The best video game commercial of all time

Today, video game announcements and news are often just a few clicks away, but it hasn’t always been so easy. The way players discover the game for the first time is usually through commercials–yes, the actual kind of TV commercials–and they need to grab your attention for only about 30 seconds. Not all of them have been successful, but there have been some absolutely great video game ads over the years, including some for less stellar games. GameSpot has rounded up our picks for the best video game ads and promotions of all time, from the early days of the Atari 2600 to a recently launched game.

Aura 3: “Trust”

One of the most effective video game ads ever without any pre-rendered games or videos. In fact, it barely has any movement at all. Dubbed “Believe,” the promo for Halo 3 includes panning shot through the miniature screen, with UNSC marines fearfully awaiting their fate as a massive swarm of Covenants. surround them. At the top of a hill, their leader holds Master Chief, thinking the Spartan has been defeated–but the plasma grenade in Master Chief’s hand tells us that this battle has only just begun.

Gears of War: “Crazy World”

Before Halo 3 was released on Xbox 360, Microsoft had another beautiful shooter franchise to keep players happy, and its trailer has stuck with us for over 16 years. Gears of War’s Mad World trailer paints a bleak picture of Earth, with much of the world destroyed as the Locust swarm and humanity continue their brutal war. The song – a cover that first appeared in Donnie Darko – hints that the game will be a bit more… reserved rather than the end, but cutting enemies in half with a machine gun still brings us back to this trailer.

Assassin’s Creed: “Tears”

Before the Assassin’s Creed series transformed into an action RPG with massive battles, it was a social stealth game that prioritized quick, efficient kills and silent escapes. In the trailer for this original game–set in Massive Attack’s Teardrop–we see Altair running along rooftops before performing the famous “jump of faith”. He lands behind a Templar target, his hidden blade wide open as the shot ends. This is the perfect introduction to what will become one of the most successful gaming franchises ever, and it’s sure to make us feel differently about a song that was also used as a soundtrack. . house theme.

Super Smash Bros.: Live Action Battle

There are many “clash of worlds” fighting games these days, but when Super Smash Bros. hit the Nintendo 64 in 1999, it’s a fairly new concept. That’s what makes this game’s live-action commercial so great, as no one expected our favorite Nintendo characters to go from frolicking across grasslands to pointless fighting. . The music makes the ad even better, as does the scene where Donkey Kong spins Pikachu around as if he’s about to throw it 400 feet away. We’re pretty sure that Donkey Kong was completely killed by Yoshi’s hammer just seconds later.

Wii wants to play

Nintendo certainly has a way of establishing a new brand–just look at the instant recognition we all have for the Switch’s signature click. But a decade earlier, there was an ad that could have been even more effective with just one sentence: “Wii wants to play.” A simple ad featuring two men in suits (we assume, or hope, they work for Nintendo), it shows a family opening the door and being invited to play the Wii. Inviting strangers into your home is generally discouraged, but as long as they have the latest Nintendo consoles and bundled games, it’s probably okay. The two men kept busy, introducing the Wii to many others and ushering in one of Nintendo’s greatest eras.

Genesis does what Nintendo doesn’t

If Nintendo had practically called itself anything else, Sega wouldn’t have been able to do this commercial, but it was true at the time: Genesis does what Nintendo doesn’t. The famous ad featured singers reminding us that we couldn’t play the Genesis game on the Nintendo system. Picking Columns–the Great Value Tetris–and the Buster Douglas boxing game might not be the best choice, but the fact remains that Genesis has a lot of games that the NES and SNES don’t. It’s the system for kids with great attitudes and you don’t want to be left behind.

Activision’s Ice Hockey

The earliest video game ads were often among the best because there was no framework or expectations for what advertising should be like. In the case of this classic commercial for Ice Hockey on the Atari 2600, watching the future SNL stopwatch – the late Phil Hartman – completely enthralled by footage of the game on the small CRT screen is The perfect way to sell games. The name of the game is even shouted with a shrill scream at the end of the commercial, just to make sure you never forget it.

Kingdom Hearts: “Simple and Clean”

Today, the word “Kingdom Hearts” conjures up memories of one of the most complicated video game stories of all time, with about a dozen games to play. But in 2002, many of us were introduced to Sora’s cosmic collision story through this ad. With the now famous song “Simple and Clean”, the montage of different Disney characters immediately caught the attention of viewers. “You never know who you’ll meet next,” says the narrator. The rest is (very complicated) history.

The Pitfall: Jack Black’s Advertisement

What is your favorite Jack Black role? The school of rock music? Maybe high fidelity? True fans know that before his fame, young Jack Black was in a commercial for the classic Atari game Trap. Appearing before anything (or anyone else) in the commercial, Black talks about being in a dangerous forest with Pitfall hero Harry. He is wearing a hunting hat, it seems that this hat has been shared with other players. One girl said she was attracted to Pitfall Harry, which is a bit odd for a pixelated character with no face, but the novelty of seeing Jack Black before fame was enough to make the list. this.

Goat Simulator 3 announcement trailer

One of the newer video game ads that impressed us seemed to be for a completely different game. Parodying Dead Island 2’s announcement trailer from a few years earlier–a game that hasn’t been released until now–the Goat Simulator 3 announcement trailer doesn’t make it clear that it was originally intended for Goat Simulator 3. Actually, who can doubt it, since there is no Goat Simulator 2? It’s a great piece of trickery and transformation that fits perfectly into the series’ goofy, anything-so-so aesthetic, and it’s fun to watch others react to it for the first time.

The King of Sneaky: Who’s Behind the Mask?

There was a time when the majority of video games were sold as physical media, and in one of the weirdest decisions we can recall, one of the places where you can buy these games. It’s Burger King. The fast food chain has released many games for just a few dollars each, and stealthy Sneak King is the most notorious of them all. This creepy trailer shows a video game world seemingly being terrorized by a stalking predator. As it turns out, the one lurking in the shadows is the King himself, and he just wants to serve everyone burgers. We feel very uncomfortable watching this again.