Switch Lights

The lights are on

EA Enjoys Fox News Controversy



A little over a month ago Fox News ran a story that suggested Bulletstorm is the worst game ever made. It isn’t, according to our review at least. Countless video game enthusiasts even stood in defense by torpedoing the Amazon book page of one of the interviewed experts. Despite the gaming community's backlash, EA is going on the record and saying this type of controversy should be sought after.

"We love Fox News. They're bold... I'm serious," said Frank Gibeau, president of EA games.

If that seems like an odd reaction to all the hullaboo, Gibeau explains. "Look, when you're building new IPs and you're building games and you're looking at an entertainment audience, they see a lot of messages. Controversy isn't a bad thing. I personally believe you should court controversy. You should do it in a way that matches the creative integrity of the game. You shouldn't do it in a gratuitous way, but if it matches the creativity of the game... I loved it when Fox News did the lesbian aliens on Mass Effect. I love when they covered the Taliban; I loved it when they covered the Bulletstorm stuff. In each one of those cases, it was true to the game and we were trying to do something creatively."

"The fact that their point of view is different than ours and represented an audience out there is fine by me," he explains. "I felt we could stand up and defend what we did and be aggressive about it and be proud of it."

Gibeau discusses that despite not agreeing with Fox News’s stance, he understands that they’re trying to “get eyeballs on their channels.”

EA’s positive response to the controversy generated by Fox News shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. The company ran commercials with moms staring in dismay at the grotesque scenes of Dead Space 2, after all.

Source: Industry Gamers [via 1up]

Email the author , or follow on , and .

Comments
  • I love Faux controversy... they're just so asinine and hypocritical and fearmongering that you just can't help but laugh.

    If I got up to take a dump, they'd find a way to turn it into a controversy.
  • But didn't EA change Taliban to opposing forces....
  • This is why I dislike EA's PR. Sure, controversy gets your game out there, but it gets a bad name for a lot of people. I just can't understand why EA thinks that's a good thing.
  • EA a love you like a brother, but please stop. Controversy isn't helping the image of your consumers and if you throw gamers like me under the bus to make a quick dollar then you have lost a customer. I understand controversy creates buzz, but don't throw everyone who supports your products under a bus. How did having reports say Bulletstorm could increase rape and violence match creative integrity?
  • Bulletstorm is a fantastic game, and I can't think of a better way to handle that response. Good work Frank Gibeau.
  • Hell yeah. There is no such thing as bad publicity. Get the game's name out there and get people talking about it.

  • Hearing these comments by Frank Gibeau has totally elevated EA in my mind.  He is exactly right.  Fox and EA have completely different views on the game but as Frank said above "Controversy isn't a bad thing".  In this context I think controversy is a great thing for EA.  Hey at least EA is trying something new!!

  • I just love the fact that when Fox News says things like what they said about Bulletstorm and Mass Effect, they are almost instantly put into backpedal mode and somehow seem surprised by the number of people they piss off by making up absurd things to report. I also love watching John Stewart and Colbert make fun of them as all these normally bold and brash personalities cave at the sight of boot sized holes being kicked in their silly little arguments. Them also having to admit they are wrong by extending apologies is just as brilliant, as it is when any of the outrageously biased and opinionated "news" organizations have to do so. I like to laugh at how stupid they sound while acting smart. It's like watching little kids acting smart while spitting complete nonsense. Scratch that, it is little kids acting smart while spitting complete nonsense. Corporate news orgs talking about something that doesn't get warped into a political issue is always funny, because it's always wrong. As far as EA's marketing has been concerned, it's been pretty *** good recently. All the Battlefield bad Company spoofs, the Dead Space commercials, and the Bulletstorm Call of Duty spoof. Funny stuff.
  • I guess he forgot the part were FOX doesn't let the defendant voice their opinion on the matter.
  • Don't forget the fake protest for Dante's Inferno

  • I think this is a classic "you can't buy this kind of publicity!" syndrome... and yeah people i know that don't play games asked me about this one if they should buy a system... in curiosity I asked about Halo... most were puzzled and a few asked if its on the Wii cause no one talks about the Wii!!!

    I couldn't help but laugh out loud when that happened! If I read this somewhere I wouldn't believe it!

  • I like this attitude EA is taking. Really both parties get what they want. Fox gets a "breaking scandal poised to infect the minds of our youth!" And Bulletstorm gets press. And hopefully sales.

    The downside is of course the people who take what Fox News says at face value without giving it any thought, further demonizing video games, which have been the "root of all evil" for a while now.

    It will be interesting to see if more becomes of this, and/or how long it lasts till the next video game ups the ante.

  • EA took lemons and made lemonade.
  • Thanks for the free marketing Fox News.

    ***!

  • How would Grayson Hunt respond to Fox news?
  • Thank you EA, for creating controversy at a time in the industry when we don't necessarily need such a thing.
  • No publicity is bad publicity.  I totally like the stance that EA is taking over this whole issue.  And they can at least back up what they said about Bulletstorm with some solid sales figures.

  • "Fellas, you gotta look at this like a business guy. I'm a business guy. The Fox guys are business guys. Sometimes, when you generate ***, that in turn generates sales. You want sales. Your loyal customer's integrity (or your own) be damned. You gotta look at it like a business guy. You're just not business guys."
  • I have no idea what goes on inside EA's head....

  • it seems like ea has strange ideas about defending itself

1 2 3 Next