The art of setting up a hype train – E3 PlayStation conference 2016
First of all, what is a hype train? A hype train is a slang that is often used in the gaming community to describe unquenchable excitement for new games. It’s also a social term because you figuratively board the hype train with people who are also excited for the same things. In other words, it’s the ultimate word of mouth and viral growth that marketers around the world are trying to accomplish. But setting up a hype train takes delicate skill and investment. The payoff however is definitely worth it.
Everything starts with rumors. It could be a well known blogger, redditors or the developers themselves who spread the message that something new and exciting is about to come. Obviously success breed on success. Rumors work better on next generation products like sequels than a new product trying to establish itself in the marketplace. That said, rumors still work quite well for new unique products as well.
Afterwards you reveal your ultimate product in a huge industry related conference or a well-known event like E3 where the conference will be streaming to the public. This is important. If the event isn’t exciting enough for the public to follow, then doing big reveals there is counterproductive. So how do you know if the event is popular? Just search videos related to the event on YouTube. If you don’t find many with millions of views, then it’s probably not popular.
The hype train has three important elements: the build-up, the explosive reveal and keeping the steam alive afterwards. I already mentioned the build-up by using rumors and indirect references. Then the explosive reveal at a place where a lot of people who cares about the industry are watching. Then you have to keep the steam alive by updating them with screenshots, exciting partnerships and ultimately the demo. However it’s also important that you don’t reveal too much so that people already know what they are going to get. No, try to keep it mysterious as much as possible while revealing exciting things. It’s a delicate balance to tread on but the benefits are worth it because a bit of mystery is a powerful motivation to purchase the new product.
So how does PlayStation do it in E3? Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3 is a video game industry only convention. Big gaming companies like EA, Microsoft and PlayStation do conferences to reveal new and exciting games for the year ahead. This year, PlayStation won E3 because Sony has embraced the fact that doing a great press conference is not to do a press conference. Instead Sony did a prestigious theatrical performance. They hired a dedicated orchestra to play the soundtracks of the trailers. They also utilized stage graphics and shadow effects to make mesmerizing effects like the shadow of Crash Bandicoot, a classic gaming mascots that hasn’t been seen for more than a decade. Then Hideo Kojima, the gaming legend who created Metal Gear Solid franchise and Silent Hill franchise arrived in the most badass way possible by walking on a floating platform (stage graphics). More importantly, this press conference had fewer corporate jargon and promises compared to other conferences. Instead Sony showed trailer after trailer that are perfectly paced between surprise, horror, humor, awe and more surprise. I have included the press conference video below so you can enjoy it yourself. Use your analytical eyes when you are watching the video. Which are the specific moments that made the viewers scream with excitement and why is that?