Lets admit it. Games such as Halo, Destiny, and DOOM have had solid marketing campaigns. They’ve been strong, unique, and completely badass campaigns, but there’s one above them all that decided to come in, punch a Nazi in the face, and walk away with its strawberry milkshake. What game is that? Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus has been no exception to what an excellent marketing campaign looks like. Rather, Bethesda Softworks has absolutely dominated this one, and it’s all because they’ve managed to take advantage of the current political climate within the United States.
But how does this set them up for an instant win with Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus? If you haven’t been reading the news, I’ll need to fill you in a bit, but there’s not a lot to need-to-know behind this. Simply put, Nazi’s are walking the streets, hate groups are out and about, and Wolfenstein as a franchise simply hates it all. It hates hate, it hates hate groups, and most of all, it abhors Nazi’s, just as any sane person would.
To start it off simply put, Bethesda Soft works and MachineGames have not been quiet about how they are going to win, and get some publicity of the games campaign. It’s controversial, it’s iffy, and it’s one that has caused some controversy. Because of this, it has garnished quite a bit of attention, which for Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, is a well deserved trade off in order to help fans learn about the game. I’ve even had to go far enough to explain that Wolfenstein should not change what it is or what it is even about.
What worked in their favor more, is the fact that people actually came out to defend any, and all hate groups the game “could” be targeting; which it certainly is not. Before anyone can say that the games story taking place in the United States was set to comment on today’s current political climate, would be surely mistaken. After all, The New Colossus went into development in 2014, and the prequel began development in 2011, both taking place in creation before the current political climate.
But why does this also make us so uncomfortable, even though its relevance is extremely relevant in the current political situation? It’s because it’s exploring an alternate-1960’s United States. It’s exploring the idea of Nazi’s walking the streets of our city streets. In 2017, it’s extremely discomforting because we are seeing our freedoms being eroded, we are seeing political agendas pushed upon us with a startling regularity.
We’re even seeing Nazi-sympathizers are getting pissed off with the fact a piece of fictional entertainment is, a game at that, is standing up against them. It’s showing a series that is on the right side of history by fighting for our freedoms, fighting against oppression, and most-of-all, showing what true patriotism is through the ideas of a protagonist who lives in a world much different than our own.
The games politically fueled marketing campaign is seeking to rally people who want to play it, who understand that Nazi’s are bad, and who just want to see some bullets fly. So much so, that even Bethesda’s marketing campaign is taking advantage of this. It’s a game that isn’t shy of how it’s going to become one of the best marketed games to this day.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook.