After the official closing of E3, Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards have become the main events in the gaming industry. Behind both of them is Jeff Keely, who sells advertising and trailer space for amounts that indie developers and small publishers cannot offer.
A new report from Esquire has revealed details about how much developers have to pay to have their trailers shown at this year's Summer Game Fest. For a trailer lasting one minute, you have to pay $250 thousand, for one and a half minutes - $350 thousand, two minutes - $450 thousand, two and a half minutes - $550 thousand.
"If you add up all of the one- to two-and-a-half-minute trailers aired during last year’s Summer Game Fest, those price levels could translate into a $9.65 million haul for the main show alone," the report says.
It is also reported that such prices were at the last The Game Awards. This may explain why developers saw the "finish" sign after 30 seconds of speech, even when they received the Game of the Year award.
However, industry representatives say that such prices are well worth it, as both events hosted by Keeley garner millions of views, and announcements from these events are talked about on social media for weeks.
However, such prices are a problem for indie developers and smaller publishers who can't afford to pay $250,000 to have their trailers shown. And even if they manage to show a short trailer, it won't have the same effect as a two-and-a-half minute trailer.
In a conversation with another marketing professional, Esquire also noted that this year's Summer Game Fest is selling tickets for ordinary visitors, but even if all the seats are sold out, it will only amount to $246 thousand in profit, which is not enough even for a one-minute trailer.
The event also includes Play Days, a three-day invitation-only media event where studios can buy a full-fledged stand for $150 thousand and a smaller place to meet with journalists for $50 thousand. At these events, developers often let you play different demo games, tell you more about their projects, and communicate with journalists.
This year's Summer Game Fest will start today, June 7, at 23:30 Kyiv time. You can watch the event on YouTube.