The fiasco began with an angry tweet yesterday. California-based The Redner Group, in charge of publicity for the long-awaited Duke Nukem game for consoles, posted on its official Twitter account a rare tweet: a threat outlining that reviewers who negatively wrote about Duke Nukem Forever may not receive review copies of games in the future.
The tweet was deleted 40 minutes after it was posted, but Wired.com posted a screenshot and it read: “Too many went too far with their reviews…we r reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn’t based on today’s venom.”
Jim Redner, who runs The Redner Group, claimed responsibility for the tweet and in an interview he stressed the errant tweet came from him and did not represent the opinion of 2K Games or anyone related to Duke Nukem Forever.
The fallout has been devastating for Redner. Despite numerous apologies on the firm’s Twitter feed, 2K Games decided to dissolve their relationship with The Redner Group, effective today. Redner remarked in an interview, “When a post or something not approved by a client places them in a bad light, it behooves them to prevent that from happening again.”
Redner quickly ended the conversation, saying, “I’m really busy today, this has ruined my business, I have to go.”
In an interview with Wired.com, Redner elaborated on his mistake: “It is not my intention to bully anyone. I over reacted. I just voiced an opinion. I have poured my heart into this project and I just want it to succeed.”
It might be an uphill battle for 2K Games and the next Duke Nukem Forever PR firm to encourage positive reviews of the game. On MetaCritic, the game has a low score of 49, which means it has attracted “generally unfavourable reviews.” The game is 12 years in the making, and first debuted at the recent E3 Expo and was later released on June 14.
For more information on Web, technology and business trends affecting media, visit our sister site Future of Media.
