DefCon goes off the deep end about Left Behind game

The "Campaign to Defend the Constitution," or "DefCon," describes itself as "an online grassroots movement combating the growing power of the religious right. We will fight for the separation of church and state, individual freedom, scientific progress, pluralism, and tolerance while respecting people of faith and their right to express their beliefs."

They just sent out a mailing calling for people to ask Wal-Mart to stop selling the game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces."

What Wal-Mart sells in its stores is irrelevant to defending the U.S. Constitution. The fact is, this is a crappy game that won't sell well, despite some initial media attention due to its absurd premise. As GameSpot reviewer Brett Todd observes (in a review that rates the game 3.4--bad--on a scale of 10), "Don't mock Left Behind: Eternal Forces because it's a Christian game. Mock it because it's a very bad game."

Let the market handle this one, DefCon, and stick to issues that actually have relevance to your mission. Giving it more attention and treating it as a threat is likely only to sell more copies.

UPDATE (December 13, 2006): DefCon's campaign has successfully created more media coverage for this game.

UPDATE (March 21, 2007): Looks like the market has spoken. Left Behind Games' stock peaked at $7.44 in November and closed today at $0.31 (up from $0.18 yesterday). Their financial auditors' 2006 report questioned their "ability to continue as a going concern."

UPDATE (October 9, 2007): Left Behind Games is now sending out cease and desist letters to bloggers who have given the game negative reviews. (And their stock closed today at $0.11.)