Trailer or not?

[Ogreatgames]

Is the trailer worth it to even see before playing a game? I watch the trailers occasionally but I do not let it deter me from playing or not playing the game generally. I take the game play trailers a bit more seriously because game play seems to occupy the majority of what makes a game a game. So do anyone of you watch the trailer & take it seriously or not?

[Kidpanda]

I try not to, I just want to be surprised.

[Sarge]

I find them incredibly useful for indie games. While you can't go completely by the trailers, you can generally tell pretty quickly if a game is basically junk. I've started dodging a lot more indie bundles because I check things out first.

Of course, then you can get instances where it looks interesting, but really isn't.

[Exhuminator]

Typical game trailers consist of just logos and one sentence text excerpts for the first half of the video, then the next 45% consists of cutscenes from the game, and if you're lucky maybe 5% of the trailer actually contains gameplay footage. So I find them a waste of time in general.

[BoneSnapDeez]

What the last two dudes said.

Useful for indie games and stuff on GOG.com...

Triple AAA trailers are worthless. Gameplay is rarely, if ever, featured.

[Ogreatgames]

@kidpanda Cool, I like the suspense to build to! But sometimes I am still curious of the current progress. @Sarge I did not consider indie as much as AAA trailers. @Exhuminator Thanks for the ratio! @Bone SnapDeez I think that is to build suspense or the game simply does not have anything real interesting to show yet.
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So can any knowledgeable person answer were trailers always this way with mostly cut scenes & less game play or? And when did it change?

[Ack]

Trailers got this way once game devs found themselves able to make FMV or CGI film sequences to convey story. The transition to 3D graphics and CD format allowed for video compression in ways cartridges never cold, and CG videos became the norm, particularly thanks to Squaresoft's influence. As far back as the late 1990s, they were already putting out trailers with little gameplay and mostly CG. I distinctly remember it being a major selling point for FF8, Chrono Cross, Xenogears, etc.

[BoringSupreez]

I view trailers as entertainment more than as an information source. Generally I only watch trailers for games I'm already looking forward to.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an exception to that rule. I got excited for that game just based on the CGI trailer. And then all word of the game disappeared...

[Exhuminator]

And then all word of the game disappeared...

CD Projekt Red's still working on it, but they said they weren't going to discuss the project again until 2017. I think they are trying to avoid hype burnout.

[Ack]

And then all word of the game disappeared...

CD Projekt Red's still working on it, but they said they weren't going to discuss the project again until 2017. I think they are trying to avoid hype burnout.

Plus they were in the midst of working on Witcher 3, and they wanted to devote their resources to both of these projects separately. I believe we'll start hearing talk again soon.