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The picture is tiny, but if you pick up this week’s issue of METROPOLIS (658), you’ll see a larger version, and maybe notice that that’s me on the right, getting my ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESENTS TABLE TENNIS game on. Here’s the text that accompanies it:
One of the more enjoyable press events we went to recently was a promotional party for Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis, an Xbox 360 game released last month. Rockstar had rented out a fabulous penthouse in Ebisu and each night invited groups of journalists, trend-spotters and bloggers to a contest to try out what, let’s face it, doesn’t sound like the most exciting exercise for opposable thumbs. This is, after all, a game-maker more famous for violent titles like Grand Theft Auto than for ping pong.
With the help of a few crates of beer and a busy pizza delivery boy, Metropolis took on a posse from www.JeanSnow.net, some hangers-on from CIA, and a few other unknowns at the new Table Tennis game with our own Tabitha Miles coming out victorious.
The game-savvy awarded it high marks for usability, graphics and all sorts of other gaming variables. To us, it was just fun. This marketing technique, apparently known as “seeding,” is supposed to get trendsetters excited about a new product so they spread the word to the masses. “Bribery” is another word that springs to mind. But whatever you call it, it worked.
Update (16/10/23): The image is no longer available.