There's a goofy buzzword being thrown around the business world these days: Branding. Get the hot pokers out of your mind, cause it's about consumer perception of a company's identity.
Hmmm. How many software manufacturers have a clear identity in your mind? I can only name a few. Maybe UbiSoft and probably Capcom.
But the name at the top of that heap has gotta be Rockstar Games. It's got bona fide personality that oozes out of your gaming system.
Sure, Rockstar has dabbled in a wide array of game genres. Its palette includes driving ("GTA"), stealth assassination ("Manhunt"), crime drama ("Max Payne") and even a freaky western ("Red Dead Revolver"). But jeez, you know what to expect from those guys when you pick up one of their games, don't you?
Rockstar emphasizes style, innovative game mechanics and unflinching gruesomeness. The company's well aware that some of us cats dig that. It makes games for grown-ups, and we older gamers have been waiting for this for years. Yeah, we might have started out gaming in the arcades or even on Nintendos, but we've graduated to more serious gaming, and we're glad that companies such as Rockstar support our mature tastes and satisfy our wicked senses of humor.
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It's unfortunate that a great company like this still catches a lot of undeserved flack from mainstream media and from parents who still don't know what a big "M" on the box means. But I betcha the people at Rockstar also know that controversy sells.
