Carpetbaggers, Snake Oil and Video Game Marketing
I am not a great fan of trade shows and expositions such as E3. Nor do I care for the accompanying hype culture that inevitably follows in the wake of all the announcements that are made. Too many gamers are easily seduced by cinematic trailers and promotional videos that contain precious little or no in-game footage. The lack of tangible data and quantifiable facts means that they fill the marketing void with their own expectations and hopes. Sadly, these are then dashed upon the game’s final release, resulting in a backlash of acrimony and perceived betrayal. It is a tediously predictable cycle, yet one that so many paying customers never seems to learn from. The Snake oil salesmen become bolder each year and the consumers more credulous. It’s a depressing, symbiotic, abusive relationship.
Perhaps the crowning glory of the dark art of marketing is the reveal trailer. These are often utter contrivances that we retrospectively discover have little resemblance to the game they’re promoting (remember Aliens: Colonial Marines?). Alternatively, they are small self contained narratives that trot out all the familiar tropes associated with their respective genre. They may well use footage created by the game engine but there is seldom any tangible game play footage, showing any of the systems and mechanics. The latest video from this year’s E3 that encapsulates this process, is the “official gameplay reveal for the RPG Elden Ring. It shows much but imparts very little information. Not a single genre cliche is left unturned. If you want to decide for yourself, I’ve posted the video below. If you draw up a list of fantasy tropes, you can quickly score a full house if you choose to play stereotype bingo.
Elden Ring has some big names associated with it, being a collaborative effort between game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin. Perhaps that is why the E3 video is so indifferent. Perhaps those tasked with selling the game feel they don’t need to try that hard, because the formula they’ve used in the video has proven to work, time and time again. The media love to establish a standard format. Look at TED talks. Perhaps the biggest validation of this style of marketing is a satirical video put out by Obsidian Entertainment for Outer Worlds 2. It mercilessly mocks the way modern game marketing videos are constructed. Sadly, despite being very knowing, this kind of humour can be a double edged sword. I’m reminded of British comedian Harry Enfield and his character Loadsofmoney. He satirised the “greed is good” mentality of the 80s but ended up being embraced by that very demographic. Similarly, I suspect that gamers know they’re being played by E3 every year. Yet, like some bizarre form of Stockholm syndrome, they actively participate in the process.
