Sony sorry about dead goat incident

PS2 News | Not a headline you read every day.

Sony has issued a public apology for its use of a decapitated goat at a launch party for God of War II in Athens, Greece.

News of the slaughtered animal's appearance at the shindig first got about on Sunday, when UK newspaper The Daily Mail reported on the event, describing how guests were invited to scoop offal from the creature's body. The International Fund for Animal Welfare joined in the disapproving chorus, claiming that it was "outrageous" that the animal's death was "used to sell a few computer games."

Now, Sony has promised that an internal enquiry is on the cards. "We recognise that the use of a dead goat was in poor taste and fell below the high standards of conduct we set ourselves," said a statement released by the company. Sony has already recalled all 80,000 copies of the latest Official PlayStation Magazine, which ran an article on the event, complete with pictures.

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23 Comments

ugh the boot

2 years ago

Whoever is to blame (Sony!!)....I hope they get a huge fine for this sort of thing or they get reprimanded in some way! This disregard/disrespect for animals is completely unacceptable!!! They should've scarificed a Sony rep!

ObsoletE

2 years ago

even if they are fined, it's still probably the best publicity they could've bought.

i actually had goat meat for dinner last night, it's damn tasty.

Crestfallen

2 years ago

Well the Goat wasn't ceremonially sacrificed or tortured. It was killed (routinely) at the butcher and brought in and eaten. I'm sure the goat wouldn't have cared if it were the centre piece of the party or just the meal (like at Obs house). Either way its dead.

Its funny how people call this whole thing distasteful but they have no problem at BBQs.

Damn carnivores.

ugh the boot

2 years ago

ObsoletE wrote

even if they are fined, it's still probably the best publicity they could've bought.

I actually had goat meat for dinner last night, it's damn tasty.

Really, you like it? I think it's too tough for my liking (i've had it heaps of times)....haven't tried it in about 5 or more years cuz it grosses me out now. I stick to the 5 main meats....Pork, Chicken, Lamb, Beef and Fish....that's it for me. If you don't mind me asking....how was it cooked?

I understand the publicity for it was big (hell I told about 4 people that don't really give a damn about games) but the impact on me was quite negative.

renegadesx

2 years ago

crestfallen wrote

Thankfully Im not the only person in the world seeing it as it is. I personally dont like goat, more of a pork fan myself

David

2 years ago

crestfallen wrote

Its funny how people call this whole thing distasteful but they have no problem at BBQs.

Damn carnivores.

Are you a vego?

I agree the animal cruelty angle was never really a problem, but it was still a stupid, sexist, sensationalist idea. they didn't actually hurt an animal, but the whole thing was designed to imply sexism and violence, things that should be avoided by large companies that are trying to appeal to an audience beyond teenage males.

I don't agree with you about the 'stunt' Obs - I think this will hurt more then it helps in terms of publicity. It won't hurt sales of the game, but if you read the comments on the original newspaper article, many people were offended and said they wouldn't buy Sony TVs etc.

renegadesx

2 years ago

^

I do agree that this would hurt their reputation, especially in the US. Jack Thompson will be all over this

DancesInUnderwear

2 years ago

I'm definitely on the side of the fence that believes this was a stunt - I just don't see how there could have been no controversy on this since the actual party, then God of War release date comes, and "HEY LOOK PAY ATTENTION TO US".

Was it intended to be negative publicity? Maybe not, maybe Sony thought the 'typical' gamer would believe Sony and, therefore, GoW2 were super cool because there were dead animals and topless chicks at their party. Or maybe they knew it would get negative publicity, but were hoping gamers would 'stick it to the man' and buy the game that had such controversy (come on, who cared about Mark Echo's Getting Up before the negative controversy it had? Granted its not quite the same, but its a similar line of thought - the ever popular f*** the government one).

I'm not saying it was a smart move, but I agree it was a publicity stunt. And guess what, we're talking about it, so it was at least somewhat successful.

2 years ago

I prefer roast duck or even a stewed rabbit as an exotic dish. I also prefer Sony roasted for this kind of incessant sensationalism. They do no one a favor by associating real blood with violent games, or inappropriately disregard for religious symbols (Jesus crown of thorns advert), or misleading racialy focused advertisements (Black & White PSP), or folding propaganda, or simply lying.

I mean really; we should expect better of a global organization - or is Sony's compromised corporate ethos incapable of thinking about more than itself & its profit (which it has little of anyway). It's just a dead goat with severed head held on by some skin and bathed in its own blood – but it is being used as a real life (or death) symbol the rest of the video game industry would prefer not seen created. Silly.

Crestfallen

2 years ago

David wrote

crestfallen wrote

Its funny how people call this whole thing distasteful but they have no problem at BBQs.

Damn carnivores.

Are you a vego?

Sort of.

Cookie wrote

They do no one a favor by associating real blood with violent games

Yeah, that's the problem here. Pretty irresonsible given that everyone is trying to distance in-game violence from reality.

2 years ago

Exactly!

Violent games don't make people buy a gun and shoot all their class mates - but some area's of the communities will need to find their own sacrificial goat (so to speak) instead of blaming voting parents who don't spend any quality time with their children.

This kind of marketing nonsense is going to end up as cause to ban Rockstar or other such publishers games as this is an easier policy for politicians than changing social values, educating a billion parents, building adequate social / recreational facilities and banning the sale of fire arms. Just blame the video games.

I also don't like the fact that this stunt is plain cheap - kill a goat in a gruesome manner and hire topless girls to flash their boobs... It makes me feel that because I want to buy God of War 2 that somehow I must be a blood thirsty perverted redneck. Its a good game, sell it on its own merrit. If you liked the first who's not going to buy it?

Chatman

2 years ago

This was a bad event. As for the supposed "offal", it wasn't real offal. It was just food shaped to resemble it (I read this in a report). Even so, it was tasteless, and unnecessary.

ObsoletE

2 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

ObsoletE wrote

even if they are fined, it's still probably the best publicity they could've bought.

I actually had goat meat for dinner last night, it's damn tasty.

just barbequed.

yeah, it was a little tough, but certainly not as tough as some meat i've had in the past.

i'll try anything once*, if i don't like it, then no skin off my nose, at least i can qualify why i don't like it. there are some fantastic meats out there. venison, kangaroo, emu, camel, crocodile, buffalo, turkey, goose, duck, so on and so on.

the only thing i would've turned down, if i'd had the choice, was whale. when i was in Japan i was given it, and wasn't told what it was until afterwards. the amount we had was not a lot, probably less than what the average person would get at a bbq, but for 6 people, the amount we had would've cost about the same as a fridge, or washing machine or big TV or whatever.
what's more, it's not really that good. if you've ever seen the whale-slaughtering pictures, it tastes exactly like it looks, kinda blubbery and tough.

* unless it comes with a side-serving of possible death. i don't see the point in trying blowfish, for example. something that has to be ordered with an indemnity contract should be left alone.

B3NBO

2 years ago

ObsoletE wrote

ugh the boot wrote

ObsoletE wrote

even if they are fined, it's still probably the best publicity they could've bought.

I actually had goat meat for dinner last night, it's damn tasty.

If you can eat that meat then you obviously dont care about semi endangered species or animals that are not bread for killing.. seriosuly crocodile and camel? Wtf?

most of the others ok cos there are heaps of em but those 2..0_o

and anyone that eats whale and supports whaling is sick in the head. at least u didnt know what it was, but when u found out i bet u felt sick lol. i cant imagine eating an endangered species like that.

Spanca

2 years ago

I've had crocodile before. I'm almost 100% certain that they don't go killing them in the wild for meat.

Crestfallen

2 years ago

Of course they don't kill them in the wild. Crocodile farms are very prevalent for their leather and meat. The meat is more of an export item however, Asia sure likes it delicacies.

The one man who was against crocodile farms and stopped a multi-million dollar "crocodile shooting park" from happening was the late Steve Irwin.

B3NBO

2 years ago

Yeah well good on him. If he was still around he probably would have sued sony over this...

eating crocodile or using its leather is just wrong too..

the main meats that are widely bred should be the only ones people eat. But foreigners insist on eating theyre "delicacies" so many animals which are not made for breeding lose their lives for some food and leather.

El Taco

2 years ago

I really don't see what the big problem is. Most people who would pick up that magazine are more mature people, and wouldn't be offended by this image of a goat without it's head.It's not like 3 year olds get the Official PS2 magazine.

B3NBO

2 years ago

El Taco wrote

Of course they wouldnt be offended but they couldnt understand how Sony think this is ok to do to promote a freaking video game.. no one would get offended by seeing a picture of a goat :S.

Crestfallen

2 years ago

B3NBO wrote

the main meats that are widely bred should be the only ones people eat. But foreigners insist on eating theyre "delicacies" so many animals which are not made for breeding lose their lives for some food and leather.

Well good on you for having your heart in the right place.

The illegal wildlife market is the second biggest illegal market in the world. Bigger than the black gun market, but smaller than the drug market. People traffic wild animals for their fur, meat and as pets, all to serve the "macarbe taste of some rich person" as Irwin put it. Things life trafficing grizzly bears to be used as chinese medicine and the fur of indonesian tigers are all very horrible.

Being offended by nations that eat dogs, cats, bear, gorilla paws (thats right, gorilla paws) is normal but if you feel sorry for those animals its a bit hypocritical to not feel the same empathy towards livestock like cows and sheep. Just because they are in larger numbers and just because our common western perception is that they are hamburgers on legs, they are still all animals.

B3NBO

2 years ago

Well yeah i guess im just use to having cows, sheep etc being bred for meat but with the other animals they probably arent even killed humanely. also id imagine the cows and sheep would be able to live alot longer than the others.

I hate people that kill animals for their fur, there was a video of some people in a forest in asia or something skinning racoons alive for their skin.. they were then tossed away barely alive and then die in a few minutes.

Crestfallen

2 years ago

B3NBO wrote

Well Australia takes part in Battery Hens, and Pig Sowing so its not as humane as you think. Some 'factory' farms have no respect for their animals and I'm not even going to tell you what Veal is.

Those asians who kill animals for fur (skinning alive is stupid though, you probably came across a one in a million video spread by PETA) usually do it so they can sell it and feed their families. The ones to blame are the people who buy the fur. And hate people like Jen Lopez who still think that fur is fashion.

One of the worst stories is Sharks in the Indian/Pacific ocean however. In Indo and surrounding nations they love their shark fin soup. Its incredibly expensive but the rest of the shark isn't. Fisherman don't really care much for the rest of the shark so they pull the shark out of the water, saw off its fins and throw it back in the water to die slowly, confused and painfully.

Don't buy shark fin soup.

James Varoutsos

2 years ago

crestfallen wrote

Those asians who kill animals for fur (skinning alive is stupid though, you probably came across a one in a million video spread by PETA) usually do it so they can sell it and feed their families. The ones to blame are the people who buy the fur. And hate people like Jen Lopez who still think that fur is fashion.

Oh you mean the ones filmed 10 years ago in some backwards country that just fell out of the Soviet union?

I agree that animal cruelty is wrong but like any lobbyists group PETA take it over the top and sensationalize their cause so much so that outside the group of people that support them are disregarded totally because of the mis claims they've stated over the years.

Oh this whole goat thing doesn't surprise me coming from Greece, not that it's a bad place or anything but as with most of Europe things aren't censored like they are here. So when these types of stories make their way here we're always sickened by it.
Hell wile I was in Greece I saw at least three cats whom died from various disease (and one from being run over), yet when they see a cat obviously in pain no one has the thought to go up and get help for it.

I wouldn't go as far to say it's common practice but simply animals aren't treated the same in most European countries like they are here.

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