Konami Code Plus Newsweek Equals Zombies!

vansau

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May 25, 2010
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Konami Code Plus Newsweek Equals Zombies!

The Konami Code doesn't just help you beat videogames anymore. It can also unlock news reports of a zombie invasion.

The <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami_code>Konami Code is one of those things that's managed to outlive its original use and become a part of geek culture. Originally, it let players skip levels and gain extra lives <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Konami_code_games>in any number of games like Contra and Gradius. Now, entering the code can unlock news of a zombie attack on a major news site.

At least, it could until yesterday. It turns out that someone on Newsweek's web team must've been a gamer from the 1980s, because typing in the code would suddenly flood the front page with news stories about a zombie invasion.

According to these articles, the East Coast of the United States was under attack from hordes of the walking dead. Subsequent articles would investigate the origin of the zombie infection and would also advise readers to perfect their headshot skills.

Apparently the Powers That Be at the magazine were unaware of the easter egg on their site until it became infamous on the Web and someone brought it to their attention. "Now that we've all had a laugh," a spokesperson said of the joke, "we will be removing it."

The feature has very promptly disappeared from the side, which is a shame. It's cute and bizarre and was obviously the result of a lot of hard work by some talented people. If the magazine kept the joke online (albeit including a disclaimer about how the stories aren't real), there's no doubt that web traffic would see a huge increase.

Source: Geek.com

Image courtesy of Geek.com

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AkJay

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Feb 22, 2009
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I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
 

Omikron009

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May 22, 2009
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I can't be the only person who input the Konami code into the Escapist after reading this.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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There's a lot of sites that have little Konami code easter eggs.

They're fun things. Wish Newsweek would have kept it.
 

PrototypeC

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Apr 19, 2009
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"Now that we've all had a laugh"

I can imagine him saying that with a stony face, in his dark boardroom, cutting off a piece of his fried puppy.
 

Therumancer

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PrototypeC said:
"Now that we've all had a laugh"

I can imagine him saying that with a stony face, in his dark boardroom, cutting off a piece of his fried puppy.
Now I understand that BBQfork puppy killing incident better. The parents are obviously trying to groom their child for a career as a lulz-killing executive.

-

Also as someone from the east coast, let's just say some odd stuff was going on down here. I'm not entirely sure that was a joke, I simply think the military guys who had been shutting off a few of the towns down here finally got to them. The zombie outbreak would explain a lot... up until now I was simply thinking they were right about that bird flu outbreak. Though I *HAD* been wondering about the upended Pfizer's truck that was leaking gas that was on youtube for about 15 minutes....

;)
 

vansau

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May 25, 2010
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PrototypeC said:
"Now that we've all had a laugh"

I can imagine him saying that with a stony face, in his dark boardroom, cutting off a piece of his fried puppy.
...as his harem of orphan waifs sobs silently in the background...
AkJay said:
I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
Glad to see the readers are on top of this stuff. I was assigned the story via the Geek.com link. In the future, send that stuff to us! We love crediting readers for tips :)
 

The Random One

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May 29, 2008
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PrototypeC said:
"Now that we've all had a laugh"

I can imagine him saying that with a stony face, in his dark boardroom, cutting off a piece of his fried puppy.
Yes. You need to be completely humourless not to realize how much saying that makes you look like a stone-faced villain.
 

The Bandit

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AkJay said:
I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
You have almost 4000 posts, and you still don't know that you look like a douche when you do that?
 

AkJay

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Feb 22, 2009
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The Bandit said:
AkJay said:
I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
You have almost 4000 posts, and you still don't know that you look like a douche when you do that?
I know I looked like a douche, that's why I apologized. You've been here for quite some time as well, don't you know that personal insults (calling me a douche) is strictly against the rules? Also, the OP said it was quite alright and that I was doing the right thing by telling him. You lose, sir.
 

The Rogue Wolf

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AkJay said:
I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
It's been said before- news stories are written independently of forum posts (and usually end up going up later, as they're subject to fact-checking, spellchecking, editorial intervention, dark ritualistic sacrifices, etc.). If a particular member is responsible for bringing it to the news team's attention then they'll usually get a credit in article.

Now. It's obvious as to why Newsweek took this down. They knew that people would start complaining that so-and-so article was pro-zombie or anti-zombie, and there would be the inevitable zombie-rights group protests outside the offices (the Delegation for Enfranchisement and Due Equal Rights for Zombies, or DEDERZ), and every news post would have a comment from that one guy who keeps claiming the entire Zombie Uprising is just another trick of the Military-Industrial Complex.

I can't blame them for wanting to avoid that headache, myself.
 

vansau

Mortician of Love
May 25, 2010
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AkJay said:
The Bandit said:
AkJay said:
I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
You have almost 4000 posts, and you still don't know that you look like a douche when you do that?
I know I looked like a douche, that's why I apologized. You've been here for quite some time as well, don't you know that personal insults (calling me a douche) is strictly against the rules? Also, the OP said it was quite alright and that I was doing the right thing by telling him. You lose, sir.
Enough. If you can't play nice, I will turn the internet around and we can all go home.
 

Jared

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Jul 14, 2009
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Talk about pop culture! That is so cool! Shame it didn't stay up
 

theSovietConnection

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Jan 14, 2009
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AkJay said:
I'm so sorry to have to do this to you...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.202046-Konami-Code#6707472

If it is any consolation, you put a lot more effort into your post, so good on you for that!
The News section is independent of the forums, and therefore whatever is in the forums cannot influence the content of the News section.

EDIT: Damn, was I really away that long? Anyway, The Rogue Wolf says it better then I do, refer to his post.