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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Penny Arcade-Powered Shitstorm

Posted by on Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 11:16 AM

That what's ensuing now as the result of this sad tale about a couple of pre-ordered PS3 controllers and a theatrically douchebaggy retailer.

As Gabe says, "Trust me when I tell you that this is one wild ride. I’m serious, Mr. Toad would look at this ride and just give a slow clap while shaking his head." If you like Internet drama and harsh justice on the gamer frontier, check it out for yourself.

 

Comments (38) RSS

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Zebes 1
On the one hand, I don't like that Gabe is trying to get his readers to be his personal army. On the other hand, fuck those Ocean guys.
Posted by Zebes http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.html on December 27, 2011 at 11:50 AM
2
Exactly. It's kind of creepy—but well-deserved.
Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on December 27, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Foghorn Leghorn 3
What is an army of flying monkeys for, if not to use?
Posted by Foghorn Leghorn on December 27, 2011 at 11:56 AM
4
Link is borked.....
Posted by Smokes on December 27, 2011 at 12:00 PM
5
This is the url: http://penny-arcade.com/resources/just-w…

If PA is overwhelmed, there's also coverage elsewhere: http://kotaku.com/5871235/controller-com…
Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on December 27, 2011 at 12:05 PM
6
I meant the link to the slogs permalink is borked. :-) Wanted to share the flying monkey comment without stealing it outright!
Posted by Smokes on December 27, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In 7
I'll never understand why PR firms are run by people with only a remedial command of written English.
Posted by Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on December 27, 2011 at 12:31 PM
dwightmoodyforgetsthings 8
@7- Evidently the guy plagarized almost all the content on his website. (http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/…) Utter incompetence seems to be the hallmark of the Ocean Marketing organization.
Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings http://www.reddit.com/r/spaceclop on December 27, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Westlake, son! 9
Textbook example of how not to treat customers. Amazon is filling up with bad reviews, Googling for "Ocean Marketing" is a minefield, etc.
Posted by Westlake, son! on December 27, 2011 at 12:40 PM
10
This guy markets himself as a social media expert. Watching his little business crumble due to his own idiotic actions is amazing.
Posted by SeattleSeven on December 27, 2011 at 12:41 PM
BostonFontSnob 11
This is what happens when you hire a Juggalo to do your customer service.
Posted by BostonFontSnob on December 27, 2011 at 12:42 PM
12
Sorry- I don't think this is Gabe trying to form an army. I'm very, VERY happy that he is posting this. It means I can make an educated decision regarding frequenting Ocean Marketing ever. This douche-nozzle who wrote the emails is what's causing this shit-storm. Not Gabe. Don't shoot the messenger thank you.
Posted by Aedan Robinson on December 27, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Posted by BostonFontSnob on December 27, 2011 at 12:57 PM
TVDinner 14
@13: That is exactly what I thought after reading this!
Posted by TVDinner http:// on December 27, 2011 at 1:00 PM
15
This story keeps getting better, and better.... now with possible 'roid-rage attached! http://kotaku.com/5871400/cut-paul-ocean…
Posted by Smokes on December 27, 2011 at 1:18 PM
BostonFontSnob 16
@14 I believe the original image is actually from Paul Christoforo's Facebook page.

This saga has to be some kind awesome hoax, right? It's too perfect.
Posted by BostonFontSnob on December 27, 2011 at 1:33 PM
TVDinner 17
@16: Oh my god, shut up! This is really too good to be true.
Posted by TVDinner http:// on December 27, 2011 at 1:50 PM
balderdash 18
I love this debacle SO MUCH. That follow-up about his apparent forum habits is just the absolute cherry on top.

ESTROGEN STRATAGY -or - BRO I GOTTA GET SUM FISHEZ FOR MAH BITCH SHE LOVES THEM PINKY ONES WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE PINKY ONES U ARE SO WORTHLESS I WILL HAVE BOSTON PUNCH YOUR FACE
Posted by balderdash http://introverse.blogspot.com on December 27, 2011 at 1:54 PM
Fnarf 19
I love the city of Boston, but man, there are some spectacular douchenozzles that come out of that place. I love the link @14. This scandal is of course the first thing that comes up when you google "avenger controller" or "ocean marketing". True genius at work here.
Posted by Fnarf http://www.facebook.com/fnarf on December 27, 2011 at 2:32 PM
Beetlecat 20
This is so much fun to watch.
Posted by Beetlecat on December 27, 2011 at 2:39 PM
Zebes 21
I feel pretty bad for the company that actually, you know, makes the controller. If they're stuck outsourcing their PR shit to a PR shit like Paul Christoforo, I'd imagine it's because they're not a big operation, and now their product is going to tank not on its own merits but because of how some third-party asshole treated customers.

Although from reading further back, about a similar situation another customer got into back in February, it sounds like this sort of thing- huge delays of shipments from China- is a recurring problem. So Ocean is not wholly to blame.

Still, shitty situation to be in.
Posted by Zebes http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.html on December 27, 2011 at 2:57 PM
Beetlecat 22
@21 that's precisely what makes this so fascinating. Nobody was to blame, and nobody was looking for blood. But Paul/Ocean had to make it about being a jerk and is reaping the benefits of that as we speak... :)
Posted by Beetlecat on December 27, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Shini 23
Anyone who tries to pull the "Do you know Who I am" card is a moron.
Posted by Shini on December 27, 2011 at 3:31 PM
balderdash 24
And here's the messy denouement: http://penny-arcade.com/resources/an-upd…

I know Gabe loves Spiderman, but he's coming off as more of an Incredible Hulk here, I think.
Posted by balderdash http://introverse.blogspot.com on December 27, 2011 at 4:17 PM
25
I started reading... then I wondered why I should care.
Posted by Drew2u on December 27, 2011 at 4:37 PM
Matt from Denver 26
I'm just glad that, in this case, it's pretty clear that the guy is getting what he deserves. Some people (like the editor of The Stranger) are known for jumping the gun when unleashing the flying monkeys of the internet.
Posted by Matt from Denver on December 27, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Foghorn Leghorn 27
@6 Haha, the Lord loves those who cite their sources :)
Posted by Foghorn Leghorn on December 27, 2011 at 4:50 PM
28
As of 2PM, Ocean Marketing is no longer handling PR for the manufacturer, Kotkin Enterprises. They done been fired.
Posted by Lack Thereof on December 27, 2011 at 4:52 PM
freesandbags 29
flying monkeys and a murder of trained attack crows. The internet ate my baybee.
Posted by freesandbags on December 27, 2011 at 5:16 PM
TheMisanthrope 30
@24 You know...I don't mind Hulk Rage Gabe. HR Gabe always picks some amazing battles. Jack Thompson was an amazing battle that needed to be fought (you do know who he is, right? If you don't, you should read up on him). And this battle was a sort of small-time prick that needed to be taken down a few notches.

The whole scenario kind of reminds me of a certain somebody who writes for The Stranger. But, I think Gabe/Mike actually is a bit more cautious with the battles he chooses to engage in than the certain somebody around here with flying monkeys.
Posted by TheMisanthrope on December 27, 2011 at 8:04 PM
31
The Internet is fast! And mean! And funny!!
http://wwebsiteasontheinternet.com/
http://youtu.be/xqV9kx40RG0
Posted by mattro2.0 on December 27, 2011 at 9:35 PM
32
As an old fart, I can't believe how quickly this moves; but the video is hilarious. His suddenly meek "apologies" aren't helping. Hope he enjoys his 15 minutes, although I bet he imagined it would be for something else...
Posted by I Love IPA on December 27, 2011 at 10:04 PM
Scarlet_Spider 33
@19, I may be over defending my city here, and I don't have the time to research where this guy is really from, but I'd like to think not Boston. Little Italy isn't actually a neighborhood (unless he means the North End, but no one calls it anything other than the North End).
Posted by Scarlet_Spider on December 28, 2011 at 6:57 AM
BostonFontSnob 34
@24, Yeah, the whole thing turned out kinda like the end of DEATH PROOF. It wwould be sad if he didn't deserve it. (I'm not fixing that typo, for obvious reasons)

@33 Oh this guy is definitely from around here. Maybe from the North Shore (or even Worcester!) and likes to say he's "from Boston". But this guy is a Masshole through and through.
(I always felt that instead of doing continuing seasons of Jersey Shore MTV should have iterated— taken the setting nationwide from season to season starting with a show called "Massholes".)
Posted by BostonFontSnob on December 28, 2011 at 7:36 AM
dwightmoodyforgetsthings 35
@34- Eh, they should do a show in Providence, which is Boston's New Jersey.
Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings http://www.reddit.com/r/spaceclop on December 28, 2011 at 10:33 AM
undead ayn rand 36
@24: "I know Gabe loves Spiderman, but he's coming off as more of an Incredible Hulk here, I think."

I don't think Ocean necessarily needs to get stomped to the ground, but the overpaid, underqualified violent manbaby should never ever work in that field again.
Posted by undead ayn rand on December 28, 2011 at 12:39 PM
37
Whoops, Ocean necessarily needs to be stomped down, but the company that *hired* Ocean shouldn't deserve all the negativity that that he spawned.
Posted by UAR on December 28, 2011 at 7:56 PM
38
winning!
Posted by Cassette tape fan on December 31, 2011 at 9:51 PM

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