Do game trailers make you want to buy games?

[Rewdalf]

You see, I'd like to say "yes", but in all truth, they don't...
If there's an amazing game trailer that looks amazing, I'll watch it multiple times and gawk at the awesomeness, but it doesn't make me want the game. Actually, it makes me want the game less, because from past experience, I know that game trailers don't even remotely represent the game itself (true, some do, but most don't...)
As a young lad, I'd always get my hopes up high because the trailer looked so amazing, and it actually proved true for one game.
That game was Burnout 2. Go ahead and watch the teaser and trailer. It's all gameplay, and it's still made to look awesome, eye catching, and entertaining. The game was exactly the same. I found myself doing things in the game that were shown in the trailer. Amazing!
From then on though, game trailers just showed me fancy cinematic and CGI animation of something that isn't even remotely like the game itself, thus turning me off trusting these various trailers and teasers...
YES there are still trailers that accurately display the game they're advertising, but a lot still exist that are just there to raise the hype (which in all truth is the purpose of trailers)...

 

[ryai458]

You tell me.

 

[Rewdalf]

You tell me.

Youtube is blocked for me right now, so if I were to "tell you" it would have to be later...

 

[JoshGod]

I agree with ryai458, no trailer excited me until that last one. Also because of the drag to share option I had trouble with those vids.

 

[Outright Villainy]

Hmm, cutscene footage with snippets of gameplay like most ads, no. However, a walkthrough (like Skyrim at e3) can certainly make me more excited for a game. If I can make a reasonable judgement of how it plays, then yes, that can sway me. Mirror's edge is a good example of gameplay footage totally selling me on the game, when nothing else did. And yeah, I quite liked that game.

 

[Palademon]

Wait, you didn't like Burnout?
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Yep, game trailers do often make me want to buy games but mostly because I wouldn't know about the game or what it's like unless I watched a trailer.
Although, I've decided to buy games because I know how good they'll be even though their trailer sucks.
For example:
And there are games with great trialers but I still can't decide whether or not to get it.
For example:

 

[Rewdalf]

Wait, you didn't like Burnout?
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

No no, I was using it as an example of game trailers done right...
In fact, I can still watch the Burnout 2 (or even Burnout 1) trailer and get excited for the game, go downstairs, and play it...

 

[Velocity Eleven]

no, because they dont show actual gameplay, and I like gameplay because I play games

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

First thing I thought when I saw the first Duke Nukem trailer: "This game doesn't look very good." Apparently, I was right.

 

[Temah]

They do, but mostly its just in the case of I wouldn't know about the game had I not seen the trailer.

 

[ryai458]

You tell me.

Youtube is blocked for me right now, so if I were to "tell you" it would have to be later...

The Old Republic cinematics, they are ridiculously awesome.

 

[icyneesan]

Yeah, CGI trailers packed with action usually excite me enough that I say I want to buy and play the game. but rarely do I ever buy and get to play the game.

 

[Cridhe]

You tell me.

At this point I don't even want to play the game, I just want it to be a movie.

 

[Ghostrick Dorklord]

When I saw the newest trailer of Sonic Generations it made me not want to buy it.

But trailers in general sure they sometimes affect sales for me.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Trailers usually don't make me buy games, but it may either hype me or change my mind about games I might want to buy.

 

[synobal]

A lot of trailers just sort of try too hard. Well I guess that's not exactly right, the full CGI trailers that feature no game play try too hard. For example the StarWars MMO trailer above, it shows all these things that are suppose to be awesome but I know the game will be nothing like that. If a video game company wants me to take an interest in their game from a trailer they must include 'gameplay' in their trailer. The Skyrim Gameplay trailer is a good example of a trailer that makes me want to buy it.

 

[William MacKay]

not unless its a gameplay trailer, but normally i watch the demos at E3 etc and make opinions based on that.

 

[DirgeNovak]

Trailers help get me excited for a game that already interested me, like sequels or new IPs by beloved developers (OverStrike, baby!!), which I usually buy on release day, but for other games, I rely on my big three review sources: Game Revolution, Zero Punctuation and GameTrailers. And then check out trailers.

 

[Shilkanni]

Hell no! Game Trailers go right over my head.
Every time I watch one I'm usually less enthused about the game than I was before I watched it.

I get way more psyched reading interviews with the developers about what they're trying to do, or playing demos.

Sometimes there are great cinematics (like the SW:ToR ones linked) but my reaction is still: that was cool and I'm glad I watched it but what is the game like.
Genuine gameplay footage rarely conveys how the game will control & play, and can't capture the fun of playing it.

Actually the Portal & TF2 (Meet the X) trailers weren't bad, I guess because they focused on humour and threw in a little bit of trying to convey how it would play.