Pregaming the Games is a blog (and pretty awful pun) based around following the videogame industry's pre-launch efforts to increase the visibility and sales of upcoming games. This includes a focus on game trailers, commercials, print ads, and viral marketing leading up to a game launch, as well as game demos.
Though an argument can certainly be made for the comparative, dollar-per-hour-of-entertainment value of a videogame over a film, the fact is that videogames are a relatively (in the field of home entertainment) expensive commodity. Despite the cost of cutting-edge consoles as well as the hefty price tag on many individual games, the gaming industry is thriving even in a depressed economic climate. Advertising and branding are increasingly important in establishing a game's value, second perhaps only to the gameplay itself.
As the pre-launch gaming scene can be manipulated by word of mouth, lives on buzz, and influences the success of a game's "opening weekend," this arena provides fertile ground for analyzing the attempts of game publishers to establish a connection with their potential audience.
On that note, the "First Ever NES Commercial," while obviously dated, signals that for almost as long as videogames have been widely available, they have also been commercially sold as fantastical devices that enable benign escapism.
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