Romero: I never wanted to make you my bitch

Daikatana is known for two things — being really terrible and having one of the most insulting ad campaigns of all time. Creator John Romero has gone down in history as the man who wanted to “make you his bitch” on the notorious red posters, but according to him, he never really wanted to do that at all.

“I knew it was risky, and I didn’t want to do it. It didn’t make sense,” says the Doom co-creator. “I mean, there’s the whole culture of smack talk that goes with games and especially an FPS, and that was something I was known for. You know, I never wanted to make you my bitch, not you, not them, not any of the other players and, most importantly, not any of my fans.

“Up until that ad, I felt I had a great relationship with the gamer and the game development community and that ad changed everything “The game insulted nearly everyone who read it. It was a terrible marketing decision. I apologize for letting it loose in the first place.”

Of course, if Daikatana had lived up to even an iota of the hype, it may not have been an issue and the ads could have actually worked. That’s the trouble when a game developer tries to radiate the aura of a rock star, it’s just that much more embarrassing when one of their games turns out to be a big pile of poo. Still, he said he’s sorry, over ten years after the game’s release, and that’s the main thing.

John Romero ‘Never Wanted to Make You My Bitch’ [Industry Gamers]