Former Call of Duty director Dave Anthony talks national security

But it’s not as scary in context

This article on gamesindustry.biz had me looking away from my computer screen for a second, dazed. Here’s a quote from it, pulled from a new Businessweek article featuring some words from Dave Anthony, former Call of Duty (Black Ops and Black Ops 2) director.

“When we have a new product that has elements that we’re not sure how people will respond to, what do we do as a corporation?” he said. 

“We market it, and we market it as much as we can – so that whether people like it or not, we do all the things we can to essentially brainwash people into liking it before it actually comes out.”

Anthony also wants security policy folks to pick some things up from marketing to fight against from an invasion within America’s borders. He gave an example, suggesting undercover US soldiers in schools. 

“The public won’t like it, they’ll think it’s a police state,” he said, and then added, “All of these are solvable problems.”

There’s a pile of scary sh*t for your Friday morning!

I think some of it may have been taken out of context, though. Or, at least, it’s all not as scary in context. You’d have to hear his full talk from the Atlantic Council, which took place earlier this week. There’s plenty of interesting stuff to hear in in its 1.5 hour length.