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How Protests Against Games Cause Them To Sell More Copies

blog.wired.com — Those who organize protests about violent video games would do well to realize that the net effect of said protests is inevitably to cause the game to sell even more copies than it would have with no attention.

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  • allaboutdatiki, on 11/03/2007, -3/+31Say anything you want about me. Just spell my name right.
    • Matt174e, on 11/03/2007, -1/+12Praise Allah BootDatiki
    • haiduz, on 11/03/2007, -0/+7I think youre a kind and humble person, allaboutbukaki
    • moskaudancer, on 11/03/2007, -0/+6It's great that you're so willing to hear criticism, Mr. Alvin Bootlicker.
    • staticneuron, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2Is there any other game that should be protested more, allaboutdaikatana?
  • motang, on 11/03/2007, -1/+17Haha, well that's cause protesting those games more people know about it, and those who don't care will buy the game just piss off the people who are protesting...like me! I am going to pick up Manhunt 2 just cause people made so much commotions about it.
    • charlescheese, on 10/31/2007, -0/+10I have better things to do with my money than make a political point with my money that nobody will hear. Now I may buy Manhunt if it keeps getting 7 and 8 scores...when it's reduced to $20.
      • MarkOfTheDead, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1The wii one is still pretty brutal after censoring. You can also adjust the blur a little too I found some option in one of the menus. Even with that said (and being carded buying it, I'm 26 and look pretty close to it) I think if they would have slapped an M rating on it and been responsible at sales outlets not to sell it to minors, It would have been fine too.
    • cloudyprison, on 10/31/2007, -0/+4Exactly. I went out and got Bioshock after hearing there was some whiny people out there talking about how you can kill children in it. I was worried a good game would get temporarily banned/re-written for bogus reasons.
      • moskaudancer, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1And even that turned out to be *****; you can't shoot, hit, or blow up the little sisters. You can't even see them when the slug is removed. It's way less graphic than killing Splicers is.
    • hockey, on 10/31/2007, -1/+2YEA That'll show em'. Keep lining Rockstar's pockets with your protests! That's stickin it to the man!!!!
    • nallelcm, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4You mean putting something in the media will cause people to know about it? You figured that one out all by yourself?
    • freddo, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1It makes me think of the logo they put in overlay of the TV programs to indicate which audience should watch it... Before, late at night, you would change channels after a few seconds of a poor dialog from what you would though was a bad sit-com.
      Now they put a little X in pink at the lower right of the screen. You know the dialog won't improve but it might get interesting really soon...
  • dagooh, on 11/03/2007, -0/+34All publicity is good publicity ; )
    • Gryffydd, on 11/01/2007, -0/+11Except for maybe being on To Catch a Predator"
      • moskaudancer, on 11/01/2007, -0/+3Unless you've got a ticket for the CP Train. Catch us now, Party Van!
        • tuddy666, on 11/01/2007, -1/+14 chan party van-
          not so funny when it is parked infront of your drive.
  • kinggimped, on 11/01/2007, -2/+7I bought Carmageddon II simply because of all the hullabaloo it raised about running over innocent people. I played it a few times and it was *****.

    I can't believe they made such a big thing about Night Trap. The Little Mermaid was 100 times scarier and more violent than that game.
  • Kenelm, on 11/03/2007, -1/+9The same applies to Jack Thompson...
  • cbrunet, on 11/01/2007, -2/+4Well duh. I'm pretty sure that's why they say there's no such thing as bad publicity.

    Unless your Paris Hilton.
    • carterbaldwin, on 11/01/2007, -0/+9When you're Paris Hilton, bad publicity is ALL of you're publicity.
    • Gryffydd, on 11/01/2007, -0/+5Geez guys...You're != Your
    • skyfire1, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2Why do I even know who that person is? Why does the name "Paris Hilton" have to exist?
      • moskaudancer, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1Because no one had the good sense to run her over when she was still just another stupid whore.
  • look4alec, on 11/03/2007, -0/+6GTA is not even mentioned! and Carmageddon TDR 2000 was sweetness
  • DarkSamus, on 10/31/2007, -1/+2Billy!! Don't go near that nail gun!
  • BlackholeStorm, on 10/31/2007, -1/+4The same law applies to Jack Thompson, hear that gaming news sites?!
    • Matri, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1Well duh! We still want him around so that he'll continue to give free publicity to all the new games!
  • Fcukbear, on 11/01/2007, -1/+4Manhunt would benefit from this, it's pretty gruesome.. but the bans seem to be effective at squashing it's sales =/

    http://www.theginblog.com/2007/10/video-game-viole ...

    regardless, with cutscenes like that.. I'd pick it up.. it looks crazy.
    • MarkOfTheDead, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1It's awesome, wait till you smash the dudes head in with the toilet tank while he's taking a piss in the titty bar.
  • macweirdo42, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2If you're REALLY concerned about a game, protest the competition. If anyone asks you about the game in question, just say "I find it perfectly tasteful and acceptable." I don't know why nobody ever thinks of this.
  • wild, on 11/01/2007, -1/+5Manhunt 2 is out?

    Be right back, gotta run to the store.
  • Genjeta, on 11/01/2007, -0/+8I agree, I had no idea Manhunt 2 was, let alone what the game contained, until it got so much attention.
  • str3ama, on 11/01/2007, -0/+7If Australia pre-emptively bans your game - you're game's a success!
    • moskaudancer, on 11/01/2007, -0/+3If Australia pre-bans your game, Australia needs to grow some nads. No offense to you Aussies, but many of your politicians are just as empty headed as ours. At least Australia's never started a war "just for ***** and giggles", though...
      • str3ama, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1you forget yourself. Such impudence...

        I just felt like saying that ... no relation whatsoever to your comment.
  • pintomp3, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1kinda like the warning label on albums. i wonder what the sales figures are of clean versions of an album vs the unedited.
    • tuddy666, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1about 10 to one, approximately.
      However it differs for some albums.
  • Hetman, on 11/01/2007, -3/+3I wonder if this is true for abortion?
  • Chaoticfist, on 10/31/2007, -3/+1quiet...............dnt tell them....
  • KingBunny, on 11/02/2007, -0/+17Here's how it works:
    Person A: "Don't purchase those cookies which are on sale, because they'll give you instant super-aids"
    Person B: "That's a blatant, retarded lie from someone who knows nothing about what they're protesting... and that reminds me, I need some cookies."
  • hockey, on 10/31/2007, -1/+1Kinda makes you wonder if game companies do this stuff on purpose. Let's face it Manhunt won't ever win any game of the year categories but there's a fever pitch to this game due to all of the "outrage". Is this the new "thing" to do if you can't come up with good content and gameplay? "This game doesn't have much going for it. . . let's put in a chainsaw that you can use to rip someone's testicle's off. . . oh and let's make sure to send the video to all the PTA groups in the country".

    Makes you wonder doesn't it?
  • RoadDoggFL, on 10/31/2007, -1/+1I thought this was going to be an article about players boycotting EA. Still going strong after 3 years here.
  • RobLiefeld, on 11/03/2007, -3/+5Yup this is true. I actually had people protest some of my artwork in the past for they way I depicted women in my comics... which was pretty ludicrous! These protestors bought my comic books and later realized that my depictions were not bad but actually great works of art. It's all comes down to personal tastes and education. 'Nuff said!
    • MarkOfTheDead, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1extending on your idea, the people banning the games usually have no taste and a limited education.
  • adellario, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1I think you'd all appreciate James Paul Gee's great book, "What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy." He discusses engagement principles in education, and how video games are excellent teaching tools because of the level of engagement they involve. It's kind of dry because it's talking about pedagogy and he's using games that are a little old now, but it's really interesting and useful in combatting the ***** we hear from the likes of Jack Thompson.

    http://www.amazon.com/Video-Games-Teach-Learning-L ...
  • adellario, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1I think you'd all appreciate James Paul Gee's great book, "What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy." He discusses engagement principles in education, and how video games are excellent teaching tools because of the level of engagement they involve. It's kind of dry because it's talking about pedagogy and he's using games that are a little old now, but it's really interesting and useful in combatting the ***** we hear from the likes of Jack Thompson.

    You can read more about it on Amazon.
  • MrSidnet, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2The protesters are trying to prevent the release of these games, not trying to cut back on sales. Although, reduced sales might help the protesters cause.
  • minusb, on 10/31/2007, -0/+0I remember the same thing happening back in the 90s when the Mortal Kombat first came out. Every kid wanted it that much worse because it had this sense of taboo attached to it. I recall a number of different parenting groups protesting its release on home consoles. The Super Nintendo version ended up getting 'sanitized'.... which really meant the redness of the blood was removed, and some of the finishing moves were pussified. Sega Genesis I believe was pretty true to the arcade versions.
  • uziko, on 10/31/2007, -0/+4I hate the kind of people that think violent video games are bad. I hope they rot in hell.
    • moskaudancer, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2I'd really like to run a few of those ***** over. Or maybe gouge their eyes out. Depends on if I'm wearing my bloody apron or not.
  • ckup619, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2why do we need a "'how' protests against games.... "??? 'Protesting games sells more copies' speaks for itself
  • itspuddingtime, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4the DARE program had the exact same effect on me. At first it's all "oh drugs are bad, just say no". Later... "wait a minute, maybe I should give this a shot and see what the fuss is all about". And look at me now...
  • amigabill, on 10/31/2007, -0/+0The only reason I went to see the Davinci Code movie was to spite the protestors across the street. I hadn't otherwise wanted to see it. But I think that protestnig it for the reasons I was aware of them doing so, I thought they were idiots and that I should go against their wishes. A video game is a bit more expensive than a movie ticket so I'm less likely to buy it for no other reason than to spite those I think are overreacting to something, but huge protests do make me curious as to what the big fuss is about.
  • Quaterni0n, on 10/31/2007, -1/+2Thank you Jack Thompson. Video games wouldn't be as popular as they are today if it wasn't for your lunacy.
  • Almadiel, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2This is news? When you need something interesting to read, check the church's list of banned books. This strategy is as old as time. Things don't get banned because they suck, they get banned because they are considered tempting.
  • andrewpmk, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1At least it would be impossible, or least VERY difficult to do this is the US:

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
    -- 1st Amendment
  • tuddy666, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1And my friends wondered why I decided to import manhunt 2 from the US...
    ...yes, I DID go through all that trouble to get a videogame that has been banned here in the UK.
  • dethsesh, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1manhunt 2 sucks
  • Quicksilver4648, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1Manhunt 2 is only going to sell a crap load of copies because the media is making such a big deal about it. No other game got exclusives on CBS. Free publicity. If nobody talked about it then I doubt the game would have sold to well, it only appeals to a small audience.
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