Under the risk of a new “spam Omali’s website with expletives and win a free iPad,” contest, I must push on. This story was tipped to me by Vetarnias on the MMORPG.com forums. gPotato isn’t the first developer to have a “review our game and have a chance at winning a prize” contest, but considering the number of deleted topics at MMORPG.com’s Uncharted Waters Online forums, I’m guessing they didn’t consult their target before running said competition.
Back in June, Uncharted Waters launched a two-tier contest. The first, create a new character and hit level 80 and the top three achievers will win iPad 2’s. It’s important to note that use of cash shop items to speed leveling is completely within the rules. The second? Spam MMORPG.com and win a 3DS.
Yes, write a review (read: a positive review) or helpful commentary and win either a Nintendo 3DS or a cash shop ticket. The contest page even provides a handy link to the MMORPG.com UWO forums for maximum efficiency. And if you don’t have an MMORPG account, well you can sign up for one just as easy as pie. The promotion is over, the contest ended on the 30th of July, and if you look on the forums the posts have been removed by moderators.
It is unclear if NetMarble and gPotato are going to still be giving out the 3DS given all of the candidates have had their reviews scrubbed. I scoured the forums for any posts between June 20th and now (not a difficult feat as the forums see only a handful of posts each day), and couldn’t find any mention of the contest anywhere, or anyone actually being awarded the prize. Perhaps this whole ordeal is being quietly swept under the rug.
I think a better question to raise here would be if this falls under the jurisdiction of the blogger disclosure laws by the Federal Trade Commission. If it does, and the users who won either of the prizes were in the United States, that person could fall under some heavy penalties for not disclosing in his endorsement that the article was written in return for a gift.
Interesting situation all around.
MMO Fallout 