Trailers for video games are a weird beast, as misleading as they can be esoteric. Free from the burden of trying to directly sell you a piece of art, commercials for video game hardware are often a lot more fun.
While most console sales are (surely) made through stuff like company loyalty, word of mouth, expert opinion and game exclusivity, there’s still room for platform holders to try and sell a few machines directly through advertising. Or if not sell you something, then at least develop a little branding and awareness.
This piece originally appeared in February 2016.
Because those platform holders are mega-rich multinational companies, they can — and you’ll see Sony is particularly adept at this — hire some of the world’s best ad companies to make clips that live on in our memories long after the console they were trying to sell have faded from the market.
KEVIN BUTLER – PS3
From the brand’s inception, PlayStation has struggled to adopt a mascot. They have alternated between trying to have one to trying to have many to trying to have none. For all their efforts, though, a lot of people would say Kevin Butler is the closest they have come.
MOUNTAIN – PS2
This is maybe my favourite on the whole list. You don’t see a single video game or console in the whole thing, but boy do they get the point across.
Weirdly, as successful as the clip itself was, the ad — touting the PS2’s crummy online capabilities — might have worked better if they’d held off for a few years and waited for the PS3/PS4.
SHIGERU MATSUZAKI – PS VITA
What a wonderful little commercial this is. Running in 2012 for the Vita, it’s as minimal a commercial as you’re going to see on this list, featuring nothing but some Sony branding and the delights of Japanese crooner Shigeru Matsuzaki, who you may remember from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack.
STANDOFF – XBOX 360
This commercial, made for the launch of the Xbox 360, has had a weird second life on the internet. Originally airing for preview events in the lead-up to the console’s release, the fact it never went on to appear on TV (or even online trailers) led many to speculate that it had been banned, when really Microsoft simply chose not to air it. Meaning most people have seen this on YouTube years later, not as part of any actual, timely ad campaign.
Which is a shame, because in a field dominated by classic PlayStation commercials, it would have been nice seeing a little more public airtime for the best Xbox commercial ever made.
REVEAL – NINTENDO WII
Holy shit, do you remember what you were doing when you first saw this? I do. I was losing my goddamn mind. Yes, hindsight has proven much of this clip to be, well, a little optimistic as to the Wii’s actual capabilities, but still. There’s never been a better video showing exactly what you can do with a video game console and why it’s so much fun.
SEGATA SANSHIRO – SEGA SATURN
I wrote once that Segata Sanshiro was the greatest console ad man of all time. That verdict still stands.
DOUBLE LIFE – PS1
Possibly the gold standard in video game advertising, this classic clip has gone on to be not just one of the best video game ads of all time, but one of the great commercials of all time, period.
MARCUS – PSP
Beginning life as a Kevin Butler spin-off, Marcus was a cool kid! But also a wise one.
“We got good kids playin’ bad games.”
We sure did. Just a shame so many of them were on the PSP.
NINTENDON’T – SEGA GENESIS
Nintendo: *spends 1980s saving home video games and releasing a steady stream of successful titles and hardware*
Sega: Hey, Nintendo, go fuck yourself.
Comments
14 responses to “The Best Console Commercials Of All Time”
Segeta is that best. Go on YouTube and watch all of them. It’s a touching story. #RIP
One of the most manly deaths in history. His sacrifice will be forever a legend
Chris Cunningham’s “Mental Wealth” commercial for the PSX always blew my mind. I didn’t know what it was advertising, all I knew that I wanted it
Segata IS the best. And i never even got that console.
What no mention of the Xbox Birth to Death ad. For the amount of trouble it caused its tag line “life is short, play more” is bloody brilliant.
Segata Sanshiro… The only console mascot to moonlight as a cyberneticly enhanced superhero, delivering kicks made of burning justice that caused his foes to explode.
Oh, and he could make Sonic R’s theme music awesome.
#Se-ga-ta San-shi-ro! Se-ga-ta San-shi-ro!#
… Sega-tasan-shiro!!
Tim Ferguson N64 ads were great.
C’mon Wolfman PS2!
This list should have just been Segata Sanshiro and then ends.
NOTHING IS BETTER THAN SEGATA SANSHIRO!!
Kevin Butler…ah, he was brilliant. Who can forget his speech at E3?
Also, that “For the Players” ad Sony made, with all of the game characters meeting in a bar…
How is there not a single “Now you’re playing with power!” ad on this list?
https://youtu.be/x3rPDZm_1rI
https://youtu.be/C6KOlC393lo
Man, the Saturn sure got some amazing-looking games that never made it to the West. So many tactical isometric RPGs!
Saturn and Dreamcast probably still my fave consoles.