John Garvin, the Director and Writer for Bend Studio’s Days Gone, expressed his dissatisfaction with how the game’s main protagonist Deacon Lee Saint John aka Deek is portrayed in an ad for the newly released Astro Bot.
A screenshot from Days Gone (2021), Bend Studio
Garvin responded to a post promoting Astro Bot from Bend Studio, “Kinda sad that Deek has been reduced to promoting other games … well done Bend Studio! Way to protect your legacy!”
John Garvin on X
Garvin made it clear he was specifically referring to the promotional post Bend Studio made depicting Deek on the beach. He told one user, “I was talking about the promotional ad not the game, but point taken.”
John Garvin on X
He also added, “Haha, I see my character reduced to a cartoon schill promoting some small game and I’m being harsh? Sit down, my brotha, adults are talking.”
John Garvin on X
In a response to a user questioning if he was serious, Garvin elaborated, “Good point … I meant that it seemed weak for Sony to cancel a character and then continue to use that cancelled character to promote new product … it didn’t occur to me that Deek’s appearance was an homage … no disrespect was meant to Astro Bot regardless.
John Garvin on X
Garvin also responded to another user who wrote, “It doesn’t mean you hate Astrobot, it means you hate seeing something you made that was basically cut short be used in someone else’s work. And people forget it’s fine to express that frustration feeling.”
Garvin replied, “Exactly! I don’t know Astrobot and wish them well, but not at the expense of Days Gone.”
John Garvin on X
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Garvin also reposted X user RespectElves who wrote, “This game is such a graveyard of game franchises Sony killed It be cool it has so many in it if it wasn’t really kinda a bleak representation of how bad the industry is now.”
John Garvin on X
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Interestingly, Garvin’s most recent comments regarding the promotion of Deek for Astro Bot come about a week after Sony’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Hiroki Totoki claimed that he does not believe Sony has enough original IP.
He told the Financial Times, “Whether it’s for games, films or anime, we don’t have that much IP that we fostered from the beginning.”
“We’re lacking the early phase (of IP) and that’s an issue for us,” he added.
A screenshot from Days Gone (2021), Bend Studio
What do you make of Garvin’s criticism of Deek in the ad for Astro Bot?
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