Jump to content

Midway, Sony Sports and Ubi Soft Hate EGM...


Guy In Rubber Suit
 Share

Recommended Posts

Reprinted editorial from EGM #225

The basic jist of this is that those three companies are pissed that EGM gave their games low scores and now they are effectively revoking coverage from the publication. Something similar to this has happened before like Acclaim pulling ads because of the low scoring NES game, Total Recall and Capcom doing the same when they didn't give Super Street Fighter II the stellar reviews that Capcom felt it deserved.

Honestly I'm pissed and disappointed with these companies. It really makes game journalism seem illegitimate and this doesn't help in the light of 'Gertsmann-gate'. This also prevents the video game industry from being taken more seriously. If many magazines are getting paid off for reviews then it just cheapens the medium and really prevents it from being bigger than it should. I'm glad that EGM is sticking to their guns by being honest in their reviews despite how much game companies or even other people might hate it. The truth hurts and at the same time, not everyone's opinion is the same however it is good to be informed about any issues involved with the games.

To the point I would like to propose a gamer wide ban on Midway, Sony Sports and Ubi Soft until they cut this childish act out and allow EGM to cover their games in a timely fashion. I'm going to sell off my Ubi Soft collection which includes Prince of Persia: Sands of Time unfortunately. I don't believe I have any Midway games but if I do I'll get rid of them and I've never bought any sports games, realistic ones anyway. I also plan on boycotting future releases from those companies and it really sucks because there are some good games coming from Ubi Soft, Splinter Cell: Conviction being one of them.

If you're with me, great. I want the corruption of video game journalism and video game PR to stop. I want EGM or any publication or anyone for that matter to really blow the lid off of this. I want it to stop and I want to see honesty in reviews and previews, not ass kissing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sadly you're going to see a lot of this. I'm sure it's been going on for years anyways without us knowing about it.

Point being, it's still just opinions. If companies want to pay reviewers to blow them publicly, let them. It doesn't mean you have to believe what is written. It does considerably weaken the reviewing system, but that's already the case with movie reviews, sports-casting, and major awards for films/television/music. It's only natural as the videogame scene continues to grow, that there will be people that fall into the old bribe-for-accolades scheme. Let's just hope that some of the magazines decide to hold onto their integrity.

Edit: Also what's the point in selling games you've already bought? That's like picking your own pocket. Just boycott future games. It's easier, and it takes money from them, instead of giving it back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to throw some more edits down, but this is pretty major so I'll make another post instead.

I was thinking about this, and I knew that I'd heard something like it before, even before Gertsmann. Then I remembered that I'd read about it in Penny Arcade so I went and looked up.

Point being, this isn't the first time EGM, and in particular Dan Hsu, has offended the big guns. (More like kicked them in the nuts repeatedly as you shall no doubt see/recall). I don't know if any of you remember the interview that he did with Peter Moore of Microsoft where he essentially nailed him to the wall on the issue of the 360's lack of backwards compatible games. I went and found it here:

Interview with Peter Moore

The point I'm trying to make with that is, despite getting hammered, Microsoft has not done any of the tomfoolery that Ubisoft, Sony, and Midway are doing now. And frankly, I'm pretty sure that whatever EGM had to say about Assassin's Creed was nothing to the bombshell that was Page two of the above interview. I don't think it'll take very long for those publishers to grow some balls and put their content back in the magazine. Also, bravo to Dan Hsu. It seems like he's out there doing the right thing, and I doubt that'll stop while he's holding down the fort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, that blows. At least EGM/1up isn't as shitty as Gamespot like that. Not like those companies make any game I'd buy anyway.

I actually think pretty highly of Gamespot even if they are biased in their own way. 1up basically is the premiere gaming magazine site and it'd be like pulling politicians away from 60 Minutes.

I don't understand why Ubisoft would be miffed though. A lot of EGM reviews have been decently positive about them even if they weren't 9.5's and led to game of the month honors all the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually think pretty highly of Gamespot even if they are biased in their own way. 1up basically is the premiere gaming magazine site and it'd be like pulling politicians away from 60 Minutes.

I don't understand why Ubisoft would be miffed though. A lot of EGM reviews have been decently positive about them even if they weren't 9.5's and led to game of the month honors all the time.

Most game publishers see their AAA games as 9-10's in the scale of 10 and if didn't make the score the big hats aren't happy. Lately Ubisoft's big games haven't been rated as highly as the PR, Stock Holders, CEOs, and/or etc have wanted and the 4.5 score by one of the reviewers (and somewhat average/above average score from the other 2) apperantly broke the camel's back for Ubi. No one cares about Mortal Kombat any more so theres no real loss there and Sony's Sports games never have been to the quality that EA and 2k have brought forth so again no real loss either. Also the problem is Ubisoft makes a lot of crappy games to make money for their bigger games. And most of those games do suck, and are often called out by 1up/EGM in jokes and stuff. Most don't get reviewed but I'm pretty sure Ubisoft isn't happy about those games getting those low scores either.

And Gamespot might be biased but the people who actually run the show and write are pretty cool guys. They seem like a close family, just the higher ups that suck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyway, all smartassedness aside, some game companies have really thin skin when it comes to websites or magazines reviewing their games that they feel are awesomeness on a disc. They get outraged that their baby is mediocre at best in someone's eyes... especially when those eyes have some form of press available to them. But while some game companies just move on, others like Capcom in the past (and now Midway and them), take another course... they throw a hissy fit, take their ball, and go home. I guess they figure it's some kind of punishment, but it's really a type of bad press that's worse than what their game just got.

Of course, it's the same thing with artists/entertainers of any kind. Some can handle the negative reviews or commentary on what they feel (or have been told) is a masterpiece by them. Others can't, or won't. They forget that it's an opinion, and not everyone is going to have the same one. As such, just because other print and digital press rags say one thing, doesn't mean every last one of them will agree with it. After all, as the saying goes, you can't please everybody.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyway, all smartassedness aside, some game companies have really thin skin when it comes to websites or magazines reviewing their games that they feel are awesomeness on a disc. They get outraged that their baby is mediocre at best in someone's eyes... especially when those eyes have some form of press available to them. But while some game companies just move on, others like Capcom in the past (and now Midway and them), take another course... they throw a hissy fit, take their ball, and go home. I guess they figure it's some kind of punishment, but it's really a type of bad press that's worse than what their game just got.

Of course, it's the same thing with artists/entertainers of any kind. Some can handle the negative reviews or commentary on what they feel (or have been told) is a masterpiece by them. Others can't, or won't. They forget that it's an opinion, and not everyone is going to have the same one. As such, just because other print and digital press rags say one thing, doesn't mean every last one of them will agree with it. After all, as the saying goes, you can't please everybody.

Sounds a lot like OCR. :|

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyway, all smartassedness aside, some game companies have really thin skin when it comes to websites or magazines reviewing their games that they feel are awesomeness on a disc. They get outraged that their baby is mediocre at best in someone's eyes... especially when those eyes have some form of press available to them. But while some game companies just move on, others like Capcom in the past (and now Midway and them), take another course... they throw a hissy fit, take their ball, and go home. I guess they figure it's some kind of punishment, but it's really a type of bad press that's worse than what their game just got.

Of course, it's the same thing with artists/entertainers of any kind. Some can handle the negative reviews or commentary on what they feel (or have been told) is a masterpiece by them. Others can't, or won't. They forget that it's an opinion, and not everyone is going to have the same one. As such, just because other print and digital press rags say one thing, doesn't mean every last one of them will agree with it. After all, as the saying goes, you can't please everybody.

Sounds a lot like OCR. :|

And like the art critiques I've sat through over the years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...