Anyone else found it amusing that that one of the signs read "Hell is not a Game"? I mean practically tempting people to make a witty remark about it.

My personal take "Hell is not a game, IT IS REAL!".

They're absolutely right - they should have made a game based on the Paradiso instead, running around dismembering Angels.

ffs, Hell's been appearing in games since DOOM. People need to wake up and think about what they're protesting.

I've never figured out why a Christian would have a problem with destroying demons.  Would they prefer a nice chat to try and work things out?  Over tea, perhaps?

This stinks to high heaven of a PR stunt that will blow up in EA's face.

______________________________________________________________________ mykalgaidin.gamerdna.com

Does that weeny in the back have a sign that reads "Play Dante's Inferno, go to hell"?

If that's true, I have to play this game. That way, when I die, I won't have to hang out with these *crude remark deleted*

Seriously, take yourselves a little less seriously. No one is attacking your religion and no one is trying to to force you to play this game if you don't want to. Take it as a tribute to a classic, you silly people. I understand you don't like...anything, but...wait, nevermind, keep doing this. It makes you guys look like a joke, and that seems appropriate.

...and Christians wonder why fewer and fewer people are embracing religion these days.  I just want to know what kind of life of leisure these protestors have to go out and picket against a game based on (very) old literature- on a work day during business hours.  Seriously.

How in the holy hell is a video game in which you fight demons with a cross evil or anti-christian. It seems to have a rather pro-christian theme to me. These fundamentalist christians are idiots.

 "No law means no law" - Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black on the First Amendment

This is downright perplexing. o_O  I be a Christain and I hardly see how this is offensive...  Slaying demons with crosses?  That sounds like an awesome time.  And them saying that EA = Antichrist due to this?

Come on... Think things through! D:

My friends and I saw this immediately as we headed into E3 and the general consensus was that it was a viral ad campaign.

This is the group's website: http://www.wearesavedgroup.org  Which, for an amateur site, has awfully clean css.  The registration was done by proxy, so I can't confirm that it's EA or a marketing firm, but I smell viral marketing.

Also, Hell is a game.

This is definitely a pr-stunt. Just look at what they accuse ea of at the site. Witchcraft and sorcery? Sexual perversion? Though it would'nt surprise me that they would actually be serious about this.

Nonono, they got it all wrong.

EA = Antichrist. EA =/= anti-Christ.

1. I already played and beat a game where you fought your way into Hell and back out again. Ever hear of Doom? Came out in 1993?

2. You can't accept the game, but can can you accept the book? I read about Dante's Inferno back when I was in High School English class.

 - Warren

Hah a bit late arent they?

Doom, hellgate london, dungeon keeper.... Hell is SO a game.

Silly protesters, video games are only make-believe. Just like your bible.

Don't Catholics of the old times think they could "fight" demons through prayer and rituals?  I don't see the issue these people have with the game, unless they find it offensive that you could fight to escape from hell, a divine punishment.

It's plain and simple. The church hates video games because it's another thing people do instead of going to church. They'll jump on any reason to downplay it.

A few things.

1) This isn't a representation of all of Christianity.  This is a few morons in California, which seems to be the home of most of the moronic activists and activism in the world.  The priest at my church actually encouraged people to look into it when it came out, because its a reimagining of some of the oldest books embraced by the church, and those books are where we got most of the imagery for heaven, hell, and purgatory.  All things can be turned to the glory of God.

2) I don't quite understand.  It's all well and good when you read about Dante struggling to find his way through hell, purgatory, and heaven, but when Dante becomes a badass with a weapon, all the sudden it's evil?  What the fuck ever. 

3) I think Brokenscope is onto something here, and lets face it; EA is know for some pretty shystey PR stunts.  Most of the time when you see faggotry like this, the church says who they are (say, Westboro Baptist Church, or maybe a church of the LDS variety) or the people will state what organization they belong to, in order to gain some publicity.  But the article in the LATimes (rag) makes no mention of their affiliations. 

4) Go to the LATimes article and just look at the fat motherfucker in the picture.  She's (he's?) standing at the far right, but goddamn.  Ugly motherfucker.

Huh.  This story makes very little sense.  "Not much does anymore."

"HEY! LISTEN!"

Its fake, their website only links to the gamesite and the game trailer, also like has been said its only been resgistered for just over a month.

This is going to back fire on EA mark my words.

When I first saw this yesterday on another site I thought two things.

1) I'd protest what they've done with the poem too.  Wait, that's not what they are protesting? 

2) EA or their marketing company hired a bunch of local starving actors and actresses to do this.

Seems like a pretty obvious publicity stunt.

I mean, Christians protest some silly things sometimes but even they have more sense than to get offended by a game that is based on a piece of literature that was written around 700 years ago. Especially when you consider the fact that there have been literally thousands of references to hell and demons in popular culture (more than just games) and the fact that this game doesn't cover any new ground that hasn't been done before in that regard.

So really, this is just another example of EA thinking their customers are morons.

So hell is not a game, therefore they should denounce a game that A) advocates destroying demons and

B) is based off an ancient story that uses hell as a playground to make political statements ( i didn't actually make it past the 3rd or 4th circle before something came up and i had to give the book back unfortunately, so i didn't get to read of purgatory or paradise)

I mean, Christians protest some silly things sometimes but even they have more sense than to get offended by a game that is based on a piece of literature that was written around 700 years ago

Hail pastor Deacon! They are the devoters of Evil, read: Hell is not a gamer! Dont kill the devils! It clearly shows that they are devoters of the Devil him self! Burn them... I am kind of religious but dont pay attention because who criates a church in this day are just after the money of the fool who believe blindly in the teaching of GOD... burn them.

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Wicca%20&%20Witchcraft/...
Unrelated, but hilarious all the same.

Who worships the devil? SPIDERMAN!

Total PR stunt, their site just screams parody even though, disturbingly it's not too far off from real fringe nutjobs. Nevermind that the site is registered via Domainsbyproxy as if there's something to hide and like someone else mention, the site was created on June 1st. Totally viral... This is up there with Citizens United Negating Technology For Life And People's Safety.

Whether you think it's a good PR stunt or not, this article has reached over 100 comments on the site. If it's a PR stunt, it's certanly working.

I'm surprised they never protested disgaea. I'm pretty sure they would throw a fit about it, since it repeatedly says demons are not inherently evil, and angels are not inherently good. not to mention the fact that you play as Laharl, who these idiots would probably think is the antichrist.

oh, and I almost forgot about Etna

What game DOESN'T spark protestors nowadays? Reminds me of PCU or Danny Phantom. They make jokes about how people are ready to protest at the drop of a hat.

But they are going about this all wrong. Games educate people. Do you realize how much religious research I needed to do to understand the plot of Xenosaga? (Side note: Kos Mos just won the Robot Battle over on one of the other blogs. I wanted to respond with "Holy Mary mother of Jesus!" but if you hadn't played the games all the way through, you wouldn't get it.)

Earthworm Jim already did the whole escape from hell thing and it even got an E rating simply by changing the word Hell to Heck.

Im against the game myself, but not for the messed-up reasons these guys are preaching

The original Dante's Inferno was about a poor, depressed man going through a midlife crisis as he continues to mourn the death of his beloved Beatrice. As he wanders through a dark forest and contemplates his suicide, he sees a mountain of righteousness and attempts to climb it, only to be stopped by three great beasts of evil. Dante than meets Virgil, a Poet who had died more than a thousand years ago, who guides dante on a journey through hell, purgatory and heaven, and to show Dante the people of have been led astray without the light of christ guiding them

The game involves Dante beating the crap out of demons with a large cross, as he’s trying to escape hell and look for his beloved Beatrice as well (as to why hes looking in Hell is anyone’s guess). In all, EA is taking the wrong direction with this game, and Im protesting it as well. Dante's Inferno was a literary classic, an epic to the same degree as Homer’s Odyssey or Virgil's Iliad. EA is just spraying it with the sweat off of David Jaffe’s forehead, and intends to sell it as an alternative to God of War III.

Still, those protestors have their own wacky beliefs, and they’re just practicing their 1st Amendment rights. So let them be. Until they begin drenching themselves in the blood of an abortion doctor and threatening to attack programmers at EA, I think that this can just be ignored for now.

Ok I think we've gathered that this more than likely a publicity stunt but how badly do you think this will blow up in EA's face once people get wind of it?

Although it's funny that EA is the only one who tries to literally make controversy for their games.

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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.

Ok I think we've gathered that this more than likely a publicity stunt but how badly do you think this will blow up in EA's face once people get wind of it?

Although it's funny that EA is the only one who tries to literally make controversy for their games.

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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.

So... I assume thse people protested King of the Hill because, the made up show the Hills watched on occasionhad a vigilante priest who before killing someone, said "Vaya con Dios" which translates to Go with God, right?

Wait, videogame are always targeted by these idiots.

I don't quite understand the point in this protest... I mean had they never heard of the Inferno before the game was announced? Do those people even have any idea who Dante is, or that the Inferno is actually a book? Why don't they try and ban that before banning a video game loosly based on it >___>!?

Wait, don't most of these people believe Jesus went into hell, brought some people out, then came back? And he fought demons sometime before that?

EDIT: O wait it was a publicity stunt. What the hell was EA thinking?

We should be more specific about EA being the Antichrist.  It's EA Management that's the Antichrist.  Can't really put that label on people like (former employee) Will Wright or the Dead Space team.  Know what I mean?

If they make this anything like the past few items they've made for The Sims franchise, the church people have nothing to fear.  Their latest venture The Sims 3 is about as f'd up as it can get and still run.  I've been having fun reading all about it. 

PMBD http://paysites.mustbedestroyed.org/ The truth about T$R http://tsr.mustbedestroyed.org/ EA + T$R = We're all screwed

Quite frankly, it's tiring to see these kinds of games. If other religions had their symbols used in this kind of big money game, we'd hear no end of it. Like maybe large organizations calling for all adherants to that religion to boycott a company?

Oddly enough, that situation was still used to bash christianity, even though it was a completely and utterly seperate religion that shared no common ancestry with christianity.

You guys need to gtfo it like you're telling these people using their voices to. It offends them, congrats, when you parody / make light of something others take seriously, it offends them.

I will not buy securom games. http://www.wolvenmoon.com/sharedfiles/message1.jpg and http://www.wolvenmoon.com/sharedfiles/message2.jpg

Although I support every and any form of EA bashing, I personally find it distasteful to claim that an imaginary underworld supposedly created by the rival of an old man, who allegedly travels from cloud to cloud with no apparent means of transportation and from whom we owe the death of millions due to a flood he/she/it provoked long ago, is not fit nor morally accepted to use in a video game, a work of fiction.

I'm impressed those god-lovers don't play more video games, nor that they produce any games at all. Clearly, the idea of an old geezer loving and hating his sons and daughters, who sent his only true son to die on a cross for very bizarre reasons is one weird but excellent idea à la H.P. Lovecraft to me.

If this is an actual publicity stunt, then I say.. "Fuck you" more than ever EA. You've lost my trust and respect at the XXth (Lost count of it) expansion of medal of honor and sims, and have not made any better for the past 10 years or so. Now you need to whip the sensitive beliefs of a group of confused people to sell your ordinary looking game...

The funny thing is that you really can't make a game out of Dante's Inferno anyway. It's just like EA to take something and bastardize it, isn't it?

It's gonna be crap.