UK paper: Sony used beheaded goat to promote God of War II
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Apr 28th 2007 at 10:02PM }
Update: Sony explains God of War's dead goat antics
London's Daily Mail reports that Sony apparently decided to turn things into a true Roman spectacle in the UK for the launch of God of War II by displaying a decapitated goat and having revelers reach inside to feast upon the goat's innards.
At first, we thought this was a clever analogy someone was using to describe a piñata being busted open, but it appears like it was the real thing. According to the article, "Guests at the event were even invited to reach inside the goat's still-warm carcass to eat offal from its stomach." Yuck!
Pictures of the event, featuring topless women as well as the strange feast, were featured in Official PlayStation 2 Magazine. Subscriber copies had already been sent out, but the company is now recalling the 80,000 newsstand copies that were to appear this Tuesday. Meaning you might have a collector's edition on your hands, if it turns out to be true.
For all the links and outlets reporting this, something just doesn't seem to add up. The game launched April 27th in the UK, but magazines have a long lead time, so when was this party thrown? Neither one of the linked stories has a date. We're waiting on official word, and have contacted both Sony and the International Fund for Animal Welfare to try and find out more. We'll let you know whatever we find out.
[Thanks to all the readers who sent this in. Anyone in the UK actually attend this party and can fill us in?]
Read - Slaughter: Horror at Sony's depraved promotion stunt with decapitated goat (NSFW)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
HotShotX @ Apr 28th 2007 10:08PM
...O.o
Engineer_This @ Apr 28th 2007 10:09PM
And here comes PETA...
Phil @ Apr 28th 2007 10:09PM
Geez! Isn't this the same marketing department that came up with that PSP ad that caused so many problems?
I think Sony needs to fire their entire European marketing department, these people are clearly insane.
jay @ Apr 28th 2007 10:09PM
If true, my plans on buying anything from Sony ever again have just gone out the window.
Dustin @ Apr 28th 2007 10:11PM
whatever. Now Microsoft is going to try and top that by harpooning a whale and Nintendo is going to build a no kill pet shelter.
Matiesz @ Apr 28th 2007 10:18PM
It's like Konami's past effort to make adds on tombstone, only they didn't do it. That's pretty...weird, and lame. Beheading a goat? Wtf?
jay @ Apr 28th 2007 10:12PM
If true, chances of me buying anything from Sony in the future have just gone out the window.
Jon @ Apr 28th 2007 10:12PM
I stopped reading when the words 'Daily Mail' came up. Trash.
jay @ Apr 28th 2007 10:12PM
WTF! nevermind...
Charron @ Apr 28th 2007 10:16PM
I'm 99% sure, by virtue of it being the Daily Mail (a tabloid) that this is fake. All the links out there about this source back to that same point.
Moe @ Apr 28th 2007 10:16PM
1. Dailymail = trash.
2. OMG DEAD ANIMAL!
Arno @ Apr 28th 2007 10:17PM
The Sony marketing department strikes again. Too bad.
Michael @ Apr 28th 2007 10:24PM
#5 "Now Microsoft is going to try and top that by harpooning a whale"
Now that made this article worth it. That is funny right their, I don't care who you are.
Kitsune @ Apr 28th 2007 10:26PM
WTF!!! Is sony actively tryimg to alienate their customers??
el tonot @ Apr 28th 2007 10:28PM
This is the same Daily Mail that tried to convince people that HDTVs should be banned due to their increase in power consumption in an article 2 years ago!!!!
Jared @ Apr 28th 2007 11:01PM
@Matiesz: That was the old Acclaim, not Konami. They tried to buy ad space on the tombstones of the recently deceased to promote Shadowman.
mepaco @ Apr 28th 2007 10:31PM
I really hope this is fake ... but if it isn't every gamer should be outraged. I don't care what you think of Sony, PETA, goats, etc. We already have politicians and talking heads ready to blame video games for all evils. You think having gaming associated with animal sacrifice is gonna help things get better. Thanks a lot Sony.
mikemil828 @ Apr 28th 2007 10:33PM
I would have thought that people would be able to see through the crappy costumes to realize that Sony could probably afford a better advertising compaign for one of it's greatest titles. It was probably some frat prank at one of the local colleges and the Daily Mail just pinned the thing on Sony, perhaps with a little 'encouragement' from Sony's rivals
Slaziman @ Apr 28th 2007 10:33PM
Are you shitting me?
Jon @ Apr 28th 2007 10:34PM
This is the same Daily Mail who described the Ipswich murder victims as "disgusting, drug-addled street whores" and their deaths as "no great loss".
And now they are fighting for the right of a goat.
Wil @ Apr 28th 2007 10:35PM
Apparently Sony has retained Sir Simon Milligan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kids_in_the_Hall#The_Pit_of_Ultimate_Darkness_.28Simon_and_Hecubus.29) to do their marketing.
Purple Haze @ Apr 28th 2007 10:37PM
Although Sony's adds are all really strange, you gotta admit they definitely get your attention, although they also make you never want to buy from them ever again as well.
kokoro @ Apr 28th 2007 10:39PM
I swear to god, if Daily News actually murdered a goat just so they can take that picture? A lot of people would be really mad.
it's just tasteless.
for those who actually thought it was real. you're just incredible gullible or.... too big a fanboy. ;)
Slaziman @ Apr 28th 2007 10:39PM
This looks pretty fake, and I think Sony should sue this bullshit for damaging their brand.
ed @ Apr 28th 2007 10:40PM
ah $ony... how low can you go?
mikemil828 @ Apr 28th 2007 10:46PM
//I swear to god, if Daily News actually murdered a goat just so they can take that picture? A lot of people would be really mad.//
They probably didn't, they probably censored the picture to both make it look gruesome and to hide the truth
Patrick @ Apr 28th 2007 10:48PM
@22, or we dont live in Europe where i presume this tabloids presence is more common. i never heard of the thing until today
kingofwale @ Apr 28th 2007 10:52PM
@26
I live in Canada, but it doesn't mean I'm going to believe whatever story I read. 2 seconds of research is enough to know what kind of publication Daily News is..
I mean, if it posts a story about Bill Gates drink blood.. are you going to buy it? ;)
Matthew Walsh @ Apr 28th 2007 10:54PM
That picture is from the latest issue of the UK Official PS2 Magazine. It's been recalled now, and so those few copies sent to subscribers will be the only ones out there to have the article - uncensored too I might add.
It's not fake...
Slaziman @ Apr 28th 2007 10:55PM
It's just that with the "This is Living" crap, this didn't seem like something Sony wouldn't do.
bounchfx @ Apr 28th 2007 10:56PM
I sure hope this isn't real.. that'd be terrible..
Killing something to eat it is one thing, but killing it to eat it raw!?...oh, and promote an amazing video game? Whether it was amazing or not though, thats just a terrible thing to do. poor goat. (if real)
random g4 member @ Apr 28th 2007 10:59PM
Sony
I love you.
*takes a big bite out of Whooper*
kingofwale @ Apr 28th 2007 10:57PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mail
C. Grant @ Apr 28th 2007 10:59PM
Matthew Walsh: Do you have a copy of the magazine? If so, can you send us scans?
Tuatara @ Apr 28th 2007 11:04PM
#27
Yes. I've been saying it for years, BILL GATES IS A FUCKING VAMPIRE.
polly @ Apr 28th 2007 11:14PM
...boobies...
Mike @ Apr 28th 2007 11:20PM
Sony's marketing team is too dumb to come up with something this insane.
trasher202 @ Apr 28th 2007 11:21PM
if it is the april issue it may be a very late april fools joke.
Noid @ Apr 28th 2007 11:23PM
Wonder whos head will role for this, we know it wont be Kens this time.
mushiking @ Apr 28th 2007 11:23PM
ok sure Jay, like you were going to anyways. get off your soap box.
JKPierce @ Apr 28th 2007 11:26PM
Congratulations to everyone that fell for an article with so that many holes in its facts. The Internet is now strong with your rampant stupidity and fanboyism.
Josh @ Apr 28th 2007 11:25PM
I think them doing this party is F-n COOL, to bad I couldnt be there.
Ratchet the Lombax @ Apr 28th 2007 11:30PM
How gullible can you get? I mean I might have half believed that Sony got a goat that died from natural causes from a farm and staged it for the ad but this is just stupid. If you really think that they would (1) kill a healthy goat and (2) invite people to reach into it and eat the entrails then that's just sad. I would like to sell you your own star on the Hollywood walk of fame it's only $500 a very good deal. Someone mention that if you had never heard of the magazine then you might believe this. I'm sorry but even if I worked at a remote science station in Antarctica I wouldn't believe this it's just common sense.
kingofwale @ Apr 28th 2007 11:32PM
@42
not everyone, I pointed out the credibility of Daily Mail AGES ago
but one thing... if you click on the link, the girl there is quite cute. ;)
mepaco @ Apr 28th 2007 11:39PM
Some of us have never heard of Daily Mail. Not to mention that I would have had a similar reaction if you had told me a year ago that Sony was going to advertise their next-gen system with freaky babies and a woman taking a ****.
icruise @ Apr 28th 2007 11:39PM
I'm for animal rights and a vegetarian, so I'm definitely not in favor of using animals in any way that would degrade them, but if you actually read the article, you'll see that it's very sensationally written and that they just bought the goat from a butcher for the event, so it's not like they killed a live goat right there. I also find a little doubtful that the guests actually "competed to see who could eat the most offal." Come on... Anyway, it's funny that they're acting like God of War 2 is shockingly violent, when I don't recall anybody getting upset about it here. I guess it has to have guns for people to get upset in the US.
orAngeMicro @ Apr 28th 2007 11:39PM
Mike ahahaha
Will @ Apr 28th 2007 11:45PM
and why would this be posted without any evidence whatsoever that this is true? i mean really, the source of this article is incredibly bad and they're the only ones with this "insider info"
Mike @ Apr 29th 2007 12:12AM
How the people that come up with their ads still collect paycheck is beyond me. People only ever talk about how much their marketing sucks, not go out and buy whatever traditionally overpriced Sony the ridiculous ads are trying to sell.
waves @ Apr 29th 2007 12:15AM
ick