• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Penny-Arcade: "Marketers of the Avenger Controller are thieves and liars".

One Ok Rock

Neo Member
Huh? Don't play stupid. Techno is clearly referring to the fact his immediate family is suffering the consequences of his stupidity. Now, if these consequences were simply that he lost his job and thus the ability to support his wide and kid, then that's almost fair enough because he was acting disgracefully.

However, the fact some morons have invaded his personal life and harassed his family and continue to taunt him despite the fact justice has been served (public humiliation, losing his job) well, I think that's pathetic. Nothing more than a bunch of lonely tryhards trying to fill their day.

Sorry, but could you post some proof of this? I feel like I've missed something major, or everyone is pulling facts out of their ass.
 

scy

Member
Sorry, but you you post some proof of this? I feel like I've missed something major, or everyone is pulling facts out of their ass.

Paul mentioned it occurring. Besides that, Youtube comments I suppose. I think someone mentioned reddit but a perusal there didn't get me anything. So ... I'm on the side of making shit up, really. Or I guess just expecting it since, y'know, that's how these things tend to go, right?

As for myself, the full press release from N-Control more or less covers everything for me; we'll see how their replacement fares. I hope PA at least takes the opportunity to do some good with this now that the dust has settled some. It's the least they can do after some of the fallout from this fell onto the product itself.
 
Why are you trusting a liar asshole in the first place?

As far as I can tell, he is lying and placing his family into this to get some people to feel bad for him and to be believed to be a "humble, hard working man" who "made one mistake"! LOL yea right.

Everyone who gets caught doing something wrong, always, always is told to say something about their family in their little sorry speech to get some +1 pity points from everyone. I don't buy it and based on the recent interview (msnbc or so) he sounds like a total dick once again. What he says doesnt mirror any harassment being done but his ego coming out of his ass at full force.

I'm not trusting him. Didn't someone from Reddit find out his fiancée's name and a domestic violence report containing her name and his? Her name is on the Internet, and I think it's fairly likely someone attempted to contact her for nefarious reasons.

Basically, my point is now that he's lost his job, been hacked and been publicly humiliated, justice has been served. Any attempt to involve his family and disclose their identities is way too fucking far.
 
I'm not trusting him. Didn't someone from Reddit find out his fiancée's name and a domestic violence report containing her name and his? Her name is on the Internet, and I think it's fairly likely someone attempted to contact her for nefarious reasons.

Basically, my point is now that he's lost his job, been hacked and been publicly humiliated, justice has been served. Any attempt to involve his family and disclose their identities is way too fucking far.

And you care because?
 

Roto13

Member
I'm not trusting him. Didn't someone from Reddit find out his fiancée's name and a domestic violence report containing her name and his? Her name is on the Internet, and I think it's fairly likely someone attempted to contact her for nefarious reasons.

Basically, my point is now that he's lost his job, been hacked and been publicly humiliated, justice has been served. Any attempt to involve his family and disclose their identities is way too fucking far.

It might have happened, but I haven't seen any evidence to support it.

I don't think anyone (at least not me) is saying it definitely hasn't happened, but I'm going to need to see some evidence beyond the word of a liar before I believe it's happening in this specific case.

If his family is being harassed, I'm sure there's a /b/ thread about it somewhere that can be screencapped.
 
The domestic violence report was publicly available information. By the way, he's not married. He's engaged.

You might want to check up on this kind of stuff before you just start spouting bullshit about him being "hacked."

I'll say it again: there is no evidence whatsoever to support claims that he has been hacked or that his fiancee has been contacted or otherwise harassed. I don't believe it happened and I don't believe it's going to happen.
 

SYNTAX182

Member
I'm not trusting him. Didn't someone from Reddit find out his fiancée's name and a domestic violence report containing her name and his? Her name is on the Internet, and I think it's fairly likely someone attempted to contact her for nefarious reasons.

Basically, my point is now that he's lost his job, been hacked and been publicly humiliated, justice has been served. Any attempt to involve his family and disclose their identities is way too fucking far.

Dude, this guy is an asshole and a lying dick. Read the MSNBC interview. This interview took place after the fact that his family supposedly got involved and threatened, which really never happened. Then keeps going on in the interview like he doesn't give a fuck and keeps justifying his actions. He's playing the "my family is being threatened" angle so that certain individuals who are naive, would feel bad and sorry for him and treat him like a victim. And even if his family really is being harassed, why is he acting in the interview like he doesn't give a fuck. C'mon man.
 
The domestic violence report was publicly available information. By the way, he's not married. He's engaged.

You might want to check up on this kind of stuff before you just start spouting bullshit about him being "hacked."

I'll say it again: there is no evidence whatsoever to support claims that he has been hacked or that his fiancee has been contacted or otherwise harassed. I don't believe it happened and I don't believe it's going to happen.

That doesn’t mean Christoforo isn’t still feeling the effects from becoming a household name in certain corners of the Internet – effects he says he was actively dealing with for17 hours straight yesterday. While Christoforo said blocking his Google Voice number stopped an early flood of harassing phone calls, he’s received over 7,000 e-mails in the past 24 hours, some containing threats against him and his wife and two-month-old son.

“It’s caused me more annoyance than anything else, but there are some threats and a lot of disrespect,” he said. “My son’s two months old … that’s uncalled for, you don’t bring him into this situation.”

Christoforo said his wife’s Facebook page has been hammered by friend requests from people trying to get at him, and the shared stress of the entire ordeal has led to at least one major argument between the couple.

That's the quote I was referring to. Granted, there's no way to verify this currently, but it would not surprise me if it were true.

Basically, you're saying there's no evidence of people on the Internet going to far? Haha... Go read up on the Nicki Catsouras affair, but only if you have a strong stomach.
 

Roto13

Member
That's the quote I was referring to. Granted, there's no way to verify this currently, but it would not surprise me if it were true.

Basically, you're saying there's no evidence of people on the Internet going to far? Haha... Go read up on the Nicki Catsouras affair, but only if you have a strong stomach.

There's no evidence of the internet going too far in this situation. Christoforo's word is absolutely worthless. If he told me water was wet, I'd have to check for myself.
 

rhino4evr

Member
Dude, this guy is an asshole and a lying dick. Read the MSNBC interview. This interview took place after the fact that his family supposedly got involved and threatened, which really never happened. Then keeps going on in the interview like he doesn't give a fuck and keeps justifying his actions. He's playing the "my family is being threatened" angle so that certain individuals who are naive, would feel bad and sorry for him and treat him like a victim. And even if his family really is being harassed, why is he acting in the interview like he doesn't give a fuck. C'mon man.

So then stop feeding the troll then. Either way, enough is enough. This story is way overblown
 

Bernbaum

Member
Bullshit. At the very least, morons bombing the Amazon page of a product designed to assist disabled kids is going too far.
Yeah that annoys me.

I do think though, that with time, this might turn around for N-control. Depends on whether the new PR takes any particular action to rebuild bridges, which they have the opportunity to do given the amount of attention they're now receiving. Hopefully people are smart enough to see the distinction between N-Control/Avenger and Christoforo's actions.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Bullshit. At the very least, morons bombing the Amazon page of a product designed to assist disabled kids is going too far.

I don't think companies that can't deliver their product after taking your money for months should get a free pass either. You know, the reason why this thread exists in the first place
 
I don't think companies that can't deliver their product after taking your money for months should get a free pass either. You know, the reason why this thread exists in the first place

Companies have problems filling orders all the time, this thread exists because of the response to someone's inquiry about when the product will arrive.
 
It sounds like a dude invented a thing, had no idea how to run a business, and got in over his head (including making some poor hiring decisions). Hopefully he can turn this around.
 

Roto13

Member
Bullshit. At the very least, morons bombing the Amazon page of a product designed to assist disabled kids is going too far.

They're not trying to sell it to disabled kids, but alright, sure. Got anything else? You know, anything that actually affects Christoforo and his family? Anything beyond a fat inbox and some phone calls?

Basically, (real) threats or gtfo.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Companies have problems filling orders all the time, this thread exists because of the response to someone's inquiry about when the product will arrive.

Which seems pretty reasonable to me to voice your dissatisfaction over Amazon's review page.

Oh, and the controller for disabled kids thing. This is the original PR released last year about the controller.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101111005020/en

November 11, 2010 09:00 AM Eastern Time
The N-Control Avenger XBOX 360 Accessory Promises to Revolutionize Gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iControl Enterprises, LLC., a new and innovative gaming accessory manufacturer, has released an accessory for the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) XBOX 360™ controller, which is guaranteed to provide users with “the ultimate gaming advantage.” The N-Control Avenger claims to be “the most sophisticated secret weapon in the gaming industry,” and gamers everywhere are looking forward to its official release this week.

“We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts.”

The Avenger is an external adapter that houses the existing XBOX 360 controller to enhance gameplay. This accessory tightly grips the controller’s exterior surface, providing an immersive gaming experience through an intuitive user-interface. “It enhances the gamer’s manual dexterity and situational awareness by improving accuracy and reaction time,” says David Kotkin, lead designer of The N-Control Avenger. “This sophisticated accessory is specially engineered for those who want to push their gaming abilities to new heights.” The Avenger allows for rapid, fluid movements between individual buttons and analogue sticks, allowing gamers to access nine functions simultaneously. The adapter comes equipped with a stabilizer tripod, high-precision tension straps, hair-triggers, and sensitivity adjusters, which can be fine-tuned like a musical instrument.

The Avenger’s release date coincides with the launch of Activision’s groundbreaking game, Call of Duty: Black Ops. Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and award-winning developer Treyarch will position gamers behind enemy lines in this latest installment of the immensely popular, first-person shooter series. Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch, comments on the excitement behind the game’s official release: "We can't wait for our community to experience Call of Duty: Black Ops." Lamia adds, "We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts."

The N-Control Avenger hopes to enhance the gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops and other popular titles, such as Halo Reach, Madden NFL 11, Fallout: New Vegas, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The accessory can be ordered online from the N-Control website for $59.99.

For more information, please visit http://www.avengercontroller.com

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6502374&lang=en
Contacts

For iControl Enterprises, LLC.
The HAND Media
Brandon Leidel, Sr. Publicist, 786-337-1973
brandon@thehandmedia.com
or
Ari Dimitriou, PR Director, 305-741-4570
ari@thehandmedia.com
 
That's the quote I was referring to. Granted, there's no way to verify this currently, but it would not surprise me if it were true.

Okay, so the answer is no, then. No evidence. Just so we're clear.

I don't see how this is anything like Nicki Catsouras, at all, nor did I ever say the internet isn't capable of going too far, merely that it hasn't in this instance and I don't expect that to change.
 

Grassy

Member
Bullshit. At the very least, morons bombing the Amazon page of a product designed to assist disabled kids is going too far.

I think they purported to have originally designed it with the intention of helping disabled gamers but the Avenger website has absolutely no mention of the device helping disabled gamers at all, it's all just pro-gamer type marketing bullshit. It's all "PWN TEH FUCK OUT OF UR ENEMIES", "GAIN THE COMPETITIVE EDGE!!", "SHOW NO MERCY!" etc

One of the Reviews on the Avenger website even states: "The N-Control Avenger made an entrance at CES 2011 taking aim at the competitive gamer".

Trying to play the disabled card was a nice try though, I guess.
 

element

Member
It sounds like a dude invented a thing, had no idea how to run a business, and got in over his head (including making some poor hiring decisions). Hopefully he can turn this around.
Not even close. He didn't invent anything. What it sounds like is he saw something he could hustle and weaseled his way into being a spokesman for it by suggesting he knew everyone and everybody that could make the product sell millions 'Best Buy? I know a guy. Gamestop? I know a guy. Epic Games? I know a guy.' He is a street hustler trying to do real business and finding out strong arming someone and intimidation doesn't work.

I mean really. I get emails from fans all the time and I don't say 'Do you know who I am?' or 'I know <insert name>'. I mean really. Who on earth does that.

If you read the email exchange again, the guy is just crazy and has no business representing any company.
 

Mxrz

Member
Yeah, they were certainly marketing it to the CoD crowd, whatever its original intention. It sounds like the company had no problems with the guy treating customers like this up until he caused the shitstorm, or even running off their old PR. Claiming ignorance of his actions hardly paints a better image of them.
 
Yeah is there any evidence somewhere of someone actually threatening his family?

No, just the word of a known liar, who is almost definitely exploiting his family for sympathy.

Bullshit. At the very least, morons bombing the Amazon page of a product designed to assist disabled kids is going too far.

It's not. Also, while it's unfortunate that their gaming accessory is now being associated with this jerk. This isn't the first time Paul's been caught dishing out terrible costumer service, one of the dudes at N-Controller actually commented on how unprofessional he was, apparently though he was still good enough to be continually employed.

N-Controller deserves some flack too, they're taking positive steps to rectify this and that's good, but they also messed up.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
From my perspective.

The accessory was originally meant for disabled gamers.
Inventor probably had a few people try it out and came to a realization that it could do more than just benefit the unfortunate.
Started his own business and set up a marketing scheme to make the most of things. Hired PR, this and that. Got the word out. People and critics loved it. Preorders went through the roof, etc. Couldn't meet demands and such as this thing had apparently been a pain in the ass to actually get into gamer's hands in the last year or so. So instead of just riding things out and working through the difficult phase of it all with original marketing folks, Paul with his charismatic ass self managed to persuade himself into all of this.
I'm pretty sure he told them he would take care of things and vice versa. Fast forward to now, over half a year of poorly managed customer service, it finally took one email for things to fall apart.
The situation with Paul caused a huge uproar and Ncontrol had to do what was right in the public's eye to save face.

As much I dislike Paul and what he's done, I can't help but feel a hard part of this was also Ncontrol's fault.

It's a very good thing they released that public statement and finally admitted to things but as shitty as Paul was, if the accessories were being promptly delivered to customers there wouldn't be any issues and no one would have to deal with Paul on that level.

From a business standpoint, they don't have my sympathy. Sorry.
 
Not even close. He didn't invent anything. What it sounds like is he saw something he could hustle and weaseled his way into being a spokesman for it by suggesting he knew everyone and everybody that could make the product sell millions 'Best Buy? I know a guy. Gamestop? I know a guy. Epic Games? I know a guy.' He is a street hustler trying to do real business and finding out strong arming someone and intimidation doesn't work.

I mean really. I get emails from fans all the time and I don't say 'Do you know who I am?' or 'I know <insert name>'. I mean really. Who on earth does that.

If you read the email exchange again, the guy is just crazy and has no business representing any company.

I was talking about David Kotkin, not Paul Christoforo.
 
Wow. I finally caught up with this thread.

Points I think we all agree on:

-Paul fucked up
-Paul's still fucking up
-If his wife and kid are being threatened, that's going too far.
-If people looked up private information on Paul or his family, that's going too far.

So what are the "defenders" really discussing? What points are people in the thread disagreeing on?

-Should the "internet mob" continue what they are doing? Has enough been done?
-Are the "If" above points true?

Points I can't categorize:

-Amazon product page defaming
-N-Control guilty as well?
-N-Control shady as well (product delays)?

I think we all agree on the important points and the arguing is happening because of miscommunication. I hope we can all agree on the "if" points and stop arguing about it. If true, yeah it's terrible.
 

RetroMG

Member
Looking over this guy's twitter... I'm just shaking my head. He reminds me of my little nephew who would run up and poke me until I would turn around, and then he would act scared and run away.

"Hahaha losers!"
(An hour later)
"Guys, the harrassment is too much, please stop."
(An hour later)
"Hahaha losers!"
 
Looking over this guy's twitter... I'm just shaking my head. He reminds me of my little nephew who would run up and poke me until I would turn around, and then he would act scared and run away.

"Hahaha losers!"
(An hour later)
"Guys, the harrassment is too much, please stop."
(An hour later)
"Hahaha losers!"

What's the Twitter name? It's probably one of the many fake ones that's been created over the last 48 hours.

Hint: Unless it's @OceanDeepSea, it's not Paul.

Disclaimer: At any moment the above statement might no longer be true.
 
Dude, stop defending him!

Come on, this is just childish now. He goes on and on about his family being harassed, when people ask for proof for like the millionth time in the last 20 pages that random people have talked about, he stumbles and says he's not going by a shitty quote by Paul himself and then to finally "shows proof" and all he has is the quote from Paul himself. He then randomly moves the goal posts and still doesn't show proof of the intense abuse his girlfriend and 2 yr old have had to suffer and instead changes to it's shitty people rated down a controller that's now finally being marketing for disabled kids again.
 

Jive Turkey

Unconfirmed Member
Hint: Unless it's @OceanDeepSea, it's not Paul.

Disclaimer: At any moment the above statement might no longer be true.

Ha! No kidding. I don't understand why he keeps changing his name. He's obviously not trying to duck unwanted attention since he just keps on keepin' on with the new name.
 

eek5

Member
Oh I'm well aware. I was just hoping to find the method in the madness.

I think each time he changed his name he deleted a bunch of his tweets. I'm guessing hes doing it so that people will look up the old name and assume those tweets calling lowe a douchebag, etc. are fake. That's my guess at least
 
Come on, this is just childish now. He goes on and on about his family being harassed, when people ask for proof for like the millionth time in the last 20 pages that random people have talked about, he stumbles and says he's not going by a shitty quote by Paul himself and then to finally "shows proof" and all he has is the quote from Paul himself. He then randomly moves the goal posts and still doesn't show proof of the intense abuse his girlfriend and 2 yr old have had to suffer and instead changes to it's shitty people rated down a controller that's now finally being marketing for disabled kids again.

:lol

You're the ones demanding the evidence. Given you're not budging on the fact he lies everytime he speaks, how else can I prove he's beem hacked? My argument is that any of this impacting his family is going too far, and going on the history of Internet vigilantism, and the fact his personal information is public, then the natural conclusion would be that this Paul guy has been privately harassed. Which is going too far.

Let's be honest, we all know that morons have trolled him privately and still are, and threats have been made against his family, but it doesn't help your argument to agree, so you will not.
 
Let's be honest, we all know that morons have trolled him privately and still are, and threats have been made against his family, but it doesn't help your argument to agree, so you will not.
No, we don't know that.

If there have been threats against his family, yes it's terrible and should stop and shouldn't have been done in the first place.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with this. Why is this still being discussed?
 
:lol

You're the ones demanding the evidence. Given you're not budging on the fact he lies everytime he speaks, how else can I prove he's beem hacked? My argument is that any of this impacting his family is going too far, and going on the history of Internet vigilantism, and the fact his personal information is public, then the natural conclusion would be that this Paul guy has been privately harassed. Which is going too far.

Let's be honest, we all know that morons have trolled him privately and still are, and threats have been made against his family, but it doesn't help your argument to agree, so you will not.

Wait, he's been hacked now? Huh? And how is it ridiculous? If there was such rampant horrible abuse you would think you could find a shred of evidence somewhere no? Your argument isn't based on facts is your problem. No one is saying it's ok to harass his family, they are asking for proof instead of facts you pulled out of your ass about the "horrors of the internet".

Edit: :lol @ you stating things you made up in your head as "facts we all know".
 

Aselith

Member
:lol

You're the ones demanding the evidence. Given you're not budging on the fact he lies everytime he speaks, how else can I prove he's beem hacked? My argument is that any of this impacting his family is going too far, and going on the history of Internet vigilantism, and the fact his personal information is public, then the natural conclusion would be that this Paul guy has been privately harassed. Which is going too far.

Let's be honest, we all know that morons have trolled him privately and still are, and threats have been made against his family, but it doesn't help your argument to agree, so you will not.

We have ample evidence that he lies every time he speaks from all of the lies he has told in actual emails that he wrote. He's going with any tactic he can to make this go away.


But the likelihood of it happening are greater than it not. Far greater.

Not defending the defense force, but come on.

Depends on how many of his true personals are out there. Not one person has posted a home address or phone number as far as I'm aware. Just BUSINESS contacts. The personal info is usually requisite to harass someone and the same jack holes that would do it, would also post it up for all to see without hesitation. You think they're skywriting shitty stuff over his city or what?
 
Top Bottom