With the close of the Uncharted 3 beta last week, Sony released some impressive statistics on the participants over at the Playstation Blog ( http://blog.us.playstation....
Over 362 collective years of playtime logged by some 1.53 million unique players. For an Uncharted fan like myself all this is good news- even though I didn't personally participate in the beta. In-fact, even though I consider myself a hardcore gamer, I've never participated in a beta, and I never will.
It's not that I don't think the beta process is worthwhile. Actually I think for modern games its essential. How many online games have we played over the years that require patch after patch to bring it up to speed on launch? Too many for my count. Black Ops on PS3 was a shining example of a game that could have used an open beta- it was and still is a hot mess for PSN users.
But I personally have no place for betas- or demos- for that matter in my life. You see, to me, the best time I have with a game is those 2 or so hours after I first get it, and I'm being wowed by the new experience in front of me. There's no way I want those first magic moments with my hotly anticipated game being spoiled months before its release where I see a warts and all beta version full of bugs for me to find.
Betas and demos rob me of the surprise in gaming. Nowadays gaming coverage is so saturated that you basically know how to play and beat a game before it comes out. No surprises, no moments of revelation, its all out there on the table as part of the hype machine. Hell I've even taken to avoiding previews of games I'm really looking forward to, and not reading reviews (just scores) until after I've bought and played a substantial amount of a game.
So while I urge all you beta lovers and sneak-peekers to keep doing what your doing for the good of gaming, I for one will sit out, and enjoy the finished product you people helped create.
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Solid points
One of the biggest one however is the "Hype Machine"
That and REALLY HIGH expectations are what ruins a game. You forgot to mention how some developers kinda spoil the main parts of the story and even the ending before the game comes out..
Good points, and I feel the same way.
But that's the duty of Game devs to make a game so good that it wows you no matter what.
Good example for it is UC2 game.
Just you remember who's ensuring your magic moments are as good as they are. We're taking the hit for you. ;)
I'm happy that the industry is so open these days. A good or bad game is easy to spot.
If a game fails to wow you after 2 hours of play, the game probably isn't as well made as it should be. The full game should be filled with spectacular things/moments throughout and not have all of the best moments in the demo or best stuff in the MP beta.
The "wow" from first playing a game is great, but it shouldn't have to be relied upon.
I feel the same way. I have not even seen a single in game video for batman AC, Bioshock infinite, UC3 or a number of other games. Usually if I know I am going to buy a game no matter what I will limit my media exposure as much as possible. I didn't even see screen shots of God of War 3 prior to release. I have only seen one video in game of Saints row 3 and Twisted metal.
sometimes when I am not sure however I will watch media until I have made a choice. One example is Rage... Not sure about this game. It looks visually great and the AI seems pretty amazing... Just not sure. I always hated the "Mad Max" feel... Fallout, Borderlands and all those.... The game is very impressive but I just wont know until I see some reviews and maybe a demo...
Some games however I feel can't be spoiled by media exposure. i.e. Fighting games or MMO's. There is never really any "ZOMFG" moments in those. They are pretty standard and the "Wow" moments come from beating a rival or taking down a boss you have been working on for months.
Some games though I didn't even buy like Resident evil 5 because I knew everything there was to know before it was even released... Also the gameplay looked really dated... but yeah...
Anyway good blog. Game on.