Penny Arcade vs Ocean Marketing

[Jimmy]

Wow, I'm gone from the internet for 2 days and I miss out on this - probably the most interesting and entertaining case of internet "vigilantism" (I use the term loosely) I've seen. I bet it's already old news for you guys, though. :P

This series of e-mails between customer and Kotaku reader "Dave", and less-than-cooperative representative of PR firm Ocean Distribution, Paul Christoforo, in which he "antagonizes, name-calls and belittles customer Dave after being asked why his order for an Avenger controller was delayed", has sparked a vengeful outcry from angered gamers.

Controller Company Berates Customer, Then Penny Arcade. Bring Popcorn.

Penny Arcade's blog post

The fallout:
- The guy has been fired, and is now an online figure of ridicule.
- The Avenger XBox 360 controller's Amazon rating has gone down from 4.5 stars to 2 stars.
- N-Control, makers of the controller, are no longer represented by the company.
- @OceanDeepSea (formerly @OceanStratagy (formerly @OceanMarketting)) has been deluged with hate messages.

I think I've missed the majority of the amusement, but this is all still worth a read, though. Things really get interesting when Krahulik steps into the e-mail battle (second link).

[Quasar]

This should be front-page news on this site :P

[Phml]

I've sat browsing the web for 2 hours yesterday just reading about his antics. That guy is so oblivious it's almost hard not to wonder if he's for real, but he so consistently puts his foot in his mouth he has to be genuine. I'm not even talking about the actual e-mail exchange, but in various interviews with websites after the fact. You can see he still doesn't express one ounce of remorse for acting like a dick to somebody, just for being an asshole to somebody with connections. He's still sticking to immature claims about him getting to be a star, what he thinks is name-dropping (made more and more sad as he goes down the ladder from mentioned people going "hell no"), and a child-like fascination for numbers.

There are actual, medically diagnosed psychopaths with better understanding of human behavior than this guy who's made a living off working in PR. Great stuff.

[kristus]

Heh, good stuff.

[bytor]

I'm shocked that this ass was allowed to represent a controller geared toward the physically handicapped.

I picture kids in wheelchairs not getting their controllers for Christmas and this is his attitude about it. :(

[Mr. T]

Pennyarcade sux

[dew]

haha.. nice. maybe this will put some fear of customer outrage into companies in the biz.

[wildweasel]

Heard about this two days ago and it hasn't stopped being hilarious yet.

[Gez]

That Christoforo guy hit memedy gold with such immortal catchphrases as "I wwebsite as on the internet". I expect to see that used and abused in plenty of dumb reaction pics and macros.

[Doom_Dude]

Wow, that PR guy really failed hard.

[DoomUK]

Hard to believe that Christoforo guy is 38.

[Aliotroph?]

He should look into working with Michael J. Hardy.

[Justince]

r_init: getpostnumberforname: post not found!

Edited July 28, 2017 by Justince

[HavoX]

Mr. T said:

Pennyarcade sux

And just what do you mean by that?

I personally don't care much about Penny Arcade anymore (maybe I just don't get it), but there are some occasions where I find some of the strips really funny.

But the way Paul Christoforo treated his customer in this situation is nothing but unacceptable and makes him look like a fucking joke.

[fraggle]

Storm in a teacup

[Maes]

Reminds me of "Soke Fujita"'s ramblings and threats against Real Ultimate Power's "Robert Hamburger".

[Coopersville]

So this is what all that fuss was about?

Okay... When's the Mojang raid?

[Technician]

What a douche. I hope this dick has more coming to him.

[Xaser]

Sheer Megabrilliance. That is all.

[Sharessa]

This guy must be Bobby Kotick's second cousin or something.

Gez said:

That Christoforo guy hit memedy gold with such immortal catchphrases as "I wwebsite as on the internet". I expect to see that used and abused in plenty of dumb reaction pics and macros.

Oh good, I'm not the only one who caught that. I laughed my ass off at this line. It's sad that they let an illiterate jackass into a PR firm and I still can't get a job as a cashier anywhere. Fuck this gay earth. Oh well, at least he's as unemployed as me now, and (hopefully) less employable.

[Aliotroph?]

They didn't let him in. He is the PR firm. The controller guys were stupid to hire him, especially when they were already working with a proper company.

[Craigs]

Off the topic of the email exchange that is an unbelievably hideous accessory for a controller. It also costs more than an actual 360 controler (and from what I'm understanding it's just something you slap on your controller) which is even more retarded

[Technician]

Craigs said:

Off the topic of the email exchange that is an unbelievably hideous controller and I'm wondering why you'd even want it.

I'm guessing he's handicapped and wanted a controller that's easier to use.

[Craigs]

Technician said:

I'm guessing he's handicapped and wanted a controller that's easier to use.

Beat me to my edit heh. It's pretty retarded how much money people are willing to blow on these controller add ons that do nothing except let them do a couple of additional things. This is probably the best example I've seen so far. ~$50 just so you can hit the y button and x with your index fingers instead of your thumb. Oh and I guess it allows you to do something to the b button but I have no idea what that fucking thing is

[DuckReconMajor]

Competitive console gamers look for anything that will help them increase their reaction times, even just by a marginal amount.

For example, one annoying thing about Xbox 360 triggers is that they are analog levers which are usually tasked to perform a digital action (firing a gun). So to fire in a shooter, you've got this wasted movement to pull the trigger down to a place where it is registered as a fire command. On the back of the Avenger there is a band which can hold the trigger down to right above the fire position, so all you have to do is tap this band to fire.

I think the Avenger is neat and it's something that I'd consider getting in the future. It's a shame this had to happen to them, and the guy who made it seems like a pretty nice guy. I certainly hope he and others learned from this experience and are a bit more selective of who they hire to do PR.

And for your information new 360 controllers sell for 50-60 dollars so it's not more expensive than the controller itself.

[Craigs]

Competitive console gamers look for anything that will help them increase their reaction times, even just by a marginal amount.

I see they're willing to shell out anything that'll improve their reaction times, even just by a marginal amount. I'm guessing I could make millions by creating a couple of custom thumbstick extenders for the 360 controller, claiming they increase your reaction time by 900% then charge people $80 for them. To me, this pro gaming gear is just the equivalent of the fart cannon a ricer might put on his shitty used honda civic.

DuckReconMajor said:

And for your information new 360 controllers sell for 50-60 dollars so it's not more expensive than the controller itself.

It's generally AS expensive as a new 360 controller which is why it's so stupid. Oh and you can buy a wired controller on amazon for $40 so yeah, it kind of is more than a 360 controller.

[DuckReconMajor]

Craigs said:

I see they're willing to shell out anything that'll improve their reaction times, even just by a marginal amount. I'm guessing I could make millions by creating a couple of custom thumbstick extenders for the 360 controller, claiming they increase your reaction time by 900% then charge people $80 for them.

There's been a cheaper alternative for quite a while now.

Craigs said:

To me, this pro gaming gear is just the equivalent of the fart cannon a ricer might put on his shitty used honda civic.

It's true that some of the stuff people sell is bullshit. That's why there are websites dedicated to reviewing these products to try and see if they are helpful or not. Some stuff actually does help people improve, whether you are willing to believe that or not.

Craigs said:

It's generally AS expensive as a new 360 controller which is why it's so stupid. Oh and you can buy a wired controller on amazon for $40 so yeah, it kind of is more than a 360 controller.

Okay so you got me there, though wireless controllers have become so commonplace a wired controller has become more of a specialty item.

[kristus]

If I held console gaming in any competetive esteem what so ever I would probably get one of these because I see the use for them (the mechanics make up for a lot more clever usage of your fingers than the ordinary set up would). But since I don't I won't. As far as I'm concerned, consoles are equivalent to casual gaming.

DuckReconMajor said:

Okay so you got me there, though wireless controllers have become so commonplace a wired controller has become more of a specialty item.

I doubt anyone who WOULD be playing games on the console competitively would be using anything BUT wired controllers.

[Csonicgo]

fraggle said:

Storm in a teacup

The teacup done cracked.

[DuckReconMajor]

kristus said:

I doubt anyone who WOULD be playing games on the console competitively would be using anything BUT wired controllers.

I'm not talking about MLG and tournaments and whatnot. I just mean people who say, play a lot of CoD online and want to improve their k/d ratio.