What are the Top PR Disasters in Gaming History?

[Dr.Finger]

Well, more like modern gaming history, but you get the point. Games Radar (http://www.gamesradar.com/us/ps3/game/features/article.jsp?articleId=2007031912215876016&releaseId=20060314115917309058&sectionId=1003&pageId=200703191269795038) takes a fun trip around the industry and relives some of the worst moments in public relations history, including the infamous Hot Coffee incident. What started on the internet quickly got picked up by nearly every mainstream news outlet in the country - many of which only half-understood the issue, putting out shock pieces about a children's game that enabled little kids to watch porn by typing in the words "Hot Coffee." Industry critics used it as an opportunity to assail the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, calling it ineffectual and corrupt - which to many gamers seemed weird, given that San Andreas was rated M and nobody under 17 was supposed to be playing it in the first place. Regardless, the controversy peaked with no less a public figure than Hillary Clinton promising a full investigation into the ESRB and whether Rockstar was intentionally distributing porn to kids. The section on Diakatana is particularly entertaining to those of us that remember that mess

[KingGorilla]

Well, let me hearken back to the nightmare of Deathrace 2000 units being pulled from stores as angry parent groups protested that kids were allowed access to a game where the ONLY purpose was to run over people? Really the genesis of all the BS we see today.

[Johan]

I think it's a bit too easy...and perhaps too close to the actual events as they occur, to have the Playstation 3 at the top of that list.

Cataclysmic events need some history to allow for a more unbiased view. Actually, for all we know, the PS3 could turn out to do well this generation.

/can't stomach words...jumps off cliff.

[fitbabits]

I agree it's too early to call the PS3 a disaster (I'm sure those who are fortunate enough to own one will tell you they love it to pieces), although I think the point of the article is PR disasters specifically. That cannot be faulted.

[KingGorilla]

/can't stomach words...jumps off cliff.
Catches Johan123 with the Gravity Gun...behold the power of PC gaming.

[Shodan2020]

I remember all of these, except for the Rule of Rose one. I really wanted to play Rule of Rose, cause it looked interesting and I have been dying for a good survival horror game since I beat Fatal Frame 3 last spring. It really sucks that it wasn't that great of a game.

Daikatana was such a piece of shit. The AI that controlled your team-mates was so stupid that they usually killed themselves in traps which causes you to start the level over again. They would fall for the same traps over and over. I remember that my friend and I waited like 6 years after Daikatana came out and then split the $5 cost of the game. The piece of shit wasn't even worth the $2.50 I shelled out for it.

Actually, I'm surprised that there's no mention of Duke Nukem Forever or the Phantom in there. I mean I know neither have seen the light of day, but each has\had massive amounts of hype attached to them.

[WastelandDan]

I remember all of these, except for the Rule of Rose one. I really wanted to play Rule of Rose, cause it looked interesting and I have been dying for a good survival horror game since I beat Fatal Frame 3 last spring. It really sucks that it wasn't that great of a game.

Daikatana was such a piece of shit. The AI that controlled your team-mates was so stupid that they usually killed themselves in traps which causes you to start the level over again. They would fall for the same traps over and over. I remember that my friend and I waited like 6 years after Daikatana came out and then split the $5 cost of the game. The piece of shit wasn't even worth the $2.50 I shelled out for it.

Actually, I'm surprised that there's no mention of Duke Nukem Forever or the Phantom in there. I mean I know neither have seen the light of day, but each has\had massive amounts of hype attached to them.

I agree, I think Duke Nukem Forever and the Phantom should absolutely be on that list. Also, why only the top 7? I'm not really sure how they arrived at that number when there are a lot of PR fiascos they could have written about.

[fitbabits]

I agree, I think Duke Nukem Forever and the Phantom should absolutely be on that list. Also, why only the top 7? I'm not really sure how they arrived at that number when there are a lot of PR fiascos they could have written about.
Not to mention the Nokia nGage and the Gizmondo!

[Tricky Thumb]

Actually, I'm surprised that there's no mention of Duke Nukem Forever or the Phantom in there. I mean I know neither have seen the light of day, but each has\had massive amounts of hype attached to them.

Maybe they ran out of idea fuel.

Stopping at seven seems like they just got bored with their idea, heh.

[Dr.Finger]

I agree, I think Duke Nukem Forever and the Phantom should absolutely be on that list. Also, why only the top 7? I'm not really sure how they arrived at that number when there are a lot of PR fiascos they could have written about.Not to mention the Nokia nGage and the Gizmondo!
I don't think DNF can be on the list until the game actually sees the light of day, because there is still a chance that the game will be good. The Phantom and Gizmondo fall more into the category of pyramid schemes than PR disasters. The PR did exactly what it was supposed to - fleece people. The less said about the NGage, the better.

[drakkarim]

my personal biggest distaste was when Lord Bitch shit out Ultima 9 and washed his hands clean of the mess. i will never respect a single thing he has to say for the rest of my life.

[WastelandDan]

Not to mention the Nokia nGage and the Gizmondo!

Did you read the Wired article about the Gizmondo? It was incredible, if I had the ability to do so I would have nominated the writer for a Pulitzer.

Edit: As for the nGage it's too bad the whole "side-talkin'" thing was the mocking creation of the internet because if that had been a PR selling point it would have been hilarious.

[SalaciousPuck]

Given the impact on the gaming world.....nothing compares to the implosion that is the Playstation 3 PR over the last year.

Daiktana was something else.

I still don't understand why 'Hot Coffee' was an issue. It's a game about random acts of violence, killing police & hookers & innocent bystanders, wonton destruction, every type of crime imaginable.....and someone found out that through a hack (very intentionally) you can engage in clothed, simulated, consensual sex....so we should be shocked.....wtf.....am I missing something?

[fitbabits]

Did you read the Wired article about the Gizmondo? It was incredible, if I had the ability to do so I would have nominated the writer for a Pulitzer.

Edit: As for the nGage it's too bad the whole "side-talkin'" thing was the mocking creation of the internet because if that had been a PR selling point it would have been hilarious.
I didn't, unfortunately, but I'm not surprised it was well written. I love me some Wired.

[Dr.Finger]

Given the impact on the gaming world.....nothing compares to the implosion that is the Playstation 3 PR over the last year.

Daiktana was something else.

I still don't understand why 'Hot Coffee' was an issue. It's a game about random acts of violence, killing police & hookers & innocent bystanders, wonton destruction, every type of crime imaginable.....and someone found out that through a hack (very intentionally) you can engage in clothed, simulated, consensual sex....so we should be shocked.....wtf.....am I missing something?To me it wasn't the actual content of Hot Coffee that bugged me, but Rockstar/Take Two's response. They basically said "It was inserted into the game by hackers" when they knew that that was a lie. In the end it gave the Jack Thompsons of the world another club to beat the videogame industry over the head with.

[Craigtheplague]

One thing they could have mentioned in the ps3 section was the e3 2006 humiliation. Real time weapon switching! Giant enemy crabs! Massive Damage!!!

Edit: This makes it especially important because of e3 2005 where they showed the fake Killzone real time footage.

[Spigot]

I remember all of these, except for the Rule of Rose one. I really wanted to play Rule of Rose, cause it looked interesting and I have been dying for a good survival horror game since I beat Fatal Frame 3 last spring. It really sucks that it wasn't that great of a game.I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's a bad game. I haven't finished it yet, but I quite like it. Most of the complaints I read about the game had to do with the combat but, honestly now, how many survival horror games actually have good combat? Not many... Anyway, it is a great looking game and the setting is really cool. The gameplay is a little futzy, but it's not nearly as bad as most of the reviews I've read make it out to be.

Hmm.. it's been gathering dust since last fall... maybe I'll fire it up again and work on it a bit more.

[Spigot]

To me it wasn't the actual content of Hot Coffee that bugged me, but Rockstar/Take Two's response. They basically said "It was inserted into the game by hackers" when they knew that that was a lie. In the end it gave the Jack Thompsons of the world another club to beat the videogame industry over the head with.Aye, that, and the fact that it made the ESRB look very bad since they didn't catch it originally.

It's one of those things that make me scratch my head when it gets brought up, especially given the rampant nudity, violence and blatant sex scene in both God of War games. I mean, come on. The Hot Coffee thing was a joke compared to the hi-rez nipples in God of War 2!

[Rommel]

There have been so many mishandlings by the game industry one is surprised they've ever won a public fight at all. Hot coffee was especially poor. We all lived through it and watched it snowball. Rockstar should have been open and honest that they disabled te features in the game, and that third party modders managed to reveal something that had no intention of ever seeing sunlight. Instead of extending an olive branch and fully explaining it to the pinhead politicans who have historically always gotten halftruths and yths about the industry.

The actual occurrance was bad and Rockstar was doomed from the start to release new copies of the game. The way they handled it only allowed things to get worse. hence why it was such a PR disaster.

[Ultima Thulian]

People, don't confuse vaporware and bad PR. They're similar, but not the same.

That being said, my favorite on the list was Uwe Boll. Just the person. By merely existing. Funny stuff.

[WastelandDan]

I didn't, unfortunately, but I'm not surprised it was well written. I love me some Wired.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/gizmondo.html

Read it. Love it.

Also, one of the great things about the article was the artwork that went along with each page, which was beautifully done and artfully executed via page layout. The artwork is also included along with the article (on the lefthand side as thumbnails) and you should absolutely check them out.

[Dag-Sabot]

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/gizmondo.html

Read it. Love it.

Also, one of the great things about the article was the artwork that went along with each page, which was beautifully done and artfully executed via page layout. The artwork is also included along with the article (on the lefthand side as thumbnails) and you should absolutely check them out.God thats a wicked article. I remember a time when they were a tab on the gamestop/eb website...

[Zeal]

Oh, I'd probably say this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R98qC0fd_1w

[Pluvious]

THANKS for posting that Zeal.. funny stuff. I don't pay much attention to the flame wars and fanboys but THAT was funny .. no matter which side your on. Classic.

[Incidence]

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/gizmondo.html

Read it. Love it.

Also, one of the great things about the article was the artwork that went along with each page, which was beautifully done and artfully executed via page layout. The artwork is also included along with the article (on the lefthand side as thumbnails) and you should absolutely check them out.

ok, wow, thats the sorta plot you see in a bad gangster movie, not reality. The graphics were really good as well.

Over all though I think Daikatana should be number one on the list, as bad as all the other debacles were they didn't ruin a company and the name of someone respected in gaming at the same time. The scale is smaller then the Acclaim implosion and no one in their right mind is going to believe anything that comes out of Sony's executives for quite a while but Daikatana just checks more boxes.

[51|RandoM]

Anything Derek Smart ever said on USENET. Oh wait, I mean DOCTOR Derek Smart. I think that has to go down as one of the all time classic flamewars.

[KingGorilla]

Oh, I'd probably say this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R98qC0fd_1w
To its credit, I lasted a minute before I got annoyed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgLXMZjZfUk

A true Nintendo gamer-little kid.

[Schnoogs]

heres my vote...

http://www.igloolounge.net/pictures/april06/romero_ad.jpg

[Watership]

Anything Derek Smart ever said on USENET. Oh wait, I mean DOCTOR Derek Smart. I think that has to go down as one of the all time classic flamewars.

Derek Smart's comments in various boards is almost unbelievable. If he just kept his mouth shut, you'd almost admire him for his tenacity to keep making his games.

[GameAddictHotline]

IMHO I would have to add graffiti from Sony. You have to be seriously retarded to think that putting crap on a street to sell something and is incredibly low class to some people (Some are artists but that's not I want to talk about) Funny how far some PR people go to create buzz for the product before saying "Hey, maybe we should ask other people outside our company if this is smart?" Naw, just throw it on the wall and see if it sticks.

Article on the aftermath.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,69741,00.html

[JazGalaxy]

I think they made this list just to say Sony is a failure.

Clearly the single worst marketing move in all of history was Sega standing up at E3 and announcing to shocked journalist AND RETAILERS that the Sega Saturn was already on store shelves and ready to be sold at 399. Too bad the good software wasn't out yet, and that retailers were so angry about not being in the select group allowed to sell the console that they refused to EVER stock the unit, and the fact that Sony stood up a few minutes later and announced that their console was 100 dollars cheaper.

This marketing move helped sink the Saturn and in turn, Sega.

EASILY should be the #1 item.

[Ultima Thulian]

I think they made this list just to say Sony is a failure.

Clearly the single worst marketing move in all of history was Sega standing up at E3 and announcing to shocked journalist AND RETAILERS that the Sega Saturn was already on store shelves and ready to be sold at 399. Too bad the good software wasn't out yet, and that retailers were so angry about not being in the select group allowed to sell the console that they refused to EVER stock the unit, and the fact that Sony stood up a few minutes later and announced that their console was 100 dollars cheaper.

This marketing move helped sink the Saturn and in turn, Sega.

EASILY should be the #1 item.

I agree that the PS3 is definitely not deserving of the number one spot on the list. That Saturn example I nearly forgot...definitely deserves a spot on the list.

[Chameleo]

funny how sony is the 7th and the 1st...

[Antdude]

my personal biggest distaste was when Lord Bitch shit out Ultima 9 and washed his hands clean of the mess. i will never respect a single thing he has to say for the rest of my life.

I'd have to disagree with this one. Richard Garriot fought tooth and nail with EA to get Ultima 9 made his way. They openly tried to sabotage the game by getting Ed Delcastillo to turn U9 into a platform-type Tomb Raider clone. It's only because of Garriot's intervention, and the dedication of the Origin employees that still cared about Ultima, that the game came out at all. And even though it was buggy on release, they patched it until it worked, and everyone that owned it, got a patched, proper working version of the game on CD a few months after its initial release. I played it from start to finish. I can tell you it's a great game worth playing. It even runs under XP. :)

I know, it sounds like fanboy talk, but Ultima 9 was a great Origin game that EA did their best to destroy. Remember, this is the same company that thought Ultima Online would never last more than a few months. And speaking of bad PR, how about EA's dirty little secret that easpouse broke about the sweatshop conditions its programmers were working under? Worth a mention.
Now, Derek Smart and the Phantom? There's some gold waiting to be dug up...

[bardockkun]

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/gizmondo.html

Read it. Love it.

Also, one of the great things about the article was the artwork that went along with each page, which was beautifully done and artfully executed via page layout. The artwork is also included along with the article (on the lefthand side as thumbnails) and you should absolutely check them out.
If you were to tell me a few minutes ago that Jae Lee couldn't be anymore awesome, i'd call you a madman...

[Qoz]

I'd have to disagree with this one. Richard Garriot fought tooth and nail with EA to get Ultima 9 made his way. They openly tried to sabotage the game by getting Ed Delcastillo to turn U9 into a platform-type Tomb Raider clone. It's only because of Garriot's intervention, and the dedication of the Origin employees that still cared about Ultima, that the game came out at all. And even though it was buggy on release, they patched it until it worked, and everyone that owned it, got a patched, proper working version of the game on CD a few months after its initial release. I played it from start to finish. I can tell you it's a great game worth playing. It even runs under XP.

I know, it sounds like fanboy talk, but Ultima 9 was a great Origin game that EA did their best to destroy. Remember, this is the same company that thought Ultima Online would never last more than a few months. And speaking of bad PR, how about EA's dirty little secret that easpouse broke about the sweatshop conditions its programmers were working under? Worth a mention. Please don't go there. You are just wrong.

- They made only 1 patch and it made only a small difference. The performance was still awfull, the game crashed many times with memory leaks and quests were broken (I tried to play it too). It was the biggest mess released ever and even on superior hardware it lagged and crashed. Temple of Elemental Evil was really buggy too, but far from U9 still.

- They closed the forums and the support shortly after release. It was filled with negative feedback from fans who could not play it or just had crashes all the time and quests broken. They quickly abandoned the game and all support. Later the community had to make a patch to fix the critical errors.

One thing is the broken game. What really pissed me of (and sooo many others) were the fact that Lord British hyped the game all the way to release. One week before release he stated how good and perfect the game was and he must have known! He lied to the fans. You argue that the game would have been a platformer if he had left.. and so what? I would have known the game was a turd and not purchased the damn thing. If so the RPG finale would not have been made properly, which could have perhaps been made later - U9 made sure that never happens. He lied to me and made me buy something I could never finish due to bugs (and boredom) and he KNEW how crappy the game was!

Lord British had some great ideas and made some good games in the past, but he has produced some very bad games later on. I contribute this to the fact that development teamsize grew larger and he is poor at developing games, when he is not in control of every little thing.

Valve comes close to his level of screwing with the fans. They stated one week before the HalfLife2 september release that the game was ready. Then they delay for almost a year! They must have known how it was not ready, and still lied. There is no excuse for this. Still they did not waste my money and the game was great. Lord British still owes me 40$.

[Heretic Machine]

What, no Mortal Kombat? No Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Come on, where is some Night Trap up in this?

[Fuzzwah]

I can't believe its nearly at the end of 2 pages of comments and I still get to be the first one to say:

John Romero is going to make you his bitch.

[Mr.Green]

I made the mistake of clicking on the god damn Alliwantforxmasisapsp.com youtube video.

It hurts. It fucking hurts.

[fitbabits]

I made the mistake of clicking on the god damn Alliwantforxmasisapsp.com youtube video.

It hurts. It fucking hurts.
You fool! And now you'll never be the same... Please, for the sake of your sanity (and the sanity of any people close to you), please check with the all-knowing EvAv community before embarking on these needless fact finding missions. We can, and will, save you!

[Fartacus]

Well, more like modern gaming history, but you get the point. Games Radar (http://www.gamesradar.com/us/ps3/game/features/article.jsp?articleId=2007031912215876016&releaseId=20060314115917309058&sectionId=1003&pageId=200703191269795038) takes a fun trip around the industry and relives some of the worst moments in public relations history, including the infamous Hot Coffee incident. The section on Diakatana is particularly entertaining to those of us that remember that mess

The section on PS3 is particularly entertaining to those of us that remember that mess...

[Mr.Green]

You fool! And now you'll never be the same... Please, for the sake of your sanity (and the sanity of any people close to you), please check with the all-knowing EvAv community before embarking on these needless fact finding missions. We can, and will, save you!
Lesson learned man, lesson learned. I'm sure I'll be a better man for this. Once I get out of therapy, that is.

[Spigot]

PSP

PSP

PSP

Got my UMD and memory stick

Got it pimped out really sick.

PSP

PSP

PSP

[Kamalot]

"it became clear that John Romero was maybe - maybe - capable of making you a sandwich and calling it "his bitch." (That would also conveniently explain the ad's "Suck it Down" tagline.)"

This is classic.

Romero! Make me one of those bitch-wiches dude. More bacon this time.

[drakkarim]

I'd have to disagree with this one. Richard Garriot fought tooth and nail with EA to get Ultima 9 made his way. They openly tried to sabotage the game by getting Ed Delcastillo to turn U9 into a platform-type Tomb Raider clone. It's only because of Garriot's intervention, and the dedication of the Origin employees that still cared about Ultima, that the game came out at all. And even though it was buggy on release, they patched it until it worked, and everyone that owned it, got a patched, proper working version of the game on CD a few months after its initial release. I played it from start to finish. I can tell you it's a great game worth playing. It even runs under XP. :)


I got one of those repaired/repatched install cd's. decided to reinstall the game last night (its up on ebay right now, dragon edition). i only spent a few minutes in the game, but was happy to see my E6600/7900gtx could finally handle the game :) I think i'll look for graphics mods (although the game doesn't look all that bad even by today's standards) and a cheat and give it a whirl :)

Qoz has valid points though. I don't know what went on behind the scenes, nor do I really care. I do also remember Garriot hyping this game up till release, i think he went beyond the call of any contract/lawyer-pointing-a-gun-at-his-head in spreading the hype. that's what i won't forgive. not to mention that the game feels like an antfarm from what i remember, with locations in a scrunched land mass. as if they were buying up RL land to build in the game.

[Joe3DR]

John Romero's old .plan post during Quake development when he said that "..all other games will go in a corner and piss on themselves."

This pre-dates the "..make you his bitch" thing.

[drakkarim]

John Romero's old .plan post during Quake development when he said that "..all other games will go in a corner and piss on themselves."

This pre-dates the "..make you his bitch" thing.

they DID piss themselves, from laughing hysterically.

i propose a new shortcut: ROFLAPP: rolling on floor laughing and pissing pants

rolls of the tongue nicely i think.

you may thank me now. :)

[Craigtheplague]

Actually, I'm surprised that there's no mention of Duke Nukem Forever or the Phantom in there. I mean I know neither have seen the light of day, but each has had massive amounts of hype attached to them.

I disagree with those. They weren't PR blunders. It was simply hype followed by silence. I don't recall the PRs saying or doing something stupid to kill the product. The phantom was ridiculed from the start. People just got fed up with waiting for Duke Nukem Forever. Maybe if it came out in stores tomorrow, nobody would go out and buy it because they wouldn't believe the press release. That would be a boy who cried wolf scenario.