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Loading ...Do us brits ‘get’ Fatal1ty?
garethogden
During the CPC team’s visit to Taipei for the Computex trade show in June, we ventured out one evening with Abit and a couple of pro overclockers (you can see the video of them doing their stuff here). In addition to hosting a pro-overclocking show, Abit also hosted a Fatal1ty challenge, which was the usual ‘Fatal1ty pwns anyone and everyone daft enough to take him on’ sort of affair.
Now, there’s no doubting that Fatal1ty is an amazing gamer, but I’ve never really understood the appeal of Fatal1ty-branded products. I understand it in principle, of course - Fatal1ty earns sacks of cash playing games for a living, which is something every serious gamer would love to do, therefore the hardware that Fatal1ty endorses must be good and hence something you should own, if you’re a serious gamer. This is no different to any other product branding exercise, be it football boots (Beckham and Adidas Predator, for example), or even computer hardware (think Sony and James Bond in Casino Royale - if Sony made underpants then Bond would have worn them in this film, such was the incredible lack of subtlety exercised in terms of product placement.)
For me, though, the Fatal1ty branding is a real put off; it seems somehow a bit childish – a case of hero worship for people who perhaps take gaming a little too seriously, and who still haven’t realised that you really do have to work for a living. So, while we were out with Abit that night in Taipei, I asked them whether or not the Fatal1ty branding actually worked, fully expecting them to confirm my suspicions (off the record of course) that it didn’t really and it was all a bit of a gimmick. I was therefore a little taken aback when they were genuinely enthusiastic about it and explained how it did, in fact, really boost sales. However, they did also confess that it was principally a US phenomenon.
So is this the reason why I don’t get it? Is it because I’m British? Do us Brits have a generally more cynical view of celebrity branding than our friends in the US? Or, to paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, am just too getting too old for this sort of thing?
I don’t know whether it’s us being British or not, I think it’s all about appealing to gamers who don’t put as much research into building a PC as the average Custom PC reader. I think Abit are relying on the “If Fatal1ty puts his name to it, it must be good for gaming” factor. They can then slap a small price premium on it. For those of us who look a bit deeper, we start to see the extra features that the boards don’t need and the features that the boards lack. Call me old fashioned but I put a lot off effort into researching expensive stuff I’m going to buy.
as a u.s.-itte i haqve to say that this absolutely makes sense to me. if you spent a few days watching american television you would see how, for lack of a more polite word, retarded it is, especially our advertisements.
most of the television shows are horribly stupid drama affairs, and sitting on the couch with my lappy i see my little bro’s cartoons and i truly believe that they are to blame for america’s rapidly shrinking talented work force. and then the commercials!!! there are a couple of good ones every now and then but eighty percent of them are unbearably stupid and annoying. playing dumbass hip-hop/rap music, showing people being morons, and frequently including animated charachters that make me want to fire a sawed off shot-gun at the screen just to end the stupidity.
america is used to bad advertising, while most computer oriented people will tend away from the norm of stupidity that is our media, we simply have lower standards when it comes to adverising. so simple stuff like this works far too well on us.
Well, forget being British and just be objective.
Who cares who endorses it, the Fatal1ty 19N motherboard - 1066/650i, is a nice bit of kit for £70. End of !
This is true about the price the. But head over the the Fatal1ty website and look on the forums. That I’m sure will confirm the, we’ll say ‘mental state’ of those purchasing the products. And with an ever increasing number of these people is it any wonder the brands doing well.
And i think in this country, at least, we still have the general view that playing computer games, while it is mega fun, and it’s not really a bad thing, it’s not something people should devote their life to, or treat as some sort of exciting sport.
Apparently in America however, there appears to be no checks or balances in the social psyche or whatever that mean that it is seen as just a fun pastime. Instead it is given the chance to be seen as an actual competitive and natural thing to do. I’m trying to get my point across without crossing the line and saying “GAMES ARE FOR GEEKS” when it’s not true, it’s just that games aren’t a profession.
It’s the same sort of thing that has led “Leeroy Jenkins” to be treated like a celebrity, and not treated as a social joke. Which that sort of thing should be. I saw some interview with the real person who did it and they were treating him like some sort of god.