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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Games Today Liechtenstein, Tomorrow the World

Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 12:49 PM

So there is a place in Europe called Liechtenstein. It's a sovereign nation! It's smaller than Seattle and less populous than Bremerton, but it gets its own seat at the United Nations. Not that we're jealous! We're just sharing facts.

Microsoft wants to make sure that Halo 4, which launches next week, doesn’t get lost in the flurry of PR madness surrounding Surface, Windows 8, and all the other MSFT products launching this year*, so they sort-of took over the nation of Liechtenstein to create a greater-than-human-scale installation art piece. It's a PR move straight out of the Donald Trump guidebook: Make yourself too ridiculous not to talk about.

So here we are. Halo 4 is bigger than Liechtenstein, and that's all we've got left to say about it.

*Not to mention the IRL election, dramatic weather events, and autumnal sadness.

The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.

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Comments (10) RSS

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The Stranger Testing Department needs to test their news source linkage.

Posted by agdtinman on November 1, 2012 at 1:03 PM

@1 Thanks! Fixed! We are derp.

Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on November 1, 2012 at 1:09 PM

I know you guys are probably drunk on the Halo 4 kool-aid, what with it being only five days away and all, but in the future, please include a link to the actual thing that you're referring to, such as this one.

Oh, and don't forget to watch the stunning conclusion to Forward Unto Dawn tomorrow! You don't want to be the only fanboys on the block to have missed it, do you?

Posted by Knat on November 1, 2012 at 1:10 PM

Liechtenstein is a beautiful and interesting country. Definitely go if you get the chance.

Fun trivia- it is one of the few double landlocked countries in the world. Meaning the two countries it borders (Austria and Switzerland) are also landlocked.

Posted by SantiagoFan on November 1, 2012 at 1:23 PM

I guess we'll just have to take your word for it, then.

Posted by Zebes

on November 1, 2012 at 1:23 PM

When I was 12 my brother and I planned to invade and conquer Lichtenstein entirely by landing a DC-9 on it. We calculated that would be sufficient. However, in our great benevolence we decided to forego the plan and leave the Lichtensteinians to their simple ways, instead of bending them to our iron will.

Posted by treacle on November 1, 2012 at 1:42 PM

On the other hand, Lichtenstein (did they change the name?), is a major tax haven, and a journalist in Greece who got a copy of the list of millionaires and billionaires avoiding Greek taxes in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and another similar country just today avoided a jail sentence for having given that list to Parliament a year ago.

None of the people on that list were ever followed up on.

The main reason PIIGS countries are having financial problems is Corporations (e.g. Microsoft, Amazon, etc) not paying taxes and the Rich not paying even a fraction of the taxes the middle class and poor are.

But it is a fun place to visit (Greece or Lichtenstein).

Posted by Will in Seattle

on November 1, 2012 at 1:42 PM

He's blond, he's pissed,
he'll see you in the lists,
Lichtenstein!
He's blond, he's tanned,
he comes from Gelderland,
he comes from Gelderland!
Gelderland, Gelderland, Gelderland...
Gelderland, Gelderland, Gelderland...

Posted by Roland, Chaucer, Kate, and Wat on November 1, 2012 at 1:49 PM

I didn't even know I passed through Liechtenstein until after I left it. I'm pretty sure it's smaller than Bainbridge in size too. Makes me wonder, Santiago fan, what are the other double land-locked countries? A couple of the 'stans? An African country or two?

Posted by Lose-Lose on November 1, 2012 at 11:04 PM

@9, for the heck of it i'd use a DC-10 while playing the Kleenex/LiLiPUT song "DC-10" over and over again.

It's a song about a DC-10 crashing while the bands mother is on board. I like to play it when I'm in a plane and it is taking off/landing/sometimes play it during flight.

Posted by Simone on November 1, 2012 at 11:10 PM