THQ Planning Fake Protests To Promote Homefront

Tweet

Protests have been in the news a lot in 2011. We’ve seen the Middle Eastern world turn upside down with protests and even in the United States, protesters have taken to state capitals (starting in my home state of Wisconsin) to protest certain domestic legislation. Protesting is cool again, and now THQ is going to organize their own faux protests in order to promote their alternate future video game – Homefront.

First, some background, Homefront is being developed by Koas Studios and is being published by THQ. THQ is considered by some to be a strong “second-tier” publisher to the majors in Activision, EA and Ubisoft – and it looks like THQ is putting all their weight behind Homefront. We’ve seen the do alternative advertising before when they sent out fake Korean BBQ trucks in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

This anti-North Korean protest, organized by THQ, will start north of San Francisco, will cross the Golden Gate Bridge, before heading to the Moscone Center where the 2011 Game Developers Conference is being held. The fake protest will raise some very real issues, like “North Korea’s human rights violations” and according to the SF Weekly, will feature “speeches by global experts, musical performances, and the launch of 10,000 balloons.”

Homefront tells the story of a future where North Korea has become a major superpower and at the start of the game – they have invaded and occupied the United States. The player plays as an American resistance member fighting back against the North Korean invaders. Some have voiced concerned on the video game blog echo chamber about the marketing that THQ is doing with Homefront. Human rights violations in North Korea are very real. So, is this protest organized by THQ real? Where does the line stop?

What do you think about THQ organizing a fake protest about a real issue in order to promote a video game? Tell us about it in the comments.