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[Draugoth]

How Hi-Fi Rush came together to deliver "kinectic action comedy" inspired by Edgar Wright and Shaun of the Dead

Interview | Edge explores the story behind Tango's surprising smash

www.gamesradar.com

Hi-Fi Rush was released as a shadow drop, without any kind of previous reveal or trailer. Hardly anyone knew the game existed, just the developers.

However, according to a new interview with Hi-Fi Rush director John Johanas, he revealed that originally the plan was to make a standard announcement for Hi-Fi Rush at E3 2020 (which was canceled at the time due to the coronavirus), but this didn't happen and the game was shelved until Microsoft bought Bethesda.

A decision was made to tease it at E3 2020. But when that event was cancelled, the can was kicked farther down the road. Likewise when Microsoft purchased Bethesda. "We were looking at times to announce it so we wouldn't get overshadowed by something. We wanted to hype it but not get people too excited, or give too much of a chance to jump on it. And then that period just got shorter and shorter."

When the Developer Direct came around, the idea of a shadow drop was mooted - an almost unheard-of suggestion for a game that had been in development for five years. "We were freaking out," Johanas admits. "'Is this gonna work?' You know - what if something happens that day? But I think it went as well as anyone could imagine." In hindsight, however, does he wonder how the game might have been received without the surprise release? "I mean, I was glad that people were enjoying it, you know? But it makes you think, could it have been different if we announced it earlier? I guess we'll never know."

 

[Punished Miku]

" We wanted to hype it but not get people too excited, or give too much of a chance to jump on it. And then that period just got shorter and shorter."

I expect this to be a controversial comment, but I think this is the best thing they can do at this point. I'm actually surprised they're openly acknowledging that, as I've always thought that it was a huge benefit to the game.

Many people may have forgotten the Wii U years, but Nintendo for a long time got nothing but negative coverage. They had to basically change to the Direct model to literally skip the journalists and show the product directly to the people that own their consoles so they could show it correctly without it passing through layers of jaded, negative filters. I think MS has a really similar problem now. They simply have to market large games, but it makes a ton of sense to put out smaller stuff with less marketing since it usually just puts a target on the game's back. The Hi-Fi Rush trailer actually wasn't even that good (record scratch "you're probably wondering how I got here"). The huge positive word of mouth came because people could simply try it and see it and no negative narrative had a chance to take hold first. Halo Infinite never shook the stigma of Craig completely either. Definitely a huge gamble. Pretty interesting strategy.

 

[Robb]

On one hand I think the surprise drop was great, what a treat to get such an amazing game out of nowhere!

On the other hand I feel like it deserved a bigger marketing push. It turned out to be MS best first party title for the entirety of 2023.

 

[Punished Miku]

It turned out to be MS best first party title for the entirety of 2023.

But is that because of the lack of marketing and expectations? We will never know.

What if journalists played it first before the public said it was good, and said that fusing rhythm and action just felt odd? We will never know.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

The Hi-Fi Rush trailer actually wasn't even that good (record scratch "you're probably wondering how I got here"). The huge positive word of mouth came because people could simply try it

I disliked the trailer immediately and just zoned it out cause I thought it looked like trash, pretty sure I thought something like "...more low effort trash" in the first few seconds and stopped watching.
But then came the part where they discussed it with mikami and jojo, and it sounded interesting; then came the shadowdrop and decided to give it an honest try.
That try turned into one of the greatest things of all time.
This is the way, don't let people get influenced by others first, or have a bad showcase torpedo any possible interest, just drop the game as soon as possible after revealing.

 

[Punished Miku]

I disliked the trailer immediately and just zoned it out cause I thought it looked like trash, pretty sure I thought something like "...more low effort trash" in the first few seconds and stopped watching.
But then came the part where they discussed it with mikami and jojo, and it sounded interesting; then came the shadowdrop and decided to give it an honest try.
That try turned into one of the greatest things of all time.
This is the way, don't let people get influenced by others first, or have a bad showcase torpedo any possible interest, just drop the game as soon as possible after revealing.

I'm kind of starting to agree. Anything with casual appeal, you have to market it broadly to bring in people. That comes with baggage. But anything explicitly niche like this, the marketing is less and less beneficial at this point.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Probably why it was the best Xbox release this year. No time for the media to position it as the most important exclusive of the year.

 

[Robb]

But is that because of the lack of marketing and expectations? We will never know.

Sure, but even so it is blatantly obvious to me that the team that made Hi-Fi Rush put their hearths and soul into it. It’s such a polished and complete package.

I’d like to think that would shine through had it had a longe cycle.

 

[DaGwaphics]

" We wanted to hype it but not get people too excited, or give too much of a chance to jump on it. And then that period just got shorter and shorter."

I expect this to be a controversial comment, but I think this is the best thing they can do at this point. I'm actually surprised they're openly acknowledging that, as I've always thought that it was a huge benefit to the game.

Many people may have forgotten the Wii U years, but Nintendo for a long time got nothing but negative coverage. They had to basically change to the Direct model to literally skip the journalists and show the product directly to the people that own their consoles so they could show it correctly without it passing through layers of jaded, negative filters. I think MS has a really similar problem now. They simply have to market large games, but it makes a ton of sense to put out smaller stuff with less marketing since it usually just puts a target on the game's back. The Hi-Fi Rush trailer actually wasn't even that good (record scratch "you're probably wondering how I got here"). The huge positive word of mouth came because people could simply try it and see it and no negative narrative had a chance to take hold first. Halo Infinite never shook the stigma of Craig completely either. Definitely a huge gamble. Pretty interesting strategy.

Absolutely, they let the narrative be set by the gamers and not by the industry. Like you said, in their position, if they don't absolutely need the preorders and early access sales (smaller games) this might not be a bad option for them. It all depends on how the numbers went for them on that.

Great game. Love the art style and the IP is unique. They could probably even do something mobile based with this IP, maybe one of those running games with auto run and tilt controls with rhythm based obstacles where you tap the buttons at the bottom of the screen or something like that.

 

[adamsapple]

Considering it was made by a small(er) team, they were probably stoked that they didn't have to carve vertical slices for shows and focus on just making the game.

 

[ReBurn]

I enjoy Hi-Fi Rush but I got no rhythm

 

[Beer Baelly]

5 years of development damn

 

[RoboFu]

5 years of development damn

It shows.. the game is extremely polished.

 

[Fredrik]

But is that because of the lack of marketing and expectations? We will never know.

What if journalists played it first before the public said it was good, and said that fusing rhythm and action just felt odd? We will never know.

Yeah in a perfect world everything should be shadow dropped with a free demo day one so everybody can go in blind and make up their own mind without being influnced by some jaded games journalist that might not have the same taste in games as yourself.

These days I try to avoid reviews as much as possible. I’ve played games longer than most games journalists anyway and I know all impressions, good or bad, are based on subjectivity, experience and gaming taste, just like with food or music or whatever else people can have strong opinions about.
I’ve liked supposedly bad games and disliked universally praised games many times, it’s normal from my perspective.

 

[Zones]

Probably why it was the best Xbox release this year. No time for the media to position it as the most important exclusive of the year.

You have a strange definition of the media...

Xbox Calls Starfield ‘One Of The Most Important RPGs Ever Made’ And It’s Not Even Out

Microsoft doesn’t get to decide if Starfield is important. Players do

kotaku.com

 

[SEGAvangelist]

You have a strange definition of the media...

Xbox Calls Starfield ‘One Of The Most Important RPGs Ever Made’ And It’s Not Even Out

Microsoft doesn’t get to decide if Starfield is important. Players do

kotaku.com

To be fair. Xbox was saying "most important RPG of all time."

 

[Godot25]

It was for the best.
I can already imagine all the articles "WhY aRe ThE mAkErS oF tHe EwIl WiThIn MaKiNg ThIs?"

By shadowdropping it people did not have time for bullshit conversations and suggestions and started playing game immediately and found for themselves that game is great.

 

[adamsapple]

I enjoy Hi-Fi Rush but I got no rhythm

No shame in using Auto Attack or Single Key accessibility options

NGL, that's a really cool picture.

Phil's hover-hand and all.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

I miss the element of surprise of a genuinely good game without having the pre-release marketing buzz.

 

[twilo99]

You have a strange definition of the media...

Xbox Calls Starfield ‘One Of The Most Important RPGs Ever Made’ And It’s Not Even Out

Microsoft doesn’t get to decide if Starfield is important. Players do

kotaku.com

The guy on the right I don't like much, the other two are alright

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I think they don't even need to give games to journalists. Just promote and market them and then launch in Game Pass. No chance to write negative articles before the game even launches.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I disregarded HiFi Rush when it was showed off, especially since it was made by Mikami and Johanas, which I presumed were working on TEW3, or at least something horror related. But when I tried it I immediately fell in love and it was clear from the get go, that HiFi Rush was of super high quality. It really is one of the best games of 2023. I think it was for the best with the shadow drop. As others have stated, it gave less room for negative coverage from jaded journalists and salty fanboys.