We weren’t all there, but we felt its impact. E3 2014 took our hopes, loaded them into a rocket, and shot it into the stars. Hello Games, backed by Sony, showed us footage of an all-new type of gaming experience. They promised an entirely procedurally-generated universe for players to explore, and gamers everywhere hoped that this would be the next step in video game evolution. As time went on, more promises were made and the hype train chugged along: fly around all by yourself in an expansive galaxy, befriend alien races, be a space pirate, and more. The sky wasn’t even the limit. Day by day, hopes grew, and Hello Games did nothing to dissuade our anticipation. We finally got a release date, and everyone just about lost their minds. This was it. We were all going to go on the adventure of a lifetime. Right?
Well. Not really. Not at all.
Instead of expansive galaxies and untold adventure, we were met with excruciating load times and choppy framerates. Where we expected deep and immersive exploration, we found formulaic and generic “scan and move on” gameplay that we were accustomed to. This sparked outrage throughout the entire fanbase. How could they lie to us? How could Sean Murray have fooled us all?
Well, it’s pretty simple, actually. No Man’s Sky is a classic example of the “too big to fail” mentality. It could be likened to the video game equivalent of the Titanic. So many people unwittingly pinned their hopes on the success of the marketing campaign and not the game itself. We can even carry the analogy further since, like the Titanic, no one knows what it was that caused Hello Games to fail to deliver. Some people speculate that it was an elaborate ruse from the start, while others think that it was intense pressure from the community and Sony to release the game, finished or not. Whatever the case, we can all agree that No Man’s Sky failed to deliver on the expectations we had set on it, and it left many consumers speculative of the industry.
Looking forward, the gaming community has already begun to change based on the failure of No Man’s Sky. Many gamers were burned by pre-ordering No Man’s Sky, and, in turn, have become more wary of doing so in the future. I feel like this will cause developers to be more open with their development processes and release more footage of their games, so as to keep the hopes high for their customers. Online stores for games have also begun to take action. For example, Steam has recently re-enforced a policy that they will be requiring developers to use undoctored pictures and videos of their games in order to give players a better idea of what the game looks like and is about before purchasing. Overall, I think we can all agree that, even though No Man’s Sky was a mistake in many ways, it has caused consumers to be much more conscious of advertising and anticipation, and that just because a game is sold to look great doesn’t mean that it is.
Here are some things to watch out for when looking into purchasing a game:
- If a developer doesn’t release review copies of a game, be careful about pre-ordering. If they don’t want other people to see it and tell you about it, then they know that their game may not be all it says it is.
- When a developer does release review copies, make sure you read other people’s’ opinions of the game before buying it. Just because your favorite YouTuber likes it, or IGN says it’s a great game, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good. Look into a bunch of sources before purchasing.
- Don’t pre-order games. Honestly, it’s not really worth it at this point. Most games will restock within a few days (especially if they’re AAA titles), and the pre-order bonuses usually aren’t worth it. Just be patient and wait for the reviews to come.