The Game Plan 08.10.07: Show Me, Don't Tell me
Posted by James McGee on 08.10.2007
After seeing the Big Three's E3 press conferences, I challenge them to put their games where their mouths are.
"Show me, don't tell me." Chances are if you've ever taken a writing class, you've heard that old gem. Professors love to repeat it, and as infuriating as it may be for writers to hear, it is said with good reason. Its roots are in the same place as other truisms like "Actions speak louder than words," or "A picture is worth a thousand words." Simply put, nothing you can ever say is as convincing as something people can see, touch, and judge with their own senses. After watching the press conferences from the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3), it seems that the higher ups in the Big Three first-party companies never really learned the virtue of these phrase. I saw a lot of games that piqued my interest during the E3 show, but they were overshadowed by the shameless and embarrassing bouts of self-promotion, spin-doctoring, and name calling. Instead of focusing on what's important—namely, the games—Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony spent far too much time ensuring us that they were the most awesomest company in, like, infinity. It was nauseating to watch, so I'm going to rant about it a bit. I am James McGee, and here's The Game Plan.
I'm as shocked as anyone to say that the least offensive by far in this regard was Sony. While the Playstation 3's disappointing sales were bad enough, I'd argue they haven't come close to matching the backlash that came with Sony's arrogance in the months leading up to and following the console's launch. Sony seemed to carry the attitude that everyone would buy the PS3 simply because it was the successor to the PS2. They counted on the dominance of the brand to sell a $600 console with very few games anyone gave two flips about. During his closing remarks at this year's E3 press conference, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America Jack Tretton stated "We know all of our accomplishments bring no guarantee for the future." That's a lesson they learned the hard way, and it likely accounts for the more humble tone Sony sported this year. Tretton started the show off by proclaiming "We're going to show you games, games and more games," and to Sony's credit, that's what they did. Haze, Killzone 2, Ratchet and Clank Future, LittleBigPlanet, Home, Metal Gear Solid 4, Echo Chrome, Silent Hill Origins, God of War: Chains of Olympus…all of these games saw either demos or high-profile trailers. The redesigned PSP was also hyped, along with the special edition Star Wars and Daxter/Family Guy entertainment packs. The biggest complaint against the PS3 (and, really, the PSP) has been the lack of quality games. Sony answered those critics by showing us games. Granted, many won't see the light of day this year, and who knows if they'll live up to the hype, but at least it's a glimmer of hope, and it's something gamers care about.
Unfortunately, Sony just couldn't keep its mouth shut and let the games speak for themselves. It hyped the $100 price cut at least three times during the press conference, seemingly answering the other big sticking point against the PS3. But, as it turns out, production has stopped on the $500 PS3, and the price cut is only to clear out the inventory, making way for the more expensive 80g model. So, the price cut ends up looking more like a fire sale. Of course, I'm assuming this version of the story still stands, but considering so many of Sony's big-wigs contradicted themselves over the price-cut issue during E3 week, it's hard to say. Quietly announcing the price cut would have been one thing, but touting it as such a huge deal and an example of Sony giving consumers what they demand, only to start phasing out the cheaper model leaves the company with egg on its face.
Like Sony, Microsoft should be commended for placing a great deal of emphasis on actual games during their E3 press conference. They're angle was that every game shown during the event (with the exception of Resident Evil 5) would be on store shelves by the holiday season. So, even though there weren't many surprises, there were tons of quality games shown off, either in demo or video form: Rock Band, Mass Effect, Viva Pinata: Party Animals, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty 4, Lost Odyssey, and of course, Halo 3. But the question is, how many more games could they have shown off, or in how much more depth, if Vice President Peter Moore hadn't spent such a big chunk of time telling us how much money Microsoft was making off the 360? "Outselling PS3 2-to-1…Selling more games than anyone else…More games at retail than Wii and PS3 combined…65% of next gen third-party games sold are on the 360…Half of all consumer spending this generation is on Xbox 30…" That's great, Pete, but why should I care how much money you guys are making? Is this the "everybody else is doing it" method of expanding the 360's market? Talk about peer pressure! And parents thought drugs were bad. Or is it an attempt to rub Sony's nose in the PS3's "failure," and to say "See, the Wii isn't as dominant as everybody thinks, so there!" I'm betting on the latter. Some Microsoft critics have accused Moore and company of excessive statistic manipulation (in other words, cooking the numbers), but I honestly don't know if this display would have been worse if it was the whole truth or just half. Focusing on how much you've sold doesn't tell gamers why they should buy your product. Showing us the games does.
Though it wasn't part of the press conference, Moore also deserves to be called out for his childish comments about Sony in an interview during E3. When asked about Xbox's performance in Japan, Moore avoided the question and thought it an opportune time to take a shot at Sony. "That's probably a better question for Sony who's getting outsold by what, 6-to-1? You can bet that Sony built a long-term business plan about being successful in Japan and that business plan is crumbling…They are failing. They're missing their plan by much more than I'm missing my plan." Had Moore just come right out and said "My dad's business plan can beat up your dad's business plan," I think his point would have come across much more succinctly. Seriously, I know that spin-doctoring and number crunching are facts of corporate life, but simply saying "Yeah, the ‘box isn't doing so hot in Japan right now" would have done much less PR damage than throwing a defensive, adolescent hissy fit. This is the type of nasty tactic that has especially permeated this generation of console wars, and after a while, it starts to overshadow the games that matter.
By far the worst offender of letting self-promotion take center stage was Nintendo. My thoughts on the Wii have been well documented in this column (as have my readers' difference of opinion on the matter), and this may once again stir up nasty feelings, but so be it. Nintendo's press conference was just one, long, 75 minute ego-stroke, with a few game demos sprinkled in here and there. After opening the show with two minutes worth of mainstream media clips singing the praises of the Wii and DS, Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo of America's President and COO) spent nearly 15 minutes telling everyone how awesome the Wii and DS are with a plethora of pie charts and bar graphs that would have made his rivals over at Microsoft proud. He told us that Nintendo is responsible for 69% of the industry's growth. He told us that old people and women are playing games like crazy, but that "The core of the games market is still the core of the Wii market" because 95% of Wii gamers are males, aged 6-24 (Translation: "We are too still for hardcore gamers!"). He paused long enough for another web-centric video package, full of blog posts and YouTube clips about how the Wii is just the berries, before finally mentioning a game sixteen minutes into the press conference (not that I would time this stuff or anything). For the record, it was Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, and was more an excuse to show off Nintendo's Wii Zapper peripheral than highlight the game at hand. In fact, games really didn't seem to be very important to the big N, as there were only three demos (Metroid Prime 3, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and WiiFit) and a trailer/PR piece hybrid where a family talked about how excited they were to be trying Brain Age 2 and Super Mario Galaxy before anyone else. Several other games were mentioned (Mario Kart Wii, Guitar Hero III, Mario Strikers, NFL '08, Dragon's Quest among others), but no other real trailers or demos were to be seen.
To be fair, though, talking about games wouldn't have left very much time for the video packages that kept popping up, ad nauseum, to tell us how gosh darned awesome Nintendo is, how everyone is a gamer, how Wii Sports is the greatest thing since sliced bread, etc. Look, I understand the desire to gloat after so many people wrote off the Game Cube and laughed at the Wii. But Nintendo spent more time telling us the Wii and DS were awesome than showing us why they are such a success—namely, because there are games that people like to play on the systems. The message that Nintendo sent to me with their press conference was "We don't need to show you games, because the hardware is going to keep selling itself." Hmmm, isn't that the same attitude that Sony got blasted for? Doesn't Nintendo's back-slapping reek of the same arrogance that doomed the PS3? Why, I believe the answers are "yes" and "yes." I admit to being a Wii critic, and the Reginator kept attempting to offer counter arguments against people like me, but nothing is going to convince me the Wii is anything more than a fad except games, and I saw precious few of them.
Maybe I'm naïve, but I think a product speaks for itself. Hype can only take you so far before the product has to start carrying the burden of performance. In this case, the products are not the companies or the hardware—they're games. Sony, don't dwell on monetary details that people want to hear, only to stick your foot in your mouth later. Just show us that beautiful footage of Heavenly Sword, and the quirky would-be-revolution that is LittleBigPlanet. Microsoft, don't flop between slimy corporate shyster and pouty adolescent. Just highlight the deepest next-gen library on the market and hype the ever loving flip out of Halo 3. Nintendo, don't tell critics we're wrong about you. Prove it with Metroid Prime 3 and more games like it, and convince the true believers they made the right decisions by showcasing the full potential of Wii Fit and the new balance board. Talk is cheap, guys. Don't tell me. Show me.
I've based this article on the E3 press conferences presented by each company, so I think it only fair you take a look and judge for yourself. You can view Nintendo's here, Microsoft's here, and Sony's (broken into three parts) here, here, and here.
