Humanity is responsible for some pretty amazing things, but we as gamers are a niche group whose heroes represent the antithesis of mainstream culture.  Heroes like John Carmack, Sid Meier, Fred Savage, Shigeru Miyamoto…

Wait, what!?  Did he just freaking say “Fred Savage?” 

Way back in 1989 (which is, like… a few hundred internet years ago), a movie called The Wizard was meant to be the breakout film role for young Mr. Savage.  Admired by millions for his role in The Wonder Years, the movie’s producers had a different reality to face. Girls all know that Fred Savage isn't *that* cute, and no self-respecting 13-year-old boy would sit through ninety Savage minutes (they’re longer than actual minutes) sans Winnie Cooper. Turns out those beguiling miscalculations don’t matter when your movie features actual gameplay footage from the yet-to-be-released-on-U.S.-soil-and-soon-to-be-masterpiece Super Mario Bros. 3.

Low and behold, the nerd proletariat came out in droves for a chance to see Mario's third console adventure in action. So this begs the question -- was this the first time gameplay from an unreleased title was shown to the masses?  If it wasn’t the first, it certainly might have been the most high profile.  The point is that the only reasonable conclusion to draw at this point is that we all have Fred Savage to thank for the modern day game trailer.

Twenty-some odd years later and pithy movie trivia aside, the advent of the high-definition home console and a burgeoning internet culture has treated fans to an embarrassment of riches.  It used to be that only magazines like Nintendo Power and GamePro could bring you exclusive screenshots of a select few upcoming titles.  Titillating though they were, nothing sells a game better than seeing it in action!

For now we live in a world of interactive entertainment, where our "proof in the pudding" is the same place where distinctions betweenmovies and games have become increasingly blurred. Hilariously enough The Wizard features a video game in a movie, and it was only a few short years after that when we started seeing movies based on games.

 When speaking of these similarities and how they relate to promotion, Bill Loguidice (one of the authors of Vintage Games – it's a book) said in an e-mail interview that, "The video game industry has had a Hollywood fetish for many, many years, so it’s not surprising that our trailers and teaserslook very much like what the movie industry does." He goes on to say that,"Many of today’s games are themselves more cinematic and brasher in scopein general anyway, so even if it is a bit of parroting, it’s not entirelyunjustified."

The evolution from side-scrolling adventures to blockbuster AAA titleshas obviously dictated the way that these games are promoted, as well. Latelast year, literal gasps of excitement could be heard as bloggers fell overthemselves to describe the cinematic beauty of the Uncharted 2 trailer.  Could you imagine that kind of video forKid Icarus orDuck Tales?  We've moved from screenshots in magazines to full fledgedtrailers that -- in a world where CGI is commonplace -- some would be hardpressed to differentiate from a movie trailer.

In all honesty though, it doesn't really matter. If nothing else the popularity of titles likeMega Man 9, Canabalt, or any or the recent handheld retro experienceshas proven that the excitement is still the same -- great gameplay will always win in the end. No matter how much money is thrown into the promotional engine, you can't polish a turd.  Promotion will change, trailers will change, and times will change -- but no one should complain as long as we get a solid game in the end.

We are indebted to Fred Savage, for better or worse as gamers.  We owe our gratitude for his tasteful and artistic communication of a hive mind’s seldom whispered desire to see these games in action.  Who knows?  Without his intervention, we may still be woefully looking at (gasp) still photos in magazines!