Have you ever wondered how much it would actually cost a publisher to show a trailer at Geoff Keighley’s Opening of the Summer Game Fest? Well, probably not. But now you’re here, which means you’re probably just a little curious, right?
Thanks to Esquire (over it Eurogamer), game announcement costs have been revealed, and they ain’t cheap, folks. Basically, publishers who want to show a one-minute trailer will have to shell out $250,000. Add 30 seconds and you get $350,000. Two minutes is $450,000, and two and a half minutes is $550,000.
For big publishers like Ubisoft or Sega (both of whom presented at last year’s event, by the way), this cost is probably just a drop in the bucket, but according to one PR expert, “current price levels make Summer Game Fest an unattainable goal for most indie developers and publisher.” Yes, we can imagine.
As for Nintendo, well… that kind of confirms why the company hasn’t participated in Summer Game Fest yet, right? However, according to reports, if a particularly juicy discovery is planned to be unveiled (or your last name happens to rhyme with ‘Moji’), then you may not have to pay such astronomical prices.
Regardless, Nintendo clearly doesn’t need Summer Game Fest as much as Summer Game Fest needs Nintendo. We suspect that if Nintendo wanted to reveal something like, say, Mario Kart 9, Geoff would probably just roll out the red carpet, produce a bunch of Mario Kart-themed rope, and not charge Nintendo a penny. But we doubt that will happen anytime soon.
This year’s Opening Showcase will be streamed live today on 14:00 PT / 17:00 ET / 22:00 BST / 23:00 CEST. We’ll have a live blog up and running, so if you want to stop by, we’ll be here. In the meantime, check out our full guide to Summer Game Fest 2024 for all the relevant details.
