Launching of Everquest II , an ethical dilemma
Introduction
Scott Mc Daniel, the Vice President for Marketing for Sony online Entertainment was facing an ethical dilemma. Everquest II, an online role-playing game (RPG) was supposed to be launched recently as a sequel to the hugely popular Everquest I launched back in 2004. The game had a dynamic storyline which would change on a monthly basis depending on the actions of the players and the guests. The game is supposed to become a huge success and SoE was expecting high profits and favorable customer response. However, the game faced several legal issue related to the death of a child who was killed by his father when his crying interrupted the father’s playing of Everquest I. Thus Scott Mc Daniel was wondering whether he should provide some justification for launching of the new game and whether he should do anything other than the ad campaign. Modern-day video gaming In recent times, playing video games is such a universal practice that schools might as well issue minors in gameplay. For most people, gaming is a great way to unwind, kill time, or hang out with friends. Yet for some — the few, the proud, the mentally unbalanced — video games are the spark held to the powder keg that sets them off. Not every death tied by the media to video games is actually related to them, however there are certain exceptions on the list. It’s worth reiterating that most gamers are the rational sort, and those who are pushed over the edge by games are usually already falling and just looking for an excuse to lose control. Online RPGs are known for their addictive qualities — players get so obsessed that they devote all their time to the game, often at the expense of a social life. The time bound quests, deadline which requires you the play the game in the late hours of the night, the reward system which invokes the competitive spirit within you pushes your mind to its limits which often leads to tragedies like the death of a child in this case. Decision-Making based on principles of leadership • Stop and think: Scott Mc Daniel should evaluate whether the launching of Everquest ii lies within the legal as well as the ethical boundaries of the society. He should consider where he should draw the line, whether to launch the product knowing it might cause the repeat of the same type of tragedies just for the sake of profitability. Also the product could not be abandoned as it is expected to be a major contributor in the company’s margins. Thus a middle ground needs to be reached. • Extend Trust: Scott Mc Daniel should reach out to the gaming community and appeal to their sense of pride. …show more content…
He could portray that the incident was devastating not only to SoE but also for the entire gaming community. He should extend his trust towards the gamers by encouraging them to swear an oath to handle Everquest II responsibly. He must publicly show his belief in his customers to prevent deaths like these from happening
• Have two-way conversations:
Scott Mc Daniel should realize that taking all the decision on his own without seeking the opinion of others would always lead to failure. The should conduct surveys, take feedback from the gamers who played Everquest I, so that he would be able to better understand the root cause of tragedies like this. Then he should incorporate the learnings in his safety campaign for the new game. As a results the safety guidelines and the features would be better as well as the customer satisfaction would be high as their suggestions and opinions were sought.
• Demonstrate moral authority:
Scott Mc Daniel could publicly apologize for misfortunate incident that took place. He could admit to the possible flaws of the previous game that led to the tragedy and promise that the new version would contain certain fail safes which would prevent gamers from obsessing over the game. He should also ask the support of the public to help him prevent such incidents by being responsible and observant • Shape the context: Scott McDaniel could start organizing his advertising campaign for the new game by first sorting out the legal issues surrounding the game.
Introduction
Scott Mc Daniel, the Vice President for Marketing for Sony online Entertainment was facing an ethical dilemma. Everquest II, an online role-playing game (RPG) was supposed to be launched recently as a sequel to the hugely popular Everquest I launched back in 2004. The game had a dynamic storyline which would change on a monthly basis depending on the actions of the players and the guests. The game is supposed to become a huge success and SoE was expecting high profits and favorable customer response. However, the game faced several legal issue related to the death of a child who was killed by his father when his crying interrupted the father’s playing of Everquest I. Thus Scott Mc Daniel was wondering whether he should provide some justification for launching of the new game and whether he should do anything other than the ad campaign. Modern-day video gaming In recent times, playing video games is such a universal practice that schools might as well issue minors in gameplay. For most people, gaming is a great way to unwind, kill time, or hang out with friends. Yet for some — the few, the proud, the mentally unbalanced — video games are the spark held to the powder keg that sets them off. Not every death tied by the media to video games is actually related to them, however there are certain exceptions on the list. It’s worth reiterating that most gamers are the rational sort, and those who are pushed over the edge by games are usually already falling and just looking for an excuse to lose control. Online RPGs are known for their addictive qualities — players get so obsessed that they devote all their time to the game, often at the expense of a social life. The time bound quests, deadline which requires you the play the game in the late hours of the night, the reward system which invokes the competitive spirit within you pushes your mind to its limits which often leads to tragedies like the death of a child in this case. Decision-Making based on principles of leadership • Stop and think: Scott Mc Daniel should evaluate whether the launching of Everquest ii lies within the legal as well as the ethical boundaries of the society. He should consider where he should draw the line, whether to launch the product knowing it might cause the repeat of the same type of tragedies just for the sake of profitability. Also the product could not be abandoned as it is expected to be a major contributor in the company’s margins. Thus a middle ground needs to be reached. • Extend Trust: Scott Mc Daniel should reach out to the gaming community and appeal to their sense of pride. …show more content…
He could portray that the incident was devastating not only to SoE but also for the entire gaming community. He should extend his trust towards the gamers by encouraging them to swear an oath to handle Everquest II responsibly. He must publicly show his belief in his customers to prevent deaths like these from happening
• Have two-way conversations:
Scott Mc Daniel should realize that taking all the decision on his own without seeking the opinion of others would always lead to failure. The should conduct surveys, take feedback from the gamers who played Everquest I, so that he would be able to better understand the root cause of tragedies like this. Then he should incorporate the learnings in his safety campaign for the new game. As a results the safety guidelines and the features would be better as well as the customer satisfaction would be high as their suggestions and opinions were sought.
• Demonstrate moral authority:
Scott Mc Daniel could publicly apologize for misfortunate incident that took place. He could admit to the possible flaws of the previous game that led to the tragedy and promise that the new version would contain certain fail safes which would prevent gamers from obsessing over the game. He should also ask the support of the public to help him prevent such incidents by being responsible and observant • Shape the context: Scott McDaniel could start organizing his advertising campaign for the new game by first sorting out the legal issues surrounding the game.