The Hype Machine
I just had an experience with hype.
Today, there was supposed to be a Japanese press conference for Nintendo, where they either would or would not reveal information about their new console, the Wii. People have been awaiting certain information (like when the hell it's coming out) for months now, and today was supposed to be the day that information was finally here.
Now normally, I wouldn't get too excited about this. Sure, it would be nice to know when and for how much I can actually buy the thing when it comes out (and I will), but I always separated myself from the people who spend their time thinking about nothing else but the latest technological non-necessity. However, this was for some reason different. When the importance of this press conference hit me just an hour or so before it was supposed to start, I got excited. My pulse quickened. I started searching for any information, fervently refreshing pages to see what came up.
As it turned out, nothing did. The conference doesn't actually start for another hour and a half, and the geniuses who are figuring this stuff didn't quite get the concept of the time zone. However, someone took it upon themselves to find an old press conferece and show that, since hey-it's in Japanese! Who would know?
Once these facts were found, the internet (at least a part) blew up. Servers shut down. Websites crashed. Forums started spouting fire. In conclusion, it wasn't good.
But now that I look back, it's amazing how exciting it was when I thought all the information would be out now. It wasn't even the console's release. There wasn't even a guarantee they'd tell us the date of the console's release. But nevertheless, I was practically high (by my estimate).
I realized then the value of hype. It's about accomplishing something. It's getting something big, something new, something no one has seen before. It's like you've accomplished something great, and can be an actual adrenaline rush. I'd never thought of anticipation as a physiological event, but now I see it differently.
I once read something that said that videogames are so fun and addictive because they give us goals to accomplish. We are psychologically geared towards achieving goals, and games let us do this cheaply and easily. But, could just getting a game be a goal? In a world where survival is no longer an issue, we still need a sense of purpose to live as human beings. And it could be that now, even the Nintendo Wii is a cause for meaning.
Today, there was supposed to be a Japanese press conference for Nintendo, where they either would or would not reveal information about their new console, the Wii. People have been awaiting certain information (like when the hell it's coming out) for months now, and today was supposed to be the day that information was finally here.
Now normally, I wouldn't get too excited about this. Sure, it would be nice to know when and for how much I can actually buy the thing when it comes out (and I will), but I always separated myself from the people who spend their time thinking about nothing else but the latest technological non-necessity. However, this was for some reason different. When the importance of this press conference hit me just an hour or so before it was supposed to start, I got excited. My pulse quickened. I started searching for any information, fervently refreshing pages to see what came up.
As it turned out, nothing did. The conference doesn't actually start for another hour and a half, and the geniuses who are figuring this stuff didn't quite get the concept of the time zone. However, someone took it upon themselves to find an old press conferece and show that, since hey-it's in Japanese! Who would know?
Once these facts were found, the internet (at least a part) blew up. Servers shut down. Websites crashed. Forums started spouting fire. In conclusion, it wasn't good.
But now that I look back, it's amazing how exciting it was when I thought all the information would be out now. It wasn't even the console's release. There wasn't even a guarantee they'd tell us the date of the console's release. But nevertheless, I was practically high (by my estimate).
I realized then the value of hype. It's about accomplishing something. It's getting something big, something new, something no one has seen before. It's like you've accomplished something great, and can be an actual adrenaline rush. I'd never thought of anticipation as a physiological event, but now I see it differently.
I once read something that said that videogames are so fun and addictive because they give us goals to accomplish. We are psychologically geared towards achieving goals, and games let us do this cheaply and easily. But, could just getting a game be a goal? In a world where survival is no longer an issue, we still need a sense of purpose to live as human beings. And it could be that now, even the Nintendo Wii is a cause for meaning.
posted by Derek at 11:23 PM
1 Comments:
Hello Snurp said,
"We are psychologically geared towards achieving goals, and games let us do this cheaply and easily."
Would this be "a regression in culture?" as you mentioned in "The Nature of Capitalism and Aristocracy"? Do you think the video games or technology era has caused this regression you talk about and the comfort of today has cause us to be a lesser in achieving "a lot more "civilized"" culture? has these games caused us to be less civilized?
In the beginning of your blog you talk about your roomies being stuck on war craft games and being in college made you think and caused you to read more books?
again, i have just started reading your blog and wondering if your thinking has change, just me.
i will just read as the time in the day permits.
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