I need those videos! It's much more decisive than almost any sort of comment or screenshot could say. There's plenty of games that just can't be described through such forms, but could be clarified through a video. Plus, it gives you a good idea of how a game looks in action, which is much more important than how it looks in screens.
A couple of observations from stuff I've seen recently: - Keep it short, tease your audience (but show core gameplay) - Include sound - Get the best setup you can, shakey iPhone-recorded videos are awful, either use ScreenFlow or similar on the Simulator, or have a properly mounted camera looking at the phone - (Keep a decent resolution!) There's obviously far more to think about than this, but some of the videos I've watched recently are absolutely awful, and these are the main letdowns.
Gameplay vids definitely help me to decide "go/no-go" on a purchase when I'm on the fence about a game in the absence of a lite version to try out. If both of these items aren't available then I wait until a wave of both positive and negative reviews to come out. Ironically, I scan for the negative reviews first to see what the consensus "negative point" is before going to the raves. Trailers serve only to whet my appetite but aren't enough to push me over in most cases. Much like cinematic trailers, the devs would only put out the best screen which don't necessarily translate to cool gameplay.
If there's not a lite version for me to try out , (or even sometimes if there is) Gameplay videos are a must in helping me when I'm on the fence about buying something.
