Deep Silver Apologizes for Mutilated Dead Island Torso

[Klagermeister]

In the same vein as Smilomaniac above. The walking dead season 2 collector's edition blu ray is a zombie head with a screw driver in the left eye socket. In short gory packages is nothing new.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Walking-Dead-Complete-Limited/dp/B007MS5B6Q

The issue isn't purely for gory reasons.

The fact that they decided to put the torso in a bikini sexualizes the gratuitous violence it represents.

Also, since The Walking Dead's collector's edition was of a HEAD, that is to say something that can be humanized and sympathized with, a bikini-clad corpse does not show humanity.

And don't try to claim there wasn't an attempt to sexualize it. I could understand the reasoning if there was a head attached, but they chose solely to draw attention to boobs and violence.

If it had clothes, but no head and gore, it'd be fine. That would represent pure gore.
If it had a head, but was still bikini clad and mutilated, it'd be fine. We could say it was just a representation of one of the zombies from the game.
If it was just a bikini-clad torso, but no gore or head, it'd be fine. Then it'd just be adding a sexual twist to Venus de Milo.

It's a serious clusterfuck of all three of those aspects that make it so utterly wrong.

 

[Phlakes]

This isn't about women's rights. If it was a statue of a man's torso it would still be fucked up.

Because it's a mutilated torso.

That's fucked up.

Seriously.

This coming from someone who spent the elementary school shooting aftermath on /r/imgoingtohellforthis.

This gets you riled up? A gory piece of plastic? Really?

What exactly is fucked up about it? Is it too realistic to tell the difference?

What about the Gears of War chaingun model with bloodspatter on it? It clearly implies having been used for dismemberment, so that should bring some bad association with it.

Right, because a gun with blood on it is totally on the same level.

And there wouldn't really be anything wrong with it if it wasn't in the general collector's edition. I love art books and steel cases and all that. If I had the money I'd get the special edition of everything.

But you know what I, and many other people, don't love?

It starts with an M and rhymes with "futilated torso".

I mean, put it in a Really Macabre and Shit Edition and it's all good. But not here.

And before it's brought up, yes there's a distinction between this and gore in the game, even if they're both realistic-but-fake.

 

[lacktheknack]

This isn't about women's rights. If it was a statue of a man's torso it would still be fucked up.

Because it's a mutilated torso.

That's fucked up.

Seriously.

This coming from someone who spent the elementary school shooting aftermath on /r/imgoingtohellforthis.

This gets you riled up? A gory piece of plastic? Really?

What exactly is fucked up about it? Is it too realistic to tell the difference?

What about the Gears of War chaingun model with bloodspatter on it? It clearly implies having been used for dismemberment, so that should bring some bad association with it.

Because it's an amalgamation of schlocky gore and sex.

And if that doesn't creep you out in ways soap can't reach, then I have no hope for you.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Am I the only one that's still trying to understand why someone would want that thing anyway?

 

[lacktheknack]

Am I the only one that's still trying to understand why someone would want that thing anyway?

No, you're really not.

I mean, LOOK AT IT. Gah...

 

[danon]

Ok all take a deep breath don't panic. They're selling something you don't want in a collectors edition. Don't freak out now.... it's too late the apocalypse is upon us. Wait you say the biggest impact this had, is the uproar over it being offensive to some people, and that it has incredibly minimal impact otherwise, ok then.

 

[Vault101]

I............actually dont see whats so bad about it

I've seen action figures of necromorphs from dead space...I dont see how this is any worse

 

[Something Amyss]

Except you can't actually do that in Dead Island, you sleazy hack. Don't try and spin this like it was some kind of playful homage to the gameplay.

Even still, I can think of a lot of things I do in video games that I do not want to display on my shelves. I know I can only speak for me, but even if that really was something you could do in the game, why would people want to show it off or "start a conversation" with it?

I want to know what the hell they were thinking with this, for real. If this really was for display or "conversation," how low must their opinion of gamers be?

 

[Agayek]

Honestly, I don't get what all the outrage is about.

It's not something I'd buy (especially not after the first game was so mediocre), but I don't see why it's so offensive.

Tasteless and/or stupid I could see, but it's not something to work yourself into a tizzy over.

Edit:

I............actually dont see whats so bad about it

I've seen action figures of necromorphs from dead space...I dont see how this is any worse

This. 10,000 times this.

 

[-Dragmire-]

"For the limited run of the Zombie Bait Edition for Europe and Australia, a decision was made to include a gruesome statue of a zombie torso, which was cut up like many of our fans had done to the undead enemies in the original Dead Island."

Except you can't actually do that in Dead Island, you sleazy hack. Don't try and spin this like it was some kind of playful homage to the gameplay.

I never played the game so I took that at face value. I agree that lying through that statement is in very bad taste.

 

[Apollo45]

But Artistic Integrity!

Ya, I just said it.

Seriously though, who ever thought that was a good idea? Obviously it wasn't the whole team considering the quick response, but that should never have gotten past marketing, especially after how brilliant Dead Island's first trailer was.

 

[Agayek]

"For the limited run of the Zombie Bait Edition for Europe and Australia, a decision was made to include a gruesome statue of a zombie torso, which was cut up like many of our fans had done to the undead enemies in the original Dead Island."

Except you can't actually do that in Dead Island, you sleazy hack. Don't try and spin this like it was some kind of playful homage to the gameplay.

It's been a while since I played it, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I distinctly remember being able to dismember zombies in the original game. At minimum, you could take off arms and legs, and at least some of the zombies were female and in bikinis.

 

[Susan Arendt]

"For the limited run of the Zombie Bait Edition for Europe and Australia, a decision was made to include a gruesome statue of a zombie torso, which was cut up like many of our fans had done to the undead enemies in the original Dead Island."

Except you can't actually do that in Dead Island, you sleazy hack. Don't try and spin this like it was some kind of playful homage to the gameplay.

It's been a while since I played it, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I distinctly remember being able to dismember zombies in the original game. At minimum, you could take off arms and legs, and at least some of the zombies were female and in bikinis.

I actually amended my statement a few posts later - I should've said "don't," not "can't," my point being that creating zombie torsos isn't the point of Dead Island, it's not even something the game is cheekily known for, so the idea that this bust was some kind of nod to that is, to me, complete BS.

And yes, some zombies were in bikinis and cargo shorts and other vacation gear, but they still looked like decaying corpses. This is the healthiest looking zombie ever...well, except for being, you know, headless.

 

[squid5580]

Sometimes I wonder if I don't offended enough. I saw this and thought, "oh yeah, a torso because, y'know, zombies." And then I moved on.

I am wondering whether we are to insensitive (since that was my reaction) or the rest of the net is too oversensitive. I also find it a bit disheartening that people would be so fast to condemn art forcing them to censor it even if it isn't in the best of tastes.

 

[mechanixis]

Is it wrong I think the torso is cute and I want one?
I don't really see a problem with it except maybe people in Britain might get upset that their flag is a bikini.

People from Britain wear union jack bikinis...

Well then I can't see any problem with it. It's a cute torso that fits the theme perfectly.

Imagine it's a dude's disembodied, mutilated, junk. With hips, maybe, but it's clearly showcasing the junk. Let's say it has an erection. Overtly erotic.

Now imagine a girl saying "That's cute and I want one." Imagine the sort of girl who spends money on a gore-spattered wang and then puts it on display.

Are you starting to see the issue here? Are you starting to see how being okay with something like this is kind of implicitly demeaning and threatening to women? Do you understand how girls might not be comfortable with you thinking that?

I swear to God, I know the Escapist is sort of a hotbed of naivete, but the total lack of understanding in this thread of the realities of sexism is giving me chills.

 

[Phuctifyno]

I'd like to set a good example by not commenting or taking part in this marketing-department-contrived conversation about absolutely nothing at all.... don't th... fuck. Well, it is Tuesday.

Hey guys, remember that movie in which a molested twelve-year-old girl masturbated with a cross while screaming obscenities, spreading hymenal blood everywhere.... The Exorcisor? The Expertist? The Exoskeleton? ...Yeah, anyway, that was released in 1973. Almost 40 years ago. Oscar-winning. All-time classic. Preserved in the National Film Registry for it's historical importance. Made 40 years ago... 40... and many gory and/or provocative things have been made since.

How is this worse? Because its related to video games? Because you can hold it? Because "Ugh, we didn't ask for this, even though we're fans of a game about flesh eating zombies that tear people apart. I don't want to think about gore when I'm not playing the game, so dispose of and apologize for this totally optional trinket or I'll whine some more. Oh and its sexist cuz its a girl in a bikini, so its supposed to be sexually appealing and gross at the same time which is just too confusing for me in this busy, modern world. I don't want any murderous boners anywhere near me. Didn't the game developers consider the feelings of real scantily-clad torsos? Disgusting." [wipes tear off of monicle]?

Poor taste has its place and that place is anywhere near, in, around, or on top of zombies. Am I to understand that Dead Island's main demographics are kindergarten teachers and church groups? Seriously, anybody who is offended by this is either a publicity fabrication or is wagon-hopping because its fun to talk about stuff and to have stuff to talk about. I would feel sorry for the guys for having to apologize if I were convinced that wasn't planned, too.

It is a piece of plastic shaped like boobies and painted red.

 

[mysecondlife]

They seem to have a lot of things to apologize for lately.

 

[CaptainChip]

Is it wrong I think the torso is cute and I want one?
I don't really see a problem with it except maybe people in Britain might get upset that their flag is a bikini.

People from Britain wear union jack bikinis...

Well then I can't see any problem with it. It's a cute torso that fits the theme perfectly.

Imagine it's a dude's disembodied, mutilated, junk. With hips, maybe, but it's clearly showcasing the junk. Let's say it has an erection. Overtly erotic.

Now imagine a girl saying "That's cute and I want one." Imagine the sort of girl who spends money on a gore-spattered wang and then puts it on display.

Are you starting to see the issue here? Are you starting to see how being okay with something like this is kind of implicitly demeaning and threatening to women? Do you understand how girls might not be comfortable with you thinking that?

I swear to God, I know the Escapist is sort of a hotbed of naivete, but the total lack of understanding in this thread of the realities of sexism is giving me chills.

I wouldn't care. If she likes it then she likes it. Maybe she's a fan of horror stuff.

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others won't.

 

[Harker067]

Anyone else get the impression that they know they fucked up and they don't want it to hurt the bottom line but have no idea why this bothered people?