I saw this thing the other day. You know, that gaming event—Summer Games Fest? Anyway, this guy Ian Proulx, the big shot at 1047 Games, comes on stage with this hat. But not just any hat. It had “Make FPS Great Again” scribbled on it, like some kind of inside joke gone wrong. Yeah, it’s kind of a riff off that political slogan we’ve all heard a million times. Honestly, didn’t quite sit well with everyone, and people started buzzing about it. Well, more than buzzing—flaming, maybe.
So, here’s the twist. Proulx hops on Twitter and posts this video apologizing. It’s one of those “Whoops, we messed up” moments. He calls it a marketing move that kinda blew up in their faces. Classic, right? It’s like, they wanted to make some noise, but it ended up being the wrong kind of noise. Especially with all these protests happening and the National Guard hanging around LA, thanks to you-know-who. Timing was kinda a gut punch.
At first, the guy digs his heels in, refusing to say sorry, which is… well, bold? Anyway, fast forward a bit, and he’s like, “Okay, maybe we went too far.” Turns out, they were looking for a “HEY, LOOK AT US!” moment as they shifted out of beta. Proulx even said something about wanting to spark a conversation about the FPS genre. Which, I mean, fair enough, but maybe a different hat next time?
He insists that they weren’t trying to be political. But c’mon, Ian, wearing that hat and being surprised by the blowback? Really? Kind of like throwing a rock in a pond and being shocked by the splash. Funny thing is, he says it was all meant as a meme to voice their take on gaming. Huh, memes, right? Always skating on thin ice.
But here’s where it gets real: he genuinely feels bad. Not just because of the uproar but for stirring the pot in the gaming crowd or whatever. He kinda poured his heart out about regretting how it split the community. And hey, if nothing else, that sounds pretty sincere. Just, maybe think twice before venturing down that meme marketing road again, you know?
