[Fairygdmther]

Reading all of these posts on Sam & Max I had a thought. What if the cancellation were just a marketing ploy to see how much interest is being generated for the game? Look at how much virtual time and effort has been spent on the getting it back in production! Doesn't this increase interest in the game by many who might never have bought it? Isn't this a wonderful way to get free press? If they reverse their decision, won't this game be sold out in a flash? Perhaps I'm just the suspicious type, but, just my thoughts...

FGM

[Draco2.5]

Other people have thought this may be the case aswell but sadly; there's no way in hell LA would do something like that.

[Skinkie]

Bah- Money Grubbers!!! They've betrayed us, it's no trick.. if it is I'll take back all my negative comments.... most of my negative comments.

[tabacco]

Heh... it'd be like a modern day New Coke ploy

no way LA would do that, they would loose a lot of fans and it's very unperfhional.

[remixor]

It definitely isn't a marketing plot (definitely). If they reverse their decision (which they almost certainly won't) it will be because they reconsidered, not because they planned it all out.

[Glenn Epic]

Well if you had have said "Lucas Arts are going to pretend to can Sam and Max 2 so they can get publicity" before they actually canned it, I would have thought you were crazy. But after seeing the effects it might just be possible. Though I highly doubt it.

[Marek]

No matter how insane the cancellation was, and no matter how much you want an explanation, this is not it.

[CaliMonk]

What is it with you Americans and conspiracy theories... A tad too much X-Files?



(This comment in no way means to say all Americans believe in conspiracies.)

[RaMa]

Or maybe LucasArts cancelled Sam & Max because one of the programmers, an undercover agent working for the government, used the game to test a new way of mind control and although the LA HQ are quite likely to get blown up because they messed with the government and their alien leaders, they did cancel the game to save our free will!

That's it, people! LA saved our lives!

[Fairygdmther]

"What is it with you Americans and conspiracy theories... A tad too much X-Files?"

I've never watched X-Files, but I have many doubts about marketing ploys, and that some companies will do anything to get people to buy their products. And if it was a marketing strategy, it certainly worked to get everyone's attention.

FGM

[RaMa]

But the attention they got wasn't exactly positive. It doesn't make any sence for a company to do a stunt that gives them a negative image, even if it helps promoting one of their games.

[CrimsonBlue]

I've studied marketing, and I've had this thought a while now. Maybe it IS a stunt? Of course, it would be the optimist in me talking.

BUT, let's look at it this way. LucasArts haven't exactly been very good at marketing anything else than Star Wars lately. In fact, they haven't even been particularly good at marketing that, because Star Wars sort of sells itself. If LucasArts pulled a stunt like this, and suddenly in E3 we got not only Sam and Max but 1 and 2 other adventuregames as well. That would actually be one of the most genious marketing stunts in gaminghistory, and one that actually might do something good for the adventuregame market. I mean, how else would the world recognize a good adventure ever again? I think this is what the adventuregaming market would need. A SHOCK-treatment, sort of. Like...

"WATCH OUT! YOU MAY ACTUALLY LOSE THIS WONDERFUL GENRE NOW, SO WAKE UP WORLD!"

Sure, it may have shocked their fans. But if this stunt actually brought adventuregaming back into the mainstream gaming, they would have no problem with that after a while, they would forgive them in a second.

In my eyes, that would be one of the best marketing stunts ever done in the history of gaming. Hah, so Activision sponsord tomb-stones. So what? Rockstar offered to pay the speedingtickets one day. Hah! You know what LucasArts did? They actually SCREWED with they fans, and if that's not attentionworthy, then nothing is!

[CaliMonk]

Originally Posted by CrimsonBlue

<snip>
In my eyes, that would be one of the best marketing stunts ever done in the history of gaming. Hah, so Activision sponsord tomb-stones. So what? Rockstar offered to pay the speedingtickets one day. Hah! You know what LucasArts did? They actually SCREWED with they fans, and if that's not attentionworthy, then nothing is!

True, thats a great theory, unfortunatly i personally don't believe their marketing division capable of such a greatly thought over stunt.

Like you said they've only marketed Starwars, which doesn't even need marketing. Their oldies weren't really well marketed if you ask me, i mean carribean ads and things like that to make Monkey Island known.. Get real..

Anyway i don't really buy the theory about a 'great marketing plan', because i frankly can't imagine them being that smart.

[WontonGoodsoup]

Just for the sake of conversation, lets hypothetically say that this was a pr stunt. How many of you have told people that don't play AGs about this whole thing and made them more aware of the genre only as a result of the situation? Also, how many of you out there would not buy Sam and Max 2 if they released it tomorrow? I have a feeling we all would buy it and tell all our friends. Great free advertisement and hype.
/just a thought.

[remixor]

Arggghhhh!

[WontonGoodsoup]

Arggghhhh!

LOL. This debate will probably never come to an end, just like the whole cheese thing.

[RaMa]

Mmmmmmmmmm... Cheeeeese... Me likes Cheese...

[amishler]

Originally Posted by remixor

Arggghhhh!

What he said. I mean, I'm having a hard time letting go of Freelance Police, but I've never really doubted that the game was actually cancelled. I still hold out (not much) hope that LEC will change their minds when they see the reaction from the gaming public, but I don't think this was any kind of stunt.

I've studied and worked in marketing and public relations, and believe me, good marketing/PR practitioners are well aware of their low status on the public perception scale. (Case in point: people don't have a hard time believing LEC marketing would stoop to such a ruse to sell a game.) They wouldn't pull a stunt like this that would just reinforce the reputation they currently, and for the most part, unjustly, have.

Think about it: if it did turn out to be a stunt, once your initial relief subsided, wouldn't you be seriously pissed that someone jerked you around so easily? Someone said this earlier (thought it was in this thread, but I guess not), but if it was true, Freelance Police would be the last LEC game I buy. I don't have any interest in supporting a company that plays with my loyalty like that.

[Fairygdmther]

But what if they presented it as this:

Their poll a while back didn't have many responders - they needed to see if the game-playing population really did want Sam & Max. $2 mil seems like a lot to us, but it can be used as a tax write-off for losses incurred in business. To go forward with it - to finish it, produce the cd's, distribute them, and advertise it easily could cost another $1 mil. Would they recoup that much on sales? Maybe they just needed to find that out.

FGM