Destiny: The Taken King’s trailer in the West vs. Japan

This post is not meant as a revelation, nor is it meant to educate. We all know that cultural differences, divides, preferences and idiosyncrasies exist, and they’re particularly distinct when you compare the likes of, say, the West and Japan.

Video games and their marketing campaigns are really no different, and it’s for that reason that the way in which they’re executed is pretty interesting to us.

Shall we compare Destiny’s upcoming expansion, The Taken King, as an example of that?

First up, the live action trailer for Destiny: The Taken King in the West, entitled ‘Evil’s Most Wanted’.

Inundated with outdated catchphrases, cheesy one-liners and questionable acting, Evil’s Most Wanted was a near loss for us – we were this close to giving up on Bungie ever getting Destiny’s live action trailers right.

Fortunately for all involved, the action is fairly impressive and, because we’re 10 years old, dispatching enemies with finesse and “badassery” has always appealed to us.

And now for Japan.

Exuding that distinct Japanese quirkiness and feeling more like a live action anime than a trailer for Destiny, it’s a whole different can of worms.

It’s a pity Bungie doesn’t see that these ultra-cheesy videos don’t work as well as they think, we’re talking about the western trailer only. Or perhaps that’s the point?

We know they’re capable of producing something fantastic; this cinematic trailer for The Taken King is evidence of that.