The Best Advertisement For an Anticipated Video Game... EVER.

[D-Man]

(I don't really dig into this section of the forums much so if this thread topic's been created before, then so be it.)

In today's gaming world, YouTube, VGA's, magazines, the internet, and word-of-mouth is currently the most common ways to advertise the latest and greatest, in terms of new, cutting edge video games. Certainly, these are all effective methods and have been proven to be anything but.

But can you imagine if someone actually created a MOVIE to introduce a cutting edge video game? I mean, wouldn't be incredible if someone wrote an entire script, cast some pretty relevant stars, and used the most recent means of production all for the purpose of revealing tomorrow's next phenomenon of the gaming world??

Sounds pretty far-fetched, doesn't it. Well, here's a newsflash... it's been done before.

Yep, you heard it right. For all of the young readers out there, 1989 was a HUGE year in gaming. The Nintendo Entertainment System was really taking off and new games were being developed constantly. But the Super Mario series had developed their third installment which was anticipated to become one of the most ground-breaking games of all time. Back in 1989, besides Nintendo Power Magazine, there was really no other means of advertisement for the upcoming game. There was no internet, only a fraction of the television channels that currently exist, and limited channels and air time for commercials that could plug the game. So, Nintendo decided to take a gamble on producing a big screen film to introduce it's newest game to North America. Hence, The Wizard was born.

With relevant stars like Fred Savage, Christian Slater, an Beau Bridges, the movie gained a lot of interest, especially since it flashed clips of the highly anticipated and newest installment of the Super Mario series during its commercials. The movie wasn't a huge success but gave enough momentum to Super Mario 3 that it became one of the greatest and top-selling video games of all time.

Do any of you think this could work in today's market? Can a movie become the main reveal for a video game? If so, would it be as successful as Super Mario 3? And has any advertisement for a video game ever compared to what Nintendo did for Super Mario 3?

 

[Lee]

To answer your question: No.

Super Mario Bros. 3 was released in Japan in October of 1988 and it was December of 1989 that the Wizard was released. A Mario game getting announced via a film a year after Japan had it? Not going to happen.

Firstly the main way to announce a game now is E3: that's when the gaming media takes not. Despite being in America it is a worldwide show with big titles announced.

Secondly Facebook and Twitter make it a smaller thing. For example the UK got SMB3 in 1991 some three years after the original release. For this to happen now would be absurd, especially a major Mario title.

Really the dvertising for this game was spot on, it is one of the best selling games of all time.

 

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

It certainly was an original idea for it's time in fact i think i remember watching it one Sunday. Would it work in today's market? I don't think so.
Making movies costs a considerable amount of money and using it with the main aim being to promote a game isn't profitable at all. In the current market games companies don't actually make a lot of money off of game sales as most people prefer to buy second hand which don't make games companies any money.

Like you said yourself there was no internet and not near as many tv channels or advertising time in those days to promote games. Today we have worldwide shows like E3 and the Tokyo game show to make major announcements along with the internet and advertising over many mediums which ultimately cost less then a whole movie which may end up losing a lot of money. There's also the fact that movies and games never have a great track record when they mix. Just ask anyone who's ever watched a Resident Evil, Street Fighter or Mario Brothers movie.

Personally i always felt that demo's were the best way to promote a game. It's much more enjoyable to play a game rather then watch it being played and a good demo can bring about some guaranteed sales before the game even comes out. I have fond memories of when my brother subscribed to playstation magazine and got a free demo with every edition. We got to sample some great games like Wipeout, Metal Gear Solid and Abe's Odyssey that we may not have taken a chance on at the time. Nowadays games are promoted with trailers that look great but the game itself falls short of expectation such a Alan Wake or Dead Island. With the demo's we were never left disappointed as it didn't cost us anything and one of the most important things was that we were always left wanting more which always ended with one of us buying the full version. I can't say any other way of promoting a game has ever left me that way.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I remember watching that movie when I was little and recently watched it again back when I was in college. It's an absolute must-see for anyone interested in video game history/trivia, or even if you're bored and want to watch something retro. Back then we were in a completely different world when it comes to technology. There is no way that the idea could ever work in modern times. The movie's content or some type of footage from the game would inevitably get leaked before the movie and game can receive a release. It's never going to be topped, at least not anytime in the near future. Technology has come too far and people are too lazy to avoid the easier method of finding out about a game for free online.

We live in a world today where people are as lazy and impatient as ever. People are not going to pay to go watch a movie when they can look up footage for the game online at sites like google or youtube. Providing trailers online is the way to promote a game today. I think having a movie as the primary marketing medium for a game could be cool to see again, but I just don't see it being all too successful if done nowadays. Even if they did do this again there is absolutely no way it would ever be as successful in the project as they were with Super Mario Bros 3 because not only were they limited in ways to promote it compared to today, but that was one of the most successful games in history, and financial success is hard to come by no matter how you promote the product in the first place.