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Penny Arcade promotes their game with flamebait from their biggest critic
Niero05.21.08 - 11:59 AM 77 comments

Penny Arcade promotes their game with flamebait from their biggest critic screenshot

Denis Duckfat hates Penny Arcade ... and they're loving it.

The ads (see gallery below) are the direct opposite of what you'd expect -- instead of using positive review quotes from gaming publications (11/10! -Cashwh0re), they went with the most ridiculous comments that one hater has been systematically posting on Wired. Little did he know his belligerent flamebaiting would one day become their national ad campaign for On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Penny Arcade's new game on Xbox Live! How's that for a last laugh?

After we saw the ads, Destructoid dug up some additional info on this notorious critic -- DDF has been busy trolling the internet since 2005 on various forums and web sites, many of which have banned him for hatemongering senselessly. According to his abandoned Blogspot, he's a tubby game industry guy that "works on boring games every 4 years." The only thing he claims to hate more than Penny Arcade is Penny Arcade fans (as well as all music games, GTA, Tomb Raider boobs, and Xdude), and also has a few more colorful things to say in another Wired blog comment

Penny arcade sucks and is unfunny. please murder penny arcade and then yourself if you disagree with me.

Can you imagine this douchelord's facial expression when he finds out he's responsible for one of the better ad campaigns we've seen in gaming this year? 

We hope DDF has a good sense of humor and urge him to apply as a speaker at PAX to share his heightened taste of games and love of William H. Macy with the rest of us.



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Latest comment by kuai900 |view all 77 comments
cartoonist loved comic.. Bonjour, ‘ ‘‘ ‘‘‘‘ ‘ ‘...

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4knuckleshuffle's Avatar
4knuckleshuffle at 05/21/2008 11:58

Awesome.
covah's Avatar
covah at 05/21/2008 12:01

hahahaha

um... I bought this game twice... once for my Mac because I have nothing to play on it and then on the 360... because. I don't know... Fuck it I might as well support Penny Arcade and indy games.
Corak's Avatar
Corak at 05/21/2008 12:03

I love it. I'll bet he feels great now, his douchbag attitude just got his words used in an ad campaign that they didn't have to pay him shit for. Congrats good sir you have raised the bar for internet douchbags everywhere.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar
Jetsetlemming at 05/21/2008 12:08

HA!
Hoygeit's Avatar
Hoygeit at 05/21/2008 12:09

Hahahahaha - SOLD (er more so)
PaulMorel's Avatar
PaulMorel at 05/21/2008 12:11

Hilarious. Still, the question remains: do they really need to advertise this game?

We all know about it.

We're all going to buy it.

What's the point?
nintendoll's Avatar
nintendoll at 05/21/2008 12:12

Aww, it's like picking up The Alphabet of Manliness or I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell. This is always a good marketing scheme for people who have a good sense of humor.
ElfAngel7's Avatar
ElfAngel7 at 05/21/2008 12:12

I remember this idiot when he was posting on Cheap Ass Gamer years ago. Kinda amused to see that he's the same asshat that spammed the CAG boards with pics of his nasty man-boobs ><
Rockvillian's Avatar
Rockvillian at 05/21/2008 12:12

If he keeps up his "thing" after this, he's selling out. Hope he learns his lesson :P
Spartacus's Avatar
Spartacus at 05/21/2008 12:13

BEST AD CAMPAIGN EVAR
kevinski's Avatar
kevinski at 05/21/2008 12:14

I really don't find Penny Arcade to be entertaining, either, but this is kinda funny.
kapshhh's Avatar
kapshhh at 05/21/2008 12:17

Nice one XD
MrSadistic's Avatar
MrSadistic at 05/21/2008 12:25

omg so edgy!!!
BlackSheep's Avatar
BlackSheep at 05/21/2008 12:27

i hope one day my flaming makes it into an ad campaign.
Cowzilla3's Avatar
Cowzilla3 at 05/21/2008 12:31

Man I have to to start trolling on a game and get famous.
Face's Avatar
Face at 05/21/2008 12:32

Troll may yet turn out to be a viable career path.
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 05/21/2008 12:32

That guy has my dream job. On day, when I grow up, I will take my controversy skill and mould it into the ultimate trolling.
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar
ArrestedDeveloper at 05/21/2008 12:34

Mega 64 did something similar with their Season 2 dvd, putting a negative review for their first season on the cover.

I'm still not sold on the game, penny arcade is usually funny but I just don't like the cut of their jib. Plus I don't like the fact that they are two of the most unfortunate looking men on the internet and yet they represent themselves as handsome cartoon characters.
ElfShotTheFood's Avatar
ElfShotTheFood at 05/21/2008 12:42

"Plus I don't like the fact that they are two of the most unfortunate looking men on the internet and yet they represent themselves as handsome cartoon characters."

I like the fact that they always portray themselves with heads full of thick, lush, wavy hair.
pyrofreak421's Avatar
pyrofreak421 at 05/21/2008 12:44

nothing like a bunch of smartasses turning hate mongering around on the idiots that do it. This has officially made my day. Now to acquire a copy of said game Fruit Fucker Prime I'm coming for you
NihonTiger90's Avatar
NihonTiger90 at 05/21/2008 12:45

This guy will never be able to get away from this comment. Ever. I feel sorry for him.
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 05/21/2008 12:45

Ha, serves him right, even though I really don't like Penny Arcade all that much.
13thDragon's Avatar
13thDragon at 05/21/2008 12:46

uhhh..... DUCKFAT?
AgentMOO's Avatar
AgentMOO at 05/21/2008 12:52

C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
FreePablo's Avatar
FreePablo at 05/21/2008 12:52

Well, it's true. Penny Arcade was funny when I was 12 and discovered the internet. At least the one guy learned how to draw. Too bad the other still can't write.
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 05/21/2008 13:01

Pure genius
DenisDuckFat's Avatar
DenisDuckFat at 05/21/2008 13:06

2005? A likely story!

If you're ready for a real comic, check out http://www.castle-vidcons.com/
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 05/21/2008 13:12

And this is why I've turned into a Gabe and Tycho fan, over the past year. Well done, sirs. Well done.
GohanGVO's Avatar
GohanGVO at 05/21/2008 13:13

I just downloaded the demo on my PC in honor of Mr. Duckfat.
Evil Cheese's Avatar
Evil Cheese at 05/21/2008 13:14

You couldn't pay an advertisement guru to come up with a better ad campaign. Hats off Tycho and Gabe, fail troll quoting will probably be the new internet marketing fad for a while.
Eschatos's Avatar
Eschatos at 05/21/2008 13:19

Downloading the demo right now. If it doesn't suck, I will happily buy the full version.
savagesaladin's Avatar
savagesaladin at 05/21/2008 13:27

They're asking a little too much for their game. Plus its called Episode 1, so I'm thinking its going to be short.
funran's Avatar
funran at 05/21/2008 13:28

Brilliant, I wouldn't expect anything else from Tycho! HAHAHA
Mutant Pope's Avatar
Mutant Pope at 05/21/2008 13:48

I'm with funran. This is Penny Arcade at its finest. One more reason to love Gabe and Tycho, I feel they speak more honesty than 99% of the internet (not really that hard) and they have a good enough sense of humor to let the tables be turned on them, for all the game criticizing they do. Perfect idea for an ad for their game.
JohnTheCrow's Avatar
JohnTheCrow at 05/21/2008 13:48

savage: It's supposed to be around 10 hours. Which in marketing speak is usually about 5-7 hours. Not bad for $20 I guess, when you stack it against nearly any FPS.
mix's Avatar
mix at 05/21/2008 13:48

That is an amazing marketing technique, do like.
Nessie's Avatar
Nessie at 05/21/2008 14:13

LOL lovin it!!
Aertyr's Avatar
Aertyr at 05/21/2008 14:17

Owned.
Vitamin Awesome's Avatar
Vitamin Awesome at 05/21/2008 14:22

I'll have to say, Successful troll is Successful.

I guess it just proves that there's no such thing as bad publicity.
Detry's Avatar
Detry at 05/21/2008 14:23

Dats funny rite der...
Knives's Avatar
Knives at 05/21/2008 14:39

Awesome, i'm downloading the demo as soon as i get home.
welkstar's Avatar
welkstar at 05/21/2008 14:49

Clever! I'm sold!
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 05/21/2008 14:57

Fucking brilliant. He must be pissing his pants right now.
MechaMonkey's Avatar
MechaMonkey at 05/21/2008 15:26

I hope he cried, videotaped it, and put it on YouTube.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 05/21/2008 15:38

The Penny Arcade guys have a great sense of humor, and this is an awesome way to incorporate that into their ad campaign. Kudos to you, Gabe & Tycho!
007's Avatar
007 at 05/21/2008 15:52

oh shit neva seen dat b4!!
loki d20's Avatar
loki d20 at 05/21/2008 17:05

*chuckles*

And a good reminder for me to pick this up on XBLA.
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 05/21/2008 17:14

The best part of this story is that the guy is now a member of Destructoid, apparently, and he made a cblog about how much the PA comic and game sucks... or something. Haha.
David Quinn Carder's Avatar
David Quinn Carder at 05/21/2008 17:19

The Space Ghost Coast to Coast DVD was promoted the same way, with only bad reviews on the box.

Which was funny, but not quite as funny as pressing PLAY ALL on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVD and having every episode play at the same time.
Druid_01's Avatar
Druid_01 at 05/21/2008 17:22

PA FTW!
Novakaine's Avatar
Novakaine at 05/21/2008 17:33

Very clever marketing idea. Props to them.

That said, I've never understood the fapping to Penny Arcade-- I've never found them funny or cool. I find it ironic they've been so trollish about video games (they were among the Internet kids freaking out about Metroid Prime), when their own video game has been very hit-or-miss in reception.
PaperBowser0's Avatar
PaperBowser0 at 05/21/2008 17:42

Way to go Pennie Arcade, Fucking Smart! :P
HavveK's Avatar
HavveK at 05/21/2008 17:48

FYI: His message board allows guest posting

http://awesometalk.proboards43.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=18
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 05/21/2008 18:18

In all honesty, the guy is probably thrilled by the attention. Still awesome though.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 05/21/2008 18:48

Holy shit, his posts are amazing. To anyone who accuses ME of trolling for having opinions on games, I now have a handy reference to show them how it's really done.
Teta's Avatar
Teta at 05/21/2008 19:11

Ha!!!
I have been re-sold with this one.
Can´t wait for work to end so I can go home and buy the game.
liquidninja's Avatar
liquidninja at 05/21/2008 19:25

Wait, so does this mean the game doesn't suck?
Blackhat's Avatar
Blackhat at 05/21/2008 19:55

I don't know, this seems like more of a way to keep him going than anything else. He's in the spotlight now.. look out.
Qalamari's Avatar
Qalamari at 05/21/2008 23:10

I love it. When I was studying advertising I noticed that the products that are willing to make fun of themselves are generally the ones that know they have a good product (Volkswagen, iPod, FedEx). When the ad execs unclench it's just more fun for everyone involved.
BlackSunEmpire's Avatar
BlackSunEmpire at 05/22/2008 00:35

I love the way hes so eloquent in his trolling.

Destructoid are a sucky suck bag of suck.

Can I have that advertising job now??
Timmeh's Avatar
Timmeh at 05/22/2008 05:25

Clever advertising or not, if the interweb is anything to go by, the XBLA sales are going to be a little disappointing. With the 1,600 MS points they are asking, you'd think by the reactions that there was a free case of the clap in every download.

Then again, it is pretty damn expensive when compared to other episodic stuff like Sam and Max ($8.95 an episode).
dbmon's Avatar
dbmon at 05/22/2008 15:44

I checked the blog page and thought the 'pillars of flesh' thing was odd so i googled it. First response is an interview with the founder of silicon knights and the director for the game Eternal Darkness, Denis Dyack.

http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/denis-dyack-eternal-darkness-interview.htm

Either this is the same guy or someone is trying to set him up. It probably isn't a coincidence, Denis? The name is ususally spelled with 2 n's, Dennis. You can search the most popular baby names at the US social security website and Denis with 1 n only registers in the top 1000 once, 1991 at #966, while Dennis was the 59th most common in the 70's and 98th in the 80's...
Fading_Star's Avatar
Fading_Star at 05/22/2008 15:58

Lol.
dbmon's Avatar
dbmon at 05/22/2008 16:00

also

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/23/too-humans-denis-dyack-pokes-fun-at-penny-arcade-game/
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 05/22/2008 18:34

Beautiful.
ooyes's Avatar
ooyes at 05/23/2008 08:06

I love it. When I was studying advertising I noticed that the products that are willing to make fun of themselves are generally the ones that know they have a good product (Volkswagen, iPod, FedEx). When the ad execs unclench it's just more fun for everyone involved.
RAB's Avatar
RAB at 05/23/2008 12:32

I'm sure he's going to love it. His hate mongering was probably originally so people would pay attention to him, but now he's got all the attention in the world. More site traffic, more this and that.

He probably has a raging boner and is fucking STOKED right now.
Max Power's Avatar
Max Power at 05/23/2008 18:54

Deenis Ducktwat is right, you know. PA is not funny. I repeat: Not funny. Their jokes rely on context. And genitalia. Their jokes rely on context and genitalia. And observation. Their...aah, forget it.
masterledz's Avatar
masterledz at 05/23/2008 19:55

BOOM reverse psychology. Ya gotta love it.
Qalamari's Avatar
Qalamari at 05/23/2008 23:41

@Ooyes-

?
Dusty Gozongas's Avatar
Dusty Gozongas at 05/24/2008 00:48

Hehe, if you replace the D in Denis with a P it spells Penis
Kinsella's Avatar
Kinsella at 05/24/2008 10:31

Haven't ready anything from Denis that I'd disagree with. Maybe he can make some $$$ off of those bleeding cuntholes.
RUSKULL's Avatar
RUSKULL at 05/24/2008 15:03

Denis Duckfat = Denis Dyack? PA did give him a hard time about early game reviews, and vise versa.
LostSoulDX's Avatar
LostSoulDX at 05/27/2008 08:50

LMFAO! That's hilarious! Go PA!
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 05/27/2008 12:23

awesome! best way to deal with a troll ever!
c0dek's Avatar
c0dek at 05/27/2008 20:07

you really paid $20 for the game? I picked up a 1600 pt card from Target (on sale for $15) and stacked a $10 off 360 software coupon, persuading the cashier to use it, then came home and bout PA ep 1...$5 and definitely worth it.

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