Despite the fact that the game world is a multi-billion dollar industry, companies sometimes go wrong with their PR. We collected seven examples of bad PR. They sometimes say: “No such thing as bad press” but of course we do not agree with that.
1: Ubisoft
The first Watch Dogs was a great game, the first gameplay trailers were slightly more ambitious than the game itself, but the hacker game still managed to impress with the gameplay and the story. When the game had to be promoted in 2014, Ubisoft decided to send safes to journalists. After a while, these safes started beeping and the safe could be opened with a code that was sent via SMS. However, after 9/11 and figures such as “The Unabomber” it is no longer desirable to send beeping packages. This has even led to the evacuation of a newsroom in Australia and the involvement of the explosive ordnance disposal service.
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2: Deep Silver
Dead Island: Riptide was a fine zombie shooter horror game. However, for the collector’s edition in Australia and the United Kingdom, developer Deep Silver decided to add a 31 cm high female torso. The huge forest of wood in front of the door, the mini bikini and the fact that the torso looked like it was half eaten made many fans frown. We mainly asked the question: Who puts this on his mantelpiece?
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3: Nintento
the tweet (seen in copy below) shows Mario in his cat outfit with a very special message. The tweet was soon deleted and Nintendo had publicly apologized. Nevertheless, the tweet still caused a lot of hilarious reactions.
Meow meow meow! Nothing feels better than the inside of a cat! pic.twitter.com/b45eYyNUWw
— Nintendo of America Updates (@NintendoUpd8s) February 13, 2021
4: Bethesda
The collector’s edition of Fallout 76 a €200 came with a map, steelcase, figures and a power armor helmet. To top it off, there was a sturdy canvas bag to keep everything in. In reality, the buyers received a cheap nylon bag that was found to tear at the slightest sign. Also, the helmet didn’t even fit. The official explanation was that the canvas bags would have been too expensive. After a lot of complaints, taunts on forums and many threats with lawsuits, Bethesda has replaced the nylon bags with canvas ones.
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5: EA
Star Wars: Battlefront II was a great game on paper. However, it is the “loot boxes” that have killed the game. Don’t want to “grind” until you weigh an ounce? Then the loot boxes were the solution. However, the content of the (often quite expensive) loot boxes was so upsetting that it has led to the fact that the loot boxes are even banned in some countries because it is seen as gambling. The moment an EA Senior Executive tried to explain to the British Parliament that loot boxes are not gambling but “surprise mechanics” sparked worldwide scorn.
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6: Blizzard
Rumors had been buzzing for months, Blizzard would be working on a new part of the popular series after years Diablo. When it was announced during Blizzcon 2018 that Diablo Immortal would become a mobile game, Blizzard received scorn from the entire room. “Is this a late April 1st joke?” one onlooker asked Blizzard’s board, sparking countless memes and articles worldwide.
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7: EA (again)
In the American “presskit” for their game Godfather 2 In addition to the usual collectibles, there was also a real brass knuckle. Now the US is not that difficult when it comes to guns but brass knuckles are illegal in a lot of states. In EA’s home state (California), there’s even a one-year jail term for selling brass knuckles or smuggling across the state line. In an effort to straighten things out, EA issued a major recall. However, here is (in total godfather style) not or barely heeded.
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