Picture It: CGI trailers are a warning sign
See all previous "Picture It" posts.
A quick note on this series: we've received no small amount of positive and negative feedback on this series of graphs. Most of the negative feedback has to do with the frequency of the graphs. We'll continue to post these nearly daily for as long as our imaginations supply us with fodder for new graphs. We encourage commenters to move beyond feedback on frequency and move into the real discussion.
What's that real discussion? in this case, we're suggesting several areas for discussion.
Should developers spend less time on flashy trailers and more time putting together games?
Just who is the audience for a trailer anyway? One theory: investors. Corollary to that theory: only unfunded (or underfunded) projects need to put together trailers. Second corollary: the flashier the trailer, the more CGI (and the less gameplay) the less likely the game will ever be made.
Gamers should learn to discount all trailers, especially those that don't show real gameplay. Every year, a new gamer is born. Therefore, every year, a new sucker takes a look at a trailer (like that infamous Killzone 2 trailer) and thinks "OMG WOW!" It's a continual education process to inure gamers to tricksy marketing hype.
We hope this is the last time we'll need to be so explicit (and so wordy) about the point of this series. The idea behind these simple relationships is to point out some of the absurdities and paradoxes of our favorite hobby and to lighten the density of text here on Joystiq. Part visual gag, part criticism: all fun. Ok?
