Gift Baskets Gone Wrong

If you're a journalist that covers any kind of media (music, movies, video games, etc.) you can expect to receive some promotional items from companies trying to hype the release of their new products. If you're a video game reviewer, however, EA may have just inadvertently turned you into a criminal (seriously). EA recently released The Godfather II the second game in their Godfather series based on the classic film series of the same name. Among other special items a character receives as he progresses through the game is a set of brass knuckles: an item which EA decided they would include in the promotional gift basket of sorts that they sent out to some reviewers. Ignoring how ridiculous it is, it was kind of a boss idea, definitely cooler than the norm, however it's obvious after this that EA's entire legal department (and common sense) was on vacation because no one caught the fact that BRASS KNUCKLES ARE ILLEGAL WEAPONS in most US States. Now, to EA's credit, once they realized their egregious error, they alerted those who had received the packages and encouraged all of them to simply return the packages immediately, to eliminate any possible legal repercussions. While it was good of EA to try to correct their mistake and keep all of those dutiful video game reviewers in the clear, the question still remains: how could it not occur to ANYONE that sending out brass knuckles may not be the best idea? The only downside to this whole (Lupe) fiasco is that now receiving a Tommy Gun is probably out of the question.