Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-98.216.174.239-20150202232333/@comment-226878-20150313214339

@73, yes, like DOOM. Although that was popularized mostly due to the player's ability to add their own content.

There's also this: "The development of Doom was surrounded by much anticipation. The large number of posts in Internet newsgroups about Doom led to the SPISPOPD joke,[9] to which a nod was given in the game in the form of a cheat code. In addition to news, rumors and screenshots, unauthorized leaked alpha versions also circulated online. Doom was released as shareware, with people encouraged to distribute it further. Although most users did not purchase the registered version, over one million copies have been sold, and the popularity helped the sales of later games in the Doom series that were not released as shareware."

@Zol, while definitely critical, plugging the anime alone is not sufficient to ensure the popularity of the game. Many gamers have no interest in cartoons or anime at all even if the games they like have similar aspects. It may sound counterintuitive, but plugging the game itself is just as important as advertising the show.