About 13 people gathered outside the Convention Center in what appears to be a marketing stunt. Credit: Tony Pierce / Los Angeles Times



Update June 9, 3:14 pm: Electronic Arts Spokeswoman Tammy Schachter has confirmed that the "protest" was a publicity stunt. But that hasn't stopped some journalists, including ourselves, from thinking it was real. After the recent ruckus over EA's Godfather 2 gag, the score appears to be rogue viral marketing 2, game journalists 0.

It now appears that the protest against the Electronic Arts game "Dante's Inferno" that we posted about Wednesday was actually a publicity stunt arranged by EA itself. A brochure handed out by the protesters -- or is that actors? -- points to a website, wearesavedgroup.org, which appears designed to promote "Dante's Inferno" as much as bash it. There's a video full of game footage, a link to the trailer, and a link to the official Dante's site.

The site was registered on Monday, June 1, through Domains By Proxy, a company that lets people set up websites without disclosing their identity.

-- Ben Fritz