So what do spooky dolls and an even spookier CEO have to do with a cartoonish beat-em up that could wind up being my game of the show (more on that later)? In order to understand, you have to see the invite that eventually led us to this fateful meeting.

This is how Klei Entertainment lured unwary journalists to PAX 09. The originally sent a copy of this letter to Crecente, but it seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in the shuffle, so they sent one to me.

The important thing to note here is the stratefically placed business card. Flipping it up reveals...
So, putting two and two together, along with the fact that Crecente is out of town this weekend, and we have...OMG! Klei Entertainment is run by a guy who likes dolls who kidnapped Crecente and cut off his glorious hair!

At least that's my conclusion. Yours may vary. Either way its lovely PR, even if they might have killed my boss.

Warden Quincy Sharp welcomes you to the site and there's an "Inside Arkham" video clip show that reminds me of the Kaiser Permanente health care ads they run out here in California. The dummy site very clearly states that it's for entertainment purposes only (in the bottom right hand corner of the page). But man, is it entertaining — especially if you've played the game enough to get the references.

Even if you haven't though, the dummy site is still a top-notch public relations endeavor — much better than some stunts I've seen lately. Go check it out.

Thanks for the tip, Kevin!

Yet the blue hedgehog is still Sega's most prominent mascot, and Sega keep on churning out Sonic games, even though they suck. Which begs the question: when can we expect Sonic games to not suck? Sega America's VP of marketing Sean Ratcliffe got stuck with the excuse-making:

The quality is something that will be fixed over time. It's not something where you wake up one morning and say, 'You know what, we're going to improve our quality on this franchise,' and it magically happens. A lot of hard work goes into striving for quality.

Normally, we'd stop things there, but we like Ratcliffe's continued response so much we're going to run it:

Interestingly, I think Sonic Unleashed was very well received by the kids. There was some talk about the werehog aspect, the slower pacing and more combat-oriented gameplay, but when we go out and test this stuff and sit down with the consumers, kids actually like that. I think older, die-hard Sega fans who grew up with the franchise and the first Sonic the Hedgehog associate Sonic more with 2-D side-scrolling super fast, and they liked the daytime gameplay, but when it came to the slower paced gameplay they were fairly critical of that, and that's fine – they have their opinions.

"But the kids like it." Bet other publishers wish they could peddle that one out!

Sega: Sonic Quality to Be 'Fixed Over Time' [IndustryGamers]

Games Master's got "the world's first review" of the game, and man, is it glowing. Eidos, which had been behind earlier efforts to rig scores and favorable reviews or pump up accolades for its games, is said to have put an embargo on reviews of Arkham Asylum until the end of this month. But, according to TRR, it was willing to lift the embargo for any magazine that featured the game on its cover and gave it a score of at least 90 percent. Eidos' head of UK marketing said all of that was straight bullshit.

Well, bingo, Games Master gave it a 96. "Not only the best Batman game ever, but one of the finest adventures of its generation," they wrote. In the love and hate bullet points, GM hated "that it has to end."

Now, Batman: Arkham Asylum may deserve that score. It looks great, and I definitely want to play it. And certainly the nonexclusive reviews will provide more context. But still, it's awfully convenient that someone gets an exclusive review, and they give the game nearly perfect marks.

I've tried contacting Games Master through its affiliated site, Games Radar, in case they want to add anything. If so, I'll update it here.

Arkham Asylyum: We Have a Winner [The RAM Raider, thanks Fraser]

Yes, this is the same Eidos behind the Kane & Lynch fiasco with GameSpot. Behind voting for their own games in a game of the year poll. Behind attempts to fix Tomb Raider review scores.

Sure, they're far from the only company to be accused of this sort of thing with magazines (businesses gotta make money, yo), but it seems they could be far and away the worst at covering their tracks.

According to The RAM Raider, the company's latest misstep the following absurd policy:

Several mags have their review code already, but have to sit on their reviews until a hateful embargo expires at the end of the month. But Eidos, ever the helpful fellows that they are, have been offering a way around this embargo. If you dedicate the cover of your mag to Arkham Asylum and guarantee a score of at least 90%, Eidos will allow you to run the review early.

TRR says that while "one editor has already valiantly told Eidos to fuck off", others have been less resolute. "This means", they say, "that if you see a mag turn up within the next few weeks (ding!) that features Arkham Asylum on its cover (ding!) and gives it at least 90% (ding ding ding!), you have a winner."

With the publishing arm of Eidos soon to be rebranded as part of the Square Enix empire, it's a shame that, if true, this is probably the last thing they're going to be remembered for.

We've contacted Eidos for comment, and will update if we hear back from them.

UPDATE: Eidos, for their part, outright deny the allegations telling Kotaku:

"With regards an article posted on RamRaider alleging that Eidos has fixed review scores for Batman: Arkham Asylum, we want to state that no discussions have been held about review scores with any magazines. In short there is simply not one shred of truth in this article, except for the title of the game." Jon Brooke, Head of UK Marketing, Eidos.

Eidos Seek 90% Score & Cover For Arkham Asylum In Exchange For Early Review [The RAM Raider]

Yes, Three Speech's final post has been to announce that the PlayStation Europe Blog opens for business today, having first been announced last month.

It's open right now. Go take a look.

So far so good. It looks and feels like the US version, and that's been one of our favourite PR exercises in recent years, getting the mix of information, honesty and PR just right.

And yes, Aussies and Kiwis, you'll be covered as well.

[PlayStation Europe Blog]

A few hours later, Frank PR sent out a second announcement, which read:

Further to the erroneous information which was distributed this morning regarding Tony Hawk: RIDE, we would like to clarify that the game is due to be released on the following platforms: Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™ home video game system.

We apologise for the confusion caused by this morning's mail out and we would be grateful if you could update your coverage to reflect the correct details above.

Erroneous information that they themselves had sent out. The mind boggles.

Tony Hawk: Ride multi-plat in UK, admits Acti after botched announcement [VG247]

Nintendo insists it's not-follow-the-leader of Apple branding "i" on any must-haveable small gadget that exudes 2.0 coolness. Rather:

• The "i" is symbolic of the subject "I" and its personal aspect.
• Plus, the addition of two cameras gives the system its own "eye" on things.

"Nintendo hope that the Nintendo DSi becomes more than a game system and more of a personal tool to enrich our daily lives."

GoNintendo says that comes directly from a Nintendo rep.

Nintendo Tells Us What the I in DSi Means [GoNintendo via Cubed3]

Codemasters, under the impression that "Jason" is the name of a video game character and not, you know, the name of the hero of the classic Greek tale upon which their game is "based", want prospective British parents to bring the name back. Name their kids Jason. To promote a video game.

I promise you the following excerpt from a Codemasters press release is real:

"These days, babies names are influenced by celebrities– and there aren't that many famous Jasons any more," says Richard Eddy, Director of Communications, Codemasters."We hope our Rise of the Argonauts hero can act as a‘virtual' star, encouraging new parents to rejuvenate this one-great English name".

Codemasters have even set up a "campaign" site at bringbackjason.com. Sigh. Worst part? It's not like the game was even any good.

Monday 16th February/...Leading videogame publisher Codemasters is embarking on a quest to re-populate the nation with Jasons.

The firm, whose videogame Rise of the Argonauts™ launched on February 6th 2009, is looking to knock Jack, Thomas, Oliver and Joshua from the top of the UK's favourite boys' names by encouraging parents to name their sons after the game's hero.

The name ‘Jason' is from Greek origin, meaning "healer". It has been considered an English name since the 17th Century, yet – whilst it consistently ranks as one of the US's most popular names – its popularity has faded in the UK over recent years, dropping down out of the top 50.

It's now time to bring it back: Codemasters' goal is to elevate Jason's ranking in the end-of-year boys names, issued in December 2009.

Over the coming weeks, Codemasters will be running editorial at www.bringbackjason.com in an effort to rejuvenate the popularity of the name. The blog will look at naming and social trends as well as asking: just what has the UK got against Jasons these days?

Any parent who names their new son "Jason" will be eligible to win a year's supply of the firm's videogames on their chosen platform. All they have to do is fax, post or email a copy of the birth certificate to bringbackjason@codemasters.com for the opportunity to enter the prize draw. *

"These days, babies names are influenced by celebrities – and there aren't that many famous Jasons any more," says Richard Eddy, Director of Communications, Codemasters. "We hope our Rise of the Argonauts hero can act as a ‘virtual' star, encouraging new parents to rejuvenate this one-great English name. Jasons, friends of Jasons, and anyone interested in onomastics should keep an eye on the blog over the coming weeks, as we document our quest to re-populate the nation with Jasons."

Rise of the Argonauts is available now 2009 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the PC.

The campaign to bring back Jason can be followed at www.bringbackjason.com

Aussie mag Hyper - the country's longest-running and most respected independent games magazine - are running a little readers poll, trying to find out what their readers favourite games of 2008 were. And one "reader" continually submitted the game...Soul Bubbles.

Yup. Soul Bubbles. Except, this "reader" has a profile email address that ends with "@eidos.co.uk". Oops. Course, he could genuinely be a reader, and genuinely believe that Soul Bubbles has "without doubt the best use of touchscreen ever and hands down the most impressive physics", but the odds on that are...slim.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Honest votes only, please [Hyper]

Alex Litel over at GameSetWatch has combed through around 1500 press releases to find the year's best/worst/awesomest press release quotes. As in, the most outlandish, pompous, most bullshit things a PR team thought it'd be a good idea to put their name to.

It's great breakfast reading. There's stuff like:

“Imagine being rushed by an eight-foot tall, nine hundred pound grizzly bear. You are not thinking about stuffing the bear and placing it in your mountain cabin. Your only instinct is avoiding death.” - Dave Oxford, Activision

and

“My Horse and Me is a great success story for Atari as it brought something special to equestrian gamers with its realistic depiction of the horse riding lifestyle. We are taking the realism and entertainment of the original game even further with the sequel. Our goal is to establish My Horse and Me 2 as the leading equestrian gaming brand and give players the most authentic and entertaining way to enjoy the horse riding lifestyle in a game.” - Cyril Voiron, VP Brand Management, Worldwide Publishing, Atari

Truly amazing stuff. Full run-down's at the link below.

COLUMN: Bell, Game, and Candle - 'The Top Fifty Press Release Quotes Of 2008' [GameSetWatch]

Opinion: The Game Industry's PR Problem [GameSetWatch]

Nintendo takes a global approach to piracy and has pursued the illegal game copying devices in 11 countries this past year.

Nintendo has worked with enforcement officials in Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, UK, and the US, seizing close to 30,000 infringing game copying products, as well as taking actions against those distributors and manufacturers.

Good for them! Problem is, this kind of approach is about as effective as those "police announce record drug bust" stories on TV. 30,000 "products"? That's not even a drop in the ocean. Issuing bold PR statements like that isn't showing us you're making progress. It's only drawing attention to the fact you're not.

Nintendo: 30,000 illegal pirate devices seized so far in '08 [GI.biz]

We are strongly reject and resent the accusation that we are "PR-ing" stock shortages and no press releases are being distributed. We are doing all we can to ensure that the unprecedented demand for Wii can be met as far as possible in the run up to Christmas. This is being done through regular and multiple deliveries of Wii stock to the UK, globally we are working at maximum capacity, producing 1.8 million units of Wii hardware a month to try and meet this demand as far as possible."

Nintendo: We strongly reject accusations of 'PR-ing' [maxconsole]

These aren't entry-level positions, you should have solid PR experience already, you should live in or around these cities and you should be awesome.

Please take note of all these, especially the last one. Non-awesome people need not apply. You can see a complete description of each job and it's requirements after the jump.

LA Job:
GolinHarris is a leading international public relations firm and winner of PRWeek's 2007 Editors' Choice, Large PR Agency of the Year 2007, The Holmes Report, PR Agency of the Year 2007, and numerous PRWeek Awards.

Our Los Angeles office is currently seeking an ambitious PR professional with 3-6 years of PR agency experience to join our Interactive Entertainment practice area as a Senior Account Executive within the Nintendo team, an award-winning group recently acknowledged by PRSA as "The Best PR Team" in Los Angeles, responsible for driving one of today's most successful and popular consumer brands.

This Senior Account Executive will need to quickly develop an intimate level of understanding of the account, its business, products, markets, personnel, outside influences, etc. The Senior Account Executive will perform fundamental PR tasks and serve as a day to day client contact. S/he must also have strong research, writing and editing skills, and the ability to continue developing media contacts/relationships and pitch client's top tier, non-traditional, and new media. S/he must have a solid grasp of all basic public relations' tools and how they affect the client.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

* Manage multiple projects for Nintendo client from concept to completion on time and within budget
* Proactively generate new ideas and opportunities to ensure client program success
* Conduct and manage the flow of research
* Maintain media contacts/relationships
* Participate in client meetings and presentations as well as proposals
* Contribute to plan development processes and budget management
* Understand industry issues that directly and indirectly affect the client
* Generate creative ideas for PR programs
* Demonstrate sophisticated media pitching and tour scheduling skills
* Proof and edit client related documents as needed
* Serve as a role model to other team members and delegate work appropriately
* Assist with supervision and development of junior team members
* Supervise reports on monthly client billing process
* Contribute to program planning and account management by researching budgets, attending brainstorms, and facilitating the purchase order process
* Track/enter time with precision and on a day-to-day basis

Practice Group/Specialty Area Competencies

Video games, consumer products, consumer technology, entertainment

QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's Degree, 3-6 years related professional experience. Candidate must have PR agency experience, be proficient in Microsoft Suite, Internet, on-line services and new media, as well as a defined interest in the video game marketplace. Candidate should possess a complete understanding of all job tasks, an understanding of basic public relations tools, ability to develop strong working relationships with media, ability to solve problems, experience with staff supervision and budgeting, strong desire to progress in day to day responsibilities, and have a track record of consistently meeting deadlines.

We offer a great workplace, culture, competitive salary, health care (medical, dental and vision insurance), 401k and more. Please send resume (IN WORD FORMAT), with cover letter and salary requirements, via email to aweatherbee@golinharris.com

SF Job:
The San Francisco GolinHarris office is currently hiring a Senior Media Specialist or Media Manager to work on the Nintendo team.

The individual is responsible for planning, managing, implementing and measuring ongoing corporate and product media strategies and outreach for Nintendo of America. This person is a proactive thinker who develops strategic and creative pitch angles and story ideas, contributes media-savvy ideas to plans, has experience working with traditional and new media and has an excellent understanding of news, media trends and media opportunities.

The individual is responsible for developing and growing top-level media relationships and for pitching feature, trend, product and corporate stories to these outlets. This person is responsible for prepping Nintendo executives before interviews including contributing to key message development and positioning. This position also is responsible for on-site management of Nintendo executive interviews.

The individual is responsible for developing strategies for dealing with media issues and crises, giving input to media materials (statements, releases, Q&A, etc.) and managing interview requests and information distribution.

The individual plays a key role in managing the team's media outreach — training, mentoring and directing account team members' ongoing proactive outreach. In addition, this position serves as media lead on numerous programs and product launches. Media lead responsibilities include contributing media input to plans as well as planning, managing and implementing media tours. Media lead responsibilities also include managing all of the media outreach for product launch programs and trade shows (media strategy, story placement, event media coverage, interview requests, etc.).

Please submit your cover letter and resume as a Word document to westcoastjobs@cmgrp.com or apply online at the GolinHarris Web site.

GolinHarris is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

As the games industry takes innovative steps to communicate with and involve the wider public in their process, there is a lot that can be learnt from the films industry. It is clear that, just as with films, it is essential that it enables its audiences to feel a sense of ownership of the media they purchase. We can achieve this with transparent and honest communication — be it a blog, podcast or video.

It's nice that people like Joss Wheedon and the actors involved in Firefly were all about 'going to the people,' but writing a book - or making a movie - or designing a game are creative processes that belong to someone else. 'Lack of ownership' has never bothered me when it comes to the media I consume - just because I like it a lot doesn't mean I have any role in it than ponying up cash (and I'm OK with that). Lack of transparent process hasn't stopped a frighteningly rabid fan base from springing up around Square Enix or a million other examples that are probably more representative than Firefly. So, dear Kotaku readers, what do you think? Does transparency in process make any difference to you? Or were those of you who were combing Bungie forums for Halo 3 news going to buy the damn game anyways?

Shaping Your Community: What Films Did, Games Must Do