EA (Games) Staged Dante's Inferno Protest

1up ^ | 06/05/2009 | Steve Watts

[Bull Man]

The protesters railing against EA for the game Dante's Inferno were part of a marketing scheme, reports the Associated Press. A viral marketing agency hired by EA reportedly organized the stunt, and hired about 20 people to picket the game. After it was picked up by the blogs, several began to question whether the protest was legitimate based on an amateurish Web site and anonymous domain registration. EA spokesperson Holly Rockwood confirmed it today. (pic at site)

[Bull Man]

Note what a major game company has done here: It has created - and played to - the worst stereotype of religious people in order to market its game to a generation that finds it "hip" to be anti-Christian. Can anyone imagine them choosing to do this to any other segment of American society? What is saddest here is that it only demonstrates the absolute ignorance of too many people. Dante's Inferno on which the game derives its name is obviously not anti-Christian and through metaphor sets forth a Christian view of sin and renouncing it therein. No doubt the game is nothing more than mindless shooting/blowing-up demon bots using Dante's legend as an excuse. I'll take 100-to-1 odds that EA only choose the title since they could use it without paying royalties to anyone, and 99% of the gamers who play it as well as the developers who designed it has never read the actual work!

[AD from SpringBay]

Shades of cocaine in Redbull? Subversive marketing?

[Salgak]

Gee. A company ran an astroturf campaign to generate publicity. Film at 11. . .

[atomic conspiracy]

The only important point here is that these brain-dead pop-culturists wouldn’t dare fake a Muslim or lefty protest.

Muslims, btw, have been whining about the actual Dante’s Inferno for centuries, since it portrays Mohammed in hell.

[MacombBob]

I always wonder what Democratic campaign strategists do between elections.

[Dumb_Ox]

Come on, it's not like conservatives will call for people to stop buying EA products or to sell stock.

That'd hurt the economy!

The political partnership with free market ideologues and libertarians has killed off our capacity to protest these things. We've been so busy defending the rights of business, we've stopped asking them to behave responsibly and respectfully.

[Bull Man]

Muslims, btw, have been whining about the actual Dante’s Inferno for centuries, since it portrays Mohammed in hell.

Yes, I teach the Inferno in my college class, and several years ago had a Muslim complain all the way to the top of the administration that he should be relieved of the requirement to read it due to Mohammed being placed in hell. When I tried to point out that several Popes, and Jewish figures were also in Dante's hell I was just given the usual pap (and everything that rhymes with pap!) about being sensitive. Ignorant and proud...welcome to the new America.