American McGee: “Marketing of Alice by EA Showed a Calculated Discount”

EA wanted the title marketed as a horror game, even though it really wasn't, to "trick" consumers into buying it.

Posted By | On 21st, Jan. 2013

alice-madness-returns-screen1
American McGee first shot to fame with the third person, horror fantasy title Alice so understandably, he’d be a tad bit annoyed how the sequel, Alice: Madness Returns, and its marketing were handled by EA.

Especially when there “was a calculated disconnect created by EA. They wanted to ‘trick’ gamers into believing A:MR was a hard-core horror title, even though we refused to develop it in that tone” said McGee in an AMA session on Reddit.

“What was frustrating was how EA Marketing interfered – telling (creative concept resource) [Shy The Sun] from the start that ALL creative direction and final say would come from them, not from us (the developer/creator of the story/tone).

“Their thinking is, even if the game isn’t a hard-core horror title, you can market it as one and trick those customers into buying it (while driving away more casual customers, like female gamers, who might be turned off by really dark trailers). It’s all a part of the race.”

Given how Madness Returns barely registered a blip on the critical and commercial scale, we’d say it didn’t work out to EA’s expectations.

American McGee is currently working with his new development studio Spicy Horse to developer Akaneiro: Demon Hunters.

Source: GIBiz


Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Grand Theft Auto 6 Delay Reports Are “Overblown”, it’s Claimed

Grand Theft Auto 6 Delay Reports Are “Overblown”, it’s Claimed

Journalist Jason Schreier says there's "no indication that anything significant has changed" where the game's ...

Capcom Wants to Know if You Want Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLC

Capcom Wants to Know if You Want Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLC

In a recently sent out Capcom survey, one of several questions asks if you'd be interested in more Dragon's Do...

15 Things You Shouldn’t Avoid in Dragon’s Dogma 2

15 Things You Shouldn’t Avoid in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Make life in Dragon's Dogma 2's harsh world easier for yourself by paying attention to these 15 things.

12 Things to Do in Dragon’s Dogma 2 After Completing the Game

12 Things to Do in Dragon’s Dogma 2 After Completing the Game

There's plenty of reasons to keep playing even after you've hit the credits in Dragon's Dogma 2.

Tekken 8 Adds Eddy Gordo on April 4

Tekken 8 Adds Eddy Gordo on April 4

Those who own the Playable Character Year 1 Pass will be able to start playing as Eddy ahead of his global rel...

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Update Adds Motion Blur, Ray Tracing, and 30 FPS Options on PS5

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Update Adds Motion Blur, Ray Tracing, and 30 FPS Options on PS5

Capcom notes the update "won't affect frame rate significantly", with future updates to improve performance st...