Dante’s Inferno’s Desperate Advertising Hides in Site’s Sourcecode

Since it began I’ve found Dante’s Inferno to have crap advertising. Yes it gets us all talking, clap clap, but as I’ve explained it’s the long-term damage that’s the problem (in this case to not just to the PR company, but also the site’s that took the money). In another strange move the game’s PR team have been advertising on websites subversively, unbeknownst to the site in question’s editorial staff.

In the source code for a number of websites, like Kotaku, ASCII art leading people to the game’s PR site can be found. Most sites’ source code has fun little Easter egg in (Negative Gamer‘s actual back-end code that nobody can even see has some), but what troubles me here is that, according to Kotaku, the site’s staff were kept out of the loop. Either the PR company went to the the site’s owners directly, or used their existing ad-space to pump the extra code into the site. From the position in the source code on The ‘Tak, I would say the former is almost certain.

Perhaps it’s simply the fact that I’m a coder by trade and dislike seeing their code being changed without them noticing, or perhaps it’s that Gawker have had malicious code running on their site’s disguised as adverts in the past that makes me feel uneasy. The notion that hidden adverts are able to be placed on a number of high-profile websites (including Digg, GameSpot, IGN and Games Radar) without the staff’s consent does not sit right with me. It all just seems so damn sneaky.

Then again, I’m not sure what I would have expected. The “enthusiast press” (even those thought to be independent) have shown time and time again they’ll do whatever it takes to earn some sweet PR money. In return PR companies have shown they’re number one concern is simply getting the name of the game out, and screw the damage it does.