Grand Theft Auto IV Teaser... Teased?
Over at Rob 'Xemu' Fermier's blog, the Ensemble Studios staffer points out a 30-minute TV advert teaser for the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer, which "...ran on the FX network in the wee hours [on Thursday]" - yep, a full half-hour of just a repetitive countdown message. Wonder how much that cost?
Xemu notes: "I think Rockstar's approach here of using TV even at this early stage makes a lot of sense given the wide target audience of the game. Having a countdown via off-hour TV spots is pretty intriguing and may lead some people to the web based version of the same (which is all the information reallly in the ad)... But the levels of recursion here are pretty astounding."
Right! "This is promotion (TV) for the promotion (web) for the promotion (trailer) of a game. Of course, I found out about this through a fansite which adds a fourth level... then I guess this is sort of promotion of that, so now it's a fifth level..." And this one is the 6th! Anyhow, Planet Grand Theft Auto has up-to-the-minute gossip, noting: "The first GTA4 trailer releases on March 29 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time", and, indeed: "Grand Theft Auto IV releases on October 16, 2007 in North America for PS3 and XBOX 360."
Comments
It's like the Ghost of Acclaim's ad department got a job at Rockstar.
Posted by: John H. | March 24, 2007 3:40 PM
that is so cool
Posted by: Adam | March 24, 2007 8:55 PM
This reminds me of E3 2005, where they rented out an obscenely large amount of the show floor, and then blocked it all off and let NO ONE in. Rockstar knows that they're about the petty PR-journalist circlejerk that provides hype and keeps most of the industry afloat, and so they don't need to "market". GTA3 sold by word of mouth alone, and the sequels became even more successful along the same lines. I'm sure some clever marketing guy at Rockstar thinks this is the funniest thing in the world -- and I'm inclined to agree. It's kind of brilliant, really.
Posted by: Toups | March 25, 2007 3:01 AM
Er, "above", not "about". Kind of totally changes the meaning of that sentence, doesn't it?
That's what I get for posting late night drunken comments!!
Posted by: Toups | March 25, 2007 3:04 AM
I think this is just fucking ridiculous. It reminds me why I no longer care about GTA, and haven't for a while; it's nothing more than a puffed-up balloon of hype. GTA is one of the most overrated, over-hyped series in gaming history, and this kind of self-indulgent wankery just proves it further.
Posted by: Tetsuo | March 25, 2007 5:10 AM
i am a big fan of rockstar games and just want to know if it will be out on plain x box instead of x box 360 because i only have a x box and ps2
p.s. what will the cost be in Australia?
Posted by: josh | July 6, 2007 5:26 AM