So EA made its pitch to millions of Super Bowl watchers yesterday by airing its commercial for Dante’s Inferno. Leading up to the Big Game, people made some fuss over how CBS forced a last-minute change in the slogan (from “Go To Hell” to a more wholesome “Hell Awaits”), but I think another set of words displayed at the end of the ad should have caused a much bigger stink: “Images not representative of actual gameplay”.
The game featured in the 30-second spot looks like a thrilling game of epic proportions anyone in their right mind would love to play. The only problem is, the actual in-game graphics, while still very purdy, can’t touch the jaw-dropping cutscene footage that populated the entire ad.
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Fast food companies perform this kind of bait and switch all the time: has your Big Mac ever looked as delectable as it does in a McDonald’s commercial? So does every other game company when they produce trailers for their releases. However, just like beef lovers know what to expect when they step in front of the Dollar Menu, seasoned gamers are savvy enough to know b.s. when they see it in game trailers and screenshots.
But the majority of the the eyeballs glued to the Super Bowl and its preening commercials belong to non-gamers. Kudos to EA for realizing the need to slap the brief disclaimer into their Super Bowl ad but I’m sure there are going to be some people who buy Dante’s Inferno, take it home, and wonder where in the hell the game they saw in the commercial went.
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