I still go back and watch the cinematic trailer for Wrath of the Lich King sometimes. I’ve never even played the old RTS warcraft games, but when I saw that trailer on our satellite TV back in 2008 I thought it was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen and had to play the game. Because of the strength of that ad I’ve given blizzard hundreds of dollars over the years. I even bought some the ancillary media. I saw the movie they put out like five times. I didn’t even like it that much. When they put out lorebooks a few years ago I bought those even though I hadn’t been a regular WoW player for a number of years and even though I’ve come to despise WoW’s approach to lore and storytelling. And all of that off the back of one incredible advertisement.

Hell, even as a long time D&D player there’s an alternate world where BG3 just isn’t on my radar if they never release a cinematic trailer. It’d just be a game that the slightly annoying gays, tumblr users, and the people who are too into Critical Role won’t stop talking about.