A bit more context on this whole situation.
For over a decade now, Ubisoft has been facing potential buyouts. First from
EA, then from
Vivendi. Doing their best flagpole Charlseton, Ubisoft
has continuously scrambled to avoid being taken over. This has prevented the company from letting Assassin's Creed and the other IPs breathe a little, instead turning them out at an increasing frequency.
Despite the
cherrypicking on some fancy slides,
the sales have suffered as a result. The
threat of a buyout continues to loom, but the Ubisoft train can't afford such luxuries as brakes. So what do you do to stem the tide,
or even begin to reverse it, when you don't have the resources to even
make new areas for your games?
Enter (((the marketing team)))!
Step 1 - Initiate Courting of Virtue Signalers
Group A - doesn't like Trump supporters, or white people, or heterosexuals. We've got all three, and can present them as the bad guys!
Group B - for the most part continues to buy our products despite our shitty DRM and recycling of content while not caring about group A; a subset of group B is what group A hates, and they hate them in return. Let's leave them for later.
Begin the courting procedure!
https://twitter.com/tomphillipsEG/status/867426914964844544
https://twitter.com/the_moviebob/status/867419703303696385
https://twitter.com/dimeford/status/867433162321915907
https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/43gzgm/far-cry-5-is-about-living-under-fear-in-america
https://powerup-gaming.com/2017/05/25/far-cry-5-cover-art/
Mass erections from group A confirmed. However, group B has only provided minimal salt, so what's next?
Step 2 - Do Nothing
Nothing?!? But won't our precisely timed controversy fizzle out if we don't add fuel to the fire?
Not at all; just wait and see! Why spend any resources when you know the lifeblood of group A is clickbait and they'll do all they can to obtain their ambrosia?
https://www.change.org/p/ubisoft-cancel-far-cry-5?lang=en-GB
(Side Note: if you're going to roleplay as the other side, don't use your own jargon such as "targeted harassment" -- if you think that's how everybody talks, it only speaks to the thickness of the walls inside your echo chamber.)
http://newmediacentral.net/fake-can...likely-a-hoax-made-by-video-game-journalists/
All these Far Cry 5 articles are great, and we're even getting some counter-trolling petitions!
https://www.change.org/p/ubisoft-ub...tionalists-fee-fees-they-re-not-your-audience
Well, the game's almost done. Now what?
Step 3 - Disengage the Cropping Tool!!!
Wait, are those dreadlocks? Is that one guy on the right not white?!?
Oh, oh no...
https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/15/16778928/far-cry-5-politics-religion
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/far-...ditor-more-info.1380717/page-7#post-238145106
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/far-...ditor-more-info.1380717/page-7#post-238146009
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/far-...itor-more-info.1380717/page-19#post-238331430
Not only did we get a ton of free publicity by angering some of group B, many of those individuals now loves us and are even
more likely to buy our product! Corporate high-five!
tl;dr -- internet geniuses with self-assessed IQs of 160+ once again serve as useful idiots.