Posts tagged bad advertising
Dead Space 2′s Ill-Advised Ad Campaign
Jan 24th
Video game ads on television are often terrible. Being the sole member of the Silicon Sasquatch executive triumvirate who watches sports on TV on a regular basis, I’m also the one who gets exposed to a lot of the big-budget video game advertising campaigns. As a gamer with an interest in the business side of the industry, it’s always interesting to see which games are trying to push for mainstream attention — and by what means.
That made the new Dead Space 2 advertisement currently getting national air time all that much worse. Go ahead and watch the ad – it’s right there at the top of the post. I can wait a minute for you.
Why I canceled my GameFly membership
Dec 12th
It’s happened to the best of us. Even the most cautious consumer has acted in a moment of passion and purchased a game that wasn’t a sure-fire hit. Oh sure, it boasts of a lengthy single-player campaign and robust online features, but who can say for sure? Emboldened by an opportunity to discover a potential diamond in the rough, you purchase the game and head home without a shadow of a doubt that you’re in for anything but a great time.
But just ten minutes after tearing off the shrinkwrap and unceremoniously tossing the manual aside (“seriously, who reads things?”), it dawns on you: This single-player campaign certainly is lengthy, but only in the why-won’t-this-horrible-game-just-be-over sense of the word. Those robust online features amount to a half-dozen variations on deathmatch that, between the crippling lag issues and a total dearth of players with whom to compete, add up to zero enjoyment.
Sixty hard-earned American dollars, gone in the blink of an eye. Poof. And all you’ve got to show for it is your shiny new copy of Bionic Commando and a room stacked to the ceiling with your metaphysical shame.
But what else could you do? While it’s dying a slow death at the blood-red hands of Netflix, Blockbuster is only stocking a few of the biggest new releases — meaning sleeper hits and lesser-known titles are impossible to try before buying. Hollywood Video is closing its doors in rapid succession. The last option is GameFly, a Netflix-like subscription service for renting games.
I spent six months with GameFly across a variety of plans, and I ultimately ended up canceling the service with no intention of ever restarting my account. While it may be a fantastic concept on paper, its execution leaves plenty to be desired.