Ubisoft has produced a clever little travel booklet to publicise forthcoming shoot-'em-up sequel, Far Cry Instincts. 'The Rough Guide to the Jacutan Archipelago' introduces the game's exotic fictional setting and provides background info on enemies, weapons and scenery - using the layout and casual traveller parlance of the genuine Rough Guide publications. You can get your own copy at the dedicated website here.
How refreshing it is to see a videogame company actually thinking about the content of a game and coming up with an entirely appropriate and imaginative marketing concept. It would, of course, have been easier to pick the latest lad mag cover girl and pay her a fortune to drape herself over a jet ski while 'wearing' a Far Cry thong. But this is so much more classy and interesting. Like Microsoft's cleverly orchestrated Ourcolony teaser campaign for Xbox 360, or the PlayStation fanzine Pilchard Teeth, it treats gamers as wily, media-literate consumers, rather than leering idiots.
As we spend a lot of time criticising the rather tawdry publicity campaigns embarked upon by many videogame publishers, I thought it would be nice to point out a positive example.
