Trailers for video games are a weird beast, as misleading as they can be esoteric. Free from the burden of trying to directly sell you a piece of art, commercials for video game hardware are often a lot more fun.
https://kotaku.com/the-best-video-game-trailers-1752138967
While most console sales are (surely) made through stuff like company loyalty, word of mouth, expert opinion and game exclusivity, thereâs still room for platform holders to try and sell a few machines directly through advertising. Or if not sell you something, then at least develop a little branding and awareness.
This piece originally appeared 2/14/2016.
Because those platform holders are mega-rich multinational companies, they canâand youâll see Sony is particularly adept at thisâhire some of the worldâs best ad companies to make clips that live on in our memories long after the console they were trying to sell have faded from the market.
KEVIN BUTLER – PS3
From the brandâs inception, PlayStation has struggled to adopt a mascot. Theyâve alternated between trying to have one to trying to have many to trying to have none. For all their efforts, though, a lot of people would say Kevin Butler is the closest theyâve come.
MOUNTAIN – PS2
This is maybe my favourite on the whole list. You donât see a single video game or console in the whole thing, but boy do they get the point across.
Weirdly, as successful as the clip itself was, the adâtouting the PS2’s crummy online capabilitiesâmight have worked better if theyâd held off for a few years and waited for the PS3/PS4.
SHIGERU MATSUZAKI – PS VITA
Running in 2012 for the Vita, itâs as minimal a commercial as youâre going to see on this list, featuring nothing but some Sony branding and the delights of Japanese crooner Shigeru Matsuzaki, who you may remember from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack
Years later, I still sing this to myself every time someone says âwhoahâ.
STANDOFF – XBOX 360
This commercial, made for the launch of the Xbox 360, has had a weird second life on the internet. Originally airing for preview events in the lead-up to the consoleâs release, the fact it never went on to appear on TV (or even online trailers) led many to speculate that it had been banned, when really Microsoft simply chose not to air it. Meaning most people have seen this on YouTube years later, not as part of any actual, timely ad campaign.
Which is a shame, because in a field dominated by classic PlayStation commercials, it would have been nice seeing a little more public airtime for the best Xbox commercial ever made.
REVEAL – NINTENDO WII
Holy shit, do you remember what you were doing when you first saw this? I do. I was losing my goddamn mind. Yes, hindsight has proven much of this clip to be, well, a little optimistic as to the Wiiâs actual capabilities, but still. Thereâs never been a better video showing exactly what you can do with a video game console and why itâs so much fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO_iVsBg33g
SEGATA SANSHIRO – SEGA SATURN
I wrote once that Segata Sanshiro was the greatest console ad man of all time. That is still true.
DOUBLE LIFE – PS1
Possibly the gold standard in video game advertising, this classic clip has gone on to be not just one of the best video game ads of all time, but one of the great commercials of all time, period.
MARCUS – PSP
Beginning life as a Kevin Butler spin-off, Marcus was wise beyond his years.
âWe got good kids playinâ bad games.â
We still do.
NINTENDONâT – SEGA GENESIS
Nintendo: *spends 1980s saving home video games and releasing a steady stream of successful titles and hardware*
Sega: Hey, Nintendo, go fuck yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5uik5fgIaI
FIRST LOOK – NINTENDO SWITCH
A commercial that was almost as fun as the console itself. Thereâs no abstract representations or trickery, just a montage letting the Switchâs portability features speak for themselves.
