While in a Reddit AMA, game designer American McGee said that EA wanted to "trick" gamers into thinking Alice: Madness Returns was as dark as its marketing and called this tactic part of a "race to the bottom."
Today, Shanghai-based McGee offered a correction or an apology of sorts. "Allow me to expand on my original post while at the same time making a correction (call it a retraction if you like)," blogged McGee. "'Tricked' is the wrong word. I take that back. Apologies to EA and anyone else whose feelings were hurt. Electronic Arts doesn't trick customers into buying things. They carefully apply proven marketing techniques to achieve the desired customer response. If they were bad at this sort of thing they'd have been crushed by their competitors long ago and you'd be playing Madden Football from Activision or Atari or something."
McGee goes on to discuss how the game was marketed and the apparent disconnect between how he saw the game and how EA saw the game.
"At the end of the day," added McGee, "I've got (well, had) a good relationship with EA. They helped put my name on the map. They funded two of my favorite creations. And they helped me bring strikingly original content to a gaming world that often seems dominated by bullets and boobs. I can't and don't fully fault them or their marketing for whatever the "Alice" games might or might not have done sales-wise. As a developer, do I grumble into my beer about how it could have been different if only… ? Sure do! But I also recognize my own faults, and actions which are to blame for things not being 100%… or for inadvertently igniting firestorms."
You can read the full post in the link below.
You Can't Escape [American McGee]