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So I’ve been seeing that Borderlands PSVR commercial a lot on tv..

janusff

janusff

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,137
Austin, TX
And can't help but think Sony is advertising the system all wrong. Feels like this is the first time I'm seeing PSVR commercials as well. Shouldn't they advertise their killer apps they got right now like Astro Bot or Beat Saber instead? Or do one of those critically acclaimed quotes commercials from journos with a montage of all the games on the system. Instead of this lame ass live action commercial for a game that's years old?

Ad in question:



What do y'all think?
 
Cilidra

Cilidra

A friend is worth more than a million Venezuelan$
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,489
Ottawa
Borderland 2 VR is coming before Christmas. While you may not think it as new, it's is a new game, it's was redone for VR. Many people already know the franchise and as such may appeal to people that don't have PSVR yet. Same thing as Skyrim VR, it sold PSVR to many people.
 
Crayon

Crayon

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,580
Its difficult to get the idea across. It seems like 99/100 players apparently dont have the imagination to picture what its like. Showing a very familiar game and trying to show that you're "going in the game" is a fairly straightforward way to try to pitch it. Probably worth a try.

Astrobot doesnt look like much of anything on a flat screen btw. Remember the mario 64 moment tweet? We were cackling. Once we got it home, that changed everything.
 
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Quample

Quample

Member
Dec 23, 2017
3,231
Cincinnati, OH
It's not ideal but I'd say Sony know what they are doing.

Marketing VR is extremely difficult, it's like marketing a Talkie (film with sound) through a silent film. The medium just doesn't translate. Therefore, bring in a popular game that people like and tell them there's a new way to play it...could work.
 
Captain of Outer Space

Captain of Outer Space

Come Sale Away With Me
Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,356
Borderlands is a big name and they have a big bundle coming the same day, so why wouldn't they advertise its upcoming release?
 
Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
janusff said:
And can't help but think Sony is advertising the system all wrong. Feels like this is the first time I'm seeing PSVR commercials as well. Shouldn't they advertise their killer apps they got right now like Astro Bot or Beat Saber instead? Or do one of those critically acclaimed quotes commercials from journos with a montage of all the games on the system. Instead of this lame ass live action commercial for a game that's years old?

Ad in question:



What do y'all think?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


I think the fact that there isn't even a single second of actual gameplay in that ad is absolutely disgusting
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,276
Because it's a thing people know, and a bit easier to conceptualize. It's also reaching for an audience that has trouble grasping VR or that thinks VR doesn't get "real" games.

Beat Saber is a game that becamse famous on a competitor's platform, and Astro Bot just looks like a genericly cute platformer in non-vr showings.
 
j^aws

j^aws

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,569
UK
Anyone who has experienced VR understands that flat game footage doesn't do VR justice. Moreover, anyone who understands videogames in general, be it VR or flat, understands streamed game footage doesn't do the interactive aspect of videogames justice, too.

At least pre-rendered footage wasn't shown to pass off as gameplay. And if any gameplay footage was shown, you'd get the usual pixel warfare without understanding concessions made rendering various types of games.
 
Ryengeku

Ryengeku

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,664
Georgia, US
skeezx

skeezx

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,182
it's essentially the same commercial from every major marketing campaign the past decade or so. don't see the issue

borderlands is probably the best bet to ring in folks who haven't dropped hundreds on psvr yet, not a killer app either but if skyrim didn't do it for them it's not like astrobot and beat saber will
 
wapplew

wapplew

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,163
skeezx said:
it's essentially the same commercial from every major marketing campaign the past decade or so. don't see the issue

borderlands is probably the best bet to ring in folks who haven't spent about $300 on psvr yet, not a killer app either but if skyrim didn't do it for them it's not like astrobot and beat saber will
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Did you just played firewall? I saw same name in the game.
 
get2sammyb

get2sammyb

Editor at Push Square
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
3,009
UK
They had Astro Bot on the advertising hoardings for this week's Champions League.
 
Maligna

Maligna

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,818
Canada
Anthony Hopkins said:
would be nice if they showed SOME gameplay.
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Vic_Viper said:
Anyone know if they included ponchos as a clothing option?
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KojiKnight said:
I think the fact that there isn't even a single second of actual gameplay in that ad is absolutely disgusting
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Alucrid said:
absolutely

disgusting
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It will look identical to flat Borderlands since it's a commercial being displayed on a tv. This trailer is trying to get across what VR feels like and why it is different.
 
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get2sammyb

get2sammyb

Editor at Push Square
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
3,009
UK
As for the premise of the thread, I think you've just got to trust Sony knows what they're doing. I'm no marketing major, but my guess is that by attaching it to a huge, recognisable brand they hope it'll generate interest in the product. Once you've got people searching for PSVR because of Borderlands, I guess the hope is that they find all the people chatting about Astro Bot and Beat Saber, and it snowballs from there.

The whole concept of VR is incredibly difficult to communicate, as even this board evidences at times. I think the ad is a fine attempt: you can be this cool character in this cool world.
 
Clocian

Clocian

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Apr 23, 2018
839
Border said:
$50-60 for Borderlands 2 is a pretty rough sell, I would think. Game is old as hell and isn't the kind of timeless pursuit that Skyrim was.
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seriously, I'm not paying $50 for this lol. I'll wait for the discount physical version or BL3, whichever comes 1st
 
Paquete_PT

Paquete_PT

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
5,333
Astrobot is amazing and in fact the one system seller for psvr, but it wouldn't translate well in a commercial like this. The idea of you stepping out of our world into an adrenaline-fueled post-apocalypse shooting party is more appealing and easy to convey.
But I agree, Sony should be shouting from the top of buildings how amazing Astrobot is!
 
Alek

Alek

Games User Researcher
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
8,471
Well, this is also a game from a third party. So Gearbox likely had some hand in the marketing here.

It's also likely that Borderlands has more mass market appeal, than Astrobot.
 
Dragonyeuw

Dragonyeuw

Member
Nov 4, 2017
4,375
Doesn't really matter what the game is being marketed, the core issue is you simply can't replicate the experience, the perspective of VR outside of the headset. That commercial wouldn't sell me on VR if I didn't already have one, but it's like someone said above with AstroBOT. That game looks generic on your TV. In VR?! An ENTIRELY different beast.
 
Rodney McKay

Rodney McKay

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,215
I just wish this included the DLC.

I love the game and played it a LOT, but I only ever finished one of them (started the other but never finished them), so as cool as it might be to play this in VR I'd want to at least have all the content. Maybe on a big enough discount I would try out the base game in VR.
 
Border

Border

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,859
Knowledge said:
seriously, I'm not paying $50 for this lol. I'll wait for the discount physical version or BL3, whichever comes 1st
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Everybody knows that the retail copies are going to rot on the shelves and be put on clearance within 6 months anyway.

It would be interesting if they have a VR mode for Borderlands 3 though.
 
Gobias-Ind

Gobias-Ind

Member
Nov 22, 2017
4,025
Why the hell would anyone think it's a good idea to show actual gameplay in a big TV spot for a VR game

Also, it's pretty upsetting that they're not planning on supporting the Aim controller for this. The Move controllers are way subpar.
 
Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
Gobias-Ind said:
Why the hell would anyone think it's a good idea to show actual gameplay in a big TV spot for a VR game
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Because the gaming community as a whole 20 years ago decided we didn't like advertisements that didn't include any gameplay footage, to the point that there were lawsuits and such about it.

It's not that hard to market a VR game using real footage... you pick some good angles with a third person camera and you overlay real people on it.



Like that, only since I imagine a marketing department would actually have some money for costumes and editing software they could make it a lot more dynamic.
 
Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
Maligna said:
Okay then, do tell; How would you advertise a VR version of a game to make it look exciting and different than the last time people played it?
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See above, and if that doesn't make it look exciting and different enough, then maybe the problem is the product. Yes, the ad has a disclaimer at the bottom, but it's still deceptive as hell and therefore disgusting.
 
skeezx

skeezx

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,182
they kind of pre-empted themselves advertising VR as sony's campaign has always been 'escape into another world'. and just game advertising at large, like CoD with joe six packs gunning at kobe bryant in obvs non-in game footage
 
Braaier

Braaier

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
13,237
Sony has a thing for borderlands 2 it seems. They marketed it for the vita too and that didn't do shit. Yes, borderlands 2 WAS a popular game but it's not gonna push a lot of ppl to buy an expensive add on for the PS4. Such a weird marketing move by Sony
 
Equanimity

Equanimity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,992
London
Braaier said:
Sony has a thing for borderlands 2 it seems. They marketed it for the vita too and that didn't do shit. Yes, borderlands 2 WAS a popular game but it's not gonna push a lot of ppl to buy an expensive add on for the PS4. Such a weird marketing move by Sony
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It's a popular third party game exclusive to PSVR for 6 months, not sure what you find weird about the marketing.
 
travisbickle

travisbickle

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,953
A recognisable FPS is probably the best way to advertise VR. Even here, people have a difficult time imagining non-FPS games in virtual reality.
 
Braaier

Braaier

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
13,237
Equanimity said:
It's a popular third party game exclusive to PSVR for 6 months, not sure what you find weird about the marketing.
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Borderlands 2 is over six years old. It's very old and BL3 is likely to be announced at TGA. Borderlands 2 was a marquee title for the Vita that ended up running horrible and Sony marketed the hell out of it. It's just weird that they're going back to this same title. And yet RE7 didn't get any additional publicity and it was actually a new game. It's just weird that Sony is putting all this effort into this game.
 
Equanimity

Equanimity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,992
London
Braaier said:
Borderlands 2 is over six years old. It's very old and BL3 is likely to be announced at TGA. Borderlands 2 was a marquee title for the Vita that ended up running horrible and Sony marketed the hell out of it. It's just weird that they're going back to this same title. And yet RE7 didn't get any additional publicity and it was actually a new game. It's just weird that Sony is putting all this effort into this game.
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Skyrim is 7 years old and it's still selling at retail price on Switch and VR. Shame what happened to B2 on Vita.

Resident Evil 7 got stage time at E3 2016, VR specific trailer in early 2017 and it's still exclusive to PSVR to this day, afaik.

Sony isn't putting all their effort on this one game, they are also advertising Moss and Astro Bot bundles.
 
Schaft0620

Schaft0620

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
838
janusff said:
And can't help but think Sony is advertising the system all wrong. Feels like this is the first time I'm seeing PSVR commercials as well. Shouldn't they advertise their killer apps they got right now like Astro Bot or Beat Saber instead? Or do one of those critically acclaimed quotes commercials from journos with a montage of all the games on the system. Instead of this lame ass live action commercial for a game that's years old?

Ad in question:



What do y'all think?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Maybe 2K is flipping the bill?
 
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