EA Intervention

[Cenequus]

Why would people expect from a company,a publisher even worse,to be goddam perfect and politically corect in their choices?

Sin to win and the protestants and dead space 2-are we freaking kidding?Ammo for the anti-gaming comunity?They're just showing there is no taboo on their side to go that way when it comes to publicity.

What's really important is what games/companies they support and publish,like Bioware,People can fly etc.

Like really bitching as the article it's pretty much pointless. Makes me sad to see instead of support for something half decent,as EA is doing,we throw stones at it and complain. And then we wonder why the others see us like a savage,sociopath comunity.

 

[mjc0961]

EA has had some crazy marketing ideas in the past, but so has every other company out there. Some are liked and some arnt just with any company. Your picking 3 games and pointing out there so called marketing mistakes but completely ignoring all of the other wonderful campaigns that EA has had.

What wonderful campaigns, exactly? If you're going to make a statement like that, you should include examples.

 

[dubious_wolf]

Woot Shamus. Glad you pointed out yet another failed EA endeavor.


For those that say "eh EA is just evil oh well" that is bullshit
LOOK AT EGYPT!!! PEOPLE TOGETHER CAN DO SERIOUS AWESOME!!!

 

[ayvee]

Like really bitching as the article it's pretty much pointless. Makes me sad to see instead of support for something half decent,as EA is doing,we throw stones at it and complain. And then we wonder why the others see us like a savage,sociopath comunity.

Right, it's trying to get rid of ridiculous marketing and improve our image that does that.

 

[Fearzone]

Well, I'd just like to say I'm glad that Shamus is back on the Escapist. I had noticed a disturbing lack of him these past few weeks.

Yeah, I noticed it too, and Fridays were feeling a little emptier for me on the Escapist.

On topic: EC made some good points. That is all.

 

[ekkaman]

Well said mate. Your one of the only reasons I still come to this site.
BTW Stolen Pixels????????????

 

[Distazo]

Well said mate. Your one of the only reasons I still come to this site.
BTW Stolen Pixels????????????

He hasn't posted one since December? Shamus why did you abandon us?!?!?! As far as the topic of the article, I agree with Shamus and would prefer to limit my comment to being about his other work here.

 

[Mouse One]

It's been said before by others on this forum, but it bears repeating: comics as an artistic medium took a huge hit because of the comics code. Dr. Wertham was the Dr. Lieberman of his time (if you're unfamiliar, google "Seduction of the Innocent"). Because of a public perception that comics were for children, and therefore should be childish, it was *decades* before serious adult oriented comics like those of Alan Moore came about.

Do we want videogames to go down the road of comics? Or do we want to present the medium as just that-- a medium that has a place for anything from Super Mario to Dead Space, from Peggle to Heavy Rain?

EA's frankly juvenile ad campaigns manage to simultaneously portray videogames as kids stuff and as unsuitable for children. Don't think that the public perception they're presenting won't have an influence of what games adults get to enjoy.

Ask EC Comics.

 

[ranger19]

I don't comment enough, but I would simply like to say kudos. EA needs to get their stuff together.

Also, I like when you guys occasionally cover the same topics in the same week. It adds a nice synergy to the site.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

'abominable and offensive marketing campaigns'

I weep for our future.

Censor them, yeah, that's a great fucking idea guys.

We cannot sink so low as to have any childish humor in our mature games.

You are the devil if you dare decide to have fun, as an adult, in a childish way.

Shame on us all.

Marketing isn't art. Nobody ever said that the games in question needed to be touched, but their marketing is completely out of touch with guess who... us. If we're the target audience they are marketing to and we simultaneously say that we find the campaigns to be the worst possible way to sell something to us, in what way is that censorship? You are seriously fighting for the sanctity of advertising here man, and campaigns that sell in nothing more than stifling controversy.

 

[Ca3zar416]

I wanted to say this on the Extra Credits thread, but it got too long. I didn't really have a problem with the fake Christian protesters at E3. I actually thought it was rather clever. They weren't mocking Christians. They were mocking the people who protest sight-unseen. Like the people who protested Last Temptation of Christ or Dogma. They were mocking "religious" bullies like Westboro Baptist. They were mocking the people who called for death to anyone that might draw a cartoon that features someone that might look like Mohamed. (btw, since we haven't officially seen any paintings or drawings of Mohamed in more than 1000 years, who knows what he actually looked like. Hell, he might have looked like the modern depiction of Jesus. And won't that be awkward...)

The other stuff EA did... pretty stupid.

Also, speaking of crass advertising - I wonder why no one complained about Bethesda's name your child after a character in SkyRim contest? Remember when Acclaim did the exact same thing years ago with Turok? A whole lot of people complained that.

That's not the kind of publicity we need with the whole fake Christians thing. There is such a thing as bad publicity. We don't need more people yelling controversy and getting people to do so does not help us. They just wanted attention and made us all look immature by doing so. While I don't think someone should be put to death for trying to draw Muhammad I do believe that we should be courteous enough to do so. It's a part of their belief system that depictions of a prophet lead to idolization which pulls away from the worship of God. I can respect that view and I think it is in bad taste to do something like that.

 

[lacktheknack]

So what, its a stupid thing to have an advertising campaign that works?

EA's marketing team are controversial and it sells games, lots of games. It might annoy some people but its one company with the silly adverts. It'd be a problem if it was gaming as a whole that did it, but then it wouldn't be controversial then would it?

One company isn't going to damage an entire industry, so please, everyone. Stop overreacting.

When it's one of the Big Five Players, then yes it bloody well can.

And it's... difficult... to not "overreact" WHEN GAMING IS IN COURT RIGHT NOW.

 

[lacktheknack]

'abominable and offensive marketing campaigns'

I weep for our future.

Censor them, yeah, that's a great fucking idea guys.

We cannot sink so low as to have any childish humor in our advertisements of mature games.

You are the devil if you dare decide to have fun, as an adult, in a childish way, in a commercial.

Shame on us all.

When we're busy fending off people who accuse us of selling violent content to minors, then YES. THE MARKETING WAS A VERY BAD IDEA. The LAST thing we need to give the opposition right now is ammunition over a low, patronizing gag.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

'abominable and offensive marketing campaigns'

I weep for our future.

Censor them, yeah, that's a great fucking idea guys.

We cannot sink so low as to have any childish humor in our mature games.

You are the devil if you dare decide to have fun, as an adult, in a childish way.

Shame on us all.

Marketing isn't art. Nobody ever said that the games in question needed to be touched, but their marketing is completely out of touch with guess who... us. If we're the target audience they are marketing to and we simultaneously say that we find the campaigns to be the worst possible way to sell something to us, in what way is that censorship? You are seriously fighting for the sanctity of advertising here man, and campaigns that sell in nothing more than stifling controversy.

I edited my first post, but I still feel like a few of the ads were all in good fun. I don't see a need to raise a red flag. I see that some do, and I wish for nothing but the best for people doing what they think needs being done.

Some of them were. I could even stand by the protest as some kind of parody, but the overall push has been received negatively. Ads like the "nobody pukes on me" were overshadowed by the "your mother will hate this!" Not every campaign has to be tame and artsy like Mirror's Edge, but their most recent batch has felt like mockery.

 

[Cenequus]

Like really bitching as the article it's pretty much pointless. Makes me sad to see instead of support for something half decent,as EA is doing,we throw stones at it and complain. And then we wonder why the others see us like a savage,sociopath comunity.

Right, it's trying to get rid of ridiculous marketing and improve our image that does that.

It's this kind of bullshit I really hate. Either the companies do as I want or they shouldn't do it at all. The best example comes from team liquid forum "elitists" and esports. They rather have them dead if they don't develop as they see fit.

Yeah I want EA even the freaking Activision to become huge intelectual powers like movie producers. Films do worse things but because of how big the companies are, those that talk against are laughed by the majority. As "evil" this may sound this is the only way to get an equal threatment as a gaming comunity. If you think artsy and political corect marketing is the way you're gonna actually kill the games,since the detractors will always find a reason to stigmatize you.