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EA’s Battlefield 1 Game: The ‘Just WWI Things’ Tweets And The Full Controversy

By Shobha Vats | Update Date: Nov 05, 2016 07:59 AM EDT

Gaming Giants DICE and EA had released the shooter based single player game titled Battlefield 1 on October 2016.Initially, the environment of the game was a secret with the trailer showing only selected scenes from the game. Though the game was aimed to pay respect and mourn for the great war that took the lives of millions, the recent tweets have a different story to say.

The Game

The Game has five different stories to tell. The stories are played in any order and are seen through the eyes of different characters. The characters hail from various background and do not intertwine with each other. The stories take us through a ride of reality showing us heart wrenching conditions of the warfare in different parts of the world. The most satisfying element is the inclusion of the women character which makes the whole scenario a little more close to reality. The game clearly outcries the message that war is always an unpleasant affair.

Early Tweets

All the efforts of the game treat the World War as a sensitive issue and have handled it with concern. However, the recent marketing campaign to trend the hashtag, WWI Things, promoting the game was a grievous mistake. The WWI Things hashtag attracted controversy when it came with the image showing a burning airship with a caption that read "basking in the glow of a burning ship." The tagline that features the game on the official website with the statement "More than double the strength of the British and Ottoman Empires deployed in the Middle East during World War I."

Recent Controversial Tweets

Even the chief executive came out with a tweet showing an image with the caption "Trench Warfare requires specialty equipment and clothing." Two tweets recently flamed the anger of the fans even further. One of them includes a soldier from the game burning out another with a flame thrower and the caption read "When you're too hot for the club." Another tweet showed a burning zeppelin and soldiers. It came with a caption "When your squad is looking on point."

Reaction From EA

It is evident that the tweets backfired with the audience expressing resentment and dismay through contemptuous retweets. Though the marketing goal of trending the hashtag is now achieved the intentions has received a significant setback. On the other hand, EA has apologized saying that the marketing campaign did not match to meet the sentiments with which the game was initially released.

It tweeted "We would like to apologize for any offense caused by the content in the last 24 hours posted on the Battlefield Twitter account. It did not treat the World War 1 era with the respect and sensitivity that we have strived to maintain the game and our communications".

No doubt that the game has been widely popular among the youngsters who get to play in an era they barely know. EA should not forget that the World War I was a real thing. Hence it requires a sensitive approach in the marketing campaign as well. Nevertheless, it has deleted the posts now when the world is preparing to commemorate Remembrance Sunday for all those who bid adieu to the world in the First and Second World War.

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