Denis Dyack and the Too Human drama

This is another post I probably should have gotten around to earlier.  After all, Too Human came out this past week.  With all that said there was news regarding Denis Dyack's NeoGAF feud leading right up to the game's release so this isn't that stale.  This also isn't going to be a review of Too Human.  I am currently playing through the game and am looking forward to commenting on it, but that's for another post.  For now, let's talk about strategic marketing.

You've heard the saying "all news is good news" and I think that's what fueled the drama surrounding Too Human's success or failure.  Basically what happened was Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights (the development studio who made Too Human) wasn't pleased with some of the criticism his game was getting in its incomplete form.  Some reviewers were shown the game well before launch and, based off of the preview articles most of them wrote, a lot of the public was quick to turn their backs on Too Human.  Too Human was originally hyped as Microsoft's answer to Capcom's Devil May Cry and so it was expected to be a hugely successful game.  Based on the preview build it didn't look quite that good.  In fact as it turns out Too Human and Devil May Cry are completely different forms of games, but that's beside the point.

There was no bigger critic than NeoGAF.  NeoGAF is a forum of video game enthusiasts and, based on this early look at the game, they had some pretty harsh things to say.  So Dyack, in an effort to defend his studio's work, issued a challenge.  If Too Human wasn't well-received by the public he would be forever tagged on NeoGAF as "Owned by the GAF."  If Too Human did well though, anyone who was vocal against the game would have to be tagged "Owned by Too Human."  This unfolded into several long threads as well as some interviews related to the subject.  One such example would be the interview that the guys at 1UP held with Mr. Dyack himself on the 1UP Yours podcast.  My point is that this issue didn't fade away into the night, it seemed like everyday there was some news on the Dyack/NeoGAF front to keep people interested in the drama.  Finally, just before Too Human's release last week, Dyack was banned from NeoGAF because he had dubbed it as "the worst forum."  My initial reaction to this backlash was one of surprise - after all that the NeoGAF members had said about Dyack and Too Human it turns out they couldn't take the heat so they banned him?  Anyways.

My point in all of this is that the drama had a side-effect.  Generally, if games are quickly branded with the "disappointment" tag they often are overlooked by the bulk of gamers.  Based on the preview articles for Too Human it seemed that disappointment was the game's fate.  After that, had none of this drama gone down, I think that average joe gamer/internet user probably would have skipped over it.  However, because this drama kept unfolding and Too Human stayed in the news people became interested.  They were all wrapped up in the drama, and I'm sure the game sold better as a result.

So really in the end this post has nothing to do with whether Too Human is a good game or not - it's merely a recognition of Denis Dyack's ability to successfully market the game via his drama, whether that was his intent or not.  After all, I bought the game didn't I?  The only question is how will it affect Silicon Knights moving forward?  If this whole thing was just a stunt to publicize Too Human and the game turns out to be a flop then they'll have lost a lot of credibility.  However if the game is a success they could garner a lot of fans who favor Dyack's public outcry against unnecessary criticism.  Only time will tell but one thing's for sure - I'm really looking forward to posting my review of Too Human once I've completed it!  =)

Now Playing:
Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
Too Human, Battlefield: Bad Company