Malik  (5/14//04)

To end this week, I decided to deviate from my previous game plan.  Not because I found too little to bitch about from Sony or Nintendo (actually, I give Nintendo a 9/10 for their showing...considering what each company had to work with, Nintendo was king of E3), but rather because of a little link I found on the Microsoft XBox mailing I get periodically.

Why Decide Who I Am When The Experts Can Tell Me Who I Am?

Well, at least someone has finally got something right about the current crop of gamers...not too mention quite a few things wrong. Apparently, a panel of intellectuals (or people who might want us to believe they are intellectuals) were at E3 to tell us all who we are. I always love it when people tell us who we are rather than letting us decide for ourselves. I know I sure need someone who is a member of a panel (of people who are probably twice my age and almost definitely not in the age group being studied) to tell me who the hell I am and how to properly manipulate ads to manipulate my psyche. 

So, anyways, as for ad wizards and what they know that right...it is true that most people who are 13-25 years old (I hate "gen-Y"...it sounds like some teh gay buzz word that is supposed to make me feel hipper and more ready to purchase when I learn an ad is aimed at "gen-Y" or a really trendy way for girls named Jenny to start spelling their names...) don't watch the four standard networks of TV, because the shows are aimed at people in their thirties and above. That is simple. Good thing this panel told us that. I would have thought that I did love Raymond and that Becker and I could hand out while we watch the last episodes of Friends and Fraiser. 

Additionally, people in my age range tend to not give in to commercials as much as older age groups. Personally, I think this isn't due to our ability to research through many information sources...it's because of a cross between two things. For one; most commercials aimed at us are incredibly stupid. The average ad aimed at people in their early twenties and late teens are so freakin' trendy and "buzz" filled that those with any sense of individuality are automatically turned off from such a lame marketing campaign (marketing "specialists" are, on average, well above 25 years old, and not to sounds ageist, but it is harder for the previous generation to relate to our generation than any other generation gap in the past). The second reason, for those who are trendy pieces of shit, is that some of us (definitely not me or else I would have given into the "hip" and "visually appealing" FFX-2 about 7 months ago) feel so overwhelmed when there are ads competing for our money for competing products. Then, we don't give into the ad, since both (or more than two) ads are so amazingly trendy...then we just give in to what looks shiny and pretty. In other words, we are either too smart, or too freakin' retarded to give in to the average ad. I guess part of that is supposed to be reflected by "they will generally only respond to good marketing because of the number of other choices available to them", but only in the sense that credit cards allow me to buy whatever I want...both are true, but only in the most short sighted of views. 

As for me wanting to respond to an ad for one of several reasons of music, humor, benefit, or emotion...WTF? So, is that saying that an ad that condescends to me about how trendy something is that plays some Less Than Jake in the background while telling me that I'd get $5 in coupons for something I never need in a humorous way while trying to be a tear-jerker is supposed to influence me...shit...the only thing that type of ad would evoke from me is a sense of wanting to flip the channel (or better yet, put on some Disgaea). The only thing I can say about those four special response evokers is this...humor is nice, but a lame saying with a double meaning ("This is where I played with Lara" or whatever) that's supposed to make me laugh only makes me think less of the pwN-Gage; hearing the same song over and over on a bunch of ads only makes me think that the song is over played (thus turning me off from watching that ad or any other with said song ever again); a commercial that tries to bring about an emotion makes me think that the ad needs to remember it's an ad and therefore should not try to be more than it is (in other words, I start to feel the ad wizards behind it should shut the hell up and die); and if a company offers an incentive like a rebate, it means the company obviously has enough money to go without my business if they're throwing it around, so I'm done with them (they don't need me, and I sure as hell don't need them). 

As for how price is not as important as it was in previous generations...that is actually true, but it will change soon enough. With the abundance of credit cards in today's generation, money is not much of a factor to the stupid. However, I have known a dozen or so in my age group already who have fallen into the inescapable debt of credit abuse (there is nothing sadder than watching them sell their game collection to reclaim a little of their money...makes me cry...especially when I don't jump on the chance to buy things at their crazy clearance prices). I personally think that with the economy sinking further to shit each day and the over use of credit cards by today's youth for things they don't need, this trend will end soon enough. 

As for the $500 question; Would you spend $500 on an object or an experience? That goes back to the last point. Those who abuse credit, who are the vast majority of today's youth, already bough all they could want with credit. So, if you have everything you want, and all you have is $500 (which is never enough for a good upgrade to any of your existing stuff...) to spend, you'd spend it on something you don't have. I mean with credit usage, I know plenty of people with $1000 home theater systems and all the game systems they want, and $500+ TVs, etc. Why spend $500 on a new computer when the motherboard and CPU in your machine are already worth twice that? No reason at all. Only the minority of people, who also don't abuse credit, would want some stuff since these are the only people lacking any of the stuff they want.

The only right point made in this article is that online is the wave of the future...unfortunately...for getting the attention (aka: MONEY) of today's big spenders. People like the idea of playing online since it lets them game with their friends. The only problem is that the true ideal of social interactions have been lost to us. I personally know (yes, I said know and not think because I am 100% sure of this) that the best social interactions are found face to face (within striking distance of your friends). Sadly, people have forgotten this fact along with how they have forgotten how to hang out. Too often have I seen people go down hill in social interactions in every range from not joining anyone outside of their own homes through not initiating communication with someone unless both people are in the same freakin' chat room. There is more to social ability than the ignoring of the basic human interaction that in essence is social interaction...sigh...I personally have a problem with playing a game with three friends online when I could play with the same three friends at the same place. Now if one of those three other people lived out of state or whatever, that would be a different matter, but for those who live in the same local area, the most common choice is to play online. That way you have more freedom and isolation while still keeping up the air of being "social". Anyone who feels that online gaming is the way to be social with local friends...sigh...I just wish Darwin was right and natural selection would smite all your bitch asses. 

In case you were wondering what is (in my very right opinion) the proper form of advertising to aim towards my generation, here it is.  Marketing people, pay attention; To get the love of my money, an ad needs to not try to tell me why one product is better than another.  I'm not that stupid.  I do my own research, after all, didn't that article mention how we like to do our own research with the massive digital outlets available to us and via "buzz" (that's a lame-ass term...I prefer to say, what we hear from others...that doesn't sound as trendy).  So, instead of saying why you roxor and why the competition is teh gay, tell me something new.  How about a price break?  How about an overlooked feature of your product?  Is your product available or when will it be?  That is my type of ad.  'nuff said.  I'm not a simple minded fool who needs to be told who I am and what I need...I just need the facts...and no cuteness in the details...this especially applies to you EB...seriously, tell me you buy used games and have a good selection of knowledgeable people (BULL SHIT!), but don't make it cute and feel so damned fake.

So to answer Microsoft's question (who am I?); I am an individual, not some trendy piece of yuppie shit.

Malik