The month in games: battle by upvote

Despite the sophistication of their products, video game publishers are just as susceptible as less technically inclined brands to finding their carefully organised media coverage turning on them. This month, the trailer for upcoming game of drones and shooting people Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare became the second most disliked video in YouTube history, while fellow online first-person shooter, Battlefield 1 became one of the 150 most liked. One reason posited for this vast discrepancy is that players have finally got bored with the glib futurism of many current military games, their fatigue at yet more satellite strikes and exoskeletons brought into sharp relief by Battlefield 1's earthy, steampunk alternate first world war. While there may be an element of truth in that, it's mostly the result of vote-brigading by rabidly contrarian posters on games forums, and demonstrates that even with rigorous planning and budgetary figures normally associated with money laundering operations, you can still be the victim of unintended consequences. Capcom, makers of the Resident Evil series, also found out that publicity can create unpredictable knock-on effects.