Earlier this month, the MOP community had a little giggle over Blizzard’s rather random (or maybe depressingly on point) collab with KFC that urged would-be Diablo IV players to eat chicken. Actually, just to buy some chicken. They don’t care if you eat it! Either way, people were a bit bummed about the message behind these kinds of promos.
“I’m waiting for major gaming companies to partner with like, a vegetarian restaurant or something,” MOP commenter Greaterdivinity wrote. “We’ve had enough Mountain Dew, Dorito’s, KFC, Monster Energy, Cheeze-Its, etc. etc. etc. promotions and that’s all garbage junk food. WHEN IS THE RICE BRAND PROMOTIONS?! WHEN CAN I SCORE SOME IN-GAME BOOSTS FOR BUYING APPLES?! HOW CAN I EARN EXCLUSIVES REWARDS BY BUYING HERBAL TEAS?!”
GD isn’t wrong. Like, I’m not really knocking the companies for trying to swap their customerbases, and you know we’re going to make fun of these promos no matter what, but I’d rather be targeted with candles and bubble tea and running shoes than junk food; there’s something weirdly insulting about the idea that obviously gamers eat trash and here’s some more trash for the gamers, even if it might be true and even if the trash is delicious.
Let’s follow GD’s lead. What brands or buyables do you actually wish MMOs would partner with for these promos? What would actually make you sit up and say, “Yes, I will drive to this store and buy this thing to prove my MMO loyalties”?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
