'Controversial' Games: Dealing with Fan Backlash

Nerd rage

On occasion, games are controversial with the mass media, whether it's Mortal Kombat making parents worry what sort of violence their kids are being exposed to, Doom being blamed for the Columbine massacre or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas creating a huge stink with the "Hot Coffee" mess.  Sometimes the controversy is mostly manufactured, as was the case with the "Sex-Box" Fox News segment concerning Mass Effect.

At other times controversy in the gaming industry does not come from external sources, but instead from within.  Gamers are an outspoken lot, and if something appears in a game that they don't like they'll let the world know.  The rise of Internet forums gives a voice to the those that feel a game isn't up to snuff, allowing like minded gamers to congregate and build up (or sometimes tear down) a particular title.

On the following pages is a list of games that for a variety of reasons attracted criticism from fans, in most cases before the games even released, and in a few cases the after effects are still being felt.