Guild Wars 2 - Overcoming the hype

I'm typically not the type that anticipates releases, nor do i really follow the whole development cycle of a title (beyond what's required to do my job in video game packaging), but Arenanet's upcoming release of Guild Wars 2 really strikes a cord with me. Be it a nostalgia for the almost courtship like hours of gameplay with my future wife via the original, or simply just the sheer number of hours invested, I genuinely feel giddy when I hear the latest news. Yet, somewhere amongst that giddiness, I can't help but feel a sense of panic as well. That panic pretty much stems from my basic perception that any game that get's hyped as much and lingers as long as this one, tends to turn into sour grapes come the first few days of actual play time. While it's true that almost every game I've even remotely anticipated has left a bad taste, i still struggle with not consuming every tidbit I can find about it in my off hours.

Game Pushers...
We have a title for a few people here on the site, "Game Pushers" are typically those folks that manage to draw in (or sucker) people into playing a title they normally wouldn't. It usually stems from that fact that we enjoy the company of these people and we really just want to like what they are pushing. So the hype machine whirls on across the interwebs almost solely based on this idea, we just want to play with our friends, be a part of the group and continually have a grand time, even if the game isn't our thing or just doesn't live up to our desires. Why i'm saying this is, that's really where i see Guild Wars 2 as the ultimate example of how it'll play out with your little group, people that never played MMORPGs may very well end up here, with the rest of us habitual MMO users. So when saying I'm somewhat fearful of a possible disappointing experience, it's pretty well justified.

The product of an addiction...
To be so focused on a game and place such a level of expectation can't be healthy, but damn if it doesn't feel so friggen good.
Completely irrational behavior, I know, but there is a real sense of excitement, followed closely after with anger when things aren't being fed to you. Arenanet's lack of public commitment to a release date has *addicts* all over the net showing signs of pure frustration. In many cases only the most hard core addicts feel strung along with sparse nuggets of info and overall empty prospect of when they might actually get their grubby paws on the product. Most of the time it feels like Anet knows that these people are just going to continue clamoring and pushing the hype meter forward, but there certainly is a tipping point before the *dealer* get's his just dessert. Simply due to this hard core group of addicts, the hype meter can quickly take a turn, making high anticipation become a complete lack of desire almost over night. Right at this moment, that tipping point may very well be close at hand.

Ride that hype, baby...
Sites around the net are giving out awards for that coveted "most anticipated game of 2012" top spot to Guild Wars 2 and Arenanet is definitely riding that hype. They recently tweeted many different sites that have bestowed them this title, yet what irks me is that there not only isn't a public release date, but that there are also promoting that *possible* misinformation, further tying them into a 2012 release. Just imagine if you will 2012 passing by, looking at Guild Wars 2 still being released on a "when it's ready" stance. There would not only be some pretty pissed off people, it just might tarnish sales to the point of people responding with things like "oh yeah I was waiting to play that one, but now... not so much". Regardless of any possibly imagined outcome or what the actual facts are about the inevitable release date, ArenaNet, simply by promoting these awards/ideas really does put them at a 2012 release. It would be nigh impossible to back pedal there way out of it now.

The confession of an addict...
These are obviously my strung out views, but i can't help but be fairly irked that the time table isn't finalized and at least, in some sense small sense, public. I've seen the havock, SW:TOR really put the pressure on our production cycle with last minute release info and in all reality a pressure situation isn't always a bad thing. Given that little tidbit and seeing how some games are received regardless of perfection out of the gate, there are some hard core addicts out there that are a little roughed up over promoting a 2012 anticipation award while taking a stance that there simply isn't any release date info (phewy! i say!). There also just isn't a sense of it being retailers and websites that hand out these things, their responsibility to have their facts straight. Regardless, I'm still in anticipation of a really great game and leave you with a very well done promo video.

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