And why would anyone want to pre-order a game anyway? At worst it only sells out for two weeks from the release date. Maximum. Sigh...you kids today...

What is this "sell out" of which you speak? Are you referring to some arcane method of distributing software as encoded dots on plastic? Dude, last century called.... they want their outdated distribution model back. :D

I kid, I kid! But seriously, I do kinda laugh at the concept of buying software on physical media any more. I haven't bought a single game from a shop in nearly 7 years. And I live in NZ, internet is not that flash here!

Damn it, man! If it's not one damn good trailer it's another!

It's actually movie quality. The characters are authentic. Everything just comes together so nicely. I almost wish this was a movie and not a game.

And that is precisely the least impressive part about it. It will probably be a perfectly decent game, all told, but that's because there's a good sense of what GTA is about and how it plays. If this were new IP, I'd be extremely dubious. Games are not movies and this obsession that some of them have with being movies is not a good thing.

That said, a trailer isn't a game either, and it's not clear to me whether a trailer should emphasize the gameplay or the cinematic aspects of a game like this. Again, it's not like people don't generally know what GTA is about. Arguably there's very little point in highlighting gameplay, and since the cutscenes are in-engine that's a plus.

Games are not movies and this obsession that some of them have with being movies is not a good thing.

I think the obsession with wanting a game to be seen as art just as a movie is is the actual obsession.

It's actually movie quality. The characters are authentic. Everything just comes together so nicely. I almost wish this was a movie and not a game.

And that is precisely the least impressive part about it. It will probably be a perfectly decent game, all told, but that's because there's a good sense of what GTA is about and how it plays. If this were new IP, I'd be extremely dubious. Games are not movies and this obsession that some of them have with being movies is not a good thing.

That said, a trailer isn't a game either, and it's not clear to me whether a trailer should emphasize the gameplay or the cinematic aspects of a game like this. Again, it's not like people don't generally know what GTA is about. Arguably there's very little point in highlighting gameplay, and since the cutscenes are in-engine that's a plus.

I'd say that Rockstar leaves out gameplay in trailers not only because we know what GTA is all about but also because they want a bigger "oomph" when players play it the first time. They know more or less what to expect, but by just omitting gameplay from trailers, I think it will get people more impressed the first time they play it. I like it that way.