Amazing Viral Marketing for Dante's Inferno

By Rob Savillo
Wednesday, 03 June 2009

Tags: Viral Marketing , Electronic Arts , E3 2009 , dante's inferno

So I said yesterday that I'd be following Visceral Games' Dante's Inferno, and today I've come across what could possibly be the best viral marketing campaign for a video game that I've ever seen.

I can't believe I missed this, but both ThatVideoGameBlog and LA Weekly's blog have covered what appears to be a mock protest against Dante's Inferno. ThatVideoGameBlog even contacted Electronic Arts, the game's publisher, for comment; to which EA replied that they were unaware of the protests. The blog finds that hard to believe considering the protesters' official website against the game went up the first day of E3.

And an amazing website it is, channeling the most repugnantly designed geocities websites from the mid-to-late 90s. Incorrectly sized videos, repeating animated .gifs, low-resolution images, all caps text, and a hideous use of color and frames. Brilliant!

The protestors are said to be a religious group called S.A.V.E.D. -- "Salvationists. Against. Virtual. and Eternal. Damnation." Armed with signs that read, "My high score is in Heaven," "EA = Electronic Anti-christ,"Play Dante's Inferno, go to Hell," and (my personal favorite) "Cheat codes won't save your soul," the protestors march outside of E3. The whole affair has a close attention to detail that captures the crazed-religious protest feel. Even the pamphlets pictured at ThatVideoGameBlog are works of art!

Comments (5)

A good conspiracy, but may be more benificial to EA than harm

Toby Davis , June 04, 2009

Dante's Inferno may get lost in the shuffle with Bayonetta, God of War 3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, releasing closely to each other. Being controversial for the sake of controversy is really dumb and needless. The game will sell if it is fun, not because of a mocked up religious controversy.

Juan Letona , June 04, 2009

Man...how good do you have to be to have your highscore in HEAVEN?

Actually, I stand corrected. Clearly that guy is a prestige player because his "HEAVEN" tag has wings. Did he have to get that through a micro-transaction or a pre-order deal or does that fucker just have no life and play all day?

Steven Hicks , June 04, 2009

Though its a nice thought that if its fun, they will come. But we've seen time and time again that it's not always the case. We've all seen those top 10 lists of the best games no one played. By stirring up this controversy, they're ensuring that atleast people are looking, and making an interesting social commentary about anti-video game crusaders. It's sleazy, it's dirty, but damn it's flipping brilliant.

Mako , June 05, 2009