The struggling game retailer GameStop made waves this week following the release of the story trailer for The Last of Us Part II.
It’s pretty common for GameStop to write their own descriptions for upcoming games as a way to promote pre-orders, but they raised a few eyebrows when listing “Dogs” as the first touted feature of The Last of Us Part II. While the inclusion of dogs as a new enemy type is not a secret by any stretch, GameStop’s push of the feature, along with the wording that they used rubbed some fans the wrong way.
“One of the most noticeable new features in the game is the inclusion of dogs,” GameStop said in the official write-up. “These dogs are in the game to follow your scent and will attack you as soon as they have sniffed you out. The game doesn’t pull any punches or ‘stray’ from the idea that while you’re playing as Ellie in a struggle to survive, killing dogs is necessary. You’ll also have to deal with the fact though that each dog has an owner, which will call out the dog’s name and cry in absolute horror when they discover their lifeless furry best friend. You’ve been warned.”
Yikes.
So, all of this was information we already knew. The developers explained this mechanic in a few of the videos released by Naughty Dog. However, touting it as the number one new feature of the game and talking with supposed glee about how you get to kill dogs and watch as their owners mourn them (not to mention that tacky “stray” pun) is a little morbid.
Twitter apparently agreed, as fans took to the social media site to voice their displeasure and general discomfort with the write up.
The fan outrage apparently started to splash over to Naughty Dog, and the company felt the need to publicly respond and distance themselves from GameStop’s faux pas.
So @naughty_dog didn't write or assist writing this.
Don't appreciate out of context screenshot crops without mentioning the source. Folks, please google these things!
This text came from an independent editorial post from a retailer. It's on their website. https://t.co/nh3nw1StOa
— Arne Meyer (@arnemeyer) May 7, 2020
Naughty Dog’s director of communications addressed the write up, stating, “Naughty Dog didn’t write or assist writing this. Don’t appreciate out of context screenshot crops without mentioning the source. Folks, please Google these things! This text came from an independent editorial post from a retailer. It’s on their website.”
GameStop has since removed the bit about the dogs from their official website.
GameStop is also allowing reader reviews for the game to go up now, which is insane because the game did not come out yet. Users are writing these reviews based on leaked spoilers without any context. If you’re trying to avoid spoilers for The Last of Us Part II, you might want to stay away from GameStop’s product page.
