Allow me to pose a hypothetical question for a moment.
If one of the Warhammer Online developers – say, Paul Barnett – showed up at Blizzcon, would that seem a bit odd? He’s well known, and very recognizable. Just seeing “Paul Barnett” displayed on a Blizzcon badge would be, well, strange. What if the Warhammer dev went a step further, and he wore a company shirt proclaiming that he was from Mythic? Would that strike you as a little…unprofessional? If that weren’t enough, he might even wear a baseball caps (indoors) with the Mythic logo on it, just in case anyone missed out on who he was.
After being recognized – something he clearly wanted to happen – assume the Mythic developer then granted an on-camera interview on the Blizzcon show floor. And in that interview, he talked about Warhammer, a product that competes with WoW. He also talked about Mythic’s new newsletter, which they offer to WoW players. The newsletter will help them play WoW better. This newsletter isn’t a tool to market Warhammer, or to leverage players away from WoW. No, no, not at all. Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a completely free service the Mythic developers offer to their competition, out of the goodness of their own hearts.
Now, obviously, Mythic wouldn’t ever engage in these attention-getting behaviors, at least not at a competitor’s convention. They simply wouldn’t do anything like that. It’s a company in which professionalism is a hallmark.
But 38 Studios is, apparently, playing a somewhat “different” professional game. After all, the company is known for it’s simply bizarre PR behavior. Curt Schilling did exactly what I described above. He showed up at Blizzcon, dressed up in 38 Studios attire, made sure everyone knew he was there, and even granted an interview on the Blizzcon show floor. In that interview, he promoted his newly acquired Azeroth Advisor (a free newsletter for WoW players, put out by 38 Studios out of the goodness of their hearts) and discussed the development of his in-development MMO, Copernicus.
Don’t believe 38 Studios would actually do that? Check it out for yourself.
You stay classy, Curt Schilling. 
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