IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

David Jaffe: I Would Lie to Gamers Again

Posted August 17, 2010 by James Brightman

Prior to E3, notable game developer David Jaffe posted a tweet that he would not be making any new Twisted Metal game. Rather than saying "no comment," remaining silent or dodging the question, he issued a flat-out denial. Some considered this to be a bold faced lie, since Twisted Metal Online was announced soon thereafter at the Sony E3 press conference. 

Jaffe doesn't regret having "lied" to his fans and the gaming community, however. He talked about it with VentureBeat: "I don’t know how many people follow me on Twitter. There was a vocal minority that took it the wrong way. I meant it to be fun and wanted the E3 attendees and players to have a surprise. I’ve been to E3 for many years and it was fun to be surprised by what you saw on the show floor. I figured, and I think most people took it this way, that it was a little white lie," he said.

He continued, noting that he'd lie again if need be: "It was in the interest of being able to drive out on stage in the ice cream truck and give people a surprise. There were people who said, 'Dude, Jaffe is a liar. We f***ing hate you.' I’m not a politician. You don’t have to look at my voting record. My job is to entertain. I entertain by putting pickups in the right part of the level in a Twisted Metal game. My job is also to entertain by going out on that stage and presenting a game to you. If it means I have to lie in order to entertain, I’m totally fine with that and I would do it again."

Jaffe's never been one to hold back or to mince words. And in the end, he's right; this is an entertainment industry and his job is to produce great products and entertain, but he still might want to consider a slightly better PR strategy than to "lie" to his own fans.

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.