The Microsoft Gamer Dad Incident
I’ve been feeling retrospective about GamerDad lately. Spending 4 years of your life doing something as tirelessly as I have tends to make things blur – so I thought I’d share my lowest moment with you, in case you were’t around to see it. WHAT HAPPENED? Xbox.com launched a Gamer Dad column, thus trading on all my credibility and accomplishments and creating confusion over who Gamer Dad really is . . . .
I was despondant for an entire weekend, feeling like the little guy. I had the law on my side but it takes a lot of expensive lawyers to get that done and – Microsoft seems to have a lot of cash. Also, have you heard about the Digital Diva? Her mark was taken by MS and they still use it to this day. Never paid her a cent. Evil, evil thing to do.
On Monday I was prepared to talk to my lawyer, even though I knew I’d never be able to afford to win when suddenly my own readers began crowding the Xbox Community message board. Joystiq picked up the story, which then got Slashdotted, and then Tycho of Penny-Arcade offered to help and all of that made Microsoft suddenly rename the column Xbox Dad.
Then Andrew Eisen of GamePolitics (owned by the Entertainment Consumer Association) printed the following story:
Many GamePolitics readers will recognize the name GamerDad, aka Andrew Bub. For the past several years Bub has provided parents with reviews and other game-related articles aimed at families rather than hardcore enthusiasts. . . Late last month, Xbox.com unexpectedly launched an unrelated “Gamer Dad” column.
Without the support of the grassroots I wouldn’t have been able to protect my mark. I do own GamerDad/Gamer Dad fair and square and it cost a lot of money. I’ve been offered cash money for the IP but have never sold out. I’ve built this name on radio, in newspapers, speaking at PTAs and Conventions, and on television for 4 years. All promoting the name GamerDad.
Microsoft threatening me like that caused me to lose sleep and it adversely affected my health. Microsoft sent a PR rep to apologize (but so far nobody who runs Xbox.com has done the same) but the trauma was still there.
I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.
Aside from the heart attack, this was the worst time in my life.
Hey, at least I won right? Yes, but it hurt to have a company that knows me, that’s worked with me, and that I considered an important ally – effectively try to steal or at least marginalize my very identity. Our relationship is good now, but I admit, when I hear about Microsoft – a bitter taste hits my mouth (it doesn’t stop me from playing my Xbox360 though) – and when I ran into a few of them at PAX last year (and they said nothing about it) made me lose even more respect for “Admiral Nelson” and the team he’s employed over at Xbox.com.
It’s something I’ll never forget. Feeling small and powerless and among giants who step clumsily, despite the fact that they know for a fact that your down there.
Oh yeah, the fallout. I still get mail from people thinking I’m this guy. I never got an apology from him or anyone who was in on the decision – I did get an apology from one of their PR bloggers. And in the trailer for an upcoming documentary called “Nerdcore” I’m credited as … this guy. They googled GamerDad after talking to me and that’s the name that popped up.
So, it’s hurting my livlihood and it was only up for 3 days total! Imagine if it’d been up longer. I shudder to think of it.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I remember this! Man, that was so uncool of them. Hope it never happens to you again buddy!
March 1st, 2008 at 1:23 pm
So you never found out why it happened? I remember reading about this and thinking “how could they NOT know gamerdad?” seemed like a flimsy excuse to me. Oh and I hope you’re better after that heart atack
March 1st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I’ve never heard of this! But I’ve been a fan since your PAX speeches last year. You rocked it GamerDad! Anyway, this makes me glad I have a PS3 and Wii and not an Xbox 360. What jerks.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:28 pm
yeah that digital diva thing was awful. she had a good site doing what gamerdad does, but explaining computer upgrades and hardware to moms. ms decides they want to launch a column like that so they launch their own digital diva. She tries to sue, they laughed at her!!!!!! and to this day she can’t do anythiing about it. That wouldbe you gd, if it wasn’t for gamers who get what your about
Glad the game community had your back. Your work is too important to let something like stand.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Hey, at least it’s been a couple more years. After all that TV work – PAX – and your heart attack (it was beautiful how the community wrapped around you there man) do you think it could ever happen again? I mean you’re so much more famous now – seems to me you can rest easy. Your trademark is safe.
Besides, who’d dare tread where Microsoft was afraid to go? It’d take a giant company or a moron I think.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
So you own GamerDad and Gamer Dad? Can someone call themselves a “Gamerdad” without you suing them? Just wondering why you think you can own a description.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Yep. I’m planning on going after all of them. The bloggers, the message board posters, the people on Xbox Live, and any company who uses it too. I’m not even going to sue them. I’m going to hunt ’em down and kill them!!!!
Just kidding. I don’t care about anyone using GamerDad so long as they aren’t pretending to be me – using it for financial gain – or dragging it through the mud. In the MS case they were setting up a marketing column with my name. This not only would cause confusion over who GamerDad is – it would make my getting work harder because the mags I work for won’t hire a corporate shill. I also felt having Gamer Dad be an Xbox 360 thing was too limiting. Given all of that, I could go after that kind of use.
But if you want to go on Amazon.com and review things as “Mr. GamerDad” “Computer GamerDad” etc., or if you use it at a non-commercial blog about your family – I’ll most likely leave you alone.
Look at it this way. Imagine if I put out an ad that showed a picture of me and said:
GAMERDAD KNOWS
WHAT THEY PLAY!
Just a phrase, right? How do you think the owners of WhatTheyPlay.com would feel about it?
March 1st, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Would this bother you?
Would it bother YOU if I came in and edited your posts? -GD
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
I can see why it would hurt for them to completely undermine you like that and they really should have apologized themselves. But on the other hand you could coverage on every major gaming blog and spread the GamerDad message to lots of people who hadn’t heard of it before (I hadn’t heard of it till then). Admittedly that’s probably not Gamerdad’s audience but still they tell their friends who aren’t video game nuts and they can then use GamerDad.com.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:33 am
On the flip side, the furor over it caused someone to mention me and, when I Googled my nick (as I occasionally do), I found your site. 🙂
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:40 am
That is true. I was only semi-famous at the time – Penny-Arcade’s Tycho was a fan, same with sites like GamePolitics, GamersWithJobs, and a few others, but it’s so hard to get attention. For some reason many sites never mention me. I think they figure they don’t have any parents in their audience. They’re wrong – and I really don’t think we overlap with 90% of the sites out there. But facing off against MS – and having them backoff – did an awful lot of good for me in the long run.
In this way, the heart attack was good too. Gabe putting it on Penny-Arcade generated a truly amazing response!
At the time though, it hurt and scared me badly. 😉
I always enjoy hearing how people found out about the site though. That’s fun!