Am I the only one who finds the concept of video games accepting promotion offers from items in real life that have absolutely nothing to do with the game itself tacky? Many titles have done it before such as Fortnite and Death Stranding but I don’t think there is a better example than that of the Halo franchise.
I bring this up as Halo Infinite has just released a brand new marketing tool in partnership with Monster Energy drinks that let you take a code you get from a can and plug it into their official website to receive an XP booster when the game comes out and other skins based on the drink brand for your weapons, which I must say look rather ugly and bland. If you might recall this has actually happened before in the Halo franchise as with Halo 4 the infamous Dewrito scandal that had poor Geoff Keighley had to endure as he was forced to do a very scripted interview that had product placement for the beverage and food item all around the area and has led to Geoff gaining the nickname of the Dorito Pope (which is a hilarious rabbit hole by the way if you are interested).
Video games I feel have the ability to stand on their own without requiring extra marketing such as this. I’m aware that the Halo Infinite thing is all a case of bad timing due to the fact that this promotion was no doubt already in the works when the game was delayed until next year and as such this campaign couldn’t be stopped but as a result this doesn’t just cheapen the release of the game but it also makes it seem tacky and the worst part is that they can’t even capitalize on this extra marketing as the timing is all wrong. I suppose this is just what happens when the marketing machine gets involved in the game making process and with how corporate some of these games are becoming maybe it’s time to just take a step back and see some perspective. We can be better than the movie industry guys, let’s at least try to be better.
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.