• Light/Dark

J. Schreier: "Don't let billion dollar marketing convince you it's a spoiler" [See Threadmarks for further clarification]

Reader mode
Musubi

Musubi

Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,885
Update: Jason Responds (see threadmarks)




"As fun and exciting as E3 press conference surprises can be, please don't let billion-dollar corporate marketing convince you that it's a "spoiler" to know about a game announcement two days before you're supposed to - makes for an unhealthy culture, really"

This is something I see pop up every year during E3 when things start leaking out early. And its always struck me as odd because like...its people essentially getting mad over corporate marketing ads being "spoiled" for them. When people get mad about ads getting spoiled for them it just comes off to me as late stage capitalism run amok. And don't get me wrong I'm not some joyless golem that doesn't get excited when news of something cool drops but I think Jason really hit on a point here as these press conferences are really designed to get people to rush out and spike pre-order numbers for them in the midst of their fevered hype. While surprises can be fun I think tempering yourself would also be healthy.
 
Last edited:
Abylim

Abylim

Corrupted by Vengeance
Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,041
Never understood the mentality myself. I don't like story spoilers myself but announcement spoilers seem like something quite odd to be upset over.
 
poptire

poptire

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
10,172
Eh, the announcement surprise is fun. Who cares if that's part of the marketing?
 
YaBish

YaBish

Unshakable Resolve - One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,381
Press Sneak tells the truth. It's asinine.
 
DGenerator

DGenerator

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,922
Toronto, ON, Canada
I had the pleasure of being in attendance for Bethesda's announcement of Fallout 76.

That reveal, the subsequent hiding of key information about the game and the instant opening of pre-orders should be enough to remind anybody that E3 is a tool to get consumers to spend money on games they know basically nothing about.

It's marketing, not spoilers. It's a consumer event.
 
Serene

Serene

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
52,600
I actually agree to an extent, and this is why the leaks don't bother me. While I do like the surprises, what I want more out of the conference is actually seeing the games. Not just knowing they exist.
 
Lys Skygge

Lys Skygge

Shinra Employee
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,750
Arizona
I agree. People getting upset about some game titles being leaked is ridiculous. These leaks make me more excited for E3
 
NekoNeko

NekoNeko

Coward
Oct 26, 2017
18,701
we knew about infinity war and endgame like 5 years ago and people still were extremely excited to see the trailers.
i have no idea why everything needs to be a secret in the gaming industry.
 
Bhonar

Bhonar

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
6,066
anyone who gets upset at being "spoiled" by just a leaked ANNOUNCEMENT is being absolutely fucking ridiculous

that's not a fucking spoiler lol
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
94,872
here
there's a Death on the Nile movie coming out in 2020?

fucking leaks
 
The Doctor

The Doctor

Member
Jan 17, 2018
3,339
Saw his tweet earlier. Completely agree with him. Games can be a lot of thing: entertainment for some, art for others, but in the end games are also a consumable product, a marketing business. We shouldn't adapt hostile behaviors just for an announcement getting leaked or "spoiled".

Having say that, I do share the need for a surprising feeling some here have expressed.
 
smurfx

smurfx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,669
eh its kinda fun to get a sudden surprise from a game you've been wanting. i want a proper mvc4 game and would be happy to see a surprise announcement. with that said with games being released in unfinished states or showing games looking much better than they will ever look its hard to stay hyped.
 
BAW

BAW

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,951
I hate it that we treat demonstrations of commercial products like going to see a movie or a performance or something.
 
TheUnseenTheUnheard

TheUnseenTheUnheard

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
May 25, 2018
9,647
This is a terrible terrible take. How is it unhealthy for people to look forward to surprise announcements at E3?

Jason you're drunk, go home.
 
Frostinferno

Frostinferno

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,502
Don't most people find out about game announcements through article headlines, YouTube video titles, ERA thread titles and the like anyway?

This seems like an odd thing to be upset over.
 
sn00zer

sn00zer

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,176
There are too many dev interviews and documentaries out there showing how much stake devs put into their announcements, it clearly means a lot to the people working on it.
I personally do not think it's about being spoiled, rather it's snatching away that announcement from the devs and then blasting it on the internet.
This isnt an expose on working conditions, it's just stealing away a moment that could have been great for a team working in silence for years.
 
TreIII

TreIII

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,280
Columbia, MD
Yes. THANK YOU.

I never understood the whole "Gamer Christmas" thing that some peeps liked to prop E3 as, or even with Directs. We're talking about commercials and PR events that may have cheering sections, and all of which are geared to get people ready to plop down money on preorders.
 
RedHeat

RedHeat

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,742
I mean, I'd love being surprised but I also would like to know things in advance so I won't get my hopes up lol
 
NinjaScooter

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
54,755
Couldn't agree more. Such a weird thing for fans and consumers to get bent out of shape over. It's not your job (or the media's) to protect corporate marketing campaigns, it's the job of those companies to either prevent or adapt to leaks. A good start would be not being so goddamn overly secretive, and feeding in to this shitty, often fanboy/console warrior driven thirst for "megaton announcements" and shitty press conference wars.

Like what does the fact that we know the fucking name of From's next game and that GRRM is involved really spoil?

I know what Chris Nolan's next movie is called. We when know who is in it. It's not out for over a year. That's not going to stop people from being hyped as fuck when the first trailer.

Game companies should stop treating their consumers like children, and video game enthusiasts should stop acting like children.
 
Complicated

Complicated

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,391
Feel the same way. I feel sorry for devs who wanted it to be a surprise, but I don't like the surprise of an announcement being used as a marketing ploy. It's been a huge part of conference warz and I just don't understand it at all.
 
TheDarkKnight

TheDarkKnight

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,667
It's a flawed argument imo because yes they're ads. It it is also a show. People might not care it's a show and that's fine. Don't watch, catch the bullet points and move on. But rushing in a day or week before said show to spill news that said companies are going to tell you anyways isn't valuable. There's a whole industry built around leaks, making up leaks, and gaining notoriety from them.
 
JakeNoseIt

JakeNoseIt

Catch My Drift
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
4,546
nolifebr said:
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


You can have "we're making a new God of War" and a really cool reveal that will excite us. Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Like others have said, we know a new movie is coming out before the first trailer, yet we are still excited and often surprised with the trailer.
 
Etrian Darkness

Etrian Darkness

Member
Oct 29, 2017
4,515
UK
I mean it is all just news. Hype culture is weird, especially in games when people actually get upset over things leaking.
 
NekoNeko

NekoNeko

Coward
Oct 26, 2017
18,701
sn00zer said:
There are too many dev interviews and documentaries out there showing how much stake devs put into their announcements, it clearly means a lot to the people working on it.
I personally do not think it's about being spoiled, rather it's snatching away that announcement from the devs and then blasting it on the internet.
This isnt an expose on working conditions, it's just stealing away a moment that could have been great for a team working in silence for years.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

but this is because the game industry has the weird stance that they have to work in silence for years so the announcement is a big deal to them. if you just communicate what you are working on early on none of this is even an issue.
 
Reader mode
You must log in or register to reply here.