Nowadays, video game advertising can feel pretty much indistinguishable from that of movies. We might get a trailer, complete with ultra-cinematic visuals. And, if we're lucky, a poster – which is probably a slightly adapted version of the box art. But there was a time when video game advertising was a law unto itself.
Ads from 90s and 00s video games regularly resurface online, and for good reason – some of them are completely, utterly, absolutely bonkers. Many readers of a certain vintage will remember the grungy ads that accompanied the launch of the original PlayStation in an attempt to pitch it as a very adult console. But it turns out those are the tip of a very strange iceberg. (Looking for some more conventional posters? Check out the best print ads of all time.)
If you were not around during this time, it’s genuinely impossible to overstate how completely insane ‘90s video game ads were- like forget being cancelled, these people are going to *jail* https://t.co/lZr4NLXe9j pic.twitter.com/7ovfWhTk8nApril 10, 2024
Twitter (sorry, X) users have been sharing their favourite examples of weird and wonderful (but mainly weird) ads for games throughout the nineties and noughties, and they're nothing if not creative. Several can be filed under "you couldn't get away with that now," and quite rightly so. Virtua Fighter 2's 'domestic violence' ad, for example couldn't be in poorer taste.
Yep, many of these ads are of their time, and there's a distinct 'lad mag' quality that we certainly won't miss. But on the flipside, there's a creativity on display here that we don't see so often anymore. As many X users have commented, it'd be fascinating (and hilarious) to see a Mad Men-style show set in the world of video game advertising during this time.
We've seen plenty of controversial ads in recent years, from FKA Twigs' Calvin Klein crossover to a whole bunch of TV ads. But one thing's for sure – video game ads of the 90s seemed to court controversy very consciously.
