Why the No Man's Sky Investigation is Very Important

Even before its launch, No Man's Sky was the subject of controversy. Players were split into two camps: "the game is going to be awesome" and "Sean Murray is a liar." After launch, though, the controversy has shifted. Now, it's more "should No Man's Sky be punished for lying?" And, regardless of what you're thinking, this decision is actually really important.

First, a little backstory. Up until its release, players were told vague (and often conflicting) news about how the game would be played. On some occurrences, Murray glossed over the concept of multiplayer. On others, he said that it would technically be in the game, but wouldn't be the "focus." Also, there was a lot of gray area about how each player's discoveries would actually be implemented into the game. Would players really have a chance to reach a planet I formerly named "Spootnoodle" and see the vast fields of animals all named "Carl?" And I haven't even mentioned the promise of the in-depth, procedurally generated universe!


Warning: Exaggeration ahead!

After that, the points were tallied up and the naysayers were the undisputed champions. Gamers everywhere were left feeling duped and lied to. It was such a big deal that the Advertising Standards Authority jumped in to investigate claims of false advertising. The most important thing about this is that other game companies are watching. There's no doubt that No Man's Sky was overhyped and exaggerated to ensure players bought it. There's also no denying that the tactic worked. No Man's Sky made $78 million in its first month. So the only way to ensure this doesn't become a trend is if Hello Games suffers consequences.

Don't believe me? Just look at Kickstarter. I'll give an example that I was personally involved in. I trusted Double Fine to keep their promises about Spacebase DF-9. And if you aren't familiar with this fiasco, Tim Schaffer didn't even allow the game to get past the Alpha stage before calling the game "complete" and releasing the broken mess to the gamers who financed its development. What happened after that? Nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, Double Fine appears to have made scamming crowd-funders their prime business model. And by now, I bet most of us have a story about a Kickstarter campaign that took the money and ran. If we're not careful, game advertising could go the same way.