Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2

Video games have had it pretty hard from the start of their existence. They've had ups and downs, a lot of downs in the early days, a lot of ups later on. Despite widespread popularity, video games are constantly under fire by the media and whether video games should be censored or not often comes up in legislation all around the US. It's a big sensationalist ticket for the media moguls that preys on the fears of older generations that didn't grow up with video games and don't understand them.

And then comes along Dead Space 2, which has one of the most memorable and bravest marketing campaigns I've ever seen. Check it out here:

www.yourmomhatesthis.com/

I have to give EA credit for coming up with this idea, it's certainly catchy. But I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's poking fun at people who don't understand video games, a jab back at them for everything video games, their creators and their fans have had to put up with for years, it's a jab that makes me smile like a giddy fool. On the other hand, this could easily blow up in EA's face and activate against video games the most powerful force known to man when it comes to ruining fun things: Moms.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like moms, I think many moms do a stand up job raising and taking care of their children, the world would be worse off without them. But moms can also be over zealous about things they perceive as threats to their children. In this case: Violent video games that they don't understand or appreciate due to lack of meaningful exposure that are "explained" to them by biased, sensationalist and corrupt news media.

Now, I might be paranoid in thinking this marketing campaign could end badly, but remember, there was a big commotion about Mass Effect, way before it was ever released, for being a "Sex Simulator," which wasn't true. There was a big uproar over Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas over the "Hot Coffee Mod," which wasn't something accessible without breaking the game with outside tools. I feel perfectly justified in saying that this was a stupid, irresponsible marketing ploy by EA, as it is an obvious, purposeful trolling attempt against an enemy, the news media, that has shown time and time again that it is willing to use any excuse to attack video games through lies, faulty statistics and sensationalist tactics.

I'm not talking about limiting artistic expression or promoting censorship, I'm talking about not shooting yourself in the foot. I'm talking about not giving your enemies ready to use ammunition against you. I'm talking about having some class.

EA, I say to you, do what you want with your games, make the games you want, the games you feel you, as artists, need to make. But don't poke the chained, ravenous, mad dog unless you have something you actually want to say that's more meaningful than "Neener neener." If nothing else, it makes you look bad, which reflects poorly on the rest of us.