Your Mom Hates This Video Game

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While you and I might think EA's new "Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2" campaign is pretty funny, I think it might end up backfiring by giving critics ammunition that the gaming industry targets kids for M rated games. What do you think?
 
Without a doubt. This is going to be firewood for the fire that's going to be under EA's ass. Thought I think the game looks awesome, not many people are going to agree with me. My mother only saw the screenshot and was aghast. But since I'm a big boy now don't necessarily have to listen to her.

And no, I don't live with Mom. lol

She lives in another state.
 
If your mom is that old, you can probably make your own decisions on what games to buy. You probably are starting to get AARP spam mail, too.
 
looks like a sweet game, i loved the first one. but yeah this campaign is stupid and can only hurt the gaming industry's reputation. even though parents let their kids watch gory R-rated movies starting at like 12, the non-gaming world still has a weird problem with video game violence, and this commercial is just poking them with a stick asking them to react. :/
 
vengence said:
I agree. However I'm welllllll over the age for "M" rated games and it did make me perk up and get interested in the game.

I can easily see it as targeting children though.
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Stupid campaign for sure. There is still the argument that for all M+ games the stores are supposed to card to make sure age is appropriate. The rest is up to the parents (lack of) knowledge about what they are buying for their kids.
 
oh forgot the quotes!

"no wonder society is corrupt ... blah blah criminals etc. hammer smashing it"

No wonder society sucks is because we have stupid people like this walking the streets.
 
The funny thing is my Mam is a big horror fan, loves Clive Barker, so would probably like Dead Space.

Some of the reactions are funny though.
 
hahaha awesome, its m-rated and if you can't decern whats reality and whats not by the age of 18 you've got some serious issues. video game violence = not real .
 
any publicity is good publicity in marketing. More controversial it is more kidos what to "rebel" and get it.
 
They need to get some moms that are age appropiate, like 38-45 y/o women, with real 14-16 y/o kids........

"this game ROCKS!!!"
"when is it going to be released"

Using an old lady with some kind of eastern european accent is going to get EA in deep shit 2 not deep space 2.............

game looks good, btw. First one was pretty good.:D
 
That old lady had no idea what she was even looking at lol I can see the confusion on her face as if she thought someone was trying to mess with her head but she wasn't sure. She seemed genuinely afraid for her safety for some reason. I guess some people don't know the difference between video games and real life. We better lock up all the crazy old ladies before they go rampaging through Walmart smashing all the video games lol
 
Trimlock said:
oh forgot the quotes!

"no wonder society is corrupt ... blah blah criminals etc. hammer smashing it"

No wonder society sucks is because we have stupid people like this walking the streets.
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niconx said:
That old lady had no idea what she was even looking at lol I can see the confusion on her face as if she thought someone was trying to mess with her head but she wasn't sure. She seemed genuinely afraid for her safety for some reason. I guess some people don't know the difference between video games and real life. We better lock up all the crazy old ladies before they go rampaging through Walmart smashing all the video games lol
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+1

Plus that old lady is old enough to be the mother of probably at least a 35-40 year old.
 
I saw this ad yesterday all over gamefaqs. On one hand, it's pretty funny, but on the other hand, it is almost certainly aimed at kids. They even mention something like "how much your mother hates something has always been an indicator for what is cool". They don't have to tell an adult that what's "cool". Dead Space is an awesome game and I'm sure the devs were just having fun, but I feel a bit bad for the mothers they interviewed (and humiliated, considering their getting swarmed with comments on youtube like "too bad bitch, the game is coming out!"), and I'd bet that this is going to attract some seriously negative media attention.
 
You guys are totally missing the point of this marketing angle. This is in no way, directed at your 'parents'. It is for all you gamers out there to get off on these reactions.

Are 99% of you watching the trailers several times for the in-game footage? I think not. It's to see how people react.

Job well done.
 
Poor taste, IMO. Doesn't ever stop anything from being done. And it definitely raised the game on my radar screen so...well done, even if it was in poor taste. Damn you advertisers for making me so conflicted!
 
These reaction clips are awesome. I almost feel bad for the ladies, but their reactions were very entertaining.
 
Well, I'd rather they market the gameplay, story etc. that would make this game worth playing. over the other several thousand shooters released in the last decade. Doom 3 already did the monster mutilation horror thing a long time ago. It's nothing new.

I don't have anything against violent videogames, but if the only "value" of this game is the various gruesome ways in which monsters and humans die, I might as well watch snuff films.
 
This is pretty low in my opinion. Getting people (the women in the video's) to watch something, knowing a lot of them are going to be disturbed and offended by it.

I can see the appeal, if I remember back to when I was ten years old and had minimal respect for the opinions, sensibilities and feelings of my own parents.

But now, this just looks like juvenile behaviour from supposed adults (the researchers), aimed at juveniles (the intended audience), at the expense of grown-ups (the unwitting participants in this 'joke'.)

I think too, I'd be furious if someone did that to my own mother. And if they did it to her in my presence, I don't know how I'd react.

I may not agree with or share all her opinions and beliefs or sensibilities, but I respect her enough not to challenge her on them to the point where she becomes offended or upset over it, and she does likewise with me and mine. That's called mutual respect, live and let live, and it's how we, and everyone, gets along.

Deliberately frightening, upsetting and disturbing someone, anyone, isn't funny. Doing it as part of a marketing campaign is, as I said before, imo, just low.

I don't give a toss how clever people think this 'prank' was, or how stupid people think the victims were, you just don't mess with people like that, or you're opening yourself to be messed with in turn.

Unfortunately, the people who do this sort of thing often don't think that's even possible, but it is. Every one of us, old or young, could be messed with, in different ways, just like those women in the video's were being messed with. Think about that, and think again about how funny or clever or worthwhile eliciting those responses from those women was.

Actually, I strongly suspect, based on human nature and the situation/setup and some things heard in the video, that at least some of those people you can see in the behind the scenes video, the ones pulling the prank, had no idea what they were actually doing, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they ended up wishing they hadn't done it at all.

Anyway, despite how serious I might sound about it, I won't be losing any sleep over it. Worse stuff happens. Just felt like venting a little over it, as it annoys me to see people making others suffer, for any reason, let alone for fun or money.
 
No, it is advertising. Marketing and advertising has been insulting our intelligence since they were created. There is nothing to be upset about.
 
KleeziE said:
any publicity is good publicity in marketing. More controversial it is more kidos what to "rebel" and get it.
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That.

Yah, im sure nothing good will come from these commercials, but im sure they'll make bank off of the game because of it.
 
KleeziE said:
any publicity is good publicity in marketing. More controversial it is more kidos what to "rebel" and get it.
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I don't think any kid would look at this game and say "I'm going to buy this game just because it will piss-off my parents".

Plus it's rated "M" for whatever that is worth...
 
sheesh, what, did they get people who have had NO exposure to anything more than the little catfights on Golden Girls? That poor woman looked confused and terrified, she'll probably have nightmares over what she saw! (#0113); (#0138) has a closed mind; (#0122) Oh I'm done, that thing is icky! I thought she was going to either have a heart attack or throw up; and finally (#0124) is very cool - she's a gaming mom or a mom who sees a ton of gaming in her house.

I'm 56, female, don't have kids unfortunately or I'd have them do the tweet thing (just once) with my reaction - I WANT IT! I love killing stuff :D

But I have to say may not have been EA's greatest idea. This could come back to bite them with the whole M rating and zomg another violent game that's going to make people go berserk in RL! Plus the kind of pranking/almost making fun of older people
 
This is a win-win situation. Think about it.
1. They appeal to the younger kids trying to rebel and be cool.
2. They already address what the parents are going to say anyway. They are just using it to their advantage to save the time and hassle.
3. They build a lot of hype around the game.
4. They give the older generation that feeling of nostalgia. "I remember when I was a kid......"
5. True horror fans get a taste of what people think about it.

This is GREAT marketing.


Remember how Paranormal Activity showed those reaction videos as commercials? Decent movie but it created SO much hype.
 
LOOOOOOOOOOL. Best marketing campaign, period. And after reading a few of the comments here at [H], it's clear the ad worked. Someone give the marketing guys at Visceral a raise.
 
"I" hate Dead Space 1.
Bought it, watched the intro, walked through 3 rooms and said "WTFing controls that I can't change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and it's been in my attic collecting dust ever since then.

Will I buy Dead Space 2? No, as the name implies, it only takes up dead space.
 
AngelK said:
They even mention something like "how much your mother hates something has always been an indicator for what is cool". They don't have to tell an adult that what's "cool".
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lwg said:
But now, this just looks like juvenile behaviour from supposed adults (the researchers), aimed at juveniles (the intended audience), at the expense of grown-ups (the unwitting participants in this 'joke'.)
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Anyone who thinks the above obviously doesn't deal with many of todays adults, which are often just like dealing with a bunch of fully grown 12 year olds running around acting like adults.

Everywhere I go, I'm subject to "adults" yelling, screaming, whining, throwing tantrums, fighting, threatening, spazing, etc. I go to the movies, and 50+ year old couples are giggling loudly and throwing popcorn during the movie. I go to work and full grown adults literally threaten my employees for not giving them their service or products for free. I go to the grocery store and see adults eating food from the shelves and putting the rest back on the shelves with their slobber all over it.

In todays day and age, a human doesn't have to "grow up" at all. They don't have to mature, because the rest of adults they interact with all act like children as well. They don't have to work because they can live off the wealth and slavery of others who DO work. They don't have to be responsible, because they don't get to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Make it a Dead Space movie, instead, and have these parents (or grandparents) say the same thing about the movie. Since it would be a "movie" and not a "game", the "intended audience of children" goes away pretty quick. The only functioning factor in what people are saying it is marketing to children is the fact that it is a video game, instead of another medium, which means that these people just make the mistake that video games are and can only be of pleasure for children. This is a failure in the thinking of those who say its marketed to children (or use it as an excuse to attack the industry), and NOT a failure in the marketing itself.

So, NO, this marketing campaign isn't directed at children, because the adults of today would still think that what is cool is indicated by what their elderly parents dislike.
 
Betaboy1983 said:
"I" hate Dead Space 1.
Bought it, watched the intro, walked through 3 rooms and said "WTFing controls that I can't change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and it's been in my attic collecting dust ever since then.

Will I buy Dead Space 2? No, as the name implies, it only takes up dead space.
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This. If you are going to buy Dead Space, get it on the console - at least then the horrible controls will be mitigated a bit. On PC, it is a steaming turd. The controls are terrible, and the mouse acceleration makes the game - particularly the menus - downright unusable. I played 4-8 hours on it, and it is the only game that I can think of that I outright refuse to finish due to its crappiness. The developers out to be ashamed of themselves. :mad:

Seriously, if you are [H]... you can do better than Dead Space. :(


Back on topic, the guys who made that ad are terrible people - that is all.
 
Mad Cat said:
This. If you are going to buy Dead Space, get it on the console - at least then the horrible controls will be mitigated a bit. On PC, it is a steaming turd. The controls are terrible, and the mouse acceleration makes the game - particularly the menus - downright unusable. I played 4-8 hours on it, and it is the only game that I can think of that I outright refuse to finish due to its crappiness. The developers out to be ashamed of themselves. :mad:all.
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Not that we should be required to do this, and the manufacturer should be ashamed for not addressing the control lag issue, but in less than a 30 second Google search I was able to find the fix for the controls.
 
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