Blood, sweat, and tears

Who would have thought that one trailer could make such a difference? Dead Island, the janky co-operative zombie slayer from Deep Silver, has officially surpassed 5 million sales since its release in 2011, which is nothing short of a small miracle considering how broken the game was at launch. The publisher – which now owns the Saints Row franchise – added that the numbers show that the game has sold approximately 402.18 units every hour.

The company hasn’t quite managed to create the same splash with upcoming semi-sequel Dead Island: Riptide, but it’s tried its best. A heart-wrenching trailer was released last year, followed by probably the worst publicity stunt ever involving a collector’s edition and a pair of bloody breasts. For a reminder of better times, let’s take a look back at the first game’s reveal, which is still excellent two years on.