When Saints Row: The Third came out a couple of years ago for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, THQ took an interesting approach with its advertising, hiring porn star Tera Patrick and various Penthouse Pets to advertise the game. It was a success at the time, though not everyone was crazy about the campaign.
Associate producer Kate Nelson at developer Volition voiced her displeasure over the advertising angle. “I did not always love how much THQ put an emphasis on porn stars,” she explained while speaking to Edge. “In Saints Row 2 and Saints Row 3, there was an emphasis on the Penthouse girls, and earlier Tera Patrick. I think it’s important in marketing games to make sure that the essence of the game is what’s being marketed, and I think that the porn star angle didn’t really fit with what Saints Row is at heart, which is a parody. We like to poke fun.”
The development team also wasn’t crazy over Patrick being labeled a “special producer” on the game.
“I think our game actually does represent women in a positive way, but the press will focus on, oh hey, there are strippers, or there’s a dildo bat – it’s unfortunate from my perspective that that doesn’t come through,” said Nelson.
Saints Row IV arrives on August 20 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Source: Edge Online
