Streaming New Games and Spoilers Discussion


Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix)

Okay, this is something I’ve always really been wondering about. What is the nature of streaming a brand new game, or in the case of press, streaming something non-press don’t have access to? For example, by the time this goes live, I will be able to talk about a game I’m reviewing, which releases tomorrow. I don’t want to go into more than that, but it’s going to be huge, and I’m honored to be able to have this opportunity. I’ve been waiting forever, and it’s finally time. But, what to do about streaming? One of the big fears I have, is it will alienate fans who want to play the game and not have spoilers. Since, of course, progressing forward in the story [which I need to do to review a game properly] is key, so I can get to as much of it as possible. There are some people who simply enjoy seeing a game played, because they aren’t going to be able to purchase it anytime soon, and want to be able to experience it as a group. That’s what a stream is, after all, it’s a group coming together to be entertained, whether it’s because of the gameplay, or because of the person/persons playing it.

Drift Girls Bottom Tier MMOHuts

Some people want to see it, but don’t want to admit it. . .

I mean, nobody has to tune in to a stream; it’s your prerogative to not show up, if it’s going to be something that is being spoiled for you. Conversely, as a content creator, you don’t want to alienate your audience, and if enough of them would be upset by it, they might not come back, if it’s that big of a deal. Like, say I had early access to Kingdom Hearts 3, which may or may not happen, I can’t say for sure.  Say I have it a few weeks before street date, and there is no embargo, but people are going to want to see it for themselves/play it for themselves. If I am under no legal obligation to hold back knowledge, does that make it okay? There’s always going to be people who want to see it asap, but there’s also other people to think about. That’s why I don’t tend to stream games that I have early access to/are brand new, because I don’t want to risk putting off people from our Bottom Tier product. Though Xenoverse 2 didn’t really upset anyone when I streamed it on day one. And while noone has to tune in, the people who did could save information and spoil it for others, ruining their time. And the Internet does have people that are that awful.

Personally, I think that once it’s live, it’s fair game, and doing it early is pretty awful, even if it could garner a quick few more followers because “we have something nobody else does, nya nya nya”. But I wouldn’t want to harm my current audience at the expense of getting a few more new people. What do you guys think though? Assuming you are under no legal restriction, how soon is “too soon”? Do you like seeing a game played the day it goes live, or should they wait until most people have gotten a hold of it and started?

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