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“Scary” Killzone 2 Ads Cause Backlash

Whenever we step outside our doors we're assaulted by a fresh wave of hypocrisy and double standards. It's simply the way of the world.

According to GamePolitics, Sony has been asked to remove poster advertisements for Killzone 2 in a bus kiosk in Toronto, Canada. As the Toronto Star reports, elementary school teacher Davis Mirza complained that kids shouldn't be exposed to the menacing imagery in the poster. Said Mirza:

"My kids, who come from a lot of different countries, who have to experience violence, who basically come here to seek shelter and safety, that's the stuff they don't need to see. [The ad features a] menacing head with glowing eyes… [and a war zone] like Iraq…

I don't think that when you're in Scarborough, where we're having to deal on a constant basis with violence, that does anything to help promote any kind of community renewal or even responsibility."

Oh yes, that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the dark, gritty futuristic atmosphere of a KZ2 ad: "Iraq." Mm-hm. It also doesn't help that the York Region Transit line of bus shelters has now received another complaint about the frightening poster; this one coming from a concerned parent, who said his three-year-old boy wouldn't go to school after seeing the poster. His father said the Helghast seemed like a monster, and the boy thought it would be waiting at school to "get him." While we certainly don't condone the wrong sort of material falling into the wrong hands, this just seems absurd. All of it.

The commercial for "Last House on the Left" is a hundred times more frightening than a silly and extremely vague poster in a bus kiosk, and that commercial is on six hundred times per hour on every last channel on earth. There's more frightening imagery in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and those movies aren't even rated "R." Last I checked, parents were bringing toddlers to see those films ( brilliant move, that), and we're complaining about a poster with a helmet and red eyes. …why do we get the sneaking suspicion that if it had been a movie poster, this never would've been a story?

Related Game(s): Killzone 2

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Victor321
Victor321
15 years ago

I live near Toronto and I've seen those ads. They look exactly just like the Cover on the game case.

What an odd story….it just seems so….stupid.

When my little cousins saw it they were like "Sweet Victor! You're getting that game? Boy that game looks cool!" or something like that.

Sides, where does Iraq come from…? Sony tries to advertise, look what happens =(

But then again, the boy was 3 years old, so I feel sad for him that he was scared (my little cousins were all older).

Well, here's hoping the little boy feels better =)

souljah92
souljah92
15 years ago

sooo true……it seems now a days people look for things to bug other people with it their spare time..

dlte
dlte
15 years ago

Any news is good news I say.

Troy Powers
Troy Powers
15 years ago

Yup. There's no such thing as bad publicity.

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
15 years ago

PMRC anyone?

If there's ONE thing I love 'bout the USA is freedom of speech and expression

As long as it's not racist or has any kind of message against specific persons or groups then no let freedom of speech and expression shine!

If anything she should complain 'bout all the sh*t we see in movies and even American cartoons.

ImTheMan
ImTheMan
15 years ago

pmrc?

Troy Powers
Troy Powers
15 years ago

Freedom of speech and expression. Oh, you mean like the advertisements for the Aqua Teen movie that shut Boston down and had to be removed. 😀

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

But this has to do with Canada, not the US lol

Luiscosmo2
Luiscosmo2
15 years ago

Or is there?ANyway I don't see why a 3 year old would be scared if that ad?

NoSmokingBandit
NoSmokingBandit
15 years ago

I find people like this offensive and scary, can i have them removed please?

arctic
arctic
15 years ago

maybe it's microsoft who paid that kid to act scared o_O

karneli lll
karneli lll
15 years ago

Someone check the father's accounts

Banky A
Banky A
15 years ago

This has LOL written all over it.

=D

SerichA
SerichA
15 years ago

They are guaranteed to like this kind of stuff.

ImTheMan
ImTheMan
15 years ago

Actually none of the pirates movies were rated R

BigTonesAUS
BigTonesAUS
15 years ago

Yeah, the last 2 were rated C for crap!

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
15 years ago

Yeah, I just fixed it. I was thinking of a different series.

NiteKrawler
NiteKrawler
15 years ago

Hey I thought 2 was great but 3…I don't wanna talk about it. 🙁 I hope 4 is better!

Daedusian
Daedusian
15 years ago

I hope there is no 4. That series needed to end after the first imo lol. The first was good but there was really no reason to continue.


Last edited by Daedusian on 3/16/2009 10:17:55 AM

CH1N00K
CH1N00K
15 years ago

no they were rated ARRHHH!!..Sorry, pirate movie? I had to say it… And supposedly Depp is going to be paid something like 60 mill to do #4


Last edited by CH1N00K on 3/16/2009 12:45:30 PM

NiteKrawler
NiteKrawler
15 years ago

@Daedusian: They are making a #4. But without Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom. Hopefully it will be good with the focus back on Depp.

Daedusian
Daedusian
15 years ago

Ouch. No Knightly or Bloom? Wow is all I have to say to that. =)

NiteKrawler
NiteKrawler
15 years ago

I think it will be better off without them.

Kowhoho
Kowhoho
15 years ago

wow… just wow

Robochic
Robochic
15 years ago

I live near Toronto but we don't have any advertisments in our bus stations so i haven't seen the ad but people will complain about anything , if it's not something with happy people on the ad basically a carebear ad they will complain. it's not just in Canada its in the US as well people now adays no matter where you live just complain for the sake of complaining.

migabyte
migabyte
15 years ago

What's next?

TheUglyBassist
TheUglyBassist
15 years ago

Wow… That's just lame.

Troy Powers
Troy Powers
15 years ago

By the way, I played this game ALL DAY today. I'm so hooked, I fear for my health. This game gets better and better as the different badges open up and I get the hang of using different classes for different situations. The gameplay here is honestly so much deeper than any other FPS I've played. This is a masterpiece!

Banky A
Banky A
15 years ago

It truly is.

I played it at a mates place 2 days ago and after just 2 hours – the online is *a lot* better than COD (4 & 5) in my opinion.

And the graphics Online still stay insane!!

EDIT: A lot better than COD


Last edited by Banky A on 3/16/2009 12:49:12 AM

Qubex
Qubex
15 years ago

Agreed, but I haven't had enough play time on it… I got MGS4 a few days ago and my attention has been taken away from Killzone 2. I will get back to this gem soon though… have something to play until the end of the year 🙂

The sales figures of 1 000 000 are disappointing though; I thought we would be in the 4-5 million mark by now 🙁

Q!

"i am home"


Last edited by Qubex on 3/16/2009 3:03:42 AM

Fenrir
Fenrir
15 years ago

Well, please consider that all the other 'scary' film posters ads you were talking about are not showing some 'evil' or glowing eyes. For a little kid this is most scary and disturbing for an adult. Think about, if someone would have made a public poster of that baby with the glowing eyes from Angel Heart…this really scared me ( when I saw it the first time). Therefore I can understand the complains about this poster – shouldn´t be on bus stations or other public places, where little kids can see it. Not every kid is a cool video game player. Some are odd, believe me :), and we have to respect them as well – Mmmh, I´m just thinking about what happens, if someone would come to german goverment and ask for starting up an ad like posters of any 18 rated movie or game in public places – you would be persecuted as a serial killer for sure, because of all the people that have laughed themselves to dead while hearing your request.

PaiNT_kinG
PaiNT_kinG
15 years ago

LOL,weird

TheRaPtuRe
TheRaPtuRe
15 years ago

there pussys, they should get over it!
conspiracy against games 4 sure!

Tim Speed24
Tim Speed24
15 years ago

Are these the same kids that play with Darth Vader dolls and watch the Star Wars movies and cartoons?

L7 385T


Last edited by Tim Speed24 on 3/16/2009 7:13:42 AM

shindelion
shindelion
15 years ago

I have seen some of these ads around here and it don't look scary to me (in Scarborough). He just need to don't look at the ads. And your right be what about some of those commercial with more insane events that is more real? man, Some parents just over do stuff.

infekt
infekt
15 years ago

But remember people: This is Canada, we are talking about. What the people want, the people get… Its just that simple. Got to respect people's origins. This ordeal doesn't bother me one bit.

coldbore
coldbore
15 years ago

what the people want the people get???? what do u have against canada?

Neurotoxiny
Neurotoxiny
15 years ago

Canadians these days… Just kiddin!

Canada's great! I went there once there were like no gangsters and there was great ice cream and the cold weather was really stimulating!

And I have this awesome friend in Canada, one of the first to convert his religion to PS3-ism and bought a PS3 when it first came out with "The Darkness". Everyone seems to have forgotten that game though.

But I really dunno why anybody would be fussing about a helmet. I mean, seriously, it does look menacing, but it's not like it's a figurine or nothing; It's a poster!

They should take them down if the kids are skipping school because of these posters; just another reason for parents to disavow video games like GTA:IV.

Orvisman
Orvisman
15 years ago

Any publicity is good publicity.

Actually, this story has probably drawn more attention to the game from the mainstream media than Sony's currently feeble marketing/Ad group could drum up on their own.

Daedusian
Daedusian
15 years ago

I guess it is pretty silly to have such an ad at a bus station, but c'mon lighten up man. You were obviously having a bad day.. there's no reason for you to bring it upon everyone else in the world.


Last edited by Daedusian on 3/16/2009 10:26:14 AM

photo K
photo K
15 years ago

lol, some parents need to get a life. this is an ever-growing problem in this world. maybe this is the bubble kid? if not, maybe the parents should consider it…

coldbore
coldbore
15 years ago

people complain to much… sigh

coldbore
coldbore
15 years ago

WOAH, hold up one second, 3 year olds dont go to school, this thing that they are complaining about is all a load of crap, they just obviously work for microsoft like what dawny1947 said 😛 but seriously "three-year-old boy wouldn't go to school" they are definately lieing, i live near toronto (ish) and there are no schools that have 3 year olds in them, like the youngest that a kid can go to school around here is junior kindergarden and that is when they are 5 or 6 i believe (i really dont know) but it is definetely not 3, i say everyone complain about this person complaining about the poster and get them removed from the bus 😛 (Y)

CH1N00K
CH1N00K
15 years ago

Probably a day care…

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
15 years ago

This is utter nonsense. When I was a kid I came up with stupid reasons not to go to school too.

CH1N00K
CH1N00K
15 years ago

I live in Scarborough, I've seen the ads. Trust me there are worst things in Scarborough for this kid to be scared about then a poster.

A dark Poster with Glowing eyes? Come on! The guy is a teacher, use that poster as a way to educate the kids, instead of making them fear it.
Same goes for the parents of a 3 year old.

This is like the religious fanatics wanting AC/DC banned back in the 80's because someone said that their name stood for "Anti-Christ/Devils Children"

What is wrong with people? Stop sheltering your kids! Show them what the real world is like, so that they can grow up to run it/fix it, instead of cowering with fear in their homes, like their parents.

FeyeR
FeyeR
15 years ago

@ CH1NOOK

10000% agree with you last paragraph

Jed
Jed
15 years ago

I can see how the poster might scare a kid, but why the f*** are we hearing about it??? A three year old sees a poster and gets scared, how does that make the news?

As for the teacher, what a moron. Why would she wait until now, and pick Killzone to bring up that subject? Has she not watched any TV, movies, or listened to any music? There are tons of refrences to war zones in all of that crap. Not to mention the THOUSANDS of war videogames that have come before Killzone.


Last edited by Jed on 3/16/2009 2:39:47 PM

shaydey77
shaydey77
15 years ago

But you see this is the first one Sony has advertised…properly.

Wage SLAVES
Wage SLAVES
15 years ago

Societies are becoming a bunch of pu**ies while the police and the sort are getting more aggressive on the populace. People can't even stop from wetting the bed over a poster…Caveman to Puss=devolution.

BTW I dont believe in evolution.


Last edited by Wage SLAVES on 3/19/2009 10:29:18 PM

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