2K Teases XCOM with Citizen Skywatch ARG

[Greg Tito]

2K Teases XCOM with Citizen Skywatch ARG

A retro website asking citizens to watch the skies is the latest viral marketing campaign for the sci-fi shooter XCOM.

Marketers have a harder time getting consumers to care about their products these days. Boo hoo, I know, but in order to fight through the noise, nerd-centric products like games and movies often try to come up with a meta ARG or bombard the endemic press with gimmicks a la the Dante's Inferno campaign. It seems that 2K Games is slowly rolling out something like the former with a Twitter feed, a Facebook page and a website devoted to "Citizen Skywatch." The only problem is that casual observers can be clueless as to what this campaign is actually promoting. The Escapist just received a press release that mentions the "Citizen Skywatch Alternate Reality Game for XCOM" however that seems to point to the sci-fi shooter reboot of the classic turn-based strategy game. More details will be surfacing in the days leading up to PAX Prime.

A few days ago, the web address http://www.citizenskywatch.com [http://www.citizenskywatch.com] began showing a blog featuring entries from someone called "Citizen One." The website warns of an invasion coming from the skies and urges all readers to maintain vigilance.

ATTENTION CITIZEN SOLDIERS:

THE INVASION HAS BEGUN.

OUR SKIES ARE FILLED WITH THE SHADOWS OF AN ENEMY UNKNOWN: ITS ORIGIN IMPENETRABLE, ITS PURPOSE INSCRUTABLE, ITS METHODS -- INCREDIBLE.

The "Citizen Skywatch Teletype" - otherwise known as a Twitter feed set up by the marketers - went live two days ago and a Facebook page also now states that the Citizen Skywatch was founded in August 1960. The location is listed as: "We are everywhere."

The campaign hints at a larger movement, perhaps with gameplay elements similar to the I Love Bees alternate reality game that promoted Halo 2 or the more recent Portal 2 images leaked by Valve earlier this year. But other than the standard marketing pieces listed above, this ARG feels a little sparse - at least right now. More information will be forthcoming at PAX Prime, as the release promises that some forum goers will be able to converse with Citizen One himself.

"Attendees at PAX will be able to step into Citizen One's Seattle bunker as he recruits new agents into Citizen SkyWatch to expose the government's attempts to cover up the unknown threat invading our skies," says 2K Games.

While that sounds interesting - as long as they get a skilled actor to play the role, I vote for Sean Connery - it must be a bit frustrating for the marketing team for the Citizen Skywatch Facebook page [http://www.facebook.com/CitizenSkywatch] to be plastered with comments begging for different games than the one it's meant to promote. "GTA V? Please R*!" one commenter laments.

Source: Fusible [http://fusible.com/2011/08/take-two-publishes-teaser-page-for-yet-to-be-revealed-citizen-skywatch/]

Permalink

 

[Zhukov]

"Citizen One"?

Man, that guy must hate Gordon.

Hurr hurr.

 

[Alphakirby]

Well fuck,Facebook people are fucking stupid,IT IS NOT GTA V AT ALL,WHY CAN YOU NOT NOTICE THAT!?

 

[Karadalis]

Time units will just be another version of MP or SP or VATS points from fallout.. a currency to use for special abilitys... nothing new there. Researching? From what i gathered you either sacrifice alien artifacts to further some yet unknown research projects (most likely simple upgrades for your henchmen) or keep them for usage. But the thing is in xcom you researched stuff to use it.. not use it while its being researched. Also "tactical mode" ? Again, its an action FPS... it wont be a ghost recon or SWAT game with aliens. Pointing your finger at some chest high walls and tell your two henchmen to go over there is hardly being tactical.

The only way that any tactics would play in is if the levels themselves are open.. wich i doubt since the game looked to be heavily scripted from what they have shown. Theres only so much "tactic" you can put into a run n gun FPS

Dont get me wrong.. the game itselfe might be highly enjoyable... but it simply doesnt deserve the title X-com. It deserves a different new title because it is infact an entirely new game with no ties whatsoever to the old games.

EDIT: So they say its not a gun n run.. but what they have shown so far looks pretty much like a gun n run... DEVs say alot of things to apese fandoms only to back out in the last minute or say that they where "misinterpreted" by people. I rather believe my own eyes over something a Dev said, got burned way to often the last couple of years.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Perhaps using the name relevant to the gameplay might be more appropriate instead of the usual name whoring.

 

[sniddy_v1legacy]

As a HUGE Xcom fan

I expect this to be a huge steaming pile of crap and a cheep nasty cash in

I FULLY expect to be vindicated when they deliver the above or a nasty bastardization that strategy fans hate as its a tarted up Run n Gun and FPS fans hate as it's a fiddly and non explosive shooter....in affect by trying to do both they feck up completely

If however they don't then bully for them, I still think this is a dumb ass fuckwit thing to so with a fantastic brand name and for reallllllly dumb ass fuckwit reasons

 

[FredTheUndead]

In before the 'OMG XCOM iz difirent!!!!!' hate.

Weird promo stuff never impresses me. I want the game because of the tactical and rpg play, not some odd internet sites.

Doubt there's going to be much tactical or RPG play in this shooter. Fail ARG for a fail game will fail. With any luck.

Your doubts are unfounded. That or all of the interviews with the devs at the last E3 were a lie. Time units, alien research, the 'tactical mode' have been in development for over a year. A lot of people are just blinded with rage over it not being a remake of the first couple of games in the series.

EDIT: They specifically say you can't play this game as a run and gun shooter too.

What they essentially say is "this will be Mass Effect in the 50s and have nothing to do with Xcom."

Of course, if they advertise hard enough the dumbshit 360 crowed will buy enough of it to make bank anyway, thus successfully murdering another franchise.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Doubt there's going to be much tactical or RPG play in this shooter. Fail ARG for a fail game will fail. With any luck.

The failure will fail. The majority of consumers have even less respect for older IPs than those rebooting it.

 

[WaysideMaze]

Of course, if they advertise hard enough the dumbshit 360 crowed will buy enough of it to make bank anyway, thus successfully murdering another franchise.

Murdering a franchise whose last release was over a decade ago? Yeah ok...

 

[thiosk]

I intended to make a nonsensical intel report about flying communists and their acts of aerial socialism, but it turns out that one must be registered and logged in. To another website. Good god.

I'm done registering to websites. Too much. Too many passwords.

 

[Parnage]

Of course, if they advertise hard enough the dumbshit 360 crowed will buy enough of it to make bank anyway, thus successfully murdering another franchise.

Murdering a franchise whose last release was over a decade ago? Yeah ok...

Doesn't matter when the last release was if your pretty much just taking the name and making at best a ghost recon game with aliens. I feel bad for all the real XCOM fans that this game is being made and being turned into something so..unlike what it was. Oh well don't worry I am sure someday someone will take an old game you loved and turn it into a Halo style shooter.

 

[Tdc2182]

In before the 'OMG XCOM iz difirent!!!!!' hate.

Weird promo stuff never impresses me. I want the game because of the tactical and rpg play, not some odd internet sites.

Doubt there's going to be much tactical or RPG play in this shooter. Fail ARG for a fail game will fail. With any luck.

Your doubts are unfounded. That or all of the interviews with the devs at the last E3 were a lie. Time units, alien research, the 'tactical mode' have been in development for over a year. A lot of people are just blinded with rage over it not being a remake of the first couple of games in the series.

EDIT: They specifically say you can't play this game as a run and gun shooter too.

That and then there was Fallout 3, which did the exact same thing and managed to get that "Game of The Year" award.

But you know, no one cares about that.

 

[samwise970]

The reason the whole 'I love bees' thing worked is because people actually WANTED to play the next Halo. It won't work for a game that, instead of having a lot of hype already, if overall one of the most hated reboots in recent memory. I can't imagine anyone actually being psyched for this ARG. Or the game itself, for that matter.

 

[Alphakirby]

As a HUGE Xcom fan

I expect this to be a huge steaming pile of crap and a cheep nasty cash in

I FULLY expect to be vindicated when they deliver the above or a nasty bastardization that strategy fans hate as its a tarted up Run n Gun and FPS fans hate as it's a fiddly and non explosive shooter....in affect by trying to do both they feck up completely

If however they don't then bully for them, I still think this is a dumb ass fuckwit thing to so with a fantastic brand name and for reallllllly dumb ass fuckwit reasons

OK! Let's try this again in the classic XCOM fashion and have another fucking studio shut down because the majority of people will say "ZOMGZ I LEIKED THE SHOOTER IDEA NOT THIS ****** STRATEGY SHIT! WHERE'S THE CHEST HIGH WALLS,THE GREY AND BROWN,THIS GAME IS TEH SUXX00rZ AND I WON'T BUY IT!"

But then again,I am a cynical man who does not believe in the human race surprising me anymore.

 

[FredTheUndead]

As a HUGE Xcom fan

I expect this to be a huge steaming pile of crap and a cheep nasty cash in

I FULLY expect to be vindicated when they deliver the above or a nasty bastardization that strategy fans hate as its a tarted up Run n Gun and FPS fans hate as it's a fiddly and non explosive shooter....in affect by trying to do both they feck up completely

If however they don't then bully for them, I still think this is a dumb ass fuckwit thing to so with a fantastic brand name and for reallllllly dumb ass fuckwit reasons

OK! Let's try this again in the classic XCOM fashion and have another fucking studio shut down because the majority of people will say "ZOMGZ I LEIKED THE SHOOTER IDEA NOT THIS ****** STRATEGY SHIT! WHERE'S THE CHEST HIGH WALLS,THE GREY AND BROWN,THIS GAME IS TEH SUXX00rZ AND I WON'T BUY IT!"

But then again,I am a cynical man who does not believe in the human race surprising me anymore.

The last big strategy game to sell well was Civ5, released, yes, BY FUCKING 2K.

In before the 'OMG XCOM iz difirent!!!!!' hate.

Weird promo stuff never impresses me. I want the game because of the tactical and rpg play, not some odd internet sites.

Doubt there's going to be much tactical or RPG play in this shooter. Fail ARG for a fail game will fail. With any luck.

Your doubts are unfounded. That or all of the interviews with the devs at the last E3 were a lie. Time units, alien research, the 'tactical mode' have been in development for over a year. A lot of people are just blinded with rage over it not being a remake of the first couple of games in the series.

EDIT: They specifically say you can't play this game as a run and gun shooter too.

That and then there was Fallout 3, which did the exact same thing and managed to get that "Game of The Year" award.

But you know, no one cares about that.

And Fallout 3 was a near complete failure, a bunch of set pieces of random quality set into a giant empty pile of dirt and rusted metal, with no attempt at a connected setting or proper relation to lore or continuity. But it led to New Vegas, which is essentially the true Fallout 3, so there's that.

Of course, if they advertise hard enough the dumbshit 360 crowed will buy enough of it to make bank anyway, thus successfully murdering another franchise.

Murdering a franchise whose last release was over a decade ago? Yeah ok...

Doesn't matter when the last release was if your pretty much just taking the name and making at best a ghost recon game with aliens. I feel bad for all the real XCOM fans that this game is being made and being turned into something so..unlike what it was. Oh well don't worry I am sure someday someone will take an old game you loved and turn it into a Halo style shooter.

Pretty much this.

In before the 'OMG XCOM iz difirent!!!!!' hate.

Weird promo stuff never impresses me. I want the game because of the tactical and rpg play, not some odd internet sites.

Doubt there's going to be much tactical or RPG play in this shooter. Fail ARG for a fail game will fail. With any luck.

Your doubts are unfounded. That or all of the interviews with the devs at the last E3 were a lie. Time units, alien research, the 'tactical mode' have been in development for over a year. A lot of people are just blinded with rage over it not being a remake of the first couple of games in the series.

EDIT: They specifically say you can't play this game as a run and gun shooter too.

What they essentially say is "this will be Mass Effect in the 50s and have nothing to do with Xcom."

Of course, if they advertise hard enough the dumbshit 360 crowed will buy enough of it to make bank anyway, thus successfully murdering another franchise.

You're a few games late to call this murdering the X-COM franchise.

And why do you have to call people names? That's rude and uncalled for.

Well Apocalypse was alright, though Terror of the Deep was godawful. At least those were strategy titles and not something completely unrelated.

And I'm saying that because that's who this is marketed to: not Xcom fans, but idiot console owners who have no idea what Xcom is and just buy what shows up on TV.

 

[Tdc2182]

In before the 'OMG XCOM iz difirent!!!!!' hate.

Weird promo stuff never impresses me. I want the game because of the tactical and rpg play, not some odd internet sites.

Doubt there's going to be much tactical or RPG play in this shooter. Fail ARG for a fail game will fail. With any luck.

Your doubts are unfounded. That or all of the interviews with the devs at the last E3 were a lie. Time units, alien research, the 'tactical mode' have been in development for over a year. A lot of people are just blinded with rage over it not being a remake of the first couple of games in the series.

EDIT: They specifically say you can't play this game as a run and gun shooter too.

That and then there was Fallout 3, which did the exact same thing and managed to get that "Game of The Year" award.

But you know, no one cares about that.

And Fallout 3 was a near complete failure, a bunch of set pieces of random quality set into a giant empty pile of dirt and rusted metal, with no attempt at a connected setting or proper relation to lore or continuity. But it led to New Vegas, which is essentially the true Fallout 3, so there's that.

Let me see, where did I put that.... Oh right, here it is.

Spoiler

There's only a few people who would disagree with you there.