10 Most Controversial Video Game Marketing Campaigns Of All Time
2. Acclaim Tries To Use Real Tombstones To Advertise Shadowman 2
While Acclaim's controversial marketing campaign for Burnout 2's release was misguided and cringeworthy, it wasn't anywhere near as intentionally distasteful as what the publisher had in mind for Shadowman 2.
Offering recently bereaved families the option of having their funerals and expenses paid for if they allowed the company to plaster their marketing materials over their tombstones, the company was criticised for taking advantage of low-income families just to sell a game.
The outrage got so heated in fact that it got to the point where the Church of England had to step in and reassure people that they wouldn't be letting anybody use their grave sites as a marketing opportunity.
Constantly rejecting the idea that it was a media stunt though, the businessmen at Acclaim insisted - just like they did with Burnout - that everything they were doing was in the interests of helping the public, never admitting that they were simply trying to find an edgy and attention-grabbing way to promote their game.