June 6th 2024.
Have you ever wondered about the cost of having your game's trailer shown during Summer Game Fest or The Game Awards? Well, let's just say it's not cheap. In fact, it's a lot. And there are a number of reasons behind the demise of the E3 expo, but one of the main ones is simply that publishers didn't want to pay for it anymore. Building a massive, extravagant booth for industry professionals to see was becoming too expensive, and even before the pandemic hit, many had decided they'd had enough.
Although E3 may be gone, its legacy lives on. The livestreams that have taken its place still occur around the same time of year, such as this weekend's Summer Game Fest. However, it seems that this event, run by The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley, may not be saving publishers as much money as they had hoped. In fact, according to insider sources, a two-and-a-half-minute trailer can cost a whopping $550,000 to run. And that's just for a two-and-a-half-minute trailer. A one-minute trailer can cost a staggering $250,000, while a two-minute one will set you back $450,000. It's safe to assume that longer trailers come with a discount, but even so, that's still a significant amount of money.
To put things into perspective, the most expensive ad space in the world is during the Super Bowl, where 30 seconds of screen time can cost up to $7 million. The fact that these prices are even comparable is quite shocking. However, with last year's Summer Game Fest reaching a peak viewership of 2.03 million and a total of 118 million viewers tuning in at some point, it's clear that publishers see the value in capturing the attention of these keen gamers.
Interestingly, The Game Awards, which had an even more impressive peak audience of 3.6 million and a total of 118 million viewers, had the same rates as Summer Game Fest. These numbers come from unnamed insiders speaking to Esquire, with one source even commenting, "These shows are really f***ing expensive."
It's not hard to imagine that if these prices continue to rise, publishers may start to lose interest in the event, just as they did with E3. However, there are currently no signs of that happening. In fact, there are rumors that even though Sony recently held its own State of Play event, they are still planning to reveal a new Lego Horizon game at Summer Game Fest. While they could have easily announced it during their own event, the fact that they are choosing to do so during a multi-platform show suggests that they see the value in the event and are willing to pay the extra cost.
Unfortunately, it's unclear what the prices were for Summer Game Fest in 2023. If you have any information, feel free to email us, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, or sign up for our newsletter. And if you have any letters or features you want to submit, you can do so easily through our Submit Stuff page.
In the end, it's safe to say that Summer Game Fest may not be cheap, but for publishers, it's a valuable opportunity to reach a large audience of avid gamers. And with the event being the closest thing to E3 this year, it's clear that the death of E3 has had a significant impact on the gaming industry. But as long as publishers see the value in these events, they will continue to pay the high prices for a chance to showcase their upcoming games to the world.
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