Halo 3 controversy: Maddie, where are you?

By Davey Winder
Sunday, 28 September 2008 17:45

Entertainment

Halo developer Bungie stands accused of using the disappearance of 4 year old British girl Madeleine McCann to publicise the forthcoming Halo 3 expansion pack. Could anyone really be that sick?

Anything connected to the incredibly successful Halo games trilogy is likely to create a small stir of publicity. Anything connected to some new content is pretty much guaranteed to create a whirlpool of attention.

But for anyone to suggest that Halo developer Bungie would sink so low as to use the high-profile case of missing British girl Madeleine McCann for publicity purposes is, to be frank, simply ludicrous.

Yet that is exactly what is happening after Bungie released the long awaited teaser trailer for what appears to be a forthcoming Halo 3 expansion pack.

The teaser video shows pods coming down into the usual desolate landscape of a ruined city, your viewpoint being some kind of helmet cam or robotic viewfinder.

Phrases flash up on that screen, asking you to 'stay calm' and 'keep it clean' for example.

One, on screen for just 3 short frames, has caused a long intake of breath and much reddening of faces amongst the anti-videogame brigade.

"Maddie, where are you?" is all it said.

So why is this controversial in the UK, and what does Bungie have to say about it? More on page 2...

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