After Hi Fi Rush do you believe publishers should shadow drop more games?

[Angie]

Xbox Gamepass is in a unique position where fans are able to just download and play the latest games without any extra cost, many of them on release date. This gives publishers a chance to have people play their games that they might not normally spend money to buy

I found the shadow drop of Hi Fi Rush interesting because maybe not a lot of people would be playing it if it didn't release on Gamepass. But with the perks of Gamepass everyone can just start playing and it's become very popular already. Should more publishers shadow drop games in this way?

 

[Patitoloco]

I think it's an awesome way to not overhype not-AAA games and give a real good treat to people.

I will also say that having something like Gamepass where you can just say "you can play this for free now" is way different than "here's MGS6, buy it now for 70$"

 

[Zaimokuza]

Yes, I always liked when, during a Direct, they said "available later today".

I also think it's really nice what Asano's games do: presebt the game and release the demo after tge end of the presentation

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

Yes I do and they should be these kinds of games too ffs something a bit more original and creative not another cinematic third person character adventure game

Bring back ps2 era variety of weird and wacky shit

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Way too soon to know if this strategy is going to succeed or not.

 

[Kida]

It's great for a very specific type of game. Smaller scale games that would not be good to show over a long time period.

 

[Brat-Sampson]

I think it can bring an extra dash of hype for indie titles.

 

[unicornKnight]

I'd say No without feeling strongly about it. It's ok but for me it works better to have some expectation. I think there's a risk that lot of people won't notice its release.

 

[Plinkerton]

I think it's an awesome way to not overhype not-AAA games and give a real good treat to people.

I will also say that having something like Gamepass where you can just say "you can play this for free now" is way different than "here's MGS6, buy it now for 70$"

Click to shrink...

Yeah absolutely Game Pass is the key here. It feels like such a cool bonus to just have this random game show up that no one knew about until yesterday (leaks aside) and you can play it for free. I think it adds a lot of value to the service.

Another advantage of shadowdropping a game is it's fun seeing everyone discover it at the same time. Like with a typical release, most of us have read previews and reviews by the time we actually get the game, so we have some preconceived notion of what it's like. When it's shadowdropped like this, we're all basically going in blind which is fun to see.

 

[SolarLune]

I feel like if it were hyped more, it would sell more, but I also think that shadow-dropping is kind of the only way to have games that surprise people anymore. It used to be where you could find a game you never heard about on the shelf at a KB Toys and have a relatively new experience on your hands - now everybody kind of hears about everything all the time, so there's not really so many genuine surprises.

In answer to the question, I don't know if I would say "publishers should shadow-drop more games", but rather that the effect of doing so is distinct and could be missed in this era of gaming.

 

[Poldino]

Small titles like this: yeah, why not

Big or medium titles, big nope

 

[nsilvias]

thousands of games shadow drop everyday. most of them sell poorly. the only benefit hifi rush has is that it was at a major event

 

[cyrribrae]

I said no. I mean, some games, definitely yes! But I don't think there's any "Type" of game that you could identify to where it would ALWAYS work. Small game helps, Game Pass helps, unique game helps, big stage helps, known name and pedigree helps, great game helps, big publisher helps.... There are a lot of factors going into that decision, as there should be.

 

[AshenOne]

Yes.

 

[TheBrightestSun]

For smaller games like this? 100%

Not expensive, surprise, and no reviews - users will try it more because there is no reviews + you will get user's impressions immediately.

 

[PinkSpider]

I'd describe myself as a gamer (Vomits a little inside) and had no idea what this is and if I'm interested. I think it works better when say a big announcement like a Nintendo direct happens.

 

[Greywaren]

I think it works for some games that are a bit smaller in scope. It definitely helps if your game makes as strong a first impression as Hi-Fi RUSH did, though.

 

[Bear and bird]

Not necessarily shadow drops, but games announced closer to release is preferable for sure.

 

[phonicjoy]

I think it's an awesome way to not overhype not-AAA games and give a real good treat to people.

I will also say that having something like Gamepass where you can just say "you can play this for free now" is way different than "here's MGS6, buy it now for 70$"

Click to shrink...

It's also an easy way to skip critical reviews.

 

[Raide]

A little of both is great. Being able to keep a new game pretty much off the radar and then suddenly drop it, it's really great but I also like the slow build of bigger games that finally appear.

Having games announced and then delayed over and over is frustrating, especially if this turns into a decade of waiting 😂

I think the issue with the industry is that it is almost impossible to keep things hidden, so the impact of a shadow drop is lessened for most titles.

 

[FakePlasticTree]

Hi-Fi was announced at a big event which benefitted it greatly, I dunno if it is necessarily the secret sauce that game releases needs.

 

[HiLife]

TLOU3 shadow dropping and it's going to be the equivalent of when Beyoncé dropped Lemonade. But for the gaming industry.

 

[Tortillo VI]

I think that for titles like Hi-Fi (more experimental, smaller in scale and all around unique) it's great because it does not over-hype it and, if the material shown made you curious during the show, you are likely to try it immediately after like I did.

We'll see if it helps it succeed!

 

[Catshade]

Yes, but only in a major event with preexisting hype like E3, TGS, TGA, Direct, or State of Play.

 

[Ravelle]

When their games release in a finished state, yes.

 

[XaviConcept]

Speaking of rushes, the game has been out for five minutes, at least wait a week or two haha

 

[benzopil]

Time to shadow drop Knack 3

 

[Vex]

I like that no one can say " how long is the game" and there is not a definitive answer already

I like that one can say "what's the best guide or YouTube video blah blah" and no one can point to one.

YouTubers can't be vultures on this one and get early access or have video guides for everything because we all got it at the same time. So we are all figuring this out together. Reminds me of back in the days of Pre-everything-is-on-the-internet-already-to-spoil-stuff. It feels so "realtime" that the gaming community is experiencing this gem together. That in itself is very special in a way. You cannot put a price on that. No one can meme your game or de-hype it either if they do not know it is coming in the first place. No bad reviews. Forspoken/Gotham knights/etc. So it's just a game that stands on it's own and you have to decide if you really like it without all that static coming from the internet to persuade you.

This strategy is beautiful in this way. The only thing I can compare this release strategy to is demon's souls (OG). Back in the day, it wasn't that people didn't know it was coming out. It's just that no one was paying attention to it really and it blindsided the gaming community BIG TIME. Again we had to figure out everything together because we had never seen any quite like it before. Even the early copy Asian version importers had no idea what they were getting themselves into. And it was EXCITING.

Anyways, I digress. This game isn't for me but I can certainly appreciate what the game means and what it stands for. Good work, Tango.

Edit: this also creates tremendous value for gamepass in that now we know MS isn't afraid to shadow drop really good stuff. So you might not want to let that "sub run out" so quickly anymore. Keeping people engaged with their sub service in hopes of gems like these showing up I'm sure makes MS happy.

 

[Bear and bird]

Time to shadow drop Knack 3

Click to shrink...

Woah now. Be careful what you wish for. We don't want to break the internet!

 

[Naru]

Yes. Not only that, I'll also gladly take that kind of game over anything AAA.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

TLOU3 shadow dropping and it's going to be the equivalent of when Beyoncé dropped Lemonade. But for the gaming industry.

Click to shrink...

After what happened to TLOU2 this wouldn't even surprise me.

 

[Mayjur]

I'm mostly in the "Really depends on the game" leaning towards "No" camp. Ulimately, it's going to greatly depend on the scale of the game and IP involved.

 

[FakePlasticTree]

Time to shadow drop Knack 3

Click to shrink...

How appropriate that is Angie most anticipated game!

 

[pswii60]

I definitely think the industry would benefit from short announcement to release cycles. Often by the time a game comes out we're either already tired of it and the buzz has died, or it can only fail to live up to unrealistic expectations.

Not only is Hifi Rush getting a ton of buzz right now on the back of its announcement and reveal, but it is striking whilst it's hot as people can buy/play it today.

But it definitely depends on the type of game. It helps that the game is so unique, has such striking art, and is on Game Pass.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

This is exactly what I want them to do with Crackdown 4. Also campaign only please.

 

[Angie]

How appropriate that is Angie most anticipated game!

Click to shrink...

Followed by Balan Wonderworld 2

 

[u_neek]

Yes. Or just, you know, not announce games years in advance.

 

[Temascos]

Depends on the game! Especially when it comes to a big-budget title you have to put a lot of money to get like £70 or whatever, I'd want to be well informed, get reviews, etc before I decide to make a purchase. Something that's on a subscription service like Gamepass and Hi Fi Rush certainly work well for this approach though.

 

[Voodoopeople]

I think it is perfect for (dare I say it)....non AAA gamers that first party have on their slate.

However, it does tie into the criticism that Xbox prefers to sometimes highlight their platform and services above individual titles. So Gamepass fist, then the games themselves.

That said, I personally really enjoyed the surprise.

The fun is going to be watching the race to review the game. I actually think that this might do the game a disservice on things like MC. So many outlets are going to race to finish it and review it first, having lost the protection of notice and an embargo. So there will be things that they miss and/or don't get time to clarify with the devs themselves.

 

[ShotyMcFat]

No, imagine if Microsoft Shadow dropped Halo Infinite when it was first shown off.

 

[modiz]

it could make sense if its a very small indie game that manages to land in a big direct or something going directly to subscription like Hi-Fi Rush, for its launch the game only got 1500 CCU, so the heavy lifting of playerbase is done via GP.
Or Free To Play in the case of something like Apex.

 

[Enrico Pallazzo]

Yes. Starfield is next (I want to believe).

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Yeah of course. Can't think of much of a downside to announcing a brand new game and then being able to play it the same day, what's not to love about that ? Far better than having to wait months or years imo.

 

[VeryBerryPunch]

As nice as a sudden good surprise is i'd prefer a 6 or 3 month announce and marketing period for a game. Imagine if some other big news or update to a popular game came around now, people might just quickly forget about the game. It's existence buried in social media.

A game like this from a Microsoft studio probably has lower sales and engagement expectations as well because of Game Pass; other developers don't have that luxury

 

[KeRaSh]

I voted yes, because shadow drop moments are always hype but I understand, that it doesn't work for every game.
Publishers want that PR cycle to get pre-orders going for big games.

 

[Siresly]

All games should be shadowdropped.

 

[Clark Zuckerberg]

I actually feel like shadow dropping isn't great for new IP. Announcing a new game and giving it a release date a few weeks away gives it a little time to build some hype and excitement. I feel like shadow dropping something like Hi-Fi guarantees it'll get lost in the shuffle. But just my guess. We'll see how this goes and if MS does it again I think it proves it worked.

 

[raspberrymousse]

Shadow drops can channel a ton of hype, see Beyonce. It's also fun and you get to experience the game with others. I really don't think you need 3 years of lead up to games anymore

 

[oni-link]

It makes sense for Xbox, if they can get into the habit of doing this with 3/4 games a year then people will find it harder to unsub

It's cool they can let their bigger teams work on AA passion projects because smaller games like this give value to GP

It doesn't really make sense for bigger AAA games or games that aren't on GP to shadowdrop

 

[gilded_Pb]

I'd settle for game not being announced years in advance.