Fake news. This is arguably one of the first cases where a marketer successfully used the viral power of the internet in lieu of traditional advertising. Truth be told, The Shadow of the Colossus adventure game was launching just as interest in adventure games was waning, and a big $ ad campaign was out of the question. So we created an online mystery that the gamer psyche couldn't help but try and figure out. In 2005, you could get away with a lot on the internet, and we did, by planting elaborate clues everywhere. We used real stock imagery, along with fake newscasts, video footage and photos that we created, including a totally bogus but a believable giant hunter and conspiracy theorist. Meet Eric Belson. His website was a hub for the fake news, and chronicled his quest to prove that giant creatures existed. Real life intervened when the Indian Ocean tsunami happened and...well, watch the case video. It got a little out of control. 2018, and gamers still talk about it: https://youtu.be/1gDShRjMgM8?t=5m47s
