Of all the games released lately, Dante's Inferno and Bayonetta are probably two of the most...how to put this? Child unfriendly games out there? Yeah, "child unfriendly" would be the term. That doesn't stop EA for advertising Dante's Inferno during the Super Bowl this year. It's been rumored for a while, but now the official press release has landed.
The press release include the following statement:
"Even within the spectrum of live sports events, the Super Bowl stands apart, almost as a national holiday," said Frank Gibeau, president at EA. "The Super Bowl is a bull's-eye in terms of cross-over to our core demographic and the reach is outstanding. Not only does it draw 100 million viewers, but most people watch the Super Bowl live, a rarity in the world of DVRs. While digital outreach to Facebook, Twitter, and online bloggers is a core part of our marketing strategy, we felt that advertising during the Super Bowl is an excellent way to introduce this new IP to a massive cross-section of people who are likely already familiar with the dark and twisted "Divine Comedy."
We at Gamereactor, having actually played Dante's Inferno, are a bit worried that there might be a bit of backlash against the ad titled "Hell Awaits". It wouldn't be the first time EA expose themselves to criticism over the marketing for this particular game - they've already organized a fake rally against it and sent out $200 cheques to game journalist symbolizing the carnal sin of "greed". And then we haven't even mentioned the more R-rated competition "Sin to Win"...