Considering the lack of a demo at this point and lack of previews being done on videogame sites I think it's fair to discuss the possible reasonings for this marketing plan and how it may affect the game's reception this year.
After reading this Pasta Padre article, http://www.pastapadre.com/2010/02/19...-the-mlb-demos , I'm really finally beginning to understand that the reasoning for SCEA's holding back (shorter blogs, no demo, limited previews) that they are attempting to protect their game's sales after reaching that record-breaking number last year.
My impression is that the game is difficult to sell to the general consumer, that doesn't get every next iteration of their favorite sports title. The game was already solid last year, so a demo wouldnt' show many changes besides lighting and a new camera angle and all the under the hood adjustments that were painstakingly made by SCEA don't come to light to a casual gamer like they would a fan of the series.
And isn't that what demos and previews are generally for? To build excitement for the casual gamer and garner their interest? Fans like myself and many OSers I'm sure have no problems getting excited about this game and are positive it will prove to be yet another solid entry to the series. Yet it seems as though it has little appeal to non-fans. 2K sports has plenty to talk about because of the amount of room the series still has to improve and also thanks to the introduction of a new game mode (My Player), a mode that has been one of SCEA's MLB series staples for awhile now.
Suffice to say, I believe that the reason MLB 10's media buzz has been limited pre-release is because there isn't much to discuss to casual consumers and makes me wonder how reviewers will treat the game. After reading a small preview in this March's edition of Game Informer, the previewer mentions that "none of the core gamplay mechanics have changed since last year (or the previous year for that matter)" which wasn't noted as a bad thing but it certainly makes me curious on whether this will be the last year SCEA can get away with that. Sure, the gameplay IS amazing, but to fickle reviewers something bigger will have to be provided to make them believe that the game is fresh from year to year. And alot of games seem to live and die on how they are reviewed.
Anyways, that's my 2 cents on the matter and I was just interested to know what others think about these topics.
After reading this Pasta Padre article, http://www.pastapadre.com/2010/02/19...-the-mlb-demos , I'm really finally beginning to understand that the reasoning for SCEA's holding back (shorter blogs, no demo, limited previews) that they are attempting to protect their game's sales after reaching that record-breaking number last year.
My impression is that the game is difficult to sell to the general consumer, that doesn't get every next iteration of their favorite sports title. The game was already solid last year, so a demo wouldnt' show many changes besides lighting and a new camera angle and all the under the hood adjustments that were painstakingly made by SCEA don't come to light to a casual gamer like they would a fan of the series.
And isn't that what demos and previews are generally for? To build excitement for the casual gamer and garner their interest? Fans like myself and many OSers I'm sure have no problems getting excited about this game and are positive it will prove to be yet another solid entry to the series. Yet it seems as though it has little appeal to non-fans. 2K sports has plenty to talk about because of the amount of room the series still has to improve and also thanks to the introduction of a new game mode (My Player), a mode that has been one of SCEA's MLB series staples for awhile now.
Suffice to say, I believe that the reason MLB 10's media buzz has been limited pre-release is because there isn't much to discuss to casual consumers and makes me wonder how reviewers will treat the game. After reading a small preview in this March's edition of Game Informer, the previewer mentions that "none of the core gamplay mechanics have changed since last year (or the previous year for that matter)" which wasn't noted as a bad thing but it certainly makes me curious on whether this will be the last year SCEA can get away with that. Sure, the gameplay IS amazing, but to fickle reviewers something bigger will have to be provided to make them believe that the game is fresh from year to year. And alot of games seem to live and die on how they are reviewed.
Anyways, that's my 2 cents on the matter and I was just interested to know what others think about these topics.
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