Eidos
From Encyclopedia Dramatica
It's astonishing that since the foundation of Encyclopedia Dramatica at least 100 years ago that nobody has highlighted the venal two-faced cesspool that is Eidos Interactive. Although most game companies are solely interested in teh money and don't give a fuck about the suckers that buy their over-priced games, Eidos towers above the rest with its attempts to control comments about its products. It interferes with gamer discussions forums, bribes site owners with advertising contracts and arranges for reviewers who don't like its games to be sacked. Somehow it manages to suck site administrators into its "family", treating them like beloved sons, inviting them to Eidos headquarters, flattering them with mentions in its game credits, giving them "exclusives" about the minutiae associated with the crappy games to brandish before moronic fanboys - all in exchange for a tightly controlled "public discussion" about why Eidos sucks ass. If any firm deserved the title of "Big Brother" then it is Eidos.
^The above user is unaware of what he/she/it is saying. Please do not listen to him/her/them. Eidos is an amazing game company that creates stellar, ground-breaking works of art, and to say otherwise is downright disrespectful and immature. Huggles! Michelle Seebach Curran. xxxxx bj
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[edit] Tomb Raider
Eidos' biggest (or biggest breasted) cash cow is Lara Croft, and the dramas involving the sacking of the original game developer Core and the threatened lawsuits about Nude Raider, etc, provide an excellent illustration of how Eidos works. It is safe to say that the fame of Lara Croft is not due to the excellence of the games (some are good and some are risible) or the efforts of the Eidos public relations department, but because the fans - especially in the UK - took her to their hearts. They liked all of the things that the original English developers Core put into the character - Lara's sexuality, amorality and antipathy to being a "team player". The one exception to the Core view is over-rated "Lara creator", the intensely creepy Toby Gard, who apparently having based Lara on his sister (apparently he spent his time doodling stick figures with big tits and then hastily erasing them in case he got a boner) now perhaps feels that it is incest to fancy a character based on a relative[1]. Meanwhile Eidos, behaving like American pussies, and sensitive to political correctness and anything that might stop them wringing that last cent out of Lara, spend their lives trying to suppress and deny the aspects of the Croft character that disqualify her as induction into the august company of the Disney Princesses.
It's hard to find the original news items form the late 1990's about the shutting down of Nude Raider. (Who could have predicted that adolescent boys would draw naked pictures of a hardbody game character possessing a sexy voice, "attitude", a tendency to make sex noises when climbing onto things, blessed with big tits, long legs and a heavily featured "tight little behind" clad in short shorts?) But to get the flavour of it here's a quote from a discussion forum "A development in Lara's history is the so-called Nude Raider patch. A patch was created externally from Core and Eidos and was never housed on the Eidos or Core websites. This patch, when added to an existing Tomb Raider game, caused Lara to appear naked. Contrary to rumor, there is no method of creating a nude Lara in any console version of the game. In April 2004, it is falsely alleged that an insider from Eidos reported to a Tomb Raider electronic mailing list that Eidos had begun suing gamers using the Nude Raider patches. Eidos sent cease and desist letters to the owners of nuderaider.com who were hosting the Nude Raider patch, enforcing their intellectual property of Tomb Raider. Sites depicting nude images of Lara Croft have been sent cease and desist notices and shut down, and Eidos Interactive was awarded the rights to the domain name nuderaider.com ..." [2]. Part of Eidos' dilemma is that they have pretended that Lara Croft is "for kids" and want to try and protect the little tykes from stumbling across nude Laras whilst they are surfing for porn. Apparently, in true American "mass psychosis" style, bare breasts are bad whilst mass murder with guns is fine. (It is rumoured that the people who annoyed Angelina Jolie by airbrushing her nipples out of the Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life movie posters were not the numbnuts at Paramount Pictures but the legalistic dweebs who work for Eidos. Jolie was comfortable with the (bi)sexuality of the Croft character; the suits were not.)
[edit] Gamestop
The Gamestop controversy is covered in the ED article on it.
[edit] Eidos versus the world
(A selection of news items from the Web)
- In a statement on the Hitman 2 Web site, Eidos has announced that it has acted in response to criticisms raised by The Sikh Coalition in a recent online campaign. The Sikh Coalition and a number of other international Sikh groups protested the game's depiction of Dalits, a people in India, as followers of an evil cult leader, as well as the combat that players undertake midway through the game against turbaned Sikh characters inside a Sikh place of worship. In the statement, Eidos said that, along with the game's developer, IO Interactive, it is responding in "a socially and commercially responsible manner by removing from the Hitman 2 Web site all relevant images and content, taking steps to amend the game on all existing platforms, and adapting the next edition of the game due out for the GameCube platform." The statement also said that the publisher had learned its lesson and that it would "observe and respect cultural, religious, and ethical sensitivities in its future products." Quoted from [3].
- The 25 to Life bad publicity juggernaut keeps pissing off people right and left. The latest to get their panties in a bunch are Delaware County law enforcement officials, who are citing the game as an example of a video game that glorifies violence. The sensationalistic shooter was released way back in January and still works the public into a tizzy. The game's PR team isn't all that impressed either. "Frankly, it is not a good title and under normal circumstances it would not be selling as well," said Michelle Curran, a public relations director for Eidos, the British producer of the game. She also told The Philadelphia Inquirer the company did nothing to promote the 17 and up title. There were no TV ads, magazine campaigns or other promotions. The rational? The game did not have potential, the company thought. Good thing they released it though, because look at all the money they saved on advertising. Quoted from [4]
- There has been some mention of the Kane and Lynch affiliated 'Cyber Search for Hot Chicks' online over the past month, but people have hesitated from strongly criticising it; game critics everywhere ponder, who is going to shoot the goose that lays the golden eggs? Thankfully, the recent review score of 6/10 in Edge has vindicated my rumbling problem with this franchise-to-be and its idiotic marketing. As you can see from the advert below, the basic competition is as follows: Cybersearch: are you hot and crazy enough to be the one? Do you have what it takes to be every man's ultimate fantasy? We're hunting for a dangerously sexy vixen with the goods to make us moan, so if you think you're it we dare you to prove it. Send us your most seductive, creative, and craziest photos and make us believe there is a higher power. Grand prize $25,000 and a test shoot with Playboy. This is totally fascinating on so many levels, and represents some really big problems with contemporary games marketing, 'viral' or otherwise. Clearly it is asking young women to send in pictures of themselves, sponsored by Kane and Lynch. From whose point-of-view is it written -- from IO Interactive? As Kane or Lynch themselves? '...make us moan..'? It just doesn't make sense. Presumably a mercenary and a medicated serial killer aren't lobbying for female company, let alone actively using social networking sites. It is a mystery that the Kane and Lynch brand would segue into lobbying female players and/or IGN readers to consider themselves playboy centrefold material. The murky waters of contemporary marketing are the tarnished underside of this golden age of gaming. This three-way deal between Playboy, IGN and Eidos is the undoing of an already flawed title. The competition is only open to women, the game is created in a mould we could comfortably assume is directed to male gamers. This confusion is certainly insidious enough, since it encourages women to perceive themselves stereotypically and offers a financial incentive for self-objectification, and treats young men like frat house farmhands. It sets up an image of women which sadly isn't unique in contemporary games design, compounded by wallpapers such as this which can be found at the official site. Quoted from [5].
- For reasons unknown, Core and Crystal Dynamics were working independently on the same 10th anniversary (Tomb Raider) game. Perhaps Core had been given a green light to try and after the SCi/Eidos merger, no one remembered that detail. Meanwhile, Crystal Dynamics successfully launched Tomb Raider: Legend and was considered by the management, especially in North America, to be the obvious team for the new game. For maximum effect, SCi/Eidos conspicuously didn't announce anything at E3, and then started some well-chosen leaks afterward. Crystal Dynamics were the first anonymous tip to Kotaku. Core felt spurned. They knew they were being sold to Rebellion and that Crystal Dynamics had to be working on the same game, because the Kotaku leak mentioned Tomb Raider II, which isn't in their version. (Everything I've seen in the Core-produced trailer is material remade from just the original Tomb Raider -- nothing is shown of Tomb Raider II.) So someone at Core decided to stick it to SCi/Eidos and Crystal Dynamics by giving the public its first taste of a remake -- Core's remake -- along with the ominous and misleading "cancelled" project information. SCi/Eidos tried to control the damage quietly, but were forced to put out their press release and pressed Core to disavow the trailer release. The last anonymous tip to Kotaku is the most interesting. While it still takes the line that Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider II are being put into the remake, the tone at the end seems to indicate to me that the Core trailer looked very good compared to whatever Crystal Dynamics has put together If Crystal Dynamics has come up with something that isn't as impressive to fans as the leaked trailer from Core, it will be interesting indeed to see how well it is received. My gut feeling right now is that fans will be disappointed at the comparison. Quoted from [6]
- From very early on in the game's development, Daikatana (Publisher: Eidos) was aggressively advertised as the brainchild of John Romero, a man famous for his work at id Software in the development of Doom and Quake. Time magazine gave Romero and Daikatana glowing coverage, saying "Everything that game designer John Romero touches turns to gore and gold." An early advertisement for Daikatana, created by marketing guru Mike Wilson and approved by Romero, was an orange poster with large black lettering proclaiming "John Romero's about to make you his bitch". Nothing else was featured on this poster but a small tag-line reading "Suck It Down," an Ion Storm logo and an Eidos logo. Following its appearance in several gaming magazines, more negative news came out of Ion Storm, fueling distaste for the unreleased shooter. The lavish rock star-like treatment given to Romero in his attempt to build a designer-centered game studio (including a multimillion-dollar office on the top floor of a Dallas skyscraper), Romero's well-publicized expensive tastes and hobbies (such as racing Ferraris), the dubious saga of Romero's girlfriend, gamer (and later, Playboy model) Stevie "Killcreek" Case, being hired on as a level designer, and the game's development (which included most of the original development team quitting en masse to form a competing company), incited fierce disdain and criticism among certain elements of the then-emergent online gaming fan community. The press regularly published leaked gossip from disgruntled former and current employees, providing ample and regular doses of new drama to keep interest in the story high. Several online industry gossip websites came into existence primarily to track the unfolding debacle, some of which are still publishing today.Due to these and other problems, Daikatana was delayed multiple times from its conception in early 1997 to its eventual release in 2000. By this time, numerous games based on more advanced graphical technology (such as Id Software's Quake III and Epic MegaGames' Unreal Tournament) had already been released, causing Daikatana to lag technologically in the market with its dated Quake II game engine. Additionally, its gameplay had many aspects that were widely disliked by players, such as an artificially limited number of saves per level and the presence of computer-controlled "sidekicks" who were an active impediment to the player. As a result, Daikatana received mediocre-at-best reviews from reviewers and users alike. Many believe the fallout from Daikatana sidelined Romero's career in the high-end PC gaming industry for a number of years, though Romero himself has stated that he chose to make his next company, Monkeystone, drastically smaller for his own reasons. The game was a major contributing factor in the closure of Ion Storm's Dallas office. Quoted from [7]
- According to the source, Gerstmann was fired "on the spot" due to advertiser pressure for his review of Eidos' Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. A visit to Gamespot shows that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game has taken over the site very prominently, with backgrounds and multiple banner ads all pitching Kane & Lynch. Allegedly, publisher Eidos "took issue with the review and threatened to pull its ad campaign." Quoted from [8].
- Yowza. For those who haven't seen the advertising spots for the forthcoming Reservoir Dogs campaign, prepare to scrape your jaws off the floor. The series of short films feature two cute kids in (what initially appear to be) "kid" situations graphically discussing ... things. Sorry to be vague, but they are quite unnerving. These ads, designed to get right up the noses of more conservative elements, are certain to cause the controversy publishers Eidos are hoping will boost the sales of the console game. I can only assume that they're trying to be the new Take 2 now that the publisher's stock is plummeting. Reservoir Dogs was always going to be scrutinised, and now the attempts by some in the industry to brush it under the carpet for fear that it would shed bad light on the public perception of computer games are truly wasted efforts. One final point - I thought it was illegal for child actors to perform actions/say lines that would give broadcast output an 18+ rating, which is why satirical genius Chris Morris got into so much trouble for scenes in his cult comedy series Jam. I assume the same doesn't apply to Internet campaigns? Any insight welcomed. Quoted from [9]
- Q. Who was responsible for the T&A lesbian chic ad campaign (for Fear Effect 2)? Was the marketing an internal decision from Kronos Digital, or was it out of your control and entirely in the hands of the publisher, Eidos? The original image of Rain straddling Hana was done in house for... inspiration purposes. Then the marketing department at Eidos got a hold of the image and ran with the idea. In general, Eidos is exclusively responsible for all marketing related to the Fear Effect series. Their ad agency comes up with the ideas, and we are responsible for generating the content they require. Q. I found it to be a little ironic that a game with such a witty script, incredible voice acting, and an intelligent narrative was targeted at such a lowbrow audience. Do you agree with that sentiment and are you happy with the way Fear Effect 2 was marketed? Hmmm... a double-edged question! First, let me say that I am extremely happy we got any kind of marketing at all for a game that came out at the end of the PlayStation’s glorious lifespan (thank you Eidos). My opinion is that I didn’t mind the T&A ads in the beginning to stir up controversy or what not, I just wished that they would have followed up with ads that portray the actual game itself. Quoted from [10]
[edit] Fun quote from Michelle Seebach Curran, Eidos North America "Senior PR Specialist" (for the moment)
[edit] Breaking News As It Happens
03/12/07 Eidos lie about their reviews in their advertising [11],
[12]
01/03/08 Eidos sacks everybody except Michelle Seebach Curran in order to be able to focus on its Underpants [13],
[14]
15/07/08 More Eidos fun quoted in a Tomb Raider forum;
22/07/08
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Eidos is part of a series on Gaming. |
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