The guild Rain Nightclub operates a nightclub in Final Fantasy XIV, where erotic roleplay (ERP) is conducted. On July 9, the guild is hosting an event called “Summer Bash.” Huge billboards in California and Texas were even rented to promote this event. However, the campaign backfired.
What kind of event is this? In this event, players meet at a beach on the Balmung server to celebrate traveling between data centers, which has recently become possible. The event itself is not focused on ERP and is supposed to be family-friendly.
Still, the advertising in the real world has faced a lot of misunderstanding, even though some players praise the billboards for their design. Others, however, find several things that they perceive as problematic about the campaign.
Billboards might violate the rights of Square Enix
What are the players upset about? On Reddit, Twitter, and in the guild’s Discord, four main points are criticized:
- The billboards display the official logos of Final Fantasy and Square Enix. From some perspectives, this could already violate the developer’s rights, as a direct connection is made between the advertisement for the event and the game.
- It is also problematic that mods were apparently used to create the poses and outfits for the characters. However, these mods are prohibited in Final Fantasy XIV, and people have already been banned for such actions.
- Additionally, the logos of Discord, Twitch, and even three Twitch channels are promoted, some of which reportedly knew nothing about the campaign.
- Some players fear that the beach event could devolve into erotic roleplay, as the guild is known for this.
User Aoi summarizes the situation on Twitter: The organizer apparently spent thousands of euros on advertising, only to be banned in FFXIV and possibly even sued:
Aoi even fears that this action could cause widespread damage to the entire RP community. Square Enix might get the idea to prohibit clubs, modding for screenshots, and ERP based on the billboards. However, other players note that he may be going a bit too far with this concern.
What do the organizers say? On Twitter, DJ Potate, one of the Twitch streamers of the event, stated that he was not informed about the billboards and only brought the images online with his tweet. However, he has since deleted the tweets.
Also, Lily, a former member of the Rain Nightclub, emphasizes that the guild members were not informed about the action (via Twitter).
In the Discord, those responsible are said to have reacted harshly to critics and insulted them, as this screenshot shows:
What does Square Enix say? So far, there has been no statement from the developers. It is also unclear whether the event will take place after the billboards.
What do you think about the billboards? Do you think the idea is good but just poorly executed, or are you not in favor of real-life advertising for in-game events? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
In Korea, MMORPG fans occasionally rent huge LED walls to protest in front of the developer studios. In one case, it was about bugs in the game:
Fans protest with a large LED wall against bugs in an MMORPG and are successful
