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[Vincent Grayson]

Lightning Returns did it too. Had a trailer using out of context quotes used to make the game appear to have reviewed well.

Thing is, the quote there isn't deceptive at all. It's taken from Kotaku's import preview, written by someone who obviously liked the game a lot more than the official review (written by a different author) which happened after US release.

 

[Coreda]

So basically you can't. To highlight how misleading your own point is on this, these are the only similar examples throughout the entire thread. I didn't include the Lightning Returns one since it is still actually accurate within the context of the FFXIII games.

Really commonplace. An abundance of examples...

I mean, if you only scan for images maybe. I don't doubt there are more examples in the other thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln96M568k-g

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

ONE GAME HAS WON

E3 2014 BEST OF SHOW GAMESCOM 2014 BEST OF SHOW************

****(from ign and Gamecritics)

Except that the year beforehand Titanfall and Destiny(familiar names here) won every award at both shows. Plus they are using awards they got from a few select places to say they won 'THE' award(vagueness is the issue here). If this isn't misleading than I don't know what is.

Yes as another user said Evolve died for it's sins and so did Titanfall to an extent but my point is this is nothing new and one thread on Gaf won't fix it. Also you have the issue where even in this thread you're being accused of having an agenda of all things lol. But at the same time you're going about this all wrong, you can't really start wagging fingers yelling NO when one game claims to be better than the other.

The back cover of The Evil Within in Australia quotes a newspaper: "A Grand Rebirth of Survival Horror". However, this was from a preview which said the game was "touted as a grand rebirth of survival horror".

You can literally trace this shit to the last time a Destiny-esque game came 'round in the form of...Destiny.

"Activision and Bungie have a massive new hit." - Launch trailer

Quote in proper context:

"If gamers embrace “Destiny,” Activision and Bungie have a massive new hit in their portfolio" - A quote saying "If Destiny sells well, it'll be a game that sells well" and literally from the day the game was announced.

Next thing you're going to tell me that Redbull literally doesn't give me wings.

It's advertising, they lie.

 

[Haruko]

I've airway stated multiple times I can't think of any recent examples of such blatant misleading out of context quote advertising for a AAA video game. People have posted examples from years ago (PS1, Daikatana) and theybhavenoisted examples of media bias bit nobody has shown a recent relevant example of blatant out of context quoting in game advertising.

I haven't gotten to pages 3+ yet, but already I've seen you say this a half dozen times despite this example on page 2.

Lightning Returns did it too. Had a trailer using out of context quotes used to make the game appear to have reviewed well.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

I always think these box quotes are usually for people who don't actively follow games like we do on here.

I mean, most of us know a lot about the games we buy before we see the box in a shop or whatever. Advertising is gonna advertise.

Doesn't make it any less dishonest, but it is what it is.

 

[Moral Panic]

Lightning Returns did it too. Had a trailer using out of context quotes used to make the game appear to have reviewed well.

Where is the quote being used out of context? Kotaku said it was by far the best in the trilogy, which is exactly what they quoted. Theres a huge difference between that and cutting a sentence in half to give a completely different impression than what was implied.

 

[benny_a]

Any game with a box quote. Any game.

You didn't understand the quote mining that went on here then.

The offending quote isn't even about the game.

 

[LKSmash]

I always think these box quotes are usually for people who don't actively follow games like we do on here.

I mean, most of us know a lot about the games we buy before we see the box in a shop or whatever. Advertising is gonna advertise.

Doesn't make it any less dishonest, but it is what it is.

That's all there is to it honestly. Surprised this warranted a thread. Ubisoft are trying to sell copies. Who'd have thunk it?

 

[Moral Panic]

That's all there is to it honestly. Surprised this warranted a thread. Ubisoft are trying to sell copies. Who'd have thunk it?

Really? Shit like this is illegal in the EU.

In 2005, the EU introduced the Unfair Consumer Practices Directive, which was incorporated in British law last year. The new regulations make it an offence to sell someone goods that they would not otherwise have bought by using advertising or sales patter that contains "misleading omissions".

 

[KaufLive]

The Guardian gave it a two star rating..

This is.... fantastic! Wow! One of the most creative ones I've ever seen haha!

 

[hollomat]

The Guardian gave it a two star rating..


I hate this kind of deliberate obfuscation. It is clearly misleading and I think advertising regulation should be allowed to ban these kinds of ads. It requires too much of the reader to critically analyse the quite and what the possible context could be. Either the full quoted sentence should be printed, or it should at least be put in the small print at the bottom of an ad, and info on where the quote came from

That's super shady, but that's actually fantastic. At first I thought the guardian was the one with the quote but then looked at the picture and saw the sneakiness.

 

[MaximusPayne]

Nothing wrong with it. It's business.

 

[LKSmash]

Really? Shit like this is illegal in the EU.

This isn't an omission, though? They're using quotes to their benefit but they haven't claimed something is in the game that isn't.

 

[Moral Panic]

This isn't an omission, though? They're using quotes to their benefit but they haven't claimed something is in the game that isn't.

The omission is in the advertising. They omit the fact that he was talking about the number of people in the beta. Which is misleading.

 

[Uno Venova]

It's pretty common for us to let anything unethical a company does to slide, as long as it's legal.

 

[The1Ski]

As a course of habit, any quotes used for marketing either on commercials or on the boxes themselves, are ignored by me. They have no validity in my opinion. They are of no concern.

 

[Messofanego]

I'm remember Jeff Gertsmann talking about this on the Bombcast. The condensed blurbs are approved by the reviewers. Not only do they make the game look good but they are free advertising for the review site/publication. Don't blame the games marketing, the review publications are just as much to blame.

I'd love to know the source for this. Timestamp and which date of the podcast it was.

 

[Herne]

This has been happening since the dawn of the industry.

 

[LKSmash]

The omission is in the advertising. They omit the fact that he was talking about the number of people in the beta. Which is misleading.

That's such a stretch imo. Maybe marketing is different in the EU but this is standard practice stateside.

 

[RoboPlato]

"The Division is...a good game" - Askherserenity

I actually saw a game ad do this a long time ago. Can't remember what it was but EGM called it devoid of anything that made a great game. Next month there was an ad for it in EGM with "...a great game-EGM"

 

[SavoyPrime]

It's not cool. But as many have said, this is common practice for every industry.

 

[Plasmid]

Just like how studios use tweets in trailers for their movies now but they don't show that they're just Joe schmoes opinion.

 

[Justified]

This thread reminds me of this:

 

[MyleMan1010]

I'd love to know the source for this. Timestamp and which date of the podcast it was.

http://v.giantbomb.com/podcast/Giant_Bombcast_04_14_2015-04-14-2015-4843367792.mp3

2:34:55

 

[oSoLucky]

I actually saw a game ad do this a long time ago. Can't remember what it was but EGM called it devoid of anything that made a great game. Next month there was an ad for it in EGM with "...a great game-EGM"

No integrity.......only clicks. This whole subject really disappoints me, and it actively turns me off from purchasing some products if there's a nearly equal competitor.

 

[RealityCheque]

If we're being honest here: almost all quotes used in all media campaigns, for everything from movies to games, are filled with dishonesty.

I usually just laugh at them. The movie ones are always good. Like anyone gives a shit or puts any faith in what salon.com thinks of any movie ever.

This campaign for the division goes in the same crapbucket. Funny part is that it has been pretty well received by gamers so far. Kinda makes the lies a bit unnecessary.

 

[gunslikewhoa]

Some people would actually rather attack me than talk about the company using provably deceitful advertising. Unbelievable. Y'all deserve to be treated like morons by publishers. Clearly you couldn't care less. Absolutely disgusting. Y'all have made your own bed. Enjoy laying in it.

It says something about you that it took your hatred of this game for you to finally notice that, yes, those quotes on the boxes are not always what they seem. That's if you aren't being disingenuous in the first place.

All it takes is a little critical thinking and keeping one's wallet in one's pocket to not be treated like a moron. Problem solved.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Saying it's brazenly deceitful is being way too overdramatic. It's not like The Division is selling you medication and is a potential health risk or something.

The phrase 'brazenly deceitful' has nothing to do with the severity of what's being said

 

[Silver Arrows]

Who the fuck cares?

Yet another Ubisoft bashing thread, like we haven't had twenty of those over the past two days.

 

[Kama_1082]

Who the fuck cares?

Yet another Ubisoft bashing thread, like we haven't had twenty of those over the past two days.

threads like these always pop up right before a huge release. There's usually THAT guy who stirs the pot and go against the grain.

 

[AzerPhire]

Seriously such a non issue. The amount of complaining about every little thing lately has been so ridiculous.

 

[Silver Arrows]

threads like these always pop up right before a huge release. There's usually THAT guy who stirs the pot and go against the grain.

And it makes me glad that for the most part, I stay within the game's OT. Because considering people are chomping at the bit to disparage everything The Divison is about, I shouldn't bother.

Same as people who tried to raise shit about the fact that Rainbow Six had microtransactions, forgetting about the fact that it was for cosmetics only. And Ubisoft explained countless times how the system works.

 

[Moral Panic]

That's such a stretch imo. Maybe marketing is different in the EU but this is standard practice stateside.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...rouble-over-misleading-billboard-1827622.html

This case also concerns a misleading quote. It is illegal to use false advertising in order to mislead a consumer.

 

[Metfanant]

this type of stuff is news to people? this goes on in literature, film, everywhere...this is totally a common practice. No need to single out the division here...it happens with every game, book, movie, etc...

 

[Sioul]

I don't know if this counts
Thief https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJk-d8YBck0 (at 1:34)

"I was being sent the message that this is Thief at its core, but the new things Eidos is bringing won't transform the game into something wholly different from the groundbreaking series it's following"

"THIS IS THIEF AT ITS CORE" - PC Gamer

 

[Silver Arrows]

this type of stuff is news to people? this goes on in literature, film, everywhere...this is totally a common practice. No need to single out the division here...it happens with every game, book, movie, etc...

The only reason why the Division is being singled out, and is being posted now, is because it's close to release, and people need something to circlejerk over their hate for Ubisoft. I mean, you can hate them, sure, but the hyperbolic levels of people trying to make this an issue is sad. As you said, this is common throughout entertainment. It's up to the consumer to make their own, informed, decisions.

 

[veloxStrix]

I guess I'm not buying the Division then. I only support games that can't afford marketing teams.

This is a really silly topic to have so much debate over. It happens all the time, not just in games, and the only reason it even mattered was because someone wrote an article on it.

 

[Sword Of Doom]

If in this day and age some idiot looks for the game's marketing to know if a game is good or not then they deserve to be taken advantage of

 

[Metfanant]

The only reason why the Division is being singled out, and is being posted now, is because it's close to release, and people need something to circlejerk over their hate for Ubisoft. I mean, you can hate them, sure, but the hyperbolic levels of people trying to make this an issue is sad. As you said, this is common throughout entertainment. It's up to the consumer to make their own, informed, decisions.

Absolutely, I have no love for Ubisoft, and shit, I doubt I'll ever buy The Division...but Christ lol..

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I thought most people would have known this is common practice

 

[Silver Arrows]

Absolutely, I have no love for Ubisoft, and shit, I doubt I'll ever buy The Division...but Christ lol..

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I thought most people would have known this is common practice

Yep. It's really sad how people on this board will suddenly become screechers when it comes to Ubi. Especially on subjects like this.

 

[paperspace]

This is not even near being a new practice.

Gotta love these valuable inputs. "This has already happened in history, this is not news, you shouldn't talk about it"

Eh, ok.

 

[Saganator]

this type of stuff is news to people? this goes on in literature, film, everywhere...this is totally a common practice. No need to single out the division here...it happens with every game, book, movie, etc...

I've always known about it and I've never paid much attention to those marketing quotes, but I didn't realize how bad it really was. Kind of silly to single out one publisher for this. People should be raging against marketing in general.

Obligatory Bill Hicks on marking and advertising

 

[Bog]

I don't know if this counts
Thief https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJk-d8YBck0 (at 1:34)

"I was being sent the message that this is Thief at its core, but the new things Eidos is bringing won't transform the game into something wholly different from the groundbreaking series it's following"

"THIS IS THIEF AT ITS CORE" - PC Gamer

Hah, nice.

 

[Loxley]

It's very common to take quotes out of context. Everyone does it, from games to movies. A lot of negative quotes are turned to positive to prove a certain point.

Yep, despite what the OP thinks it is absolutely a common practice in every form of entertainment.

 

[Sniffynose]

Good thing we don't hold all men accountable for advertising the wrong penis sizes since the gaf average is always quoted out of context

Spoiler

see you guys after my ban =(

 

[Durante]

Well then what do you suggest we do then? Ask for marketing departments not to lie to the public?

Well, yes, that would be a start.

Though I would change "ask for" to "demand", and actually make it a violation of the law to blatantly mislead in advertising. This is the case in Austria (and Germany too as far as I know).

 

[ersocaster]

We had people defend stolen property in UC4, I can't say I'm surprised to see people defend this.

Yeah, it's a common practice, but it's still shitty, and we should not give people a free pass because it's common practice.

 

[ironcreed]

Marketing teams gonna market. I don't care, I make my purchase decisions based on if it is something that I think I will have fun with or not.

 

[GrizzNKev]

Man this guy really hates the division huh

 

[MyleMan1010]

So we are ignoring the fact that sites/reviewers approve the quotes so we can have a conspiracy and talk about how evil the industry is? Got it.

 

[wenis]

Some people would actually rather attack me than talk about the company using provably deceitful advertising. Unbelievable. Y'all deserve to be treated like morons by publishers. Clearly you couldn't care less. Absolutely disgusting. Y'all have made your own bed. Enjoy laying in it.

How are most people in this thread morons when they see the advertisements for what they are? a big lie. It's just most don't care because to pay attention to them in the first place is your first folly. The second would be to give them any more outward attention.

So we are ignoring the fact that sites/reviewers approve the quotes so we can have a conspiracy and talk about how evil the industry is? Got it.