Have you ever thought about the price publishers pay to showcase a trailer at Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest Opening Showcase? Well, now that you’re here, it might pique your interest a bit.
Esquire (via Eurogamer) has revealed the costs involved in showing game trailers, and it’s no small amount. For a one-minute trailer, publishers need to shell out $250,000. Extend it by 30 seconds, and the cost goes up to $350,000. A two-minute trailer bumps it up to $450,000, and for two-and-a-half minutes, it’s $550,000.
While major publishers like Ubisoft or Sega can easily afford these prices, indie developers and publishers might find it out of reach. As one PR professional mentioned, “The current pricing tiers make Summer Game Fest an unattainable goal for most indie developers and publishers.”
When it comes to Nintendo, the high costs could explain why the company has not participated in Summer Game Fest yet. However, reports suggest that for a significant reveal or a well-known developer (we see you, Kojima), the prices might be negotiable.
It’s clear that Summer Game Fest could benefit from having Nintendo on board more than Nintendo needs the event. If Nintendo were to announce something big like Mario Kart 9, Geoff might just waive the fees and go all out for them. But for now, that seems unlikely.
The Opening Showcase for this year will be live today at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST. We’ll have a live blog set up, so feel free to join us. Meanwhile, check out our detailed Summer Game Fest 2024 guide for more information.