Gamespot's Sad State of Affairs

[Mwynn]

This is from Sam Kennedy, an editor from the 1UP network. It is a blog post talking about Gamespot going down hill with Gerstanman-Gate and all that stuff along with it. It is a great post, I really enjoyed reading it. Many members of the 1UP editorial community have been very vocal during all of this including marching to the Gamespot headquarters calling for them to be able to write about games without pressure. Also, Editor in Chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu recently went public that Ubisoft and Sony Sports and the Mortal Combat companies are not letting them have access with any of their games.

Anyway, here is the link.

Sam Kennedy's 1UP Blog: GameSpot's Sad State of Affairs (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8587828&publicUserId=4561231)

And a few interesting excerpts.

http://media.1up.com/media?id=3474727

"As for Jeff, word on the street is that he's teaming with GameSpot founder Vince Broady (who recently left Yahoo) to build a new game site to "take on GameSpot."

"Assassin's Creed selective review embargoing (the average review score of Assassin's Creed the week before release as a 98%, while the average score when the game released and the general embargo was lifted was a 83.5%. Huh.)"

As Provo put it, "if people weren't convinced before that nasty shenanegans were to blame for Jeff's firing, well... Alex's departure ought to speak volumes to that."

Provo says it quite bluntly:

"The GameSpot staff are NOT corrupt. GameSpot itself is NOT the problem. CNet is. CNet's management is. The problem lies with the puppet masters. Unfortunately, those masters have RUINED GameSpot's credibility and reputation... a reputation built up for more than a decade

[Raven]

This is from Sam Kennedy, an editor from the 1UP network. It is a blog post talking about Gamespot going down hill with Gerstanman-Gate and all that stuff along with it. It is a great post, I really enjoyed reading it. Many members of the 1UP editorial community have been very vocal during all of this including marching to the Gamespot headquarters calling for them to be able to write about games without pressure. Also, Editor in Chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu recently went public that Ubisoft and Sony Sports and the Mortal Combat companies are not letting them have access with any of their games.

Anyway, here is the link.

Sam Kennedy's 1UP Blog: GameSpot's Sad State of Affairs (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8587828&publicUserId=4561231)

And a few interesting excerpts.

http://media.1up.com/media?id=3474727

"As for Jeff, word on the street is that he's teaming with GameSpot founder Vince Broady (who recently left Yahoo) to build a new game site to "take on GameSpot."

"Assassin's Creed selective review embargoing (the average review score of Assassin's Creed the week before release as a 98%, while the average score when the game released and the general embargo was lifted was a 83.5%. Huh.)"

As Provo put it, "if people weren't convinced before that nasty shenanegans were to blame for Jeff's firing, well... Alex's departure ought to speak volumes to that."

Provo says it quite bluntly:

"The GameSpot staff are NOT corrupt. GameSpot itself is NOT the problem. CNet is. CNet's management is. The problem lies with the puppet masters. Unfortunately, those masters have RUINED GameSpot's credibility and reputation... a reputation built up for more than a decade

Wow that is pathetic. Comic fans get upset about our favorite heroes, but we don't get all worked up over comic reviews!

What is interesting is that this is pretty much the same thing we see with Wizard magazine.

[Mwynn]

Unlike comics with movies and games a bad review can kill them.

[Raven]

Bullshit.

They THINK it matters, because reviewers want to be part of the process, but really it makes no difference at all. We comic fans know and accept that.

I've seen movies that got bad reviews, I've never read a game review in my life and still bought plenty of video games.

Like the article said, the majority of traffic to the site goes there for cheat codes and the forums.

[Moonrider]

Video games are more expensive than monthly comics, so I reckon gamers take reviews more seriously.

[Mwynn]

Bullshit.

They THINK it matters, because reviewers want to be part of the process, but really it makes no difference at all. We comic fans know and accept that.

I've seen movies that got bad reviews, I've never read a game review in my life and still bought plenty of video games.

Like the article said, the majority of traffic to the site goes there for cheat codes and the forums.
Sorry with Games and Movies reviews do matter.

[xstephon]

With Comics your only losing around $3.00

With Movies your losing around $7 to 10 buck depending what city you live in

but with games, If you get reviews that says 10 out of 10 and you spend $60 buck on a crappy game like Assassin's Creed. I can see where they're coming from.

[Troy Wall]

Oh, reviews matter with games. I've pretty much bet all my purchases on what EGM says every month since I was a wee lad. They're the only folks I trust in gaming journalism, and I find their reviews to be honest and spot-on. For some reason I never visit online gaming sites like Gamespot or even 1up (whose affiliated with EGM.) I likes to read my EGM proper!

[Shin_Jinlaw]

This is from Sam Kennedy, an editor from the 1UP network. It is a blog post talking about Gamespot going down hill with Gerstanman-Gate and all that stuff along with it. It is a great post, I really enjoyed reading it. Many members of the 1UP editorial community have been very vocal during all of this including marching to the Gamespot headquarters calling for them to be able to write about games without pressure. Also, Editor in Chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu recently went public that Ubisoft and Sony Sports and the Mortal Combat companies are not letting them have access with any of their games.

Anyway, here is the link.

Sam Kennedy's 1UP Blog: GameSpot's Sad State of Affairs (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8587828&publicUserId=4561231)

And a few interesting excerpts.

http://media.1up.com/media?id=3474727

"As for Jeff, word on the street is that he's teaming with GameSpot founder Vince Broady (who recently left Yahoo) to build a new game site to "take on GameSpot."

"Assassin's Creed selective review embargoing (the average review score of Assassin's Creed the week before release as a 98%, while the average score when the game released and the general embargo was lifted was a 83.5%. Huh.)"

As Provo put it, "if people weren't convinced before that nasty shenanegans were to blame for Jeff's firing, well... Alex's departure ought to speak volumes to that."

Provo says it quite bluntly:

"The GameSpot staff are NOT corrupt. GameSpot itself is NOT the problem. CNet is. CNet's management is. The problem lies with the puppet masters. Unfortunately, those masters have RUINED GameSpot's credibility and reputation... a reputation built up for more than a decade

1up.com is even more corrupted than Gamespot. I just think Gamespot should be banned, as well as 1up.

I threw away all of my EGM books and most of my GMR books. Those guys are terrible! :yuk:

[Shin_Jinlaw]

Bullshit.

They THINK it matters, because reviewers want to be part of the process, but really it makes no difference at all. We comic fans know and accept that.

I've seen movies that got bad reviews, I've never read a game review in my life and still bought plenty of video games.

Like the article said, the majority of traffic to the site goes there for cheat codes and the forums.

1.)Comics and games are two different mediums. Video Games make more money than Hollywood and Comics COMBINED.

2.)Movies and Games are two different mediums. Games make more money than movies.

3.)I am a comic fan, but that doesn't mean that I can be in a Paranoid Delusion to say that "it doesn't matter". Again, different mediums, different venues, and different perspectives. Nothing similar.

4.)You don't read reviews doesn't compensate on what game is good or bad to the public/gamers who say otherwise unless facts are presented to contest that.

I love video games. GOOD ones. I do my own reviews, and sometimes if the source is credible I will even read a review about the game(s) just to keep me up to speed. But in the end, Gamespot is getting their just desserts, and I hope EGM will follow. Their practices is EXTREMELY bad!!! :man: :slap:

[Moonrider]

But if you can't trust Gamespot, EGM, 1Up, then who can you trust? Is IGN okay?

[Mwynn]

But if you can't trust Gamespot, EGM, 1Up, then who can you trust? Is IGN okay?
None of them. Stick to people here or try the other boards.

[Shin_Jinlaw]

But if you can't trust Gamespot, EGM, 1Up, then who can you trust? Is IGN okay?

Better Judgement on who to trust with reviews?

You like Xbox, then read the Xbox mags.

You like playstation, then pick up the PSM mags

All together, I am kind of winging away from Game Informer for they are starting to show baseless credibility in their work as well. They are pretty nice sometimes, but most of their reviews are starting to be a bit one-sided (just look at their past PSP reviews).

[Shin_Jinlaw]

None of them. Stick to people here or try the other boards.


Agreed.

You can also check out this site (http://www.streetfighterx.org) for cool reviews, news, and such.

You can check out this site as well (http://www.blu-ray.com). That is great for upcoming movies, and PS3 games.

That is just some of the examples of what's out there and what's cool. :cool:

[Mwynn]

The most telling thing about Gamespot is 50 Cent BulletProof. Read the preview then the review.

PREVIEW
Based on what we've seen so far, 50 Cent: Bulletproof is turning out surprisingly well. Although the presence of 50, the G-Unit, Dre, and Eminem are all nice touches to be sure, if you stripped them all away, you'd still have a surprisingly solid game that's quite a bit of fun. The core action mechanics are solid and the story is engaging and seems to mix just the right amount of action and melodrama to keep it fun. The arcade mode is a fun retro extra that plays to the gameplay's strength, which is its action. This all bodes extremely well for Bulletproof as development on the game starts to wrap up. At this point, all Genuine Games has to do is tighten up the rough camera spots we mentioned and keep the gameplay varied enough to hold people's interest, and they'll have themselves a solid little game that's worth your time. 50 Cent: Bulletproof is currently slated to ship next month for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.


REVIEW
Whether you're an action fan looking for a good shooter or a G-Unit fan in search of new material, Bulletproof disappoints across the board.

[Shin_Jinlaw]

That, Marv, is :(

[bluelinesmoke]

Lots of people like lots of different things. One persons review shouldn't turn you on or off from a title. If you're going to plunk down 60+ bucks on a game then do your research. Look at several different sites, ask some people on DW, maybe even rent the game first.
That being said, as a game review site Gamespot is doing a huge disservice to it's readers and employees by caving to advertisers pressure. I certainly wouldn't trust them for an honest review again.

[Raven]

Sorry with Games and Movies reviews do matter.

To who?

Everyone? The manufacturer? The designers?

Who exactly loses money from a bad review?

[Mwynn]

To who?

Everyone? The manufacturer? The designers?

Who exactly loses money from a bad review?
Well they give bad reviews to good games. If you were following was going on, they give good reviews based on ad space. Games that do not get ad space were getting bad reivews. So everyone loses.

[darkwriter]

I refuse to listen to most reviews now (except zeroproductions) as I have bought games highly praised by reviewers and just hated them...and then I bought games reviewers say avoid..and loved them.

[Raven]

I refuse to listen to most reviews now (except zeroproductions) as I have bought games highly praised by reviewers and just hated them...and then I bought games reviewers say avoid..and loved them.

That was my point, I keep hearing that bad reviews = lost money, but how exactly? Other than the idea that people who MIGHT have bought it MIGHT not buy it now, who exactly loses financially from a bad review?

[Mwynn]

That was my point, I keep hearing that bad reviews = lost money, but how exactly? Other than the idea that people who MIGHT have bought it MIGHT not buy it now, who exactly loses financially from a bad review?
You just answered your own question.

[darkwriter]

lol.

Funny I still like to read reviews...except I now read them only after I have already bought the game, just to see if any reviewers agree with me.

[Raven]

You just answered your own question.

Ideas are not facts.

Who directly loses money from a bad review?

Let's use Cloverfield as an example. Who would lose money were reviews of this film turn out poorly? Is it the movie studio or the theatres?

In other words, is there any real financial proof, or does everybody just go on speculation and word of mouth? It's a chicken and egg thing, a bad movie gets bad reviews and makes less money, but is it because it is a bad movie, because people are SAYING it is a bad movie, or because bad reviews make it appear to be a bad movie?

I just have a hard time buying the idea that because one guy has a specific opinion on a game or movie, even if it is published in a national newspaper or magazine, that this can affect the million dollar business that produced that game or movie in the first place.

[Mwynn]

I just have a hard time buying the idea that because one guy has a specific opinion on a game or movie, even if it is published in a national newspaper or magazine, that this can affect the million dollar business that produced that game or movie in the first place.
Okay that is your choice. The question has been answered plenty of times. If it doesn ot work for you nothing more I can do.

[Calloway]

Ideas are not facts.


Dude, your trying to justify logic to a speculator...this will begin an endless cycle we have seen a million times here. :har:

[Shin_Jinlaw]

To who?

Everyone? The manufacturer? The designers?

Who exactly loses money from a bad review?

It is common knowledge. Just look it up.

It is all about revenue and bad rap.

Good reviews=$$$

Bad reviews= 0 dollars.

Now at times, there's a double standard on games i.e. games that're based on reputation (fan base). Example.

Dragonball Z Budokai series: Most commentators gave these games bad scores. But if you look it up, those games have been selling pretty well.

Halo series: (From this point, call it like you see it, but this is the truth) Halo is all about hype. Always has and always will be. The Halo franchise has been very successful, but nothing can't stop reality when I say the game is not all that. There are other games that beat Halo in its own genre. The biggest note to this is Halo 3. The game is lackluster and even most reviewers have confessed to this. There have been things that M$ have practiced for Halo 3 to garner those overwhelming reviews, where in reality, the game is only a 7 (maybe a 7.5) at it's best. But everyone has hyped that game up. Sad, but true.

All I am saying is that if you study and do the research, it is out there. And in most cases, reviews effect sales. Reputation effect sales.

In fact, you may not know this, but DMC2 was cited to be the worst iteration in the DMC series, but you will be surprised if you look it up, that game did pretty well.

[Shin_Jinlaw]

Ideas are not facts.

Who directly loses money from a bad review?

Let's use Cloverfield as an example. Who would lose money were reviews of this film turn out poorly? Is it the movie studio or the theatres?

In other words, is there any real financial proof, or does everybody just go on speculation and word of mouth? It's a chicken and egg thing, a bad movie gets bad reviews and makes less money, but is it because it is a bad movie, because people are SAYING it is a bad movie, or because bad reviews make it appear to be a bad movie?

I just have a hard time buying the idea that because one guy has a specific opinion on a game or movie, even if it is published in a national newspaper or magazine, that this can affect the million dollar business that produced that game or movie in the first place.

Dawg! Do you have information to counter this? All you are doing is expressing your opinion on the matter versus facts.

How is that outweighing the truth? :huh:

[Raven]

Okay that is your choice. The question has been answered plenty of times. If it doesn ot work for you nothing more I can do.

You didn't DO anything.

Shin, thanks for posting that, I don't believe there is any such thing as "common knowledge", most of what is "common knowledge" is unproven bullshit.

I was curious if there was any absolute proof that bad game/movie reviews equal a loss of revenue.

You've given good examples of exceptions to the rule, and I agree with you that I am sure money can be lost due to bad reviews.

I just can't believe that Microsoft game designers are sitting there going "Oh man, that game would have made us millions but because Mwynn said it sucked on his site, we didn't sell ANY copies". In other words, bad reviews can hurt, but in billionaire industries like games and movies, it can't really matter in any quantifiable way.

Of course people who do reviews will tell you differently, because otherwise their job is useless, right? No facts have been given to prove otherwise, as I said before, maybe the product sucked and that is why there was a drop in sales, not because of the reviews.

[Mwynn]

I did not say I did anthing. I said the question was answered, you need to do research. Look up 50 Cent and Assasins Creed.

[Shin_Jinlaw]

You didn't DO anything.

Shin, thanks for posting that, I don't believe there is any such thing as "common knowledge", most of what is "common knowledge" is unproven bullshit.

I was curious if there was any absolute proof that bad game/movie reviews equal a loss of revenue.

You've given good examples of exceptions to the rule, and I agree with you that I am sure money can be lost due to bad reviews.

I just can't believe that Microsoft game designers are sitting there going "Oh man, that game would have made us millions but because Mwynn said it sucked on his site, we didn't sell ANY copies". In other words, bad reviews can hurt, but in billionaire industries like games and movies, it can't really matter in any quantifiable way.


Of course people who do reviews will tell you differently, because otherwise their job is useless, right? No facts have been given to prove otherwise, as I said before, maybe the product sucked and that is why there was a drop in sales, not because of the reviews.

That is why people sould practice using better judgement. I am a commentator, so I know how that goes and completely understand where you are coming from.

For the games that M$ released on the XBOX brand games, they enjoyed moderate success. Enough to "pay the bills". Otogi, one of the most impressive games that I absolutely enjoyed on the XBOX, sold poorly, inspite of great reviews it garnered. But that didn't stop the developers to release a sequel later on. Again, great reviews, poor sales.

But if common knowledge is unproven BS, as you put it, how is it that if all you have to do is just look it up? It is not only on the internet, but it can be in books, magazines, viable sources, etc. Anything that has a word of mouth to it can be easily looked up. Hard pressed sources you would have to dig deep. It is all part of studying on what you love. That is the fact. You can't hide from that, you know?

[darkwriter]

People should simply learn to realize that a review is just an opinion...that is it...AN OPINION (usually one persons). Just because they think a game is the greatest of all Gods gifts to us worthless petty mortals does not mean that you will think it is.

Considering that you can rent games these days...I suggest doing just that. Instead of listening to a group of people who write reviews to pander to the big wig corporations who do a subject to death and over hype how great it is more than the Church does with God so that you turn into a brain dead moron and part with your hard earned cash that would be better spent on having your brain removed through your nose.... just take a chance on a game and give it a rent (if not buy it straight out for the heck of it).

Personally I find the best kind of reviewing thingy is....TV. Why is this you ask? They can only be saying the same thing in words that they write in print!... very very true. But TV has one advantage over written word... you can mute it. YES MUTE IT. Just look at the pretty pictures. Don't listen to somebody telling you what they think of it...look at the pictures and decide for yourself if this is the kind of game you might possibly enjoy.

[Mwynn]

People should simply learn to realize that a review is just an opinion...that is it...AN OPINION (usually one persons). Just because they think a game is the greatest of all Gods gifts to us worthless petty mortals does not mean that you will think it is.

Considering that you can rent games these days...I suggest doing just that. Instead of listening to a group of people who write reviews to pander to the big wig corporations who do a subject to death and over hype how great it is more than the Church does with God so that you turn into a brain dead moron and part with your hard earned cash that would be better spent on having your brain removed through your nose.... just take a chance on a game and give it a rent (if not buy it straight out for the heck of it).

Personally I find the best kind of reviewing thingy is....TV. Why is this you ask? They can only be saying the same thing in words that they write in print!... very very true. But TV has one advantage over written word... you can mute it. YES MUTE IT. Just look at the pretty pictures. Don't listen to somebody telling you what they think of it...look at the pictures and decide for yourself if this is the kind of game you might possibly enjoy.
True yet Gamespot, Ign, etc are a very unique position. They funnel ads through their reviews. It is not fair.

[darkwriter]

Now I fully admit I have been swayed by reviews, pretty adverts and even recommendations by others (including people from this site), and while admittedly it has made me aware of some gems...usually it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

For instance here are three games that everybody (including most of you) told me were the bees knees (stupid phrase but I like it), but upon playing I discovered were simply well packaged, pretty looking, but nevertheless steaming piles of dog-doo

Halo 3 (far far far far too short and easy)
Bio Shock (far far far far far far far far far too easy)
Mass Effect (long repetitive dialogue, badly executed combat and a story that was cut, pasted and mixed up a bit from Halo, Star Wars and various other sci-fi sources with little hint of true originality).

Now Halo I never really liked but I already owned 1 and 2 and I like sets.

Bio Shock, the powers you got interested me (especially insect swarm) but in the end I got bored with them and only used freeze, fire and telekinesis.

Mass Effect...my god this is a BioWare game. I love BioWare games...BioWare make great games. So what went wrong with this one? Simply put I do not know. Within half an hour of putting the disk in the 360 I lost all interest in what I was doing. I got killed countless times simply because I did not give a damn about anything.


So what has this got to do with reviews? Well if you had read what I have posted carefully...I got these games because of the reviews (and the endless stream of annoying adverts that pop up on every single site I visit, even ones not related to computer games in the slightest)

£55 fro H3, £40 for BS (those initials also work as a reminder for what that game is...think male cow) and £60 for ME.

that is £165 pounds (roughly $325 ) on games that take atrocious to a whole new level, all because I listened to some stupid review. That is why I have finally decided to ignore them from now on and go simply by my gut feelings.


ps. These views of the three games mentioned are simply my opinions and should not affect your own.

[Mwynn]

Renting is the best idea.

[jimmycakes]

But if you can't trust Gamespot, EGM, 1Up, then who can you trust? Is IGN okay?

No one. LOL. I rent all my games first. Granted.... I rent them for free. But! Find someone on here with similar game tastes. I like games that most people don't, so I really need to try games before I buy.