More Reviews
REVIEWS Resident Evil: Revelations Review
While 3DS gamers have been enjoying the franchise's best game in years for some time now, does the experience translate for Resident Evil fans on console?

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D Review
Gamers have gone bananas for Nintendo's 3DS, but can this port of Retro Studios' 2010 Wii game make the jump to your portable?
More Previews
PREVIEWS The Last of Us Preview
With Naughty Dog releasing a new IP in just a few short weeks, we got hands-on one more time. But don't worry: This is a spoiler-free preview.
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot Preview
Watch Dogs (PS4) Preview
Release Dates
NEW RELEASES GRiD 2
Release date: 05/28/13

Fuse
Release date: 05/28/13

Remember Me
Release date: 06/04/13

The Last of Us
Release date: 06/14/13



LATEST FEATURES Being A Console Is Actually Xbox One's Worst Asset
Microsoft's newest console has lots of different features, but video games might hold the device back from the software giant's true intentions.

Everything I Learned About Call of Duty: Ghosts Last Week
I wasn't allowed to talk about the new Infinity Ward game last week when I met with Activision, and I don't have much to say now that Xbox One spilled the beans.
 
Coming Soon

More Cheats
LATEST CHEATS
Air Viking

05/23/13
More Cheats
MOST POPULAR CHEATS
Temple Run
Action / Adventure
04/08/13

LEADERBOARD
Read More Member Blogs
FEATURED VOXPOP Bras
On the future of some gamers
By Bras
Posted on 05/22/13
Before Microsoft and Sony do something regarding their future in the video game business, I wanted to write, and I've wanted it for a long time now, but other things kept getting in my way, and fearing that tomorrow might be too late, today will have to do.  ...

Home News The Better Business Bureau Supports Claims Of False Advertising In Mass Effect 3

GAMING NEWS

The Better Business Bureau Supports Claims Of False Advertising In Mass Effect 3

Posted on Wednesday, April 11 @ 08:09:37 Eastern by Alex_Osborn

Enraged gamers upset by the ending of Mass Effect 3 have accused BioWare of false advertising because the conclusion isn't "completely" shaped by all of the decisions you made throughout the course of the series, and believe it or not, the Better Business Bureau agrees.

Wait... what?!

That's right, based off of the use of "absolutes" in BioWare's marketing, the Better Business Bureau has in fact determined that the company is guilty of false advertising. In a post on the Consumer News and Opinion Blog, Majorie Stephens from the Better Business Bureau explains their reasoning, saying, "The issue at stake here is, did Bio Ware falsely advertise? Technically, yes, they did. In the first bullet point, where it states 'the decisions you make completely shape your experience', there is no indecision in that statement. It is an absolute."

If you're telling me that the use of absolutes is justification for slamming the dev team behind Mass Effect 3 for false advertising, then you clearly haven't turned on the television in quite some time, as a vast majority of today's commercials use similar language. That's called effective marketing, not false advertising. Is it not implied that the use of this language is intended to build hype and excitement for a product, not issue impossible promises that when taken too literally will never live up to expectations?

So what should game publishers and developers take away from all this? According to Stephens, "the lesson to be learned here is companies should give careful consideration to how they word their advertisements. Otherwise, there could be detrimental effects, especially in the era of social media and online forums." In other words, keep your mouths shut, because if you attempt to promote your game, you're bound to piss off someone.

[Via]
Related Games:   Mass Effect 3
Tags:   Mass Effect 3, EA, BioWare


More from the Game Revolution Network




Comments
  • Bras
    Bras
    Joined: Jul 2008
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 8:46 am
    Pooooooooooooooooooo!
    (pronounced: Po)

    I agree with the fact that a lot of products can be also accused of false advertising, specially food products, but that only means they should be studied too. I don't really care for Mass Effect anymore with all this stuff going on, but if anything this is a learning experience for both gamers and publishers.
    0 0
  • Jonathan_Leack
    Jonathan_Leack
    Joined: Jan 2012
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 8:55 am
    Good! Mass Effect 3 made me angrier than any game I can remember.
    5 4
  • Eyebrowsbv31
    Eyebrowsbv31
    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:09 am
    Well, it is true. No matter what choices you make in the game the ending is the same. This is the publishers doing, not the developers.
    0 0
  • LinksOcarina
    LinksOcarina
    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:31 am
    Good. I can sue Bethesda then for false advertisement. Open world my ass, I wanted to visit Cryodiil damnit!
    1 2
  • Bras
    Bras
    Joined: Jul 2008
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 11:46 am
    I bet you wanted Hyrule in there as well.
    1 0
  • De-Ting
    De-Ting
    Joined: Nov 2006
    Posted: Apr 12th, 2012 at 12:53 am
    They said I could marry anyone. I demand justice!
    0 0
  • Noritama
    Noritama
    Joined: Feb 2012
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:39 am
    What I got from this article is that the better business bureau are whores for attention as well.
    0 1
  • LinksOcarina
    LinksOcarina
    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:03 am
    This is ****ing stupid...
    0 2
  • Skins24079
    Skins24079
    Joined: Mar 2012
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:10 am
    If only the developers could have forseen the consequences of their choice to not include choice/consequences in the ending of their game series based on choice and consequence.
    0 0
  • Sourdeez
    Sourdeez
    Joined: Feb 2012
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:21 am
    Let this be a lesson to developers that if you promise the fans something great, hype it up and make them wait, and then half ass the ending putting plot holes in it and present it in a way that has really no other real dependency on things you have done in the rest of the game.
    I normally dont support things like this going that far but if you beta tested SWTOR and played at launch you will remember that Bioware took the high res textures out during beta saying they would return at launch.( They put ended up putting Drm in or changing the engine so even people with really high end systems had problems running those high res textures, before in beta they ran and looked awesome) Then when Launch came around they lied and said "whoops medium textures were a bug(They put the old medium as the new high) and continued to make videos and advertisement with high res textures no one outside of bioware had access to. THAT IS FALSE ADVERTISEMENT. Still no high res textures until patch 1.2
    0 0
  • Sourdeez
    Sourdeez
    Joined: Feb 2012
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:23 am
    And its been over 4 months since it launched. Bioware what has happened to the company I once respected?
    0 0
  • Sebastian_Moss
    Sebastian_Moss
    Joined: Apr 2011
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:30 am
    All this is going to lead to is more hurdles with interviews as they'll now have to be approved by legal teams

    And God help Molyneux if people start complaining about his promises.
    1 1
  • LinksOcarina
    LinksOcarina
    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:42 am
    They don't already?
    0 0
  • Herb211
    Herb211
    Joined: May 2009
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:40 am
    OMG, ***** ***** *****. "Hey thanks for the game you all worked so hard on, it made me so happy for a long time, so....I'm gonna sue you because you didn't give me a blowjob at the end! HOW DARE YOU BIOWARE!?!?" I know I won't stop complaining like a little toddler until everything goes my way...
    0 3
  • Somaroth
    Somaroth
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 10:42 am
    Really? They just discovered that advertisements can be misleading? I dread the day they discover that Santa Claus isn't real.
    0 0
  • Noritama
    Noritama
    Joined: Feb 2012
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 11:27 am
    Woah Woah Woah Santa isn't real? Spoiler alert.
    0 0
  • sg4real
    sg4real
    Joined: Apr 2011
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 11:06 am
    Wow, they really have nothing else better to do?
    Its just a f***ing game.
    0 1
  • drathbone
    drathbone
    Joined: May 2011
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
    "They" gamers or "they" BBB? I could make arguments, which should be obvious enough, for both lol
    0 0
  • tinymhg
    tinymhg
    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
    The BBB has NO teeth.
    0 1
  • acdibble
    acdibble
    Joined: Jul 2007
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
    It's funny how Michael Patcher was just bashed here for calling the Mass Effect 3 bashers "whiners"...
    0 0
  • OdiousLupous
    OdiousLupous
    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posted: Apr 11th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
    Opening a Coors wont summon a cryomancy wielding bullet train?
    Chewing 5 gum wont affect my body like a rain storm of lemon juice?
    Eating a Mentos wont imbibe me with the power to make a socially awkward moment into a display of inventive awesomeness?
    Axe body sprays wont make every attractive woman around dry hump me like a dog in heat?

    BBB... uh.... wipe the crust from your eyes, take a hot shower, have some coffee and wake the **** up and join us here in the real world. While your at it turn on a television and watch a dozen commercials and see if hype isnt overused in advertisement for entertainment products like Mel Gibson uses antisemitic slurs.
    0 0
  • oblivion437
    oblivion437
    Joined: Nov 2006
    Posted: Apr 12th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
    This post is bad. A real train wreck for reading comprehension, factual deficiency, and irrational argument. A number of the comments are worse. Don't you know that when you commit unwarranted extension of an argument you make the baby Aristotle cry? I don't know whether I should feel contempt, pity or indigestion towards the lot of you.

    I don't have the patience to fisk this crap, so I won't.
    0 0

Post a Comment
LOGIN or REGISTER to post a comment or rate this article.
More On GameRevolution
STAFF | CONTACT GR | ADVERTISING | GRADING SYSTEM | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE | AdChoices
GameRevolution.com is a property of CraveOnline Media, LLC, an Evolve Media, LLC company. ©2013 All Rights Reserved.
monitoring_string = "9825918b2b361fb0e003f4935ce18ae6"