The most amusing thing about this Final Fantasy 16 trailer, aside from the random assortment of sports stars, is how it attempts to appeal to both Europeans and Americans simultaneously. It means there are some people you’ll recognise and others you probably won’t – it all largely depends on which continent you’re from.
For example, we doubt there’ll be too many Europeans familiar with San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, but here he is with a DualSense in his hand! And his sections intertwine directly with Alessia Russo, the former Manchester United footballer who’s realised she can get a better contract elsewhere. Other appearances include Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies, college basketball player Angel Reese, French F1 driver Pierre Gasly, WWE superstar Xavier Woods, Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli, and American gymnast Suni Lee. It’s all over the place!
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The video’s targeted at more casual players who perhaps don’t understand what Final Fantasy is all about, and it makes very clear that the latest game can be played with no prior franchise knowledge. Obviously, Sony has been pushing this title hard as it’s a timed console exclusive, and this is just its latest attempt to help make the release a mainstream sales success.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 83
No idea who these people are. I am officially old
@Triumph741 None of them?!
I'm sure all these people will totally go and play this game in their free time! /s Xavier Woods probably would actually play it though. This was like one of those Nintendo Wii U Era commercials.
I would have went with Travis Kelce. He just won a SB, hosted SNL and has a popular Podcast.
@Triumph741 me neither ,youre not on your own my friend 😂
Is Final Fantasy 16 for sure a timed console exclusive (i.e. coming to Xbox eventually)? I figured Sony would start buttoning up the Final Fantasy series completely by now considering how important it is to the brand.
Of all the athletes mentioned, I only know who Xavier Woods is and it is not because I've seen him perform. It's because he's a huge gamer.
I have no idea who any of them are. Could have been anyone off the street for all I know. I do, however, know a lot about Final Fantasy, so perhaps I’m not the demographic they were aiming at.
@PlayStationGamer3919
Exactly! And a good chance for me to say that I went to see Tenacious D last weekend and they are bloody incredible. These people? No clue.
Pierre Gasly looking a little bored and out of place lol
NGL, I only recognized Davies because he plays football.
@Splat He'd also probably cost a lot more for all the reasons you just listed!
We've come a long way from Leona Lewis plugging FF13.
Am I the only one who thinks Sony is exaggerating in their marketing for this game? FFXVI can sell a whole lot on its own brand alone, it's not like nobody knows FF.
There are so many different marketing videos showing up in my Instagram timeline, both from SE and Sony's accounts, and they're all focused on "you don't have to play the previous FF games" or "here is a famous person loving the game". Come on! It's Final Fantasy! If you want to market it, focus on the actual game, people already know about the IP.
@get2sammyb I think it would be worth it honestly. It would 100% be a topic on his Podcast.
This is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with Sony and their investments as of late.
At least Xavier Woods was excited to be playing it.
No one on this site needs to be told about Final Fantasy. They already got us. That's the whole point of doing this.
I know the wrestler because my little bro doesn't shut up about him
I'll explain it.
Travel along a set linear route, slay some mobs, do a gap squeeze or two, hit the big baddie at the end of the path for about 10 minutes until it dies. Watch gorgeous cutscene. Repeat.
Nope, haven't heard of any of these people, either. No surprise there, considering I'm practically allergic to sports.
Sony spending way to much money on FF16 marketing its getting weird.
Removed - inappropriate language
My boy Martinelli, hopefully playing FF16 helps him score more goals next season 🤣
@Triumph741 it's OK I'm 27 and have no clue who any of them are either but that's just cuz I loathe sports of any kind 😉
I recognize the wrestling guy...but that's it.😅
Removed - unconstructive
Could have spent half to just acquire SE
Haha I also don’t know a single one of them. I like sports enough, just don’t really follow them to any real degree. I’m pretty terrible with celebrities generally, though.
I know Eric Cantona and David Seaman.
Say what you want about them paying for timed exclusivity but man Sony have really invested in FFXVI, it's basically getting the full first party treatment.
Yeah I've definitely never heard of any of them but they seem like a nice bunch
Smh must appeal to the casuals. Sad thing is the return on there investment probably won't pay off. Anybody that wants to play a JRPG especially one as big as this franchise already purchased it.
I’m surprised they didn’t go with Justin Jefferson or Josh Allen for the NFL rep here. I do like Kittle though.
It looks like we are all old 🤣. I have to wait until tomorrow now to play. It's at my delivery office which is just around the corner, yet they didn't deliver. Must have just missed today's load 🤷♂️
@NomNom I think sony will acquire square enix probably once the Activision deal is done.
You’d think there’d at least be a few football fans cause it’s a UK site. I know a few of them but mostly the footballers like Martinelli and Alphonso Davies.
Is pretty shocking to me how much money Sony has invested in an ip and company that's not even theirs! If Japan Studio's games received just 1/20 of this very aggressive marketing they would probably still be around
@Juanalf maybe Sony trying to butter up square enix for a purchase. That’s the only reason I can see Sony spending all this money on FF16.
What a useless commercial, what a waste of money…
@4kgk2 I'm just kidding, I just thought they paid a lot for athletes to do an ad about an RPG lol
@Juanalf Japan Studio never had a game or IP that's as recognizable or as marketable as Final Fantasy, there's the difference.
@Ken_Kaniff Sadly they still waiting to play a Jrpg after buying this.
@Ken_Kaniff As a Milwaukean, I'm hoping Musgrave will be good enough to take Kittle's spot for the next FF haha. Go Pack go! 🤘
@ApostateMage Pretty much. I'm enjoying it but as a TV series, not a game. I got to the first vaguely open area the other day but it's still effectively linear as it has one entrance and one exit, you can't enter any buildings, there are no NPCs, and the only thing to do is kill some enemies and pick up two items.
I’ll be curious to know the sales numbers when the dust settles on FF16. The franchise is still a tough sell to the people this ad is targeting.
no clue who are those people lol
Lol so, people need to hear what FF16 is from these people in order to understand it/buy? I don't get it, but more power to you.
@Matroska Just as I'm growing tired of doing the same thing as I travel across the map, a brilliant set piece will happen and I'll think the game is superb again. The music helps a lot, makes everything 10x better.
"You Spoony Bard!", Sony.
Good to see angel reese in there.yeah thats a lot of people talking about final fantasy 16.word up son
@Splat no one= you
@Soulless666 bro what do you know about marketing? XD
Really glad to see I’m not the only one who has no clue who any of these people are
Oh, I know one of them! I am so sporty lmao.
A lot of miserable commentators on here. Gaming is just not for the nerds, y'know.
The marketing around this game is weird. But the more marketing it gets the better.
Like the great Eazy-E said “ all publicity, even bad publicity, is good publicity.”
Interesting. Did see the Reese girl play in the NCAA basketball championship, I think. And Kittle is a guy I know the name but never saw outside of a football helmet.
The assurances that “you don’t need to have played the other 15” is such an obvious statement to those of us who know anything about gaming. It’s an fascinating balance that Square-Enix and Sony are trying for — they obviously kept the Final Fantasy name to work on name recognition and pull in longtime fans of the series, and yet they ran the risk of alienating new players so they had to make advertisements like this underscoring the stand alone nature of the game. They are really trying to play both sides here.
There are some familiar faces for me. Not as bad as the Ozzy Osbourne PSVR2 ads.
@get2sammyb Surely tongue in check trolling there, right? Who cares about Cali, they’re all off to 1000 planets in Sept cause Washington State just aloud them (not that the option would’ve been nice on PS - former North Westerner here!). SF6 and FFXVI keeping me agreeable in this UK heatwave! Keep ga(y)ming folks! x
Sony $pent a fortune? Hey Sony next time give me a call. I'll take half of what you paid for any of these to play and look thrilled out of their mind. Also like these gals and guys no one will recognize me as I play like I'm having the time of my life.
I'm serious, I need the $$$$.
@GKT What does FF mean? Musgrave definitely has the skill set to be good. I'm more praying Love turns out to be decent.
@Triumph741 : Can I join the club? I have no idea of who these celebs are either.😅
I don't even know who these people are. Also, why make "sporty" people advertise a RPG? Makes zero sense.
@UltimateOtaku91 Goals that propel you all the way to... second
I’ve never heard of any of these people, but I don’t have any interest in sports, so that’s unsurprising.
Was it necessary to hire sportspersons to promote this?
@KundaliniRising333
Completely agree. Invest the money elsewhere.
@Marquez Hey after the last 10 years I'd take it 😅
I'm so glad reading the comments I'm not alone in the who the fudge these people are,
They should have used somewhat popular streamers instead who actually spend their day playing games, not some gamer "sportStars"
I doubt they are spending LeBron money for Pierre Gasly and a 'college basketball player' 😅
It's dumb, yes. But so is everything on the internet.
@LordBakemono what do you know about me? Strange comment man… or kid most likely…
@Triumph741 Dude same! I saw the headline and thought, “Who?” This it not what will sell a game to me. I called my brother who REALLY loves sports and asked if he would play the game after showing him the trailer and his response was, “Are they genuinely having fun or simply getting paid?” and he knew who most of them were!
@czDante92 The game rocks, but I totally agree. I commented to to another about how my brother is a huge sports fan and did know most of the people in the commercial when I showed him and he brought up how genuine the excitement actually was for the game. He told me if the game looks good he’ll buy it, not if the people playing it he recognizes.
Actually have no idea who any of those are. Money well spent Sony.
@Uromastryx Dude… I had no idea. No of them! I get I’m not the target audience for the commercial, but I miss the days where it was just some random dude or chick playing and tons of clips of the game! I guess I’m just old.
@jakkaru never man trailers man, I miss my monthly demo disc with the magazine and possibly and guide to a game I was currently playing 🫣
@Ken_Kaniff FF is for Final Fantasy. I'm definitely excited to see how Jordan looks this year. Keep telling myself that Aaron went 6-10 his first year, so I hope he just stays healthy and learns a lot.
Who? Not a FF fan but I guarantee you Final Fantasy as a brand is far more famous than these people combined. Do stupid campaigns like this even convince one extra gamer to buy a copy, who isn't already aware of and foaming at the mouth for the next Final Fantasy? That's a terrible ROI, lol.
@GKT Yea I agree. I remember that 2008 6-10 season like it was yesterday. You could see Rodgers potential through that bad first season then he took off. Hoping for the same with Jordan. Us Packers fans have been eating good for so long its a strange feeling going into this season.
@Ken_Kaniff It's definitely strange lol. I was 5 when we got Favre, so I've been spoiled since I was just barely starting to understand the game. Meanwhile the Bears have gone through almost 40 QBs 😂
This is so weird. Back in the day, The jocks would beat on us (me) nerds for playing Dungeons & Dragons and final fantasy.
But now they're going to sell that stuff back to us.
Because it's not a game for the nerds anymore it's a game for the jocks and the popular kids? This is the most tone deaf marketing I have ever seen.
Pretty sure the crossover between sports and final fantasy is a miniscule sliver.
@number1024 That's a great one liner, thanks for that.
@Triumph741 Same here. Can anyone really believe these people play videogames? and FF? c'mon
Same as alot of others in this article, no clue who any of them are!
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