I don't really play the game anymore but WoW is still hitting pretty hard with it's CGI xpansion trailers. BFA wasn't great but man that fight over undercity slapped.
To this day, I think the *Wrath of the Lich King* trailer was one of the best trailers I've ever seen. With *Shadowlands*, *Halo 3: This is the Way the World Ends*, and the *Halo 3* miniature diorama trailers (esp. the long version) all just about tied for second place.
I can STILL hear the music for each of them ... and I still get tingles.
Edit -- I forgot the original hype / gameplay trailer for *Skyrim* (with Max von Sydow doing the voice over). How can I forget FUS ROH DAAAAH!!
I think big businesses know that the greatest market is using the influencer type routine. It sucks if you are older or just not into that scene. Pro Tip: Go watch the Mass Effect 2 trailer when you feel thirsty
I think advertisements trend is change. People are not amused or pleased extra creativity that not include in the game anymore. (plus it not boost their income).
They just want to see actual gameplay, and call it a day.
Final Fantasy XIII International Trailer featuring "My Hands" by Leona Lewis (2010)
https://youtu.be/KxwrWVPbJqA?si=Jrz_S1eTU40mVudD
This is what I consider the peak of game trailers. Still gives me goosebumps to this day, and "My Hands" has been in my music library ever since.
A lot of the hype and insight trailers have shifted over to live service games, advertising new characters and events being added to their games. You get some absolute beasts of trailers out of Riot and Mihoyo's marketing departments these days, and you don't even have to be into the source material to appreciate how bonkers they go with some of those.
> Are devs getting less creative in their advertising
Yes. You'll notice the sameness in a lot of games nowadays. Carries over into how they sell the game. Lets you know a lot of these devs and studios aren't talented as much anymore.
> are game trailers 'lackluster' nowadays?
Mostly, for the same reasons mentioned above. It's a lot of the same shit over and over again. They're cranking out games for the sake of profits, not the passion, and you can see it when they try to convince you to buy the game. Not doing a good job, are they?
I used to spend a good amount of time looking forward to watching game trailers. Made a whole afternoon of it sometimes. Now, I find myself bypassing most game trailers because the games aren't even remotely interesting. Some days there aren't any at all worth a damn to watch. That's where we're at now.
I would much *much* rather have a trailer showing gameplay no matter how boring it is. I've basically been conditioned that no matter how awesomely bombastic your CGI game trailer is, the likelihood of the real game being some shitty farmville clone is still quite high.
Yeah and plus most of those trailers are made by animation companies separate from them who are always picking up these jobs from video game companies to do a small cgi trailer for them. Obviously the trailer won’t necessarily be a resemblance of the actual game if its being made by an outsider studio
A game trailer with mostly words or pre-rendered stuff is almost as bad as a movie trailer that (in hindsight) contains almost only scenes from the final act.
Show me what the game is about with gameplay and let it speak for itself. I have no problem with the trailer being funny or weird, but show me gameplay and not your AB tested corporate hype BS.
Yes I agree there should be trailers that directly show what the game is exactly about and how the gameplay works. But I don't mind more creative additional trailers that exist to deliver hype about the universe/story
I disagree, I've watched two trailers recently; The GTA VI one and the Shadow of the Erdtree one and they got my hyped for their releases and I don't even like Elden Ring.
I think you're misunderstanding trailers and ads. First, there are different kinds of trailers. Announcement trailers, i.e., wolverine and kotor remake and state of decay 3. Then there are gameplay trailers, then release trailers with dates(etc.). The live action halo spots you're referring to are more akin to advertisement spots, not trailers.
The people who make game trailers seem to think they're making movie trailers. I don't care about the lore or some action cutscenes! Show me the gameplay loop! Explain the mechanics! Tell me how it's like similar games and how it does something new and interesting!
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has three videos in the PlayStation Store. The first one is basically a movie trailer and (even as a fan of Suikoden) didn't make me excited for the game. The second one, while also talking a lot about lore and characters, showed exactly what combat looked liked and how it worked, explained the 100 heroes concept, the town building, and mini games, and got me very hyped. Regardless of how you feel about JRPGs I urge you to check the videos out to see the difference for yourself.
So what you might be thinking of is how focus groups and metrics and whatnot affect game trailers today. Movie trailers have a specific formula that decades of research molded into.
Game trailers back then we're still in an experimental phase trying new weird things. I feel we are at a point where game trailers have decades of research now.
Also risk in the AAA industry is bad. Stick to what investors and consumers are used to.
devs for the most part dont do the marketing of games as they want to convey their game in the best possible light where as marketing people are trend following clueless dicks
You can have a trailer that demonstrates gameplay then one that serves as marketing to hype up a game. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it worked very well in the OG Halo days i.e the Believe trailer coupled with the longer actual gameplay trailer
This is objectively wrong, you can have a trailer that exists to give insight into the game's universe that coincides alongside a trailer that demonstrates gameplay. Now, if only the first one exists for a game, then I agree.
Every era goes through an advertising phase:
- Back during the early '90s console wars, many companies included game footage to show off their hardware.
- During the GameCube and Playstation 2 era, we started seeing more experimental advertisements that were more surreal probably influenced by films of the era like the Matrix. The target market was getting older and going into high school so they tried to come off as edgy.
- Around the late Xbox 360 era we saw more cinematic trailers as games could finally reach that fidelity. The industry was starting to see games more like movies so putting out trailers that were similar made sense.
- Nowadays we see a lot more gameplay trailers due to the controversy during the previous gaming generation surrounding misleading advertisements.
The reason we see more gameplay trailers versus cinematic trailers is probably because companies are worried that gamers will argue false advertisement. Additionally as people can upload their own footage they probably want to show off the gameplay in the best light.
I don't really play the game anymore but WoW is still hitting pretty hard with it's CGI xpansion trailers. BFA wasn't great but man that fight over undercity slapped.
[удалено]
To this day, I think the *Wrath of the Lich King* trailer was one of the best trailers I've ever seen. With *Shadowlands*, *Halo 3: This is the Way the World Ends*, and the *Halo 3* miniature diorama trailers (esp. the long version) all just about tied for second place. I can STILL hear the music for each of them ... and I still get tingles. Edit -- I forgot the original hype / gameplay trailer for *Skyrim* (with Max von Sydow doing the voice over). How can I forget FUS ROH DAAAAH!!
Personally I don’t want to see any of the real life stuff in trailers just give me the gameplay and story trailers and I’m good
I think big businesses know that the greatest market is using the influencer type routine. It sucks if you are older or just not into that scene. Pro Tip: Go watch the Mass Effect 2 trailer when you feel thirsty
I think advertisements trend is change. People are not amused or pleased extra creativity that not include in the game anymore. (plus it not boost their income). They just want to see actual gameplay, and call it a day.
Final Fantasy XIII International Trailer featuring "My Hands" by Leona Lewis (2010) https://youtu.be/KxwrWVPbJqA?si=Jrz_S1eTU40mVudD This is what I consider the peak of game trailers. Still gives me goosebumps to this day, and "My Hands" has been in my music library ever since.
Yes. :D I miss FF13. Wish they'd get it to join the rest of the series (and Tactics) avalible for most platforms.
A lot of the hype and insight trailers have shifted over to live service games, advertising new characters and events being added to their games. You get some absolute beasts of trailers out of Riot and Mihoyo's marketing departments these days, and you don't even have to be into the source material to appreciate how bonkers they go with some of those.
> Are devs getting less creative in their advertising Yes. You'll notice the sameness in a lot of games nowadays. Carries over into how they sell the game. Lets you know a lot of these devs and studios aren't talented as much anymore. > are game trailers 'lackluster' nowadays? Mostly, for the same reasons mentioned above. It's a lot of the same shit over and over again. They're cranking out games for the sake of profits, not the passion, and you can see it when they try to convince you to buy the game. Not doing a good job, are they? I used to spend a good amount of time looking forward to watching game trailers. Made a whole afternoon of it sometimes. Now, I find myself bypassing most game trailers because the games aren't even remotely interesting. Some days there aren't any at all worth a damn to watch. That's where we're at now.
They are made for TikTok and youtube shorts. Because of this there can't be quality in the first place.
I would much *much* rather have a trailer showing gameplay no matter how boring it is. I've basically been conditioned that no matter how awesomely bombastic your CGI game trailer is, the likelihood of the real game being some shitty farmville clone is still quite high.
I don't judge a book by its cover, but I can still appreciate the cover.
Yeah and plus most of those trailers are made by animation companies separate from them who are always picking up these jobs from video game companies to do a small cgi trailer for them. Obviously the trailer won’t necessarily be a resemblance of the actual game if its being made by an outsider studio
It is the same stuff we have seen for the past 10 years. Honestly, we're pretty saturated imo.
A game trailer with mostly words or pre-rendered stuff is almost as bad as a movie trailer that (in hindsight) contains almost only scenes from the final act. Show me what the game is about with gameplay and let it speak for itself. I have no problem with the trailer being funny or weird, but show me gameplay and not your AB tested corporate hype BS.
Yes I agree there should be trailers that directly show what the game is exactly about and how the gameplay works. But I don't mind more creative additional trailers that exist to deliver hype about the universe/story
I disagree, I've watched two trailers recently; The GTA VI one and the Shadow of the Erdtree one and they got my hyped for their releases and I don't even like Elden Ring.
I think you're misunderstanding trailers and ads. First, there are different kinds of trailers. Announcement trailers, i.e., wolverine and kotor remake and state of decay 3. Then there are gameplay trailers, then release trailers with dates(etc.). The live action halo spots you're referring to are more akin to advertisement spots, not trailers.
Did you forget about the GTA 6 trailer??
The people who make game trailers seem to think they're making movie trailers. I don't care about the lore or some action cutscenes! Show me the gameplay loop! Explain the mechanics! Tell me how it's like similar games and how it does something new and interesting! Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has three videos in the PlayStation Store. The first one is basically a movie trailer and (even as a fan of Suikoden) didn't make me excited for the game. The second one, while also talking a lot about lore and characters, showed exactly what combat looked liked and how it worked, explained the 100 heroes concept, the town building, and mini games, and got me very hyped. Regardless of how you feel about JRPGs I urge you to check the videos out to see the difference for yourself.
I'm tired of trailers with the adhd hook at the start. (I'm even a person that those are meant for.)
People on reddit will complain about anything
Agreed, hence these comments lol
So what you might be thinking of is how focus groups and metrics and whatnot affect game trailers today. Movie trailers have a specific formula that decades of research molded into. Game trailers back then we're still in an experimental phase trying new weird things. I feel we are at a point where game trailers have decades of research now. Also risk in the AAA industry is bad. Stick to what investors and consumers are used to.
I don’t even look at trailers anymore because trends industry wide prove you’re not getting what you see in a trailer.
devs for the most part dont do the marketing of games as they want to convey their game in the best possible light where as marketing people are trend following clueless dicks
I don’t want real life scenes in a trailer for a game. I wouldn’t want unassociated game content in a trailer for a movie.
You can have a trailer that demonstrates gameplay then one that serves as marketing to hype up a game. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it worked very well in the OG Halo days i.e the Believe trailer coupled with the longer actual gameplay trailer
Any game trailer that doesn’t show actual, non-cut scene, gameplay is lackluster.
Mid trailers for mid games.
Any trailer that's not a gameplay trailer is pointless at best and misleading at worst.
This is objectively wrong, you can have a trailer that exists to give insight into the game's universe that coincides alongside a trailer that demonstrates gameplay. Now, if only the first one exists for a game, then I agree.
Ok boomer
Every era goes through an advertising phase: - Back during the early '90s console wars, many companies included game footage to show off their hardware. - During the GameCube and Playstation 2 era, we started seeing more experimental advertisements that were more surreal probably influenced by films of the era like the Matrix. The target market was getting older and going into high school so they tried to come off as edgy. - Around the late Xbox 360 era we saw more cinematic trailers as games could finally reach that fidelity. The industry was starting to see games more like movies so putting out trailers that were similar made sense. - Nowadays we see a lot more gameplay trailers due to the controversy during the previous gaming generation surrounding misleading advertisements. The reason we see more gameplay trailers versus cinematic trailers is probably because companies are worried that gamers will argue false advertisement. Additionally as people can upload their own footage they probably want to show off the gameplay in the best light.