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Ubisoft Apologizes for The Division 2 Email Promising a 'Real Government Shutdown' (pcgamer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the went-too-far dept.

Ubisoft, the game studio behind upcoming title "Tom Clancy's The Division 2", has apologized for an email that made light of the U.S. government shutdown that ended a week ago. From a report: Ubisoft sent out a marketing email for The Division 2 earlier Thursday which prompted a quick retraction. The email was an invitation to the game's private beta, with the subject line: "Come see what a real government shutdown looks like in the Private Beta".

Not long after the email was issued, the publisher sent a retraction. "A marketing email promoting Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was sent in error today. This was a grave breakdown in process and we apologize for this error and the offensive subject line of the email. We recognize the very real impact of the United States government shut down on thousands of people and did not intend to make light of the situation."

9 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. OUTRAGE by MightyYar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Too late... OUTRAGE

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    1. Re:OUTRAGE by penandpaper · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know what is going on. But I can assure you that whatever it is I AM OUTRAGED!!!

      Let me inform my Twitter followers about how outraged I am. Surely we can get someone fired if we try!

    2. Re: OUTRAGE by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Geez....

      WTF is everyone so damned wimpy and scared of offending anyone?

      I mean, wow...so much for jokes, or even free speech if taken to the far extreme (and people do seem to be trying for this).

      I mean, get a sense of humor.

      Quit looking to be offended. If you don't like something that was said...just fscking ignore it.

      Surly you have something better to be doing?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:OUTRAGE by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well I think it is a lot like 9/11 jokes made in the early 2000's.

      What does NASA stand for??

      Need Another Seven Astronauts....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    4. Re:OUTRAGE by supremebob · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The cynic in me thinks that Ubisoft's "outraged retraction" was just part of the marketing plan.

      Hey... it worked, right? You now have Slashdot and other media outlets talking about The Division 2, a game I've never heard of until now.

    5. Re:OUTRAGE by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't think there actually was any outrage... It seems that they sent the retraction email a few hours later, and when you look on Twitter and Facebook there is basically nothing.

      Seems like they manufactured a fake outrage for marketing purposes. Should provide fodder for meta-outrage industry I guess.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re: OUTRAGE by Translation+Error · · Score: 4, Informative

      Enh. Ubisoft realized that people who literally couldn't afford food and had to go to shelters as a result of the shutdown might just get pissed off at receiving an email saying, "Please, you want to see what real problems are like? Buy our game!" And they further realized that pissed off customers who just had money problems are very likely to respond by not buying your expensive new game(s).

      --
      When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
    7. Re:OUTRAGE by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't know what is going on. But I can assure you that whatever it is I AM OUTRAGED!!!

      Let me inform my Twitter followers about how outraged I am. Surely we can get someone fired if we try!

      Damn. This sounds like a Trump rant but, with the username "penandpaper", you're obviously not him. :-)

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  2. Re:Oversensitive by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Informative

    Say that to the people who have for the first time needed to go to food pantries so they can eat for the week.
    It is a funny statement, just not timed correctly. In a month or so, it would be much more funny. Right now the joke is under "too soon".

    I really don't see angry people rioting in the streets from this, just some nasty emails saying they were insensitive to the pain they just had.
    In a few weeks the paid would be gone, as they get there checks.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.