Insomniac Games Receives Dangerous Threats After Spider-Man Character Change

The world was kind of shocked last week when the character model for Peter Parker was re-cast to fit with the new graphic’s dimensions of the PlayStation 5. The re-casting was due to motion capture issues with the original face model – understandable reasoning right?

People reacting in this way to the character model swap is understandable in some regards. Spider-Man is a much-loved game and is considered by quite a large amount of people to be the best game released on the PlayStation 4. There are a lot of happy memories associated with the current Peter Parker character model, so to change the character on a remaster that was not really asked for was bound to spark some outrage.

Credit: Insomniac Games

Not everyone was happy with their decision. Some chose to vent angrily in the comments sections of various social media posts, which is quite a sensible option in the grand scheme of things. Others went a little too far.

Addressing the matter via Twitter, creative director Bryan Intihar revealed that since the studio made the announcement, he’s been receiving numerous amounts of threats.

“To our Spidey fans: I totally appreciate your passion, but sending me threatening notes that you will “HUNT YOU DOWN AND WE WILL FIND YOU! YOU FIX THIS NOW!” isn’t cool. With what’s happening in today’s world, let’s be a force for good and be respectful of each other. Thank you.”

Marvel Games VP, Bill Rosemann, gave his opinion on the matter as well – feeling enough was enough when it came to the threatening behaviour. He stated:

“You know who would send threatening notes to my Spider/Bro? Norman Osborn, Mr. Negative & Doctor Octopus. #SpiderManPS4 fans, in your life story are you the villain or are you Peter Parker, the hero you love so much? Be Peter. Be the hero. #BeGreater

It’s very odd that people could take this character change to heart so much. Yes, this game obviously does mean a lot to many people, but to seriously threaten game designers of what, in the grand scheme of things, is a minor change is very worrying.

Credit: Insomniac Games

We are in a weird time period now where we have to worry about the safety of game designers based on their choices for certain games. That’s not a fun existence to have.

[Feature Image Credit: Insomniac Games]