Microsoft U.K. is not happy with the relationship between Sony and Destiny. So the company cooked up a satirical advertisement that takes aim at Sony while reassuring fans that Destiny, is not in fact, a PlayStation exclusive.
The above image, featuring a Destiny branded cologne, was tweeted out by the official Microsoft U.K. account and points viewers towards a "Destiny Fragrance" website. The text on the ad reads "Destiny is actually an epic new first-person shooter, available on Xbox. Thing is, we don't have permission to run adverts for the game. So we didn't. Thanks for smelling that something was up. Now get the game and become a legend."
Many a gamer might be fooled that Destiny is only coming to PlayStation. Sony gamers got exclusive access to the Destiny alpha, early access to the beta and will be receiving exclusive content in the form of new maps, weapons and areas for players to explore. Destiny has also been featured heavily in PlayStation advertisements since the console's announcement and will be getting an exclusive white PlayStation 4 bundle that comes with the game, despite Destiny not being a PlayStation exclusive and also releasing on Xbox One and Xbox 360.
As Destiny is shaping up to be the biggest game of the year (it is the most pre-ordered new IP in video game history) it's understandable that Microsoft might be a little irked at their inability to advertise the fact that it is indeed going to be on Xbox. It seems Sony and Activision do indeed have a special arrangement that is preventing Microsoft from highlighting Destiny on Xbox, thus leading the creation of the satirical ad campaign. The "Destiny Fragrance" ads are also running in various print publications in the country leading up to the release of the game on Sept. 9.
The higher-ups at the main Microsoft offices might not be laughing, however. The fragrance ad featured on the website has since been removed and can no longer be seen. Instead, the site reads "Hi. There are some great Xbox One offers available at the moment. Please check with retailers for more information." Unfortunately, if Microsoft is having second guesses about taking a shot at Sony, print ads are much more difficult to make disappear.
This ad campaign is just the latest effort by Microsoft to attempt to close the wide gap between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Microsoft announced earlier this week that for a limited time only, those who purchased an Xbox One would receive one free game of their choice, including Destiny.
