Video game commercials were pretty wild. Nintendo had mascots that made royal growls at the Turtles. The guys explode vomiting to Yoshi’s Island. And don’t get me started on the era of brand activation stunts where Capcom served people flavored meals. These days you have the chance to get a promotional box set for The Hives. A new commercial for the Switch 2 edition of Starblade is a true throwback, featuring live-action performers integrating the main character Eve into their daily lives. In isolation, it’s quite a charming video. In isolation.
“It should have been me!” » shouts dozens of comments on the YouTube page, which already has two million views.
The advertising wants to emphasize that on the Nintendo Switch you can take Starblade with you. In its 100 seconds, we see Eve catching Frisbees in the park, sharing sodas, and showing off her future sword to commuters. Front and center is interior decor. A grown man who gets tucked in by Eve, has a bedtime story read to him, and even has a little creature kicked out from under his bed.
Released in 2024, the initially unpretentious sci-fi hack and slash Starblade has become a fixation of the traveling culture wars. Higher profile than most erotic games available, those determined to manifest a return to 90s machismo in gaming and marketing turned gaming into a totem. This blade turned against Shift Up’s developers when an attempt to change or add clothing to its characters erupted into a campaign of grievance. It was pretty stupid. It’s always pretty stupid here.
Marketing teams are rarely this stupid. One must assume that the Oedipal undertones of the new ad and the resulting fan fascination are intentional. And as someone who loves weirdos Grand Theft Auto Coca-Cola ad, obliged to be consistent in my time on Earth, I give my blessing to this spot.
Of course, the other thing is Starblade games have become associated with a very wary adoption of AI. The trailer for the sequel, Star Blade: Rain of Bloodpushed each button up, but with the kind of weird generative machine assistance seen in shovelware’s mobile ads. To their credit, this new advert does not trigger any of the those red flags, and Eve’s performer, Jade J, released behind-the-scenes footage to further suggest that those in the advert are flesh and blood. So that’s one less thing you’ll have to talk to your therapist about.
Gn tech
