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To buy, or not to buy


Adverts for games are everywhere. How much influence do they really have?

Posted by Peter 'Nechrol' I on Jul 31, 2010 - 3:43pm EST (Jul 31, 2010 15:43)

I was reading an excerpt in Edge magazine that referred to games advertising being accepted by the mass populous as credible nowadays. It got me thinking about how it’s evolved over time. It’s a lot more prominent now that a console is much a part of Joe Average’s entertainment setup than his wall-sized TV, Blue-ray player and Japanese love pillow; Himiko.
 
People are playing games at home, at their desk at work and on their journeys home. Given that these games are at best, described as ‘casual’. Let me state this now, I will never, NEVER, see the appeal of a Facebook game where I build and maintain a farm. If I see one more stupid request that my cousin, who works in an office, wants me to help him gather more grain or tend to his bush I will turn up at their office and smoother them with a shrub.
 
Adverts for games are everywhere though, on TV, in cinemas, in papers, on the web and soon to be pumped straight into my subconscious by a delightful Iphone App. Celebrities have always been the backbone for selling pretty much everything and computer games are no exception...although they have changed slightly over the years.
 
wiiad
 
Look at the Atari ad from the 80’s featuring Morecambe and Wise, a comedic duo popular on British screens bust mostly irrelevant to everyone else:
 
I’m not sure who the advert is supposed to appeal to; they’re not capturing a youth audience. The advert seems promote a douche who gatecrashes your dinner party, subsequently stealing the limelight from the chicken goujons with a honey mustard sauce you spent hours slaving over. No one wants to be that guy; they want to wail on his head with a tough bit of wood.
 
Looks at today’s video advertisements for games with Liv Tyler, to name just one celebrity:

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#7 Aug 23, 2010 20:25:32 (Aug 23, 2010 20:25)

cove
Good point you make about advertisement in the industry. Never really thought about how the commercials and ads affect me. Though I think I tune out the games I’m not interested in and when I see a commercial or poster for a game I am interested in I get that much more excited.
#6 Aug 9, 2010 09:53:41 (Aug 9, 2010 09:53)

kamikaziechameleon
Pre order bonuses are a crime in my book.   Pre orders in general are a lie.  I was at gamestop for the release of gears 1 and they didn't have enough copies for half the pre orders.  I didn't preorder so fine I walked next door to target and bought it.  Funny thing about pre orders ^_^
 
I've never heard of gamestop doing allot to reconcile such short comings as this when production and distribution of a title gets messed up so they can't uphold their end of the bargain, "garenteeing to have it on day one"  A refund is really not sufficient(assuming they offer one)
 
I've just seen the above instance to many times to put much stock in such things.
#5 Aug 7, 2010 15:18:55 (Aug 7, 2010 15:18)

SpectralShock
I find most ads are usually aimed at non-gamers anyway, which is why they seem so silly to their actual core audience
#4 Aug 2, 2010 14:40:07 (Aug 2, 2010 14:40)

sirdesmond
I would mostly agree with Kamikazie on Gamestop. I hate the pre-order bonus stuff, where your gameplay experience changes depending on which retailer you bought from. The resale market is an absolute racket and Gamestop seems to underestimate the future of digital downloads to a degree of almost pure ignorance. Despite all this, I find myself having to shop their occasionally in order to get the game I want when I want it.
#3 Aug 2, 2010 11:31:39 (Aug 2, 2010 11:31)

kamikaziechameleon
+1
Gamestop is the bane of my existance, and degrades the experience of gamers while diluting the resell market all at the same time. 
#2 Aug 2, 2010 06:27:16 (Aug 2, 2010 06:27)

Nechrol
I did spaz out like that when I got my PS2...one of the happiest days of my life
 
I'm terrible when it comes to getting games... I'll go into a shop and only look at something if the box art looks interesting... for shame
#1 Aug 1, 2010 06:54:23 (Aug 1, 2010 06:54)

nutcrackr
props for the n64 kid. It's hard to resist the bombardment of advertising and game discussion for some big games. I was never super interested in StarCraft 2 but sure enough I bought a copy
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