You're talking about it right now aren't you? I'd say it did its' job just masterfully. Mindshare is the ultimate goal of marketing and I'd say these dudes have got it right now. Will they convert that into actual sales? Well we'll see.

I really don't think any of this stunt was intended to be pretentious or insulting. Just to do what it did, which is to get people talking and endlessly speculating about the game. Control the narrative. if anything I suspect this was done because of how bad the environment is out there for developers. They need to get creative to push units and cannibalize competitor sales since the market is contracting. The market is no longer big enough for everybody.

And you know what man? If I were a creative type working for a developer, honestly I think I'd appreciate that. Ultimately every game needs exposure (now more than ever) and if this silliness help this game sell by keeping it near the forefront of the watercooler discussion, then all those dudes benefit.

I wouldn't mind it either if marketing was more straightforward "here's scenes from our awesome game get pysched!" school of thought. But if this is what it takes to get their game made I can't fault them for it.

I thought Konami was big into the casino game market? Like real world casino stuff, video poker and such. I thought I read somewhere console Video games are just a small part of what they do unlike Square, Capcom, Sega etc. Not sure they care much about Metal Gear, Contra, Suikoden or Castlevania that much.

I dunno man, I'm having a hard time seeing the harm in what these guys did.

Huge, elaborate marketing plans pay off a lot of the time. A game like Halo would probably sell millions of copies regardless, but slapping ads on Mountain Dew and Doritos makes it seem larger than life. It may render the actual product disappointing when you realize that it's just a video game, but I imagine it moves units. There are cases like Brutal Legend though, where mass marketing doesn't pay off, but that was also a new IP. As you pointed out, the Metal Gear Solid name already resonates with people. It's just a matter of pushing some people over that edge of spending $60.

As for the cerebral approach of their marketing strategy, I think part of that is trying to be fresh. People see ordinary trailers for games all the time, so maybe Konami thinks it'll have a larger impact on people. Perhaps make us think about it in ways we usually don't.

I honestly don't know anything about marketing, so I'm mostly speaking from casual observation. I don't agree that it's a slap in the face, but you raise some interesting points. Sometimes the direct approach is indeed the best approach.

@slag: You point out that marketing to this degree gets the name of the game out there and that if you were a developer, you would appreciate the effort. I'm sure ANY developer would appreciate it. However, at the volume that the gaming industry goes when it comes to pushing out game after game, a little more time could be put into games rather than pumping out annual sequels for the sake of money-grabs. Then again, that would probably implode the industry into a dark mess...but so will devaluing the product until it is worthless.

I would use the example of Medal of Honor Warfighter. There was a massive marketing push for that game, and where is it now? Sure, we can apply a formula of "well, it's *insert random flavor of the month first-person shooter here*", but if I remember correctly, that game isn't even going to pull its budget back in sales, let alone the marketing budget behind it. Moreover, it's not even JUST the advertisements. Marketing involves plane trips to conventions where only the press will see the game, then report it over to the audience. There are the multiple interviews and trips to offices that are taking away man hours. There is so much more than some flashy ads and faux people in interviews that make up the marketing.

If anything, stunts like this HURT marketing in video games. If something like this becomes popular, the status quo in any way, it means that smaller studios and publishers get SUNK in the next generation of consoles because they cannot dish out the money to do shit like this. The one thing that those developers have to ride on is getting a copy of their game in the hands of someone whose voice can be heard (ala Giant Bomb, Joystiq, Destructoid, whoever it may be) and hope that the game sells. I think anyone that would say that Giant Bomb hasn't been responsible for high sales of some decently obscure games in XBLA, PSN, and even retail shelves are fooling themselves. That is cheap advertising that helps everyone involved: Giant Bomb gets to produce content, the people get their advertisement, and everyone gets to go home at the end of the day. It's minimal amounts of money most likely in comparison to the big advertisements and publicity stunts that get thrown out there.

Another massive publicity stunt that comes to mind was the flash mob that EA planned out for Star Wars: The Old Republic. While it was a cool thing to see, it was also thoroughly unnecessary all around. The money put into costuming all of those people and getting them paid by the end of the day (if they were paid at all) could've led to something else working in that game...or some additional servers for SimCity...or something worthwhile for something else at EA.

The long and short of it is this: while a publicity stunt like this DOES have me talking about the game, it doesn't have me talking POSITIVELY about the game. Instead, it has me asking a question of how a company can go out and spend money on these kinds of publicity stunts when they could be hiring more employees to ensure better quality in their games or offering up the money for new IPs that will offer them venerable future franchises. Therefore, I'm talking about the MARKETING TACTICS rather than the GAME.

To put this on the level, I'm not a fan of Kojima or the MGS franchise. I do appreciate that he continues to stand firm in the "games are not art" camp, but that's about it.

Also, to say that this publicity stunt isn't pretentious seems a bit naive. I mean, if it IS true that Joakim is CGI, that's nothing more than using a gaming website/channel as a way to show off your in-house developed game engine that will be used to make your new MGS game. That's absolute pretention! You are right when you say there are developers out there that would KILL for this level of press about their game. However, there are also developers that could easily look at this and say "they could've used that money to offer us a job on one of their franchises or a new IP, we've got this idea we'd love for someone to pick up."

It seems like a waste in an industry where there is too much waste already.

@jazzyjeff: The massive advertising blitz through Mountain Dew and Doritos for Halo ended up causing a lot of backlash and ridicule. That didn't pay off well for them in the end. The game sold because it has the word "Halo" in it.