E3 is just around the corner and this year’s show looks to be a big one. The press conferences, displays, and demos on the show floor will certainly be big but Bethesda is taking “big” literally with their Skyrim ad set to greet E3 attendees along with the general Los Angeles population.
The Skyrim ad itself is set to span three separate towers of a building that is at least 12 stories tall. The massive display looks to feature Dovahkiin in some respect, along with a cold environment. This certainly is not the first time a game had a super-sized ad displayed in Los Angeles for E3 - but it does look to be up there with some of the biggest from years’ past.
While the ad is big, chances are the game itself will be even bigger. The Elder Scrolls titles have certainly delivered huge game worlds, deep stories, and raked in great reviews throughout the franchise’s previous outings. If the hype surrounding Skyrim following its Spike Video Game Awards teaser trailer is any indication, The Elder Scrolls 5 will follow in those same critical (and commercial) darling footsteps too.
Ads like this demonstrate just how big the video-game business has become over the years. Huge movie billboards and building wraps have dominated the Los Angeles landscape for years but as video games become bigger and bigger it was only a matter of time before we see them receiving the same treatment. It also shows how much money developers and publishers spend on these AAA games. A building billboard like this cannot be cheap and that is in addition to all the money spent to actually develop and make the game.
What do you think about the spectacle that is E3? Do you think ads like this actually help sell games? Would you rather see companies spend less and potentially pass savings onto consumers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim releases November 11, 2011 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
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Source: Geoff Keighley (via Twitter)
