Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: e3, Electronic Entertainment Expo, HRL, PlayStation Experience, PSX

Should Game Conventions Open With a Barrage of Trailers?

Between sitting through the near-endless barrage of trailers that were the individual E3 press conferences this year all the way to last night's Playstation Experience opening ceremony, one thing has become incredibly clear to me: Gamers, and subsequently game reporters, love trailers. And that is all we want.

As interesting as the interviews and insights presented during the PSX opening were, they distracted us from what we were there for. Despite being a game reporter who loves the behind-the-scenes details and industry chatter, even I was sitting there thinking, "Okay, but where are the trailers?"

Sony seemed to be making a point of it at PSX this year, as the opening ceremony gave us very little in the way of brand-new game footage. Several of the trailers, including the epic eight-minute "teaser" for Death Stranding, were recycled from the Game Awards the night before.

Sony did drop a couple of new trailers to their YouTube channel in preparation for the show this weekend, but most of their focus seemed to be, "it's playable at PSX." That's fantastic for con attendees, but for us at home, it isn't a whole lot of fun.

Then again, PSX is a fan event, while E3 and even Paris Games Week are trade events. Sure, everyone brings their best to E3 and Gamescom every summer, but PSX hasn't always played out as low key as this year's show. If anything, this year seemed to be a sleepy affair compared to years past.

And you have to wonder if, perhaps, we've gotten too used to the trailer spam of E3 to recall what gaming is actually about. But then, even Sony's E3 show was a bit more quiet this year. Sure, the flashbangs during the Call of Duty WWII trailer rendered audience members both blind and deaf for several minutes, the show was missing the usual indie showcase and came in at the shortest run time of any E3 presser this year.

With more trailers dropped to their YouTube than shown live, it seems a bit like Sony is giving up the livestream conferences as a whole. Its possible they'll keep their programming at PSX to run more like a late-night talk show than a run of trailers for the next few years.

And honestly, as efficient as the trailer barrage is, it is a terrible way to watch game trailers, since they all blend into one.

And if all we want is trailers, well, that's one of the things YouTube is best at. So why not take 20 minutes to gush at Hideo Kojima or give Detroit: Become Human a 30-minute demo walkthrough?

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