Hype Me Baby One More Time

By Shawn White / September 08, 2006

Nintendo is an interesting company. Nintendo fans are interesting people.

Every console maker maintains a loyal fan base that generally follows most every decision and announcement pertaining to the respective console of choice. Those more interested and inclined may seek information regarding the competitor machines. In the time intervals between major (and sometimes relatively minor) announcements, these console manufacturers have the opportunity to build what is known as "hype" in order to draw more attention towards their individual products. However, this process is fairly well-known to the gaming community - the point of interest lies in the energy which drives hype.

This crude portrait shows the fate of the poor souls that
catch the wrong train.

The best term to describe Nintendo-related hype, I think, is "melodramatic". However, "magical" also seems appropriate. For it only takes the smallest inkling of suggestion about this new game, or that price point announcement, or whatever tickles your fancy, before the Nintendo community presents its speculative, if not rather primal side. The sense of excitement, euphoria, buzz that rides along the Killer Whale of hype like a devout Remora fish can intoxicate the senses.

Moving along, though, literature often employs a five-part structure - set in motion initially by Aristotle and later expanded upon by Gustav Freytag, for all two of you interested - that I believe well charts the hype train:

Exposition - the introduction, in which the story establishes itself and attention is captured.
Rising action - hype is building, people are talking and the story is getting exciting.
Climax - the hype train reaches its intended destination in the form of some new announcement or revealing. Energy levels are as high as they'll ever be.
Falling action - the story is not quite over, for now people must decide how to deal with their hype-generated feelings towards the announcement or revealing.
Denouement (good ending) or catastrophe (not-so-good ending) - is the public generally content or has egg splattered on someone's face?

This is the course Nintendo hype seems to follow. How well it works is another matter entirely.

As an example, the hype leading up to the Wii Remote's TGS 2005 unveiling exceeded safe bounds. The exposition was established at the preceding E3 with Iwata's word puzzles; the rising actions came forth through constant rumors and discussion, as well as Nintendo's reluctance to talk, and the climax arrived when Iwata pulled the controller from his coat pocket. The timing was appropriate, though, and while backlash did abound in the falling action, the significance of the announcement kept people talking, thinking and exploring possibilities, which eventually led to greater approval of the Wii's controller. Hype served a bittersweet purpose initially, but by allowing potential to seep into the minds of gamers, Nintendo succeeded in keeping the hype alive and shifting it in the positive direction.

Here's another case. Going into Game Developers Conference 2006, the chant was, "Iwata, drop the bomb!" (exposition). Rumors about the Nintendo president's keynote frolicked through the Internet, and expectations ascented almost exponentially (rising action). Nintendo did little to curb the hype until just before the event, and although the company achieved its goals (climax), many fans across the globe expressed disappointment (falling action); they hyped the event to the point that anything less than an earth-shattering announcement would not suffice (catastrophe).

In this scenario, the hype gathered more eager eyes around an event than would have otherwise been expected - a positive, certainly - but many onlookers misunderstood the point of GDC and experienced discontentment - not really a fault of Nintendo's, since the company stated rather clearly its intentions early on. Luckily for Nintendo, the news given held enough potential for serious discussion while fans waited for E3.
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Let's fast forward to two different examples, involving the press. Some time ago, a popular Japanese released a teaser stating it had access to a MEGATON!!11 announcement that would make 'GameCubes fly off store shelves' (exposition). With the software line-up seeming rather paltry on Nintendo's little 'Cube, the news came off as thrilling (rising action). At publishing time, the game unveiled turned out to be a(nother) Naruto title (climax). Not to suggest Naruto doesn't have selling power in Japan, but it was hardly a MEGATON!!11 announcement. In this scenario, you have the press rather purposely using its influence to drive hype, which more often than not concludes on a sour note (falling action/catastrophe).

Lastly, on September 7, 2006, well-established Internet blogging site Joystiq posted a story saying it had acquired information "worth waiting for" regarding one of the three next-generation consoles (which was soon thereafter stated to be Wii). September 8, 12:01 a.m., was the expected unveiling time (exposition).

Hype spiraled out of healthy proportions, with message boards lighting up at the possibilities; everything from a price and launch date announcement to a showing of Kid Icarus for Wii arose (rising action). In the end, the information concerned IBM and Wii's 'Broadway' CPU, noting finalized chip shipments had long been underway (climax). The response? Disappointment, apathy or "I told you so!" Sure, Nintendo may not have suffered much from the situation. Quite unfortunately, however, the credibility of Joystiq, as well as the spirits of many fans who bought into excessive hype, might have, though I'm of the opinion both will recover fine (resolution).

Look at how excited he is! You can just tell it's a MEGATON!

Although Joystiq apologized for the ordeal, and while better wording could have been employed on the site's behalf, I find it's the fans who perhaps should issue an apology. Maybe not just fans on the message boards, but those running the gaming sites, too. True, while some party - whether it be Nintendo, Joystiq, The Wiire, or whomever - has to get the hype ball rolling, it's those who follow hype that are mostly responsible for its growth; whether they do it on message boards or through news stories is unimportant. Hype, regardless of outlet, is still hype.

Not to say it's wrong to hop aboard the hype train every now and again. After all, humans are social organisms; hype is a powerful communion tool that brings people together to share ideas and find comfort in group unity through mutual excitement. However, humans are also individualistic creatures capable of logical thought. Before settling into hype, asking questions about a source, listening to other opinions (notably unpopular ones), and considering rational possibilities would all be good ideas.

Being critical of the hype source is also perfectly fine as far as this author is concerned. However, if, say, Nintendo doesn't issue any promises (in reference to Games Convention 2006) and fans retort, mostly due to great hype, "You didn't deliver on your promise(s)!", there's really not much room to squeeze the critics into.

Granted, I don't expect the dramatic arch of hype, nor the magic feelings that precede hyped announcements, to dissipate anytime soon. While more rationality towards such situations would be nice, if not preferable, I admit to a strange fascination with hype, and the sometimes grand, oftentimes funny stories that accompany it, especially those concerning the house Mario built.

Like I said, Nintendo is an interesting company, and Nintendo fans are interesting people, hype-consumed or otherwise.

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