Mass We Pray a Front for Dante's Inferno

After a few days of speculation, it appears the skeptical among us were correct: The Mass We Pray game was just a bunch of Holy Smoke.

Upon visiting the site today, we found that the pre-order link had bcome active. Clicking the link took us to an ominous popup where we were accused of heresy and the headline "Heretic, May thou burn in the 6th Circle:

"He who betrays the beliefs of the Church blackens his soul with the sin of Heresy. A Mass not celebrated by an ordained priest or on consecrated soil  is naught but false ritual condemned by clergy. Thou hast befouled thine eyes with the filth of profabe works and betrayed all things sacred. For thy punishment, thou shalt be damned to burn in flaming tombs and hang from inflamed crosses. And an eternity of infernal fire will not cleanse thee."

The popup then seeks your birthdate so you can watch a Dante's Inferno trailer, which focuses on the 6th Circle of Hell. Clicking on the popup takes you to Facebook where you get the option of putting a Dante's Inferno app on your profile page.

This is not the first time that Electronic Arts has pulled out the stops for a reverse marketing campaign for the game. At E3 this year, there was a "Christian rally" protesting the game, which EA later admitted was staged. In September, gaming editors were sent a check for $200 in a fancy box, with a note that:

By cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality.

Whether you agree with the ploy or not, Electronic Arts continues to get attention for the game.