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GTA VI

On December 4th, 2023, Rockstar Games released the highly anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI set to release in 2025. The last beloved GTA game was released more than a decade ago, so this was huge news in the gaming community. Breaking records, "following the trailer's release on YouTube, the video became that platform's highest-viewed upload within 24 hours outside of the music category" (Dicarlo). In this trailer, gamers were introduced into the whole new world that GTA VI has to offer. Included in the advertisement was the staple dramatized crime and city life of the United States. Cars, street racing, crime, drugs, guns, parties, etc. all are key elements of why the GTA empire is so popular among the gaming community.

Within the trailer, there is a female narrator vaguely describing her life as a criminal, expressing notions of trust and teamwork in order to survive in this world. Using a pathos rhetorical appeal, Rockstar Games pitches the story of GTA 6 as an adrenaline inducing game filled with adventure, trust, and teamwork.

Being as the GTA games are supposed to depict a dramatized version of crime, city life, and all things bad in America, there are many examples in the trailer where we can find the reinforcement of dramatized American cultural norms. For example: street racing and takeovers, southerners with guns and tattoos playing in the mud, high speed police chases, and the dramatic and crazy club/party scene.

Fortnite

On November 2nd, 2023, Epic Games released one of many trailers for their release of Season 5 of Fortnite Battle Royale. Within the trailer, Epic Games teased the upcoming season with its return to the "OG" Fortnite map. The return to the OG Fortnite map was a huge success among the gamer community as it remained nostalgic for many Fortnite players. In the trailer, "we’re given our first official glimpse of Tilted Towers, one of the most popular locations in Fortnite’s history" (Kain). They even used a song that was extremely popular during the OG Fortnite years. With this new release, Fortnite attempted to recapture the spirit and youth of what Fortnite used to be during its prime years in 2018.

It is undeniable that Epic Games utilized a pathos rhetorical appeal for this trailer. OG Fortnite was widely succesful and a huge part of many gamers youth. For me especially, OG Fortnite was one of the first battle royale type games that I ever played. Rekindling the nostalgia and gamer craze surrounded by Fortnite in 2018 was a perfect way for Epic Games to pull on gamers heartstrings and convince them to make a return to the game.

The cultural norm expressed within this Fortnite trailer would be the notion of returning to the past and things that we seem as nostalgic.

Sources:

DiCarlo, J. (2024, February 13). Grand theft auto 6 trailer passes ridiculous New Milestone. Game Rant. https://gamerant.com/grand-theft-auto-6-trailer-milestone-175-million-views-youtube/

Fortnite. "Fortnite Chapter 4: Season OG - Return to Tilted Towers." Youtube, uploaded by Fortnite, 2 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30jALc1_K7g

Kain, E. (2023, November 7). Everything you need to know about “fortnite” season Og: Original map locations, challenges and more. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2023/11/03/fortnite-chapter-4-season-og-start-time-original-map-locations-and-everything-you-need-to-know/?sh=5de994926579

Rockstar Games. "Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1." Youtube, uploaded by Rockstar Games, 4 December 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdBZY2fkU-0