On pwning

The internet doesn’t forget. That’s the dangerous thing about it. You either control all of the information, or you control nothing.

As Microsoft and Sony find, as Apple wonks find, as the world finds out about China, the simple fact of the matter is… the uncontrollable factors are over a billion. China plays a fool’s game, as does any marketer. They all knew about the iPhone, they all knew about the Macbook Air. So too, now, does the world cringe at what’s going on in Tibet.

Recently, a European has filed a trademark for the phrase Pwnage. They did not create this euphemism for the truly eclectic and jubilant moments of gamedom. Rather, they suffused this mighty slogan for their own good. And the internet will choke their rivers with fervent antagonism. They have the worst kind of marketing now, contending with having to simultaneously live up to the name, as well as putting out the product that they had originally intended. On a sub-major development budget, it is unlikely that they can succeed. Not impossible, but the stakes have been raised.

So this European developer must contend not only with releasing a new product, but also in defending their taking for themselves a phrase that is very public, and certainly not of their origination. Even via the courts, or even an impressive game, can they suppress the fact that they subjugated and stamped on something the public sees as a gimmick.

After all, if Apple and China can’t figure it out, how can they?