The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was merge and redirect to Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard as none of the sources in the article establish the notability of the character, but instead focus on the game itself or on the marketing efforts for the game. Notability—separate from the game—of the character has not been established. ···日本穣^{? · Talk to Nihonjoe} 04:16, 8 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Matt Hazard[edit]

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Non-notable, newly created video game character, fails WP:N and WP:CRYSTAL - game not yet published. ukexpat (talk) 20:56, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Delete - per nom. As the article itself states, Matt Hazard is a character in a "nonexistent" game series, is a character which "never existed before September of 2008" and his "history has been fabricated". Can we really take this seriously? On the flip side I am getting a pile of ghits but can't find any to infer any notability. Nancy ^talk 20:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Delete Gimme a break. The entire article is unsourced original research. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:00, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Google it and gimme 20 minutes to source it.--Blinkstale (talk) 21:01, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Keep - Twenty five minutes later and this article is never leaving the face of Wikipedia again. Notable, source, whatever. This thing has substantial information, proof of noteworthiness, and it's all cited. I'd like to see you try to take it down, the impatient lot of you. Thanks for making my day so much more fun. --Blinkstale (talk) 21:28, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: Of those 6 "references", Facebook, the Wordpress blog page, and the unofficial fansite are not reliable sources per WP:RS. Of the other three, probably only gamespot counts as a reliable source. – ukexpat (talk) 21:58, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: Even though the unofficial fansite is linked to by the official webpage? Honestly, do you guys have no exposure whatsoever to viral marketing? Here, let me help. Viral Marketing. And no, I'm not being kind about this process or anything anymore. I'm trying very hard to do what I think is right for what looks like a brilliant way to introduce a character into the video game industry, and you guys are acting like you're doing everything you can to stop that. --Blinkstale (talk) 22:41, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Delete - obvious WP:CRYSTAL and WP:V violations; the very existence of the article reeks of "viral marketing" and other forms of disinformation. --Orange Mike | Talk 22:30, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: I hope 16 sources are enough for you guys, especially with 4 in alternative languages. If you want more, I can get them, or you could, y'know, use Google? That might help a little. IGN, 1up, Gamespot and Gamasutra are THE top name gaming websites in the industry. If you don't trust them, you should NOT be voting on this issue due to sheer ignorance of the subject being discussed. --Blinkstale (talk) 22:54, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: no need for the ad hominem comments. Anyone is entitled to comment an Afd, and remember it is not a vote. – ukexpat (talk) 04:26, 4 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: I did not intend for it to come off as an Ad Hominem, I believe the same should apply to all fields of study, and similarly I should not be the one deciding whether a history article is relevant given that the only major history source I know to be trustworthy is National Geographic. I do not know that field, and as such, I should not be telling people what's noteworthy in it or not. Those are my own, personal beliefs, and I shared them as such. I apologize for my temper, it's been a long day on Wikipedia given that I find this to be an absolutely genius move on the part of D3, the publisher, and would like to share that with the world. I have had similar ideas for ways to hype a game tumbling around in my head for months, and when I saw this unveiled today, I almost wanted to go out and start the world's first Matt Hazard fan site that was not Viral Marketing, but true fan love of a series or idea in a game series. Again, I apologize for my earlier actions, but I have done everything I can to prove the legitimacy, notability and my own personal, non-profit associations with this. There's not much more I can do right now, until I know more about the game itself. --Blinkstale (talk) 05:52, 4 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reluctant keep - this reflects my contempt for viral marketing, stealth marketing and other versions of the Big Lie; it almost feels like I'm consenting to the creation of all these hoax websites, etc. by the publisher. Nonetheless, Blinkstale has done a fine job of establishing notability in its field for this particular scam/hoax/whatever you want to call it. --Orange Mike | Talk 01:37, 4 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OrangeMike, are you saying that it is the campaign that may be notable as opposed to the character itself? Either way I have doubts about any "significantly lasting and historical interest and impact" - this thing is just another meme at the peak of an entirely manufactured hype which will probably be somewhat transient in nature. Nancy ^talk 08:06, 4 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Delete - it appears to me that, while the game itself (Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard) may be notable as an upcoming video game that has received coverage by the major gaming websites, the character is actually rather irrelevant. The sources support this - of the ones that aren't released by the publisher, and therefore are irrelevant, most refer to the game rather than the character, only discussing him in brief. Suggest deletion of this article and movement of any relevant content to an article on the actual game. Also note that even if it survives, it needs a significant rewrite to remove the very unencyclopaedic tone (Wikipedia is not the place to make in-jokes - 'OMG he's a baddassss' etc.) Ale_Jrb ^talk 11:34, 4 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Delete per WP:FICT and WP:CRYSTAL.--Boffob (talk) 06:52, 5 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of video game related deletions. MrKIA11 (talk) 11:55, 5 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Merge (as the redirect is a useful search term) to the yet unreleased game. The sources, even if reliable, as the in-passing type to the character, and better part of the overall discussion of the unreleased game. Should more development information and reception (after the game's release) is available, this can be recreated, but not until then. --MASEM 13:05, 5 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Merge to Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard. This will make for some good content regarding the marketing of the game, but there isn't enough for an article solely about the character. Pagra shtak 14:51, 5 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Merge with game article and provide redirect as stated above is useful for someone researching the game. This character is just not notable outside of the game in which it exists, and until such time as that game achieves a popularity which garners its characters notability, there's no need for a separate article. Coastalsteve984 (talk) 22:15, 5 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.