Hopefully one of the online publications can run with this premise. I'd like to see a study done about. How did Sony foster such a devoted fan base?
No other fan base is as loyal or as supportive as Sony fans. Their enthusiasm for unreleased Sony exclusive games, as well as their support of "meh" games is often so loud and influential, the perception of the game changes throughout the industry. Before we knew it, MGS2 started to be considered as some sort of social experiment masterpiece.
Even when a game is critically panned, or simply just an average game, there always exists a vocal minority that are cheerleaders for the game (Mark of Kri, Playstation All-Star Battle Royale)
Prior to a game's release, regardless of how little we know about the game, how unproven or even how historically bad the developer is, if its a Playstation exclusive, the fan base jumps at the chance to hype it. When ICO was first announced, during the high years of JRPGs and FPSs, it looked so mediocre. The graphics looked so bland. But there they were, the Sony loyalists propping up the game as the next masterpiece before they even played it.
Same thing with Ratchet and Clank. The fanbase and word of mouth made the first game such a success, it gave the series legs. Sure, the game had awesome characters, and fun gameplay. But how the hell did it become a success in an era where if you weren't on the FPS and JRPG bandwagon, you might as well not exist?
Same thing with Killzone. Unproven developer. But it was so hyped.
Anyone remember Haze? The Halo killer that Killzone wasn't? The PS3 exclusive to end all PS3 exclusives? Goodness the ramp up to that game's launch was ridiculous. The fallout when the reviews hit ignited a crazy console war.
How did Sony foster such a loyal fan base?
No other fan base is as loyal or as supportive as Sony fans. Their enthusiasm for unreleased Sony exclusive games, as well as their support of "meh" games is often so loud and influential, the perception of the game changes throughout the industry. Before we knew it, MGS2 started to be considered as some sort of social experiment masterpiece.
Even when a game is critically panned, or simply just an average game, there always exists a vocal minority that are cheerleaders for the game (Mark of Kri, Playstation All-Star Battle Royale)
Prior to a game's release, regardless of how little we know about the game, how unproven or even how historically bad the developer is, if its a Playstation exclusive, the fan base jumps at the chance to hype it. When ICO was first announced, during the high years of JRPGs and FPSs, it looked so mediocre. The graphics looked so bland. But there they were, the Sony loyalists propping up the game as the next masterpiece before they even played it.
Same thing with Ratchet and Clank. The fanbase and word of mouth made the first game such a success, it gave the series legs. Sure, the game had awesome characters, and fun gameplay. But how the hell did it become a success in an era where if you weren't on the FPS and JRPG bandwagon, you might as well not exist?
Same thing with Killzone. Unproven developer. But it was so hyped.
Anyone remember Haze? The Halo killer that Killzone wasn't? The PS3 exclusive to end all PS3 exclusives? Goodness the ramp up to that game's launch was ridiculous. The fallout when the reviews hit ignited a crazy console war.
How did Sony foster such a loyal fan base?
