Trailer quality versus company tier

[ROFbeddingfield]

Looking through 58 pages of the Steam action game list i noticed something really strange.

The game trailers from BIG companies all seem to have the same issue, 90% or more of the trailer is nothing but the highest quality animated video that has nothing to do with the game.

Meaning, you see a trailer and its like "Spirits Within" movie quality, and the actual in game screen shots are like DOOM 2.

While the indipendent developers seem to be using a blend of ACTUAL in game game play and in game cut scene videos that actually matches what the actual game screen shots show.

Is this obvious to the whole world or to just the people who try to pay attention to more then "bouncing betties"?

 

[Zloth]

The big companies have cutscenes to pull from. I think they would if they could as they are far more engaging.

Check out the old advertisements in magazines. BIG painting makes up the background for the whole page. Near the bottom is a band of screenshots from the game. I would guess those shots used up less than 15% of the page.

 

[Frindis]

It is not just the big companies doing this though, as a lot of indie developers use this trick to make their asset shopped game look slightly less horrible. Take a look at Indiegogo or Kickstarter and you will see an endless amount of these trailers that have absolutely nothing to do with the end product. Some do it as a way to promote a concept, but when there is absolutely nothing else; no drawings, no animation, no nothing, well, something sure smells rotten. Kind of comparable to how movie trailers try to show the absolute best clips in the movies (often cut from the final product), but when you actually go to the cinema to watch it, you are met with something completely different.