Not a weapon in sight

Beyond: Two Souls developer Quantic Dream was encouraged by marketing agencies to include a picture of protagonist Jodie Holmes – played by Ellen Page – holding a gun on the cover of its upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive in order to bolster sales. However, in an interview with GameSpot, executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumière has revealed that the studio “categorically refused” the idea.

“We have to be very careful,” he said. “We’re working closely with the marketing folks at Sony to portray the game in the right light, to be able to talk to that diverse audience that we hope we will be able to reach with Beyond.”

Fondaumière added that while picking a traditional “action” box art may help to appeal to traditional gamers, it could also push casual players away. “If we, for instance, put a pack art that’s solely featuring action, first of all it’s not going to be truthful to what the game is, and then, your wife for instance, is not going to feel attracted to this. She’ll say, ‘Ok, well that’s not unique, it’s one of your video games.’”

He concluded that the studio needs to be careful about the messaging that it conveys. “So yes, we need to be careful and to make sure that whenever we communicate on this game, whenever we market it, that we manage to get across this variety in themes and this uniqueness that the project beholds.”

Earlier in the year, Naughty Dog revealed that it was asked to push The Last of Us’ female lead to the back of the box for similar reasons. What do you make of this topic? Was Quantic Dream right to stand its ground? Let us know in the comments section below.

[source uk.gamespot.com, via neogaf.com, vg247.com]