The most common type of person which people look up to are celebrities. You see them everywhere, in the newspaper, on television and as the face of big branded products. The truth is though, they don’t always act as role models or as someone to look up to. Often they are pictured drunk, breaking the law or showing a little too much flesh . Still children don’t know that do they, and many of them just assume that this is the right thing to do. Now such so called ‘celebrities’ such as Paris Hilton and, a few years ago, Brittany Spears didn’t start off as poor role models. They started off as successful women who attracted the admiration of young girls. However the pressure of media coverage 24 hours a day finally took its toll and they spiralled downwards and out of control. Yet, these young girls, who had being captured being these ‘celebrities’ in their prime, didn’t know any better and many were influenced by their actions thinking it was the right thing to be doing.

This is why I am not inspired by any celebrity, as the majority of them don’t really deserve their status anyway. I’m inspired by an entrepreneur; a businessman who came up with his own idea’s and took risks to become one of the richest people in Britain.  This man, is Sir Alan Sugar. Those based in the United Kingdom will know him as the man who created the original apprentice series, [yes before the American version] he is a ruthless businessman who takes no prisoners yet it is well known that those who have met him have said that he is one of the nicest people they have ever met. He didn’t just sit around and take the easy route- like many people seem to do nowadays- he had an idea and he took that idea, put the effort in and turned it into a multi million pound business. Years later and he’s still developing his business, giving money to charity and providing young businessmen/women with opportunities to further their business career. So as a result he is contributing a large amount to this British Economy. Sir Alan wasn’t born into success, he was born into a poor family in London and worked his way up to the top. Starting with just an old ice cream van he began selling electrical items on the street, proving that; no matter who you are and where you come from you can achieve success.

This is the sort of person which I feel deserves my admiration, a hard worker and a nice person in the deal as well. He has inspired me to aim to either create my own business or to work for one which holds the highest regard from both its workers and the rest of world. He didn’t forget about others even when he became one of the most successful businessman in the country and that is something which so called ‘celebrities’ often do.  So Sir Alan Sugar inspires me to work hard to achieve my goal, never forget about others and to never give up.

My message to anyone reading this is that success doesn’t have to make you millions, success is just a goal which you set yourself and which, after some hard is achieved. Find yourself someone who has achieved success in a similar industry or job that you wish to venture into, if you can’t ; find someone who you were interested in as a child or that you are interested in currently.  Take that person and tell yourself that you can achieve anything when you put your mind to it and if you ever doubt yourself use that person as a marker to your success.

Thanks for Reading
SabbathRider

This was also the case with Ubibsoft’s Assassins Creed. This time the let down was on a larger scale. The games next Gen features were hyped up to make it something really special, the media had many gamers eargly anticapting what seemed, at the time, like a potential game of the year. So, thanks to the hype, the game sold millions around the world and made Ubisoft a fortune, unfortunately for us gamers though, the game was largely disappointing, riddles with frame rate drops, glitches and with repetitive gameplay. So on many occassions hype benefits the developers but not the consumers.

Within the last few months we have seen further examples of how media hype can cause the consumer disappointment. Haze, released by Ubisoft and Free Radical, was built up as one of the great PS3 exclusives. Four player split screen , great graphics and an interesting and creative storyline. Yet several delays later and the game was released, it was a huge let down. It been in development for so long that we had not only grown tired of the hype but it was no longer up to the current standard. Then you had Grand Theft Auto 4, without a doubt a contender for game of the year but the unbelieveable hype built up for almost 4 years had us all expecting so much. It delivered in so many ways but it didn’t quite stretch to what was expected.

Hype also affects the Gamimg media, video game journalists benefit from games being hyped, they tend to run hyped games on the cover of their magazines or on the internet they run several special articles in the run up to their release. This sells magazine or in the case of the latter gets views and therefore money from advertising. On the downside Journalists can sucked into the hype and if a game that they have hype turns out to be a let down, it sometimes lowers their reputation with the consumer, who wishes to read reliable, accurate articles and information.

So we’ve seen how Hype can Negatively effect the gaming industry. Now to see how under hyping a game effects the industry in a positive way. Bioshock, game of the year 2007. Not many people would have predicted that at the start of the year, the game was a relative unknown and with Halo 3 releasing in the same year it seemed to be pushed towards the back of the cue. So when the previews and reviews arrived with the game being awarded several 9 +’s everyone was pleasantly surprised. The majority of those who played the game came out with nothing but positives, as a game which had slipped to the edge of the radar ended up taking everyone where they wanted to go. The developers, 2K Games, received huge praise for produces such a masterpiece.

Uncharted, released in November 2007, little was expected of this action/adventure third person shooter. With a tomb raider feel it flew onto our shelfs with little or no hype. So when PS3 owners picked up the game, they were suprised to be treated to stunning graphics, flowing gameplay and an intriguing storyline. Again the game benefited from this lack of hype and meant that few people were disappointed with the final product.

Finally, Metal Gear Solid 4. Released in earlier June, this game was expected to be something special but up until the weeks leading up to its release nothing much was said or written to get gamers excited. Even I considered whether to even buy it in the first place, I just knew so little about it. Yet when it was released it proved to be something oh so very very special. Truely the greatest game ever made, and thats not just my opinion, its the opinion of hundreds of thousands of gamers who have played the game on their PS3.  We were all pleasantly suprised and the game has since sold like hotcakes.

So, the ‘Hype Machine’ is a huge part in the gaming industry. It can have multiple effects on us gamersand those who make and review the games we play. It sells games, making money for the developers, it sells magazines making money for the journalists but usually it leaves us gamers with a nasty taste in our mouths. A game which is not over hyped has more chance of blowing the gamer away and less chance of letting us down. It may sell a little less copies of magazines and at first a few less copies of the game, but at least it sends us home happy. So, hype good or bad? Well it really dependings at where your coming from and who you are.