Marc Ecko sent me a T-shirt today. It's black and says Blame Video Games across the front in white letters. Actually, it looks like he sent them to a bunch of game writers. And he says he'll send them to you too, if you bought his game and are getting hassled by The Man.

Here's the deal, from the letter he included with the shirt:

So I printed up a few Tshirts with a "Blame Video Games" message—wear them for the good of America! Feel free to tell your readers that anyone who bought the game in a city where officials have spoken out against it can get a free shirt by contacting us. Just email blamevideogames@ecko.com with a pic of the game and a physical address.

Is it a marketing ploy? Totally. Did you still get a free shirt if you bought the game? Hells yeah.

Hit the jump for Ecko's full letter.

Videogame controversy is really getting old.

The endless parade of politicians who don't understand there can be games for adults is probably as astounding to you as it is to me. It's troubling some people believe that if someone plays a "Mature" rated game, they are then going to tag a building or go postal. Of Course people play games to do things they can't do in real life—that is what is fun about them! Why does this pointless debate continue, year after year? Since it doesn't seem the storm will pass anytime soon, I decided we might as well simplify things and blame video games for EVERYTHING.

So I printed up a few Tshirts with a "Blame Video Games" message—wear them for the good of America! Feel free to tell your readers that anyone who bought the game in a city where officials have spoken out against it can get a free shirt by contacting us. Just email blamevideogames@ecko.com with a pic of the game and a physical address. I included some other Getting Up stuff as well: a limited edition LP (with Rakim and Talib Kweli) and a "Black Book" with some background on graffiti and the game.

I really appreciate you giving Getting Up a look over the last year. Developing this game has been an incredible learning experience for me. I'm proud of Getting Up and very thankful I got the chance to make the game that I've had in my head for the last seven years.

I'm not going away! Ecko Games is cranking, we've got a lot of fresh stuff to show you soon.

Hope you enjoy everything.

Marc Ecko

Ed's Note: Check out our interview with Ecko for more on what he plans for gaming.

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