What a strange E3 it’s been. This year’s showing seems to have been a particularly massive spectacle motivated by the “go big or go home” mantra. Publishers used their press conferences as a means to invite excited gamers aboard a very packed hype-train with announcements of remakes and sequels to fan-favorite franchises. Fallout 4, Doom 4, the Rare Replay collection, Gears of War 4, Star Fox Zero, Just Cause 3, and of course Sony’s three big announcements all made for an E3 that was very heavy on fan service. Needless to say, this tactic has worked so far in generating excitement. Go to any forum or discussion board on the web that is even tangentially related to videogames and you’ll find everyone is all atwitter with nostalgia about the Final Fantasy VII remake, and the Shenmue 3 hype has already achieved tangible monetary progress through a Kickstarter that met it’s funding goal literally overnight. Plenty of gaming news outlets and journalists have even been quite explicit about their enthusiasm (look no further than the Game Trailers reactions to the Sony conference).

Some game critics, on the other hand, have occupied the opposite end of the hype spectrum. The Giant Bomb crew and George of the Super Bunnyhop YouTube channel, to name a couple I’m aware of, have remained level headed and oftentimes cynical about this year’s big announcements and the show as a whole. Super Bunnyhop’s recent E3 video features an interesting analysis that distills the show down to lies and marketing fluff, and the reactions of the Giant Bomb folks throughout the beloved Sony conference ranged from apathetic to angry (Jeff’s reaction to the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter is pretty hilarious). None of that is really new, but what’s interesting is that some of the fan reaction to this less-than-enthusiastic coverage has created a contentious relationship between the cynicism of game critics and the hype of game fans. The chat during Giant Bomb’s Sony conference stream and some of the top rated comments in the Super Bunnyhop video (and a little bit in this Reddit thread discussing the video as well) are all evidence of this, with commenters telling critics to “lighten up” and that “Your lack of hype is bad & you should feel bad.” You can also compare the comments in the Giant Bomb video to the comments in the GameTrailers video for further evidence. It’s like gamers really don’t want any bad vibes interfering with their nostalgia and elation.

I just felt the urge to write about this phenomenon because it’s the first time I’ve encountered it in this particular way and I feel conflicted about it. I think (or at least hope) everyone understands that E3 is all about hype, and I don’t think gamers care too much about getting lost in the hype and spectacle of the show because, honestly, it’s kinda fun. Also, I feel like I’ve been exposed to so much cynicism and disappointment from both game critics and fans that to see gamers so happy about something also makes me happy. However, I can’t help but think that this happiness is a little premature, and the general unwillingness to hear opposing views on this excitement is concerning.

For me, it raises some questions about the kind of games people really want to see at E3 and whether or not there’s an understanding about why those games are shown off. I don’t want to waste time here banging the “there are too many sequels and remakes” drum because that would be pointless and, in my case, dishonest. Hey, I got pretty excited and about being able to see some Fallout 4 gameplay, and if Dave Lang came up during one of those conferences and announced Windjammers 2, I would soil myself. It’s also worth noting that there were actually a decent number of original IPs shown off this year: Cuphead, Horizon, No Man’s Sky, and Sea of Thieves immediately come to mind. Regardless of whether the upcoming games are new or old, though, we need to remember the business and marketing motivations behind their announcements. Publishers want to give the fans what they want and make them happy, but they want to do so in order to start selling a product and eventually make money. To those currently aboard the hype-train: keep in mind that, even though you may be aware of these business-oriented tactics, you are getting excited about the idea of a game without actually having played it. Sure, your past experiences with, say, Final Fantasy and Shenmue confirms you’ll almost certainly enjoy their upcoming sequels, but past experiences in the industry at large have shown that games surrounded by buildup and promotion, particularly long-awaited sequels, are often met with disappointment upon release. With that in mind, is such unyielding excitement really warranted? Shouldn’t we be willing to listen to some degree of skepticism?

More importantly, this phenomenon raises questions about the kind of coverage people want from videogame journalism, especially in a time when instances of “corruption” and “bias” are running rampant in the industry. There’s a general suspicion and doubt among particularly savvy gamers toward news coverage and reviews of games that have an overly positive tone, as it often reeks of dishonest and shady practices behind the scenes. Now, however, it seems many of those same gamers are complaining about a lack of positivity from some outlets. Again, I direct this question to hype-train passengers: do you want videogame coverage and journalism to constantly echo your jubilation and generate even more (probably needless) hype around games, or do you want candid, impartial analysis that provides a counterbalance to the hype and could potentially save you from spending money on a disappointing product? Several commenters in the Super Bunnyhop video expressed that they would stop watching George’s content because they were tired of his negative attitude, and I recall at least a couple people in the chat of Giant Bomb’s stream of the Sony conference say they were leaving the stream in favor of outlets that were providing more positive coverage. So, if some significant number of gamers share these sentiments and would rather choose the first option in the above question, I think that’s cause for concern.

I should acknowledge that my favor of the cynical critic side of this debate is probably due to the fact that I’m not a huge Ico/Final Fantasy/Shenmue fan.Maybe if I cared more about those and other announcements, the tone of this blog would be very different, but I don’t know. And maybe this won’t be an issue in a week or two. Maybe all the hype will dissipate and we’ll go back to being more savvy and skeptical about the media and products we consume. What do you all think? Is this issue even worth discussing?

Also, apologies if this blog reads like a jumbled mess. I usually like to take my time when I write, but I wanted to get this one done in time for the end of E3. Hopefully it’s still relevant!