Now, friends, we’re playing with power. Who here remembers this old school Nintendo commercial, complete with R.O.B. and the real light gun, not this Zapper nonsense? I don’t, per se, because I was about 2-yeard-old at the time, but the point remains: video game commercials used to be so cheesily magnificent it’s a shame what they’ve become.
Shall we?
Look at this one, starring several million people joining together to form Mario’s face. I’d buy Mario 3 in a heartbeat based on that.
Street Fighter is probably my favorite game series ever and this “so bad it’s good” ($1 to Susan Sontag) commercial advertising the series’ debut on the Genesis truly is a work of art. The disembodied voice in the background could be a professional librarian or a monster truck rally announcer and he’d still have that monotone voice. Off to KB Toys we go.
Skip a few years and now game commercials are pompous and self-important. This one for Final Fantasy VII seems like it’s advertising a Lexus or something. Booming orchestra (just like the MIDI soundtrack in the game…), Orson Wells-sounding guy, etc. Same thing with Zelda 64 one, though the “Willst thou suck?” line still resonates.
And perhaps the worst offender of video game commercials taking themselves too seriously, Gears of War. The game is just a prettier version of Doom yet it has all the pomp and circumstance of a regal coronation.
I just wish video game commercials weren’t so “look, I’m as respectable as cinema is.” Bring back the fun. Now I’m off to listen to some Hernan Cattaneo.