Why Sparking Controversy Doesn't Work as Intended.

One thing the opponents of these games fail to take into account, is that sparking controversy doesn't have the effect they desire.

[Hardiman]

Not at all and all the hoopla didn't dissuade me in the slightest. Seeing opinion piece after opinion piece saying how terrible it was did get in my nerves!

I find it hilarious that the woman protesting the game thinks you get points if the girl die. Maybe she should research Quantic Dream and the games they've released.

[SavageKuma]

After reading your article I do believe that people interpret things wrong. As you stated with the woman believing the guy was the abuser. I find that making a game believable and have you build a connection is great story writing like Beyond two Souls or in certain cases Max Payne. Putting us in a controversial situation to either save or let someone go drives us as gamers. That's why I am looking forward to the story of God of War since now he has a kid with him I want to see where that goes.

[BenjaMan64]

"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde
Controversies can be powerful, free publicity.

[bluefox755]

The thing about these so-called controversies, is that they don't exist in the real world. The vast majority of regular people are not outraged or upset in the slightest. They're ginned up by gaming "journalists" who live in an ideological bubble.

[toddybad]

I thought it was one of the greatest game trailors ever produced.

Dealing with difficulty issues is a positive. Hiding away from them does not help anybody.

[Chaosdreams]

I felt an instant emotional connection. "I need to save that little girl" & "Come on. You can do it android/robot lady, save the day." That's what went through my mind.

[TomKnowles]

It’s made me want to play the game more if anything.

[rainslacker]

It has the desired effect if the controversy is not really a controversy.

The point of any marketing is to get people's attention. Since the "controversy" in Detroit isn't actually something that the vast majority of prospective buyers have a problem with, it just means that the game gets more attention.

Same thing happened in GTA back when Jack Thompson used it as a scape goat. Of course, that was not an intentional controversy...not that I feel Detroit's was intentional. It was a game that was fairly successful, but him attacking the game made everyone notice it, and then the sales exploded. Not only were people exposed to the game, they learned more about it and saw that a lot of people were enjoying the game before. Now it's one of the biggest IP's in the world.

What it comes down to is that the kinds of things we saw in detroit were provocative. It was done to show there is a certain aspect of the game which is somehow provoking, and in the case of Detroit, was there to show that you had some control over the outcome. Since this notion of choice is pretty strong in Cage's games, it makes sense to show that in a way that is likely to illicit emotions, because that's what Cage usually goes for. Seeing how many people were hooked with being able to determine the outcome of that scene, I'd say that it was fairly effective marketing.

[Cobra951]

Leave little kids out of it. Problem solved. The word "controversy" is thrown around like confetti by journalists in all fields. In this case, it actually applies. There is no need at all to open games now to the stigma of encouraging violence against children, because you know that's what's going to happen if cringe-worthy screenshots like that one start proliferating. Violence between adults is tolerated. Even sex is now more tolerable to the establishment. This will never be.