Feedback on patch trailers

[alimdia]

I feel like the quality of trailers went down with the change of format for trailers that started with Stormblood.

In Heavensward we used to get trailers longer than 8 minutes with screen time dedicated to each new content being added, example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RMaN8U3ots

Now in Stormblood they cut the screen time of pretty much all content, removed things like housing updates and mixed it all in a way where no one knows exactly what piece of content is it that we're watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh2caSYkqCg

Why were trailers butchered that badly? Can we go back to the old format?

[Nora_of_Mira]

I feel 8 minutes is too long for a trailer. I can't watch the examples atm because I'm at work, but I remember the SB trailers so far were enough information to get you hyped for the patch and that's it.

I also don't personally feel housing updates need to be communicated through video, I feel like a blog post is enough for that.

[alimdia]

I think trailers should convey all information shown in a live letter, the whole point of a trailer is to generate hype for those who are currently playing and to showcase information to those who aren't, so you wouldn't need to watch the live letter to know what's coming

This is what the older trailers accomplished that the new ones are falling flat at. Without the information we have from the live letter a returning player would have no clue what is being shown.

[Talraen]

I think trailers should convey all information shown in a live letter, the whole point of a trailer is to generate hype for those who are currently playing and to showcase information to those who aren't, so you wouldn't need to watch the live letter to know what's coming

I have to disagree on both points. The live letter is hours long, I don't want my trailer to be! But as far as generating hype, why generate hype for current players a week before the patch hits? They're going to play it regardless if they're subscribed at that point. A trailer can gain more targeting former players and even non-players. Heavensward trailers were cool for former players, but Stormblood trailers are the first set where I've seriously considered sending them to friends who don't play the game at all. Plus, even as a current player, I get way more hyped for a cool trailer than an information dump. I love the new style.

[Shallot_Liltian]

I prefer it this way honestly. I hate going through new content with a checklist in my mind going "Ah, yup, saw that, saw that, and that."

It's sort of like movie trailers that spoil all the funny or important parts of the film before it's even out in theaters. A little sample like this is perfect.

[Airget]

I think trailers should convey all information shown in a live letter, the whole point of a trailer is to generate hype for those who are currently playing and to showcase information to those who aren't, so you wouldn't need to watch the live letter to know what's coming

This is what the older trailers accomplished that the new ones are falling flat at. Without the information we have from the live letter a returning player would have no clue what is being shown.

Less is more. Why spoil everything the patch has to offer in the trailer? Get people interested and have them discover the content for themselves rather than showing them everything in a trailer like your average American Hollywood movie trailer.

[alimdia]

Less is more. Why spoil everything the patch has to offer in the trailer? Get people interested and have them discover the content for themselves rather than showing them everything in a trailer like your average American Hollywood movie trailer.

Because not everyone is currently playing the game, having it segmented can lure people back in by showing them content they might be interested in, the current format is such a jumbled mess that someone who missed a patch or two would have no idea of what he's looking at, and the trailer makes sure of that by changing scenes every few seconds

[ElHeggunte]

Because not everyone is currently playing the game, having it segmented can lure people back in by showing them content they might be interested in, the current format is such a jumbled mess that someone who missed a patch or two would have no idea of what he's looking at, and the trailer makes sure of that by changing scenes every few seconds

Isn't this why they have a dedicated site for every major patch? If someone's been gone from the game for a long time and they want to catch up with what's current or coming soon in a new patch, they probably shouldn't be trying to glean all of that information from a trailer alone even if we still had the old, longer ones.

[Theodric]

I do prefer the old style. Another benefit is that it helped preview new music, too. The current model has stuff all over the place, cutting suddenly from one scene to another.

[Blueyes]

I think trailers should convey all information shown in a live letter, the whole point of a trailer is to generate hype for those who are currently playing and to showcase information to those who aren't, so you wouldn't need to watch the live letter to know what's coming

I can definitely see what you mean. Though, rather than say that the trailer should cover everything shown in the live letter, I'd say that the trailer should cover the same material as their promotional websites for each patch.

Revenge of the Horde

Under the Moonlight

If you compare the contents of each website to the contents covered by each trailer, the 4.3 trailer definitely falls short. Certain new additions get very little screen time, thus providing little information, while some upcoming content isn't featured at all. I'd say that the 4.3 trailer succeeded in delivering hype, but it fell short on promoting new content.