Some people can’t stand it when cynical people live-tweet during E3 press conferences, and I understand their desire to reduce the cynicism – after all, video games are supposed to be fun! However, while some are undoubtedly ridiculing games for the sake of appearing cool, I think a number of them are really fighting against another enemy: the lulling, depression-inducing language of corporations that’s ironically intended to inspire hype. You might see E3 as the Super Bowl of video games, while others might see it as an extension of their stifling jobs. I think publishers are starting to realize this, so they’ve begun enlisting those who might successfully appear to be more genuine: YouTubers, streamers, and community members of a specific game.
While I love the games publishers present, I can’t help but project whom I envision as the embodiment of corporate lingo onto these presenters: a clone of Mr. Rogers who is known as the Anti Mr. Rogers. This version sports vests instead of sweaters and business shoes instead of sneakers. What remains of the original’s intentions to reinvent children’s television was strapped to a conveyor belt and pummeled to death by pistons in the shape of participatory trophies. While he still devises lessons for children, he uses them to instill business sense. His favorite exercise is to use apples to teach employees from the ages of 18 to 65 that we all look different on the outside, but we’re all the same on the inside. He learns that gamers respond favorably to the word play , so he advises EA to turn it into a buzzword.
“What I’ve learned throughout my travels is that people are essentially the same,” he always says.
That is who I see when I listen to scripted banter during an E3 press conference. Compared to him, I should, in theory, welcome the vloggers, streamers, or members of a game’s community. YouTubers and streamers are supposed to be the real deal. Their mishaps and feats are captured on video, and widely available for the gaming community to witness. It’s easy to trust their recommendations on games, because you can see and hear their passion. Who better to recommend you a game than they?
However, the ones who game companies have hired to present their products seem anything but genuine. A few months ago, two members of Kinda Funny hosted Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV event, and Twitter users criticized them for sounding overly excited. I can’t fault Greg for not being as into Final Fantasy as his cohost. I even understand the rationale of having a character playing skeptic-turned believer onstage. But the two cohosts, regardless of their feelings towards the franchise, seemed like they were trying too hard. I recall a tweet calling for the developer whom Greg interviewed to present Final Fantasy XV next time, because he worked on it and is clearly passionate about it without being obnoxious. I like Kinda Funny, but this guy could have told us everything we need to know without distractions.
At this year’s E3, some lesser-known YouTubers and community members were brought on to present, but I found their performances to be even more distracting. I couldn’t become excited for EA’s Battlefield 1 tournament because the YoutTubers they brought on – I don’t know the extent of their contract, or if they even signed one–shouted nonsense excitably, but at least that occurred after the end of the main conference stream. Then Rare invited their community members to show off Sea of Thieves during their time on stage, resulting in disaster. I wanted to learn all about Xbox’s upcoming pirate adventure, but by the end I learned nothing about it due to all of the screaming and shouting. By the end of the demo, I wanted a project manager or someone to come back on stage.
I know that YouTubers sometimes get a bad rep for overreacting to games, and I know YouTube is full of intelligent, entertaining vloggers whom I believe would have been more qualified to present on stage such as MatPat, who has experience performing on Broadway (Kinda Funny had previously fallen into this category, but then Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV event happened). I suspect that perhaps the publishers wanted these vloggers to scream and shout, because they felt these content producers were perfect for maintaining the perpetual hype machine that is E3. As a result, these genuine gamers feel surpassingly corporate.