Editorial: Is Uncharted 3 Overhyped?
Uncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionDon't interpret that headline the wrong way. I'm not suggesting that Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception isn't deserving of all the hype. I'm asking about general gamer expectations, and whether or not the game can possibly live up to those expectations.
We've spoken at length about hype before, and it remains a relevant subject in the gaming industry. Some say all hype is a 100% positive; i.e., the theory that any and all publicity is good publicity. There's some truth to that idea, too. If the game turns out to be amazing, it'll do extremely well. Even if it turns out disappointing, the insane hype might allow for better sales, simply because the title was in the spotlight for so long.
At the same time, many say that while hype and attention is fine, overhype is definitely a problem. First of all, it generates plenty of arguments in game communities - some of which can get ugly - and secondly, consumers will even claim that critics fall prey to the hype. And this can go either way: a reviewer can bend to the hype and award the game a higher-than-deserved score, or the reviewer will rebel against the known hype and give the game a lower-than-expected score.
Either way, the score has been affected. For example, it's a common argument among the GTA skeptics that the only reason GTAIV scored so high is because it was called "Grand Theft Auto." Personally, I don't believe that, but that belief is definitely widespread. Then there are those who say people bash Call of Duty almost purely because of the insane hype and popularity that surrounds that franchise. And I do believe there's something to that assumption.
Perhaps CoD is the perfect example. How has hype affected that franchise? It has affected it both positively and negatively in my eyes, but it has definitely affected it. Should we subject all highly anticipated games to such global scrutiny? What if our expectations for Uncharted 3 really are blown way out of proportion? If I was a Naughty Dog team member, I'd actually be a little concerned...I'd say to myself, "damn, everyone is expecting the greatest game of all time......holy sh**."
Well, talk amongst yourselves.
P.S. I just realized that people might read something into this editorial. They might think I've played the game in question, and because I'm disappointed in the result, I wrote this. But I assure you, that isn't the case; I have not played Uncharted 3 yet.
10/14/2011 Ben Dutka
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Comments (47 posts)
maxpontiac
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 3:23:17 PM
Plus Ben, if you would have asked if MW3 and BF3 were hyped, this thread would have 5 times the comments by now. ;)
Last edited by maxpontiac on 10/15/2011 3:23:56 PM
2 up, 1 down
Gordo
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:47:49 PM
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I haven't really heard or seen much overt "hyping up" of the game from Sony or Naughty Dog. Just the normal publicity and interest for a sequel to an award wining game.
Is it a day one purchase? You bet... Is that based on the current hype or my own personal experience garnered from playing the first two games? The latter.
Games that I personally thought were overhyped (i.e. didn't live up to my initial expectations): LA Noire and GT5.
Interested in the comments to follow...
9 up, 1 down
rogers71
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:53:23 PM
I agree with you for the most part. I thought LA Noire exceeded my expectations. GT5 on the other hand fell way short of what I was expecting. It is still evolving but, to date, the game is still underwhelming.
On the other hand, you can have games that blow initial expectations out of the water. Two examples of this are the first Batman and Red Dead Redemption. Both of these games flew well under the radar at launch. I picked them up without hearing anything and was blown away by them.
2 up, 1 down
godsman
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:56:51 PM
3 up, 0 down
Gordo
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:14:43 PM
FFXIII I think is another game that was well overhyped and fell short.
LA Noire, GT5, FFXIII. Maybe a lot of their overhype came from their long development times... Pretty hard not to get excited about a game but it's hard to keep that enthusiam going for 3 or 4 years!
Overhype may however, be in the eye of the beholder.
What has me disappointed may have someone else in rapture.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:24:23 PM
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Beamboom
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 3:19:32 AM
Like, when practically everyone are declaring Uncharted 3 as GOTY 2011 without even having played it yet that's due to anticipation, but the claim about the GOTY must be called hype?
(I'm merely asking since I'm not too sure about the definitions here myself)
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 4:23:04 AM
I'd say that, in a sense, you're right in that analysis, however some might consider "hype" to be developer-fed, rather than fan- and journalist-fed, meaning that the two, by the strictest definition, are not linked.
Uncharted 3 is anticipated, Battlefield 3 is hyped. That being said, I consider rampant journalism to also act as hype. I was just running with a thought.
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Jakintosh
Monday, October 17, 2011 @ 10:18:37 AM
Uncharted (and ND for that matter) has always been the guy out to prove something with his actions. He's not rubbing it in everyone's face asking them to watch him do awesome stuff. He just does it, and does it at 110%. And so far, that has led to him always being the better game.
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rogers71
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:48:12 PM
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I have been extremely impressed with the first 2 Uncharted games. There are some games that I will wait for reviews before I buy them. Uncharted not being one of them, Batman is another. When these games are announced, I know for a fact that I am getting them so I don't even listen to what others are saying about them.
You can definitely find yourself falling into the hype machine and ruining your expectations before ever placing a finger on a product. That is the way of the world, unfortunately.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:25:07 PM
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CrusaderForever
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:51:41 PM
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Last edited by CrusaderForever on 10/14/2011 9:54:21 PM
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Snaaaake
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:52:08 PM
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Uncharted 2 was arguably the best of the generation and many think Uncharted 3 will go one better.
Expect alot of people complaining about Uncharted 3 falling short of expectations when it's themselves who set their expectations too high.
2 up, 1 down
jjlive168
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:02:00 PM
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its like if square enix starts dropping hints that seems like all signs are pointing towards a final fantasy 7 remake the gaming news sites are hyping it stating rumors, inside sources, etc (you guys know how it goes lol) says its being revealed at E3 you have been waiting for weeks everybody is amped up for weeks waiting for E3, E3 comes and your just waiting for that announcement and when the day comes its a final fantasy 1 and 2 port to ipad that (thats kind of upsetting just thinking about it cause thats def sqaures track record now lol even though those have already been ported to the ipad) would give you that let down feeling.
that's what hyping things does, when your let down its a sucky feeling because it didn't live up to its expectations you wanted so much more and its like what can you do about it.
no worries Naughty Dog will do just fine.(just added pressure to them haha)
btw i read an article on kotaku that says a spanish gaming website reviewed it and gave it a 9.9 out of 10 =)
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Darwin1967
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:15:26 PM
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FatherSun
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 12:36:41 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:21:55 PM
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3 up, 1 down
Shams
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:34:02 PM
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And as for the other big titles on the horizon, the more the merrier.
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VampDeLeon
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:50:16 PM
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Beamboom
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 2:18:46 AM
Just like I don't know much about games only released for the PC or Xbox. I can't play them anyway, so why should I care?
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/15/2011 2:19:35 AM
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aaronisbla
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 4:28:04 AM
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Beamboom
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 7:01:33 AM
I'm not an Uncharted fan myself, but of course I know the games.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/15/2011 7:02:49 AM
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bigrailer19
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 10:56:00 PM
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PSTan
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 11:21:59 PM
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4 up, 3 down
StubbornScorpio
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 11:36:58 PM
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A lot of people seem to be saying that Battlefield 3 and MW3 are getting more hype. BF3 is definitely making itself known, but has there been a lot of coverage on MW3? I only ever seem to see MW3 vs BF3 articles, rarely any focusing on just MW3. Perhaps MW3 is finally losing its thunder?
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Lawless SXE
Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 11:57:20 PM
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AshT
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 1:09:41 AM
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Alienange
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 1:38:41 AM
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Lairfan
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 5:39:33 PM
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Beamboom
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 2:11:15 AM
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I am 100% sure that the hype preceding Uncharted 2 spoiled what otherwise could have been a nice experience for me. But according to the hype I should expect a totally ground breaking experience, a game like no other, leading the way for all other games to follow.
The anti-climax when starting that game and discovering it's just the traditional, old linear game formula wrapped in good looking graphics was unbearable. It totally ruined everything for me personally.
But Alienage has a very good point above: It was the *fans* and their unconditional, greatly exaggerated hype that essentially ruined it for me, not the promotion material, screen shots and promo videos from ND.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/15/2011 2:13:47 AM
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Lairfan
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 5:41:24 PM
Btw, Uncharted had very large environments. Yeah, you were restricted to only going one way through those environments, but you can't tell me that several of those environments weren't wide open and offered several places to take cover and fight from.
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Beamboom
Monday, October 17, 2011 @ 8:50:22 AM
I did not expect an open world game. I am not stupid. But I did buy into some of the hype and expected a LOT more than just a plain old-fashioned linear adventure with pretty graphics. Linear adventures is not the future of gaming, it's the past.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/17/2011 8:59:10 AM
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saini
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 2:16:08 AM
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Last edited by saini on 10/15/2011 2:18:16 AM
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swapnilgyani
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 4:01:24 AM
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Let's admit it, we at PSX here have been guilty of making absolute assertions of how awesome U3 already IS.
Why?
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mk ultra
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 4:58:44 AM
As for all of us thinking U3 will already be amazing without ever putting hands on it. I think that has something to do with the track record of ND.
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wasim
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 10:18:33 AM
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clockwyzebkny
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 11:53:53 AM
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Let me put it like this more people know about and praise the Halo, COD and Gears series Not to say that they don't deserve it but I've played all except the last entry of GoW and Halo. And Uncharted tops all the other action/adventure games on the market.
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Hynad
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 4:27:11 PM
Uncharted is my favorite current gen franchise. I don't count the number of times I've completed both games!
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Oxvial
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 11:54:04 AM
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Last edited by Oxvial on 10/15/2011 11:54:23 AM
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OverBerg
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 11:56:03 AM
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Having Nathan Drake trying to sell me a 5 dollar footlong!!???? mmmfffgghh... I just threw up in my mouth a bit.
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DemonNeno
Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 3:28:25 PM
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ND has made incredible strides with the series, though. It's not like ANY of this "hype" that has built up around it is based on skeptical progression. This team is absolutely dominating what the PS3 has to offer AND creating a very linear cinematic (not game play itself.. think about that) story that is told. The overall fit and finish of this game screams Hollywood!
Regardless of the chatter, I'm keeping my head clear of any talk. I'll know what to think after the first night of binge gaming. :)
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saintaqua
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 12:18:47 PM
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I will continue to feel hyped about Uncharted until the franchise disappoints.
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BikerSaint
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 3:59:05 PM
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Hynad
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 4:06:27 PM
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We see a lot of games being reviewed these days that seem to get a free pass because they're part of an extremely popular and over-hyped franchise. Call of Duty being the obvious example of that.
What I hate though is that many such games get that free pass even though they're basically taking baby steps to move the genre forward. They're being acclaimed for being the greatest refinement of an already proven formula while other games proving to be just as refined polished as these über popular franchises will be knocked down for basically being "more of the same" compared to their prequels...
Surely there is something not right there. And it annoys the crap out of me.
Change of subject: I applaud Naughty Dog for not going into that boastful PR mode that the ones at Crytek, iD and EA Digital Illusions CE (among others, but those are the worse culprit) are so eager to take part in by pretending their game is the gen's apogee of visual awesomeness and whatnot...
Naughty Dog is staying humble while still showing excitement for what they're creating, yet they remain openly nervous about the pressure that the prequel naturally laid on their shoulders. Those guy LOVE what they're doing, LOVE their fans, and it shows in their products AND their public behavior.
They're setting an example and I think a majority of western developers should take a cue from them.
Last edited by Hynad on 10/16/2011 4:18:35 PM
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Lairfan
Sunday, October 16, 2011 @ 5:45:05 PM
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Now, if we're talking about BF3 or MW3, a resounding yes to them being overhyped.
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theReigen
Thursday, October 20, 2011 @ 10:41:47 AM
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ive learned my leson from gta4
but from what ive seen so far, uncharted3 looks like a better game than uncharted2 was
if the hype will be justified or not, either way i must know what hapens in uncharted3s story
so i preorered it
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Victor321
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Friday, October 14, 2011 @ 9:35:08 PM
Great guys for sure :) takes a lot of will to acknowledge the hype but at the same time, keeping yourself in check of what YOU'RE expecting out of your creation.