10 Insane Video Game Marketing Campaigns That Actually Happened
3. Splinter Cell: Conviction - A Murder Threat Was Staged
While Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell has been around longer than the Call of Duty series but the latter has frustratingly far eclipsed their first-person-shooter rival. For their recent release, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Ubisoft decided to double down on the marketing stuff in order to get the jump on their competitors. Unfortunately, their idea of a good publicity stunt is everyone else's idea of a terribly misguided prank.
Days before the release of Conviction, a man with bandaged hands walked into a pub in Auckland and started pointing his gun at everyone. The patrons rightfully panicked and the police were immediately called. After the dust had settled it turned out that the supposed shooter was only brandishing a fake gun and he was just an actor hired to portray the main character from Splinter Cell in what has to be one of the most misguided attempts at a PR stunt.
There are good publicity stunts to get the crowds interest going, like Halo's alternative reality game stunt, but waving a fake gun in a crowded bar screaming bloody murder is not the way to do it.