Trip Hawkins email to GamePro magazine circles the Web

Trip Hawkins, currently the President of Digital Chocolate, has always been an ambitious man. But trying to take on human nature will always humiliate even the loftiest ego. Human nature, as defined for the sake of this argument, is our natural sense of sweet, old fashioned revenge.

This is an email he sent to the editors at GamePro Magazine in 2001.
It's a nasty, pretentious flame that chastises the editors and writers for a negative review of Portal Runner, a 3DO
game (3DO was Mr. Hawkins' company at the time). He doesn't just challenge the work they do; he challenges the kind of people they are. As a consequence, the good points he makes are lost.

Lesson number one, if you?re going to criticize a magazine?s review of your game do not include phrases like, ?Most of you have editorial staffs that are dominated by angry young men that are poorly trained and represent a narrow and anarchistic element of the world?s population.? This will make the editor defend his staff. It?s just natural.

Lesson number two, do not write sentences like, ?You are so much better off if you do not bite the hand that feeds you. And do not patronize me by telling me the reader is the customer?your real customer is the one that pays you your revenue. And it is game industry advertisers. If you need to be able to be constantly negative you need to accept that you are like a parasite that is killing its host.? Sentences like this will force the editor to defend his readers, his writer, his industry and his profession. It?s just natural.

Lesson number three, it probably shouldn?t have been sent by email. It?s too easy to screw up in front of too many people with email. At least with a letter, the recipient has to go to the Xerox machine, at which point he may have cooled down. The flame also should not have been cc?d. In our experience, if you?re going to flame someone, flame one person. Any more than one person and you?re increasing the likelihood of more people sharing your hissy fit. Remember,
a good flame is too tasty to keep to yourself – no matter how professional the professional.

Write it off to stress. Anger. Hell, the game was released September 11th, 2001. We?ve all learned at one point in our lives to rethink things before we click the send button. It took a few years for this infamous email to see the light of day. But it has seen the light of day. All because Mr. Hawkins thought he could defy human nature.