The launch of the Xbox Series X draws closer, with the next generation of consoles kicking off soon. Of course, the build-up to new systems is an exciting time for the video game industry, offering leaps in terms of what's possible for the medium as a whole. Xbox has released a new ad to capitalize on the Xbox Series X's popularity, and it's a bizarre one.
The new ad, which clocks in at just over a minute, features Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya on a strange journey through some of Xbox's biggest upcoming games, as well as third-party titles like Assassin's Creed Valhalla. At one point, the actor turns into Halo's Master Chief, whose helmet turns into a planet after being removed.
It's an all-around odd ad, though it does effectively sell the idea of how fast the new Xbox consoles are meant to be. Of course, the uninitiated likely won't realize what exactly is being advertised until the very end, where the Xbox Series X and S are placed next to each other. The new Xbox Series X slogan "Power Your Dreams" is also featured in the advertisement, tieing together the marketing campaign for the new hardware.
Video game ads have long bordered on the absurd, most notably with Sony's PlayStation ads. While a very few have come close to the marketing material for the PlayStation 3, Sony recently released a weird PS5 ad that left some scratching their heads. Of course, the general oddity of the ads — both for Xbox and PlayStation — are intentional, as they aim to start a conversation about the consoles.
With the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X just a month away, there's still a decent amount of time for Sony and Microsoft to release new ads for the consoles, though whether they'll be as strange as this one or have mainstream appeal is a mystery. Seeing so many properties blend together is interesting, however, and it isn't necessarily a bad marketing angle if it gets people talking.
The next step is ensuring that the first few months of the console launch go well. Rumors had circulated that the Xbox Series X had a heat problem, but those seem to have been mostly disproven by now. That being said, after the Red Ring of Death problem the Xbox 360 had, it's natural that some people are alarmed at the reports of a potential problem with the new console.
The Xbox Series X releases November 10, 2020.