of internet hype is Skyrim and that was more of pushing it from an eventual sale/used purchase to a week two purchase.

I certainly get "hyped" for games all the time but it's a self-hype that comes from trailers and info dumps of games (not to be confused with previews I should point out). Neither of which have to do with crazy internet hype.

The only time it happened to me was for Borderlands. Right up to the day it came out I thought it looked boring. Read reviews and heard great things from people who played it. I played for like 4 hours and hated it.