how greatly does TV commercial boost video game sales ?

[inxaract]

Are TV CMs expensive for video games ?

I have watched so many Hollywood big budget movie commercials on TV .

I have checked out internet to find video games TV commercials . I could not find fair enough TV-CMs about VGs .

the next-gen video games have higher budgets than last generation video games .

GTA 4 (100) , MGS 4(50-120) , GT 5(?) , LAIR (80), KILLZONE (?) , FF13 (?) , .... are made with million dollars .

I think that next-gen video game designing needs a lot of money . (beautiful landscapes , realistic battles , motion capture expenses , intense poligons , better algorithm with high AI ... )

Video game industry is about to catch and pass movie industry about the budget issue .

I have seen more video game TV-CMs on Japan TV channels than the ones on USA TV channels . Maybe TV commercials are cheaper in Japan .

what do you think ? does any MGS4 or GT5 TV commercial that is showed while a NBA play-off match is being broadcast nationally on a high rating USA TV channel boost sales ?

TV commercial expenses are really high for video games ? or are TV-CMs necessary or not ? People who love playing video games may already follow all video game news in the net and on video game magazines .

[eureka1]

Look at Nintendo's adverts in Great Britain. Luckily they're aiming for a demographic that doesn't game and their shitty adverts suffice.

Other console ads are minimal.

[AyaKunoichi]

I personally dont think TV ads affect game sales for actuall gamers as it does for the "Average joe" who might just happen to have an x-box or ps2.

The real make or break ads are the ones at E3 / Tokyo game show. THOSE get the hype going and get the whole internet buzzing about certain titles for long amounts of time... **cough cough MGS4 cough cough**

[ChingPow]

IMO, the average gamer has access to a wide array of information, thanks in no small part to the internet. Having TV commercials for video games doesn't really translate in huge increases in sales. I think its more of the reputation of the game franchises (ie. GTA, MGS, FF and etc).