Yesterday evening, the hashtag “#EmbraceDeath” began trending on Twitter, to the alarm of people who had not heard of the fighting game Samurai Shodown. The grim marketing motto sparked a variety of reactions from baffled non-fighting game fans.
As edgy as “Embrace Death” sounds on its face, the slogan does make sense in context. While Samurai Shodown’s look is not on the level of, say, Mortal Kombat, this weapon-based fighting game series is no stranger to spurting blood, beheadings, and other gory finishers.
This, combined with the fact that matches can end in the blink of an eye, is why it makes sense that the developers asked players to “Embrace Death” while playing their game, a marketing campaign that has been utilised since some of the earliest reveals.
The folks behind Samurai Shodown have also worked closely with fighting game players to promote the game before and after its release, a partnership that recently saw legendary competitor Justin Wong open a contest to give away free copies of the game.
Naturally, the Twitter contest utilised the “Embrace Death” tagline to further propagate its use, and it was so successful that #EmbraceDeath was at one point trending in the United States, to Wong’s surprise.
While this had the benefit of bringing the contest to the attention of Samurai Shodown fans who may have missed out on Justin’s original tweet, it also placed “Embrace Death” face-to-face with users outside of the fighting game community.
Where folks in the know recognised it as another promotional tool for the new game, non-fans were widely confused, and as social media has indoctrinated us all into doing, they shared that confusion with the rest of the world.
Seeing people confused about what #EmbraceDeath means is exactly what I needed today. pic.twitter.com/9UMMpr3aQ2
— Chelsea Love ⭐️ (@Chelsnii) July 10, 2019
This is pretty funny #EmbraceDeath pic.twitter.com/rlELZZJIeb
— Shawn (@LeftHandBlack13) July 11, 2019
Some actually took the hashtag to mean “embrace Death,” a seminal death metal band from the 1980s.
So this is trending? Hell yeah. #embracedeath pic.twitter.com/UHp4Ep5WAJ
— Jack Rebetzke (@Boyde712) July 10, 2019
And, as is typical with anything on the internet these days, the hashtag also ended up in MAGA land.
This world is sick. #embracedeath is trending and @HillaryClinton and the left have pushed most people so far toward satanic socialist values that it is actually popular. Please help support right wing media before time runs out. #MAGA
— HighState (@HighStateAL) July 10, 2019
The fighting game community soon noticed this phenomenon, and #EmbraceDeath was again flooded with messages from Samurai Shodown fans amused by what transpired.
#EmbraceDeath:*exists*
Everyone after finding out its trending: pic.twitter.com/JPBvT154zs— Jason (@greedyoyster) July 11, 2019
It actually brings me much joy that #EmbraceDeath was trending and confusing people on the internet.
— James Chen (@jchensor) July 11, 2019
say no to Nazi concentration camps and rape
say yes to #EmbraceDeath and eating the rich pic.twitter.com/N13QX7JKpD
— ZGMFTestament @ dead tired from cowboyin’ (@SHFxRD) July 11, 2019
I’ve been on Twitter for like 7 years. I have a new favorite tweet. I’m buying SamSho now, JUST for this. https://t.co/xZtViugBhN
— Jay Snyder (@JayViscant) July 11, 2019
At least it seemed to be a pretty successful day for the Samurai Shodown marketing team.
Yo, not just any video game, my guy. pic.twitter.com/DUcHJf8iNw
— Samurai Shodown – Available Now! #EmbraceDeath (@samuraishodown) July 11, 2019
Ian Walker loves fighting games and loves writing about them even more. You can find him on Twitter at @iantothemax.
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