Why are all trailers bad?

[One Winged Angel]

Okay, not all. But 90% of all trailers in steam are bad in my oppinion.
When somebody wants to sell me a game, I want to actually *see* the game. And not just a rendered scene which doesnt even represent the game.
I just want to see the gameplay. But most trailers doesnt show it so I am forced to watch a lets play video in youtube...
Ive became so annoyed by this that I sometimes immediately loose interest if the trailers dont show gameplay.

[Edifier]

Pre rendered videos are better for selling games because it brings more people in. Otherwise they wouldn't do it. Plenty of games have had gameplay trailers as well too on Steam so I haven't only seen pre rendered ones.

[Xaelath]

I think you yourself already had the answer and you answered it yourself.

If they showed the bland gameplays, or full gameplay people might having doubt to buy it.

So as a company who wanted dem money's, you gotta bait these little fish with flashy trailers.

[Crazy Tiger]

As the others say, trailers are purely a marketing tool. Flashy trailers work best in that regard. Sometimes additional trailers are added, which do show gameplay elements, which are aimed at people already interested by the flashy trailers.

This all is just how these things work. It's always been like this and not just specific to Steam, but also pre-Steam.

[One Winged Angel]

I dont understand how somebody could buy a game only by watching a trailer.
Doesnt make sense to me.

[Gus the Crocodile]

If you want to see the game in action, trailers just aren't really a good place to look. That's not really good or bad, it's just the nature of what trailers are. Same as movie trailers don't usually just play out entire scenes. They're ads, not demos.

[Cherrycat]

If it didn't work they wouldn't do it.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by One Winged Angel:

I dont understand how somebody could buy a game only by watching a trailer.
Doesnt make sense to me.

Because that is not the purpose of a trailer. A trailer is nothing more than a way to generate interest. People that are interested will find their way to other information available and take effort to know more.

[Rens Agatha ⁧【レンス】]

Arent those just marketing strategy similar like food industry who like to use "100% Vitamins A" Instead you got 100% Sugar...

[Charged Dreamer]

That's easy....

If you don't like cinematic trailers then wait for a couple of days until there's a gameplay trailer. However since you mentioned you like to see real game footage don't always believe watermark tags like, "in-game rendered footage" these days too because you never know what the finish product will look like. There's always going to be minor changes the game like lighting, position of objects, addition or removal of some new trees, grass, buildings or "puddles" xD.

Publishers need people to be aware that the game is coming. Releasing a cinematic trailer several months before a game's release also give developers time to finish up the game. Sometimes its just not possible to give enough footage to the audience 6-8 months before the game's release window. At this point you could either pre-order the game as soon as they list the game on game store or wait until a week before the game's release for final gameplay and first impressions.

People will get mad at the devs if gamers find out that the actual game was downgraded from the gameplay trailer that they just saw at E3 or Youtube/TV etc. There'll be a lot of hate and bunch of angry YouTubers uploading comparison videos and ranting how all of this sucks. Its another reason why pre-rendered video trailers are safer in developer's point of view.

I don't mind CGI trailers. They're there to build up hype and crate a buzz for the game. It's a part of marketing every AAA publisher would want to do. I gotta admit they look really cool as long as you believe the real game will never look like it. Ubisoft did this with Assassin's Creed since 2009. You need to understand that's its just a part of marketing and promotion.

Some publishers like Naughty Dog, Rockstar Games, Insomniac choose not to make CGI trailers and that's okay.

[628]

OP, mind if I ask you to define "bad trailers", hopefully with some example? I can't hit on anything about that, probably because as far as I know a trailer is supposed to show the gameplay...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQCDj3emnHk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GiPMtJ-1I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl-VV9loYLw

[37]

What kind of game trailers are your style?

[SMIFFY]

I find cinematic trailers off-putting, I have zero tolerance for marketing BS like that.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

At least Valve cracked down on screenshots...

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/282081/More_Steam_changes_inbound_as_Valve_targets_discoverability.php

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/284639/Valve_cracks_down_on_Steam_store_screenshots_ahead_of_Discovery_20_update.php

[Baosas]

I don't have too much of a problem with it. Trailers are supposed to be advertisements, something to get you hooked into a product, and constructing a CGI clip while the game's still very much in the works is a good way to demonstrate its concept, all while generating hype from those more easily impressed.

Gameplay clips will almost always come at some point, you can formulate an opinion then, but one should still keep in mind that even those can be purposefully edited to show the game's highlights and conceal shortcomings. If a game actually refuses to release gameplay clips at all (few would), it's probably a risky buy.

[Sixtyfivekills]

Even worse is when they show gameplay, and they stand still and roll the camera slowly to showcase graphics for 3/4 of the video, or have an overly long walking segment. Yeah, they're nice, we understand, now can you please play the damn game!?