E3 2013 was a hallmark year for gaming. The Microsoft vs Sony feud came to a head with the unveiling of the PlayStation 4 and confirmation it would be one hundred dollars (80 euro) cheaper than the Xbox One. Sony was quickly hailed as the winner of the pseudo-battle of next generation consoles, their stance on supporting player’s rights to used discs lauded as a win for both PlayStation and gaming as a whole. In the same showcase, Sony announced a line up of games in development with a focus on their release onto the PS4 (despite several of the titles being multi-platform). The showcases sweetheart was immediately apparent, Final Fantasy XV was lined up to show off the processing strength of the next generation hardware with a full cinematic trailer and gameplay sequences. In the dramatic wake, the announcement of Kingdom Hearts III came as a footnote. It had been six years since the second main instalment and Square Enix’s paired announcement of the long-awaited Final Fantasy XV massively overshadowed the smaller franchise. In comparison, KH’s announcement trailer was little more than a confirmation of development and gaming coverage quickly labelled it as an afterthought for ‘Disney fans’.

 

Six years later and we’ve yet to see the release of Kingdom Hearts III. January 25th, 2019, is now the confirmed date and jilted fans don’t take the delay lightly. Reddit user u/sight_unseen commented on a Kingdom Hearts subreddit, “If you had told 11 year old me that KH3 wasn’t going to come out until I was nearly 30 I would’ve laughed in your face and yet here we are.” Delayed production and a tumultuous development cycle, including a change in game engine, have led to few updates and a fluid release date. The wait has spanned through most of the PS4/Xbox One generation, releasing into a much different gaming world than it was announced in. Going from a lacklustre game announcement at E3 six years ago to a title now universally anticipated due largely to extended delay is a massive transformation, and one not without consequence. Kingdom Hearts III now suffers from the disease plaguing the Video Game world over: “Hype”.

KHIII’s sister title announced in 2013 suffered the same affliction, Final Fantasy XV, was equally a ten year long production spanning a new name and console generation change before finally being released. To this day you can still visit the very first trailer on youtube from 2013 and be greeted with top voted comments listing out every misleading moment and unfulfilled promise, it’s an unfortunate reaction. Final Fantasy XV was mostly well received by critics and players but an undercurrent of disappointment still runs through the community. xZoneHunter explained their frustrations on a Final Fantasy form, summing up the argument that still echoes through the fandom. “I liked FFXV. I had a great time with it, however…you can clearly see how much content didn’t make the game. After all those years of waiting, it’s just a disappointment to be honest.”

 

FFXV was still financially successful and converted many players to a new final fantasy format but not all games are so lucky. 2016’s No Man’s Sky (NMS), stands as a monument in gaming to how quickly hype can cripple a burgeoning title. Dubbed “one of, if not the, most hyped indie titles in the history of gaming” by Wired UK, NMS was predicted to change the face of gaming. Their promises seemed to be limitless, when their first announcement of 4.3 billion unique planets to explore was met with doubtful criticism they took it as a challenge and raised the number to 18 quintillion. Hello Games was claiming to offer for the very first time an infinite universe to explore, revolutionizing the industry and the relationship between indie and AAA companies. Of course with such lofty expectations, fans and the press immediately raised them even higher in a feedback loop which quickly spiralled out of control. By the time of release, No Man’s Sky had reached a near mythical level of hype that even if it had delivered on its vast promises still would not have lived up to expectation. A three year wait and a sixty euro price tag for an indie title gave it little excuses to fall back on, fans investing time and money in a final product they expected to prove worthy of both.

 

While hype can provide extra funding, exposure, and excitement pre release, it can sour quickly. At launch, NMS was missing a laundry list of features and many players experienced difficulty even just launching the game. Two months after release it had achieved the prestigious ranking of worst game on steam, with an average of ‘mostly negative’ reviews from 70,000 players. Hello Games received death and bomb threats on a daily basis months after, the studio’s social media going silent which only served to fan the flames. Two years later and the game is still attempting to find its footing with updates and the originally promised features slowly being added in. Their now 4,000 player average is a far cry from the 500,000 at launch, many players staying away from the title based on reputation alone.

 

Studios are quick to announce and encourage fan response to their titles in pre-production, meaning titles are being announced earlier in the production cycle than ever before. This isn’t a problem if done right but too often studios use it as an advantage, a personal army of fanatics that demonstrate the supposed popularity of the game on release. A devoted early fanbase can keep a game alive and funded, fans themselves fighting battles of negative criticism. Kotaku journalist Jason Schreier was the first to report on No Man’s Sky’s release date delay. In the two days it took for Hello Games to confirm the delay themselves he received multiple death threats for being a ‘liar’ including the charming ‘I’ll find out where you live and murder you and your family’. PR teams personally weaponize a fan base that too often turns on the product, the very thing keeping it alive through production what gives it a quick death upon release.

 

In the past few years the hype train has crippled good games and murdered bad, the religion of near fanatical devotion to an upcoming title often leaving very little forgiveness upon release. Mass Effect: Andromeda, Watch Dogs, and Destiny are just a few titles in recent years that experienced out of control hype that, regardless of game quality, could not be lived up to. Kingdom Hearts III has unfortunately committed several sins of hype, making the studio just as accountable as fans. An extremely early game announcement, several release date pushbacks, and a stream of information and promises being made in early development is an all too common pattern. The game will most likely be successful but with twelve years since the sequel and already broken release date promises, no game can be good enough to justify that kind of anticipation.