To be announced (TBA), to be validated or continued (TBC), to be determined or determined or stated (TBD), and also other variations, are placeholder terms used really generally in event planning to show that although something is set up or expected to happen, a particular element of that stays to be repaired or established.
In September of last year, Nintendo launched a video without prior notice to celebrate the thirtieth fifth anniversary of Super Mario. During the presentation, a series of releases were announced to commemorate the birthday of the plumber, which included titles such as Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, that of the Radiocontrol cars, and even a Game & Watch Super Mario Bros renovated console.
Two of the games that were announced would arrive in a limited way to the Nintendo Switch catalog. On the one hand, it was Super Mario Bros. 35 , that Battle Royale to Tetris 99; From the beginning it was learned that it would only be available for 6 months from its departure, until March 31, this 2021. The other was Super Mario 3D All-Stars , the compilation that includes Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy. Beyond the value of those three games, many users wanted to see this launch as a case of that preservation with which Nintendo itself has had some other inconvenience, despite its good execution with the virtual console. Particularity is that its digital purchase was only enabled until March 31, and the physical units of the game were announced as limited, although even at this point it does not cost too much to get one.
However, it seems that the play did not come out of all: during their last days for sale in March the game experienced a great increase in sales, and was the best launch of a Mario game in Switch, with 1.8 million of Digital copies sold in their first week.
The technological industries, including the video game, are getting used to resorting to strategies such as these-based, in order to press their users to buy their products before, at least in the theory, they can no longer be done with them while The rest of the people enjoy them. But what is the pomo and how it is used to manipulate us?
my favorite terrors
To begin, a brief English class around here. Pomo is the acronym for « Fear of missing out », which can be translated into Spanish as fear of getting lost something, and it is a pathology described as a widespread apprehence that others could be having rewarding experiences of which one is absent », Many times related to the fear of disconnection.
It is a type of social anxiety that is mainly associated with the technological sector, which causes a need to always be connected and an irrational fear of the possibility of not being on the ship of a trend that is on the rise at a certain time. You can see, for example, not to know the latest Memes formats, not to be seeing the Netflix series from which you speak everywhere or simply not have a gadget that has recently left for sale. All this can cause feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem or isolation, and may end up leaking into more serious pathologies such as depression.
This dependence, increased by social networks, is also instrumentalized for the benefit of many technology companies, and that of video games is no exception, both in strategies when selling special issues of their titles and through mechanics within The games themselves, passing even by subscription services.
A Nintendo developer who has been involved in several Switch releases, spoke at the time with Vice to clarify that, indeed, it is a strategy that actively uses the Japanese company: They have data that shows that the game relanging tends to Disappear in the lists of wishes, said the worker, who wanted to maintain anonymity. The manufactured pomo helps them get those sales, or so they believe.
Morris Garrard, game analyst at FutureSource Consulting, also wanted to explain this Nintendo plan regarding the launch of 3D All-Stars: This strategy will surely create emergency among switch users to buy content and avoid missing the experience, driven also by The attention of the media that the strategy is already obtaining. It is expected that the imposition of these time restrictions will help these limited editing games to cut noise ».
Fear was always there
The term pomo was coined by the investor and writer Patrick J. McGinnis, who popularized it in 2004 with an article in the Harvard Business School magazine. However, and despite the expansion of social networks and the enormous amount of possibilities that have now at our fingertips that have magnified their effects, this phenomenon exists since the human being lives and is related in society. Fear may arise separated from technology, from the simple fact of not being able to intervene in a conversation on a topical issue, not attend any type of social event or to hear that others have discovered a new restaurant in the city.
However, it is mainly in the leisure and technology sectors where we can see how we have been mercantilizing the social pressure that accompanies the pomo. Now we have a multitude of online platforms that allow us to see prior content at any time, both of the own chains and the Netflix type services, but before this we used to have to adapt to the time at which the television programs decided to broadcast The last episode of Sálvame orange. Nor will we undervalue the only in cinemas after each announcement of the premiere film, a marketing technique that wants to convince the spectators that this will be their last chance, when very soon it will be available for purchase or rent. There are many companies that have taken advantage of this phenomenon for their marketing techniques, as in that heineken announcement in which they fostered the responsible consumption of alcohol, although using as an incentive that this would avoid having to leave the party too soon ahead of risks For the health that the alcohol brings in excess.
Even though we already got used to seeing tables that explain the different editions of the same game, the premium versions of the launches are not something that comes from now, and since its inception they were already busy putting some pressure to the users due to Your limitada Availability. Although they become popular in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 stage, we could see great editions for collectors two generations back with the Limited Edition of Metal Gear Solid in 1998, although the first arrived during the time of the 16 bits with several titles of Super nintendo. One of the examples is The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past with its exclusive Gold Pack of Sweden in its PAL version, but it is Street Fighter 2 Turbo who rises with the first edition for collectors thanks to its Limited Edition launched in 1992 .
Fear as service
On many occasions (probably in the vast majority) users suffer the pome without the need for companies to intercede directly through strategies, but simply by the bombing of launches to which we are subjected and the sensation generated in the players the impossibility of Encompass all of them. However, both in limited launches and the example we have commented earlier as in reservation incentives with additional content or editions for collector, companies take advantage of this phenomenon to encourage the purchase to their users, which happens especially in the form of The mechanics of videogames as a service.
Last month, the exit at Apple Arcade of Zookeper World, a new version of the robot Communications Puzzles game, which made me return to your edition free-to-play for iOS and Android, Zookeeper Battle. In spite of being a very fun game and brightly adapted to competitive way, it is also addictive of the worst possible way, as this type of titles are used for mobile devices, with an energy that is recharging over time And forces the user to be aware of it and not waste time with the bar charged. In the same way, and as most games as a service, are filled with temporary events and battle passes that create players the need to buy (both the own passes and various types of multipliers to complete their missions more quickly) and So be able to access all the rewards that these events bring.
Of the practices that take advantage of the pomo does not remain outside Epic Games with Fortnite: it is, in fact, one of its most relevant practitioners of recent years. That giant purple cube began as Kevin in August 2019, and followed the live concert of Marshmello in early 2019, the rocket that caused cracks in the sky or the most recent interactive action of Ariana Grande, among many others. All of them have in common one thing: they occurred in real time, so they only took place once and at a certain time. This fact implies that users who take later to the game (or simply did not have availability at that time) the experience would be lost definitively.
For many Fortnite players, these live events are about union rituals within their community, but those users who stayed outside can suffer insecurity and a sensation of loneliness caused by this pome. This would make you prioritize your assistance in the following events and feel bad for not being able (or just do not want) play while the title events are active.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the tunnel within the community
During the last podcast Reload, my partner Marta Trivi commented that he ended up leaving Animal Crossing: New Horizons due to the perfection of the islands he found when playing online and on social networks, who created a standard that could only be achieved by dedicating a lot of time To the game and they ended up making them feel insufficient to those who had a more humble little town.
On the one hand, the Nintendo game has some mechanics similar to those mentioned in the case of Fortnite, and being synchronized with the time and date of our console also limit us specific schedules, such as fishing or hunting tournaments Buckets spread over the year or the Totakeke concerts every Saturday afternoon (and, the truth, I can not think of a worse time to place them).
On the other hand, and, of course, in the least intentional way possible, the community itself fed the animal crossing crossing: New Horizons since its launch. He did not help the fact that his exit coincided with the confinement by the health crisis and in many cases there was nothing more interesting to do, so social networks were plagued by catches and videos of the game. Those who still did not have a hurry to get us with him, and most of us fell into their networks, which joined the enormous quality of the title to rise with more than successful sales results. Soon we could see Twitter full of images of dream islands, and many of us blame us for not having enough time to reach that level (neither, probably, taste for decoration).
This affected many players from very short after the launch of New Horizons, and in Polygon they wanted to collect some testimonies from afflicted users. I feel in poor condition and insufficient, said one of them. This feeling of not feeling at the level within the Nintendo life was something rather widespread, as explained another of the interviewees: Every time I entered Twitter I see publications of friends and people from the Internet to whom I still have These tinglands incredibly decorated or completely crazy on their island, and honestly I feel terrible, like: Who believed it was buying this game?
The way to the fomedless multiplayers with infinite halo
The problem of the boxes of loot that surrounded the games as a service seemed that it had been left behind with the battle passes popular by Fortnite. Of course, at least the component of Gambling yes that was left behind and when buying the battle pass it seemed that at least we knew why we were paying, but inevitably arose the problem that occupies us here: it was necessary to dedicate many hours if we wanted to get all Rewards of the pass.
As announced 343 Industries from first, Halo Infinite multiplayer mode will be Free-to-play for all users, without having to have the title on property or Game Pass. The game will not include any type of lootbox or purchases that can unbalance the competitive, but it will have some cosmetic elements, including within a battle pass. The difference with respect to the above is that in this case the progression within the Battle Pass will be associated with challenges and not to experience. However, the most rompedor in this case, and in a similar way to the Master Chief Collection, it will not be imposed to end up with their missions for a limited time, but we can continue advancing even after the season that corresponds to it. Therefore, users will have all the time in the world to complete, without pressures or ties, a pass without an expiration date.
Ryan Paradis and Christopher Blohm, two of those responsible for the Halo infinite multiplayer at 343, announced this new system during the posterior presentation of the last E3: The Halo Battle Pass will never be withdrawn. What I want to say is that once you buy it, it s yours and it does not expire. In future seasons, you can buy both the ancient battle passes and the current one and choose which one to allocate your progression. If you can unlock something in the Battle Pass, we are not going to allow other players to get it by buying it in the store, our rewards unlock playing the game and just playing the game ».
This, in theory, will imply that players who want to incorporate halo infinite, for example, in the fourth season, they will not feel that they are left behind with respect to the early adopters , since they will be able to access the previous content of the first Passes, without temporary impositions or the obligation to be where and when you ask for the events. We will see how it comes to the experiment to those of 343 and if it manages to create a trend within the games as a service; And if you can slow down the line that surrounds the videogame industry, at least as regards the free-to-play .
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