I have been curious about this for a little while now. Why is it that we are treating any sort of hype over an impending release as if it is a horrible thing? I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that any excitement about a high profile release is met with derision by members of the community. It is as if we are now all becoming hipsters who cannot accept that the companies we were throwing before they made it big are now suddenly all hype and not the amazing companies we thought they were before they hit it big. Surely companies like General Yo, CLYW, and One Drop have earned the excitement from the community due to their stellar line ups.
On a side note, those who say hype for some companies killed other companies I call BS on that. I don’t know why companies like SPYY fell but it wasn’t lack of hype. I knew many that followed them loyally.
Yeah, but why. People called hype on the Yeti most recently. It is a genuinely good yo-yo and would be considered if it was made by Joe’s Bait, Tackle, and Return Tops versus being made by CLYW. It is funny that many of these yo-yos that are called out for their hype end up being great yo-yos.
Just because people assume certain yoyos, that they haven’t yet tried or heard anything about) will be incredible and build it up as if it is a magical throw. I guess people don’t like seeing other people get excited for something they haven’t tried. Who knows…
Either way, I don’t pay attention to either type of person.
I can only speak for myself here, but I’ve been burned a number times earlier in my throwing career. I believed the postings of many that have never thrown the yoyo and speculated on how great it would be. Only once in my hand I realize that I would be looking to sell it for half of what I paid. Now that I am wiser I avoid the speculation or “hype” laid upon a new release and wait until some intelligent reviews are posted. (such as “Saintrobyn”) To me, hype can be good or bad. Depends on who you listen to.
I think spyy failed because everybody was like I need to get one then just ended up buying a clyw YYF YYJ insert other bigger brand here. I know that is what happened to me. I was like oooh I want that throw from spyy and then went and bought the stacked catalyst. I don’t buy because of hype I pretty much do some research and buy from a group of throws that interest me. This last time it was the new superstar. But usually I just look at a ton of yoyo’s and then pick one at random from the top 5 candidates. Also hype isn’t bad video games rely on it, the problem is not living up to hype, you have to have realistic hype. Because not every throw will be the best throw ever for everybody, just like how every game doesn’t satiate everybody’s gaming needs.
Pretty good conversation so far. Keep the thoughts coming in.
I agree. People need to temper the hype with reality but at the same time hype in itself is not a bad thing. When I say temper it with reality I mean they still need to have an understanding of what THEY like while they read up on that impending release. I will not lie, I was super excited about the Rally. That being said, even though it was hyped quite a bit if it had been announced that the Rally was something crazy like 74 grams I would have been cautious about picking one up even if people were raving like mad about it.
No hate at all, I highly encourage people to play any yo-yo they can before picking one up. Hype will get you excited but it is only a part of the equation. It could be the killer release of the year but if you don’t groove on it then you should not pick one up.
Now the question I have is would you blame hype on this or would you blame the fact that it was earlier in your throwing career and you hadn’t fully developed your preferences yet? Again, no hate just wondering. I have come across it quite a bit when I get e-mailed by someone just starting out who is asking about something I have reviewed. My first question I ask is “what other yo-yos do you like?” If a player hasn’t built up your their set of preferences then it is very easy to get burned by a hot new release.
^^^ So glad to hear someone make the distinction between “Not my preference” and “It’s no good”.
Sorry, been hearing a lot of “That sucks” “Why?” “Because I don’t personally like it” lately and you just made me all happy in the place where I smile from.
So true. If I didn’t like a yo-yo I will give some honest feedback as to how it didn’t fit MY preferences. Unless it is a literally crap on a string there is going to be someone that will like the yo-yo.
Personally I could care less about what is hyped and what is not… We members of this community create all the hype so we are to blame for it… We get excited when the companies we like make yoyos we think will be awesome…
I can’t even begin to think about how many releases I have seen in proto stage from such companies as One Drop, Gen Yo, CLYW and many more as the yoyo to end all yoyos… We just love these toys so much and that is great!!
Right now the One Drop peeps are hyping the Format C and Valor while the CLYW peeps are hyping the Yeti while the YYF peeps are hyping the shutter… It’s all good… They are all yoyos and it’s all good… We may like them we may not be being excited for them is a good thing…
I’ve been expressing similar sentiments lately. There’s been a lot of models I’ve tried and I didn’t care for. I can’t really say any of them are bad, but I can say they weren’t a good match for me. Many of these yoyos are models that are top sellers too. I can’t possibly like every thing ever made!
I agree. Too many people equate “didn’t like it” = “sucks”.
I don’t really buy into hype all that much. If I see something that catches my eye and I buy it, I am often rewarded with a yoyo that I enjoy. I do need the hype to at least make me aware that something is being released. I got my hands and time invested in too many other things, so if things want my attention, they have to make an effort to grab it. Fortunately, 2 web sites help in that function. Other than that, it means very little to me. I figure if the yoyo is good, it should sell well. Hype won’t compensate for a crappy product. Hype won’t make me try to like a product. If I like it, I like it. If I don’t, I don’t.
I think the problem, for those who believe it is a problem, is that “hype” leads people into things with false hopes. Or maybe worse, that it totally guides their entire experience to the point where they really never try things that aren’t hyped and have no idea what the difference even is.
I’m not saying I think that way, I pretty much don’t, but I think that’s the fear. It’s probably even made worse if you’re one of the crew who really hasn’t been quite as happy with hype-y companies like CLYW in the past…so for this person, watching people jump a bandwagon on a company they think has been overhyped for years probably only ever becomes more annoying as the company matures and the hype train grows.
As for my own commentary, I do think hype around here sometimes doesn’t go the way I think it should. I’ve tried quite a few amazing yoyos from brands that don’t get nearly the attention as others, and it does become a little curious over time why this company whose pumping out this great stuff doesn’t get the attention I think they deserve. I see throws like…the El Ranchero…selling for common prices on the BST while I think it’s one of the best releases of the last year, easily. And instead, you see people going bonkers in the BST for the same old stuff time and again, led mostly by the hype train. So, I don’t think it’s really bad, but I do get it sometimes.
So true. I love how most my yoyos play, I like a lot of the ones I don’t love, and there are a few I could easily live without, but I don’t own a single “bad” yoyo. The few that I could live without simply aren’t the yoyos for me. I’m sure there are people out there who could easily live without some of the ones that I love but happen to love the ones I don’t really care for.
We are lucky that there are so many companies out there that offer such a multitude of sizes, shapes and weights in so many colorways at such a variety of pricepoints. There is something for everyone but not everything is for everyone.
Despite the most hyped (imo) brand being my favorite brand I still don’t really get all the hype surrounding it. I mean I get it, but I don’t really totally get it. I know their throws are competition worthy quality, I know they are a luxury item due to the pricepoint generally, I know there is the legend of the Peak (which is almost like a chicken and egg thing where the Peak’s legend causes more hype but the hype causes the Peak to become even more legendary). Actually, I guess I do get it. CLYW is pretty awesome. I do think it’s funny that Peaks have skyrocketed in value compared to stuff like the rare 888s that were in many cases once comparable to some Peaks in secondary market value. The fact that the Peak is oversized likely helps a ton in that regard among many other factors.
I don’t follow the hype train super closely and I’ve only recently started paying attention to OD stuff but I must say I am personally pretty excited for the Format C.
I’m also a magician, and we have magic tricks coming out all the time, and many of them are hyped. We even have “pre-orders” where you pay for the trick before they are actually released - so you “can be the first to get them” but sooo many times it seems that the reason pre-orders are done are so the creator can get as many orders in and paid for before reviews come out. Buyer beware…
Here’s why “hype” is a dirty word, in my opinion:
Hype means that there’s a certain quality designated to a yoyo with a huge lack of people in the community actually being able to back this quality up with their own experience. Hype is kind of associated with hearsay and being naive.
In short, it causes people to believe that a yoyo as good without trying it for themselves (which is bad).
As the owner of an up and coming yoyo company, I would rather my yoyos speak for themselves. I believe it’s imperitive to get the product in players hands at big events so they can experience the throw to determine qualities they may like or not like.
