Avenger Controller Makers Donate $10k to Offset Bad PR

[Greg Tito]

Avenger Controller Makers Donate $10k to Offset Bad PR

The company has wrested control of its websites and social media from rogue Ocean Marketing guy Paul Christoforo.

Hopefully, we can now put this baby to rest. Paul Christoforo's story of abuse made headlines last week when a certain half of the Penny Arcade team made further statements from Christoforo [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114961-UPDATE-Penny-Arcade-Smacks-Down-Shady-PR-Dude] just made him look worse and worse. What got lost in all the furor was that the company formally represented - N-Control - was just trying to sell gaming peripherals to customers. In an effort to clear their name, N-Control has donated $10,000 to the Child's Play charity and report that they now have full control of their websites and social media. Christoforo is out.

"N-Control appreciates our customers' patience and support through this rough patch we have been through," said founder David Kotkin. "We have been in regular touch with Customer Dave, who prefers his identity not be revealed, and he's been very supportive."

The company admittedly had some production problems with their Avenger controller, but they have decided to stop accepting new orders and concentrate on getting their inventory to the customers who have pre-ordered - like Dave. The Xbox 360 Avenger units are being shipped out now, and the PS3 version is scheduled to start shipping on January 15th.

I'm just glad that the mad ravings of a clear lunatic like Paul Christoforo have actually produced something wholesome. The donation to Child's Play by N-Control was a savvy PR move. I hope in time that people will think of the Avenger and N-Control without thinking of the colossal moron they had working for them.



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[Baresark]

I see images of this thing... and I can't for the life of me figure out what it's supposed to do.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm glad. Of course, I'm still not sure the PR firm's actions should be held against them (especially given the circumstances after the fact), but at least they're willing to say "Hey, we're sorry."

 

[Something Amyss]

I see images of this thing... and I can't for the life of me figure out what it's supposed to do.

It's designed to work for people with disabilities to help them play.

Captcha: Human timeso. Oddly fitting.

 

[Baresark]

It's designed to work for people with disabilities to help them play.

Captcha: Human timeso. Oddly fitting.

It's like the wii remote protective sleeve. However instead of allowing a better grip the goal is to allow better controls for those who are incapable(think of the disabled) of actually holding the 360 controller or consumers who want a quicker reflex just using the basic buttons.

Honestly it seems like a nice design, not something that is intended for me but I certainly can rationalize a good deal of disabled or those who can't reach the controls(children with small hands) that would greatly benefit from having this add-on.

Ah, I see. I was wondering, thanks for the heads up. I just look at the pictures and can't make heads or tails out of it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Ah, I see. I was wondering, thanks for the heads up. I just look at the pictures and can't make heads or tails out of it.

Got pretty far into this controversy without knowing myself, so I can't blame you.

 

[carpenter20m]

its a damn shame that the maker and inventor of this controller has to make up for the crap one retarded waste of human resource has done.

Well, they made up by donating to charity. Is it a shame they did that? That's what you're saying?

If they had to face a lawsuit and pay damages, yes, it would be a shame. Right now, it's just good practice. Their money isn't wasted. At all. No shame there.

 

[GeorgW]

I don't really see why that would be necessary. I know a lot of people have been having trouble distinguishing the two companies, and I think that's a real shame cuz they truly don't deserve any bad press. But this does in no way help. Everyone that's been paying attention know the difference and the ones that haven't will see this as them having something to apologize for.

I think it's a great thing that they've done, I just think it's gonna cause them more harm than good. It would have been much better to actually give Avengers controllers to the charity once they're freely available, but I guess that would have taken too long.

 

[tracer_au]

Bravo N-control! I know that this wasn't at all their fault but their actions now in the wake of the PR nightmare they are proving themselves to be decent human beings (something that Paul Christoforo twat was most assuredly not!).

I hope that there is some good to come out of this whole ordeal, I for one am interested in checking out the PS3 version of this Avenger thing, looks like it could really help improve reaction times for certain games. Helping to minimise the time between thaught and on-screen action by reducing movement required to press buttons.

 

[6SteW6]

"I'm just glad that the mad ravings of a clear lunatic like Paul Christoforo have actually produced something wholesome. The donation to Child's Play by N-Control was a savvy PR move. I hope in time that people will think of the Avenger and N-Control without thinking of the colossal moron they had working for them."

Sorry, but that wreck of a man's going to taint the company for the rest of time. They have a chance of being known as the company who bounced back after the colossal moron worked for them, and so far I would say they are doing a pretty good job of doing just that.

That's a good thing, because the peripheral started with good intentions, and has a cool story to it. It would be a shame to see it all ruined because of that moron....still not going to buy one though but not because of this PR nightmare. Just looks weird :S

 

[SoulSalmon]

Ummm Why?
We all know who was at fault here, and as far as I know nobody is harassing the family members of N-controlle employees.

The fact that N-control came out and said they were sorry, even without being in direct fault is certainly a plus for PR.

Just shows how one dumbarse can ruin it for a lot of people though doesn't it?

 

[Mirrorknight]

So they stopped taking preorders so they can't try to profit on the publicity and made a donation to charity.

They do bare some responsibility for the whole incident, as they hired the douchenozzle to represent them, suckered in by who he claimed to know. However, with this and all the work the new PR guy's been doing, I think they've made up for it. Only other thing they can do is give "Dave" an extra controller or at least a discount as an apology.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Its 50 k btw.

 

[chiefohara]

i'd nearly bet money that Christofo will try and take credit for this

 

[Avatar Roku]

It's designed to work for people with disabilities to help them play.

Captcha: Human timeso. Oddly fitting.

It's like the wii remote protective sleeve. However instead of allowing a better grip the goal is to allow better controls for those who are incapable(think of the disabled) of actually holding the 360 controller or consumers who want a quicker reflex just using the basic buttons.

Honestly it seems like a nice design, not something that is intended for me but I certainly can rationalize a good deal of disabled or those who can't reach the controls(children with small hands) that would greatly benefit from having this add-on.

Ah, I see. I was wondering, thanks for the heads up. I just look at the pictures and can't make heads or tails out of it.

See those things coming off the X, Y, and B buttons? The idea is that, with this attachment, you flick those cords instead of pressing the buttons.

 

[Onegigapwn]

its a damn shame that the maker and inventor of this controller has to make up for the crap one retarded waste of human resource has done.

Well, they made up by donating to charity.

The problem with that is the internet tends not care when anybody does anything right. It's usually only worth talking about if you can yell at the person(s) involved.

The news of the 10k donation probably won't spread very quickly and sadly the avenger controller manufacturers will still have their products attacked by hateful reviews.