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PC Games (Games) Entertainment Games

Kuma Runs Into Ad Controversy Promoting Iraq Game 20

Posted by simoniker from the controversy-and-sales-not-necessarily-bedfellows dept.
Thanks to Inc Magazine for its article discussing Kuma Reality Games' attempts to promote its downloadable Kuma: War PC videogame. The piece explains of the previously mentioned title, which "lets players march in the boots of U.S. troops... fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan [or] defending U.S. battlefield commanders from assassination attempts in Iraq", that polarizing forces were at work - Keith Halper of Kuma laments: "It's hard when people accuse you, on the one hand, of exploiting the military and, on the other, of working for them." It's also noted of the press campaign around the game: "Gamespot, one of the most popular websites for PC gamers, asked Kuma to alter one ad's content, which some at the site found 'disturbing,' according to RDA's media buyers. Kuma denied the request."
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Kuma Runs Into Ad Controversy Promoting Iraq Game More

Kuma Runs Into Ad Controversy Promoting Iraq Game

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  • Good ideas and (Score:4, Interesting)

    by dave-tx ( 684169 ) <{moc.liamg} {ta} {todhsals+80891fd}> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:20AM (#9820534)
    While I think the idea of simulation recreating actual events is interesting, part of me questions the wisdom and taste of doing this with an ongoing conflict. To abuse a metaphor, it's not picking the scab off an old wound, because that wound hasn't even scabbed up yet.

  • Figures. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by KDR_11k ( 778916 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:29AM (#9820589)
    When you have a game that by itself isn't able to stand out from the crowd (in this case a realistic war game, how many of those have been released over the last few years? no matter how many new features you put in, people will stop listening the moment you mention the genre) you have to do extreme advertising instead. And people likely remember what offended them. I hope we don't see a rise in offensive advertising or soon we'd be told to fuck off ten times, that our mothers are whores three times and that we are motherfuckers ten times per ad break on the TV.
    • Have you actually played KumaWar? I have. The problem is not the content. I think a episodic current-events game is a very interesting idea, and one with lots of posibilities. The problem is KumaWar is a sub-par game with dated graphics and absolutely piss-poor AI. The most extreme advertising in the world wouldn't make this game fun to play.

      Extreme advertising - I think - is as much a sign that the product is lacking as it is that the viewers are jaded. Good games don't need advertising, and all the adver

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