What is Digg?42 Comments
- ladbroke, on 12/05/2007, -3/+60Great writing from the only technology site I trust anymore.
- rmw132, on 12/05/2007, -1/+24That's why I always weigh member's score ratings more than what the editor says. I think it is more true to what the game deserves, usually, whether it is higher or lower than the editor's score.
Just like with movies, I only go by IMDB's score of the movie when it comes out, not what e-zines rate a movie. - daveisfera, on 12/05/2007, -3/+11It's good to hear some honest analysis instead of the overreacting conspiracy theories.
- RiverBelow, on 12/05/2007, -2/+9I just love Ars Technica. The writing is great, the articles are great, just about the best tech website around nowadays.
- MatttK, on 12/05/2007, -1/+8I totally agree that this was a very well written article. I used to cover games several years ago and definitely felt the pressure of the game companies. While I wasn't concerned with their advertisements, it was the exclusives I missed out on for not acting like Gamespot. I remember we went in to interview some developers at E3 for a particular game but they would not allow us to video tape the interview. Sure enough, Gamespot released an exclusive video interview with the developers, giving the game a glowing preview. It's all about deal making. Scratch their back and they'll scratch yours. Cross them and you just won't be able to keep up with the Gamespots when it comes to exclusives like videos and screenshots.
- bromanct, on 12/05/2007, -1/+6Haha, I know! It's only a multi-billion dollar industry...
- ekin09, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4Agreed. That article gave me closure over this debacle, and although I understand GameSpot's position in all this , the firing was to much of a coincidence for me to forget. GameSpot WAS my go to review site, I have since removed any association I had with them. Game Over.
- sanman, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4Stock Market Bubble:
"I rate this stock as junk"
"You're fired!"
Mortgage Bubble:
"These people aren't credit-worthy"
"You're fired!"
Iraq Invasion:
"I can't find any WMD"
"You're fired!"
Donald Trump:
"Hi, I really admire your--"
"You're fired!" - Ellipson, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4Ars gets it right again, and I applaud their "no scores" approach to reviews.
- dagamer34, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4The real problem is that the Gamespot rating scale is from 7-10. Anything less than that is considered utter crap. Honestly, what is the REAL diference between a 1 and a 4 on the GS scale? How quickly you discovered X game sucked?
- whatthefu, on 12/05/2007, -1/+5IMDB usually overhypes movies after they come out. Rotten Tomatoes (if you agree with it generally after seeing a movie and looking at the site) is a pretty good source.
- inactive, on 12/05/2007, -1/+4Spam spam spam spam, Spam spam spam spam!
- morph988, on 12/05/2007, -2/+5So......Jeff.....what's your review...."I give it a 6.0"......YOU'RE FIRED !! . Why even do reviews? Why have reviewers? Have the supervisor just slap on a 9.3/10 on each game and put it on the site. It sounds a lot like entrapment to me because you are baiting the reviewer. You are telling him, "I dare you to give an honest review of this game". And when he does, he's fired. So wtf .... I really don't get it I guess.
- sgtpppr, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Huh?
- sgtpppr, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2You're always going to get this when there is an incredible conflict of interest between writing honest reviews about a game and taking money to whore out the same game. To say that the advertising and editorial team are totally separate is ridiculous. The funniest thing is that this article as well as the whole rest of the game news industry sees no problem with bribery. Giving someone expensive gifts to influence their opinion to this degree is bribery. Taking reviewers on a low g plane ride? Come on.
A lot of the problem is the sheer quantity of ads on some of the sites. Exactly like the article says...when does the site simply become a large marketing tool for a 3rd party. A few small ads is one thing, but a title site conversion is another. That advertising package must've cost Eidos a freakin fortune and I bet the gamespot sales guy would kill a reviewer that blew his commission on that deal because he wrote a bad review. Though it is funny, as a rule of thumb, any game advertised to this degree cannot be good. When you have to spend millions taking over whole sites to push your game, there's probably a reason. - noisebleed, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I'm glad to see a sensible article about the issue. It's more complex than it may look in, say, a three-panel comic.
- Butros, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2What's the matter, did you cut yourself again with Occam's razor?
- Teh_Shiz, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1What about 5, and especially in this case 6. I dont think a 6 screams "It took me a long time to find out that this game sucks"
I think it says something along the lines of "not a very great game, esepcially not worth the hype." He may have even rated it at a 6, because of all the hype. Because it got more than it should have. - inactive, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1who would digg this down? he's totally right - gamespot's reviews aren't consistent, and especially jeff's. IGN especially has this problem with previews - their previews are all glowing no matter what. they'll say things that amount to "the game totally sucks now, but we think the problems will be ironed out and it'll be the greatest thing ever"
- prosthetichead, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1spam bot go boom.
- sanman, on 12/05/2007, -1/+2That's where Web2.0 gets its name from:
Screwing from both ends. - bdbElysian, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Any company providing a actual review, not a preview, should not be allowed to obtain a majority of their profits from one source or there is a very high chance that a review of whatever product you’re checking out will be filled with lies, omissions, or both.
Whoever is unfortunate enough to waste time going to buy product and throw away hard earned money for something that is of a low standard all because you trusted some review is a fool. By the time you realized you have been made a fool of its too late, you are now the embarrassed owner of garbage and have to waste even more time and money going back to return said crap and hope you can exchange the crap for sometime good or get your money back completely. - Twist05, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Look at the tags for the podcast video (on the very bottom of the page):
http://uk.gamespot.com/video/0/6183660/videoplayer ...
"Tags: excuses lie apologists"
Huh? - rcl3rcl3, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Finally, an article written by a grown up on the whole issue. great stuff.
- Tenoq, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1There's still a few other good apples (Tweaktown, Madshrimps, OCAU)... but Ars is a fantastic site, I agree. Can't beat Zero Punctuation for an honest review though. Unbiased? Probably not, but at least Yahtzee tells you about his bias and it's not because he's been paid off. :p
- krisscofield, on 12/05/2007, -1/+2It would be pretty damn funny if they made a game out of the whole situation.
- STANNO, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Media integrity is a joke perpetuated by the media.
- snikt, on 12/05/2007, -2/+2Exactly what I expect from Ars Technica, clever and well phrased writing all with a nice professional sheen, exactly what we need for an issue like this where hyperbole and rumour were too easy to find.
- jamlarso, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1im a journalism student and i have to say im sick and tiered of netgeeks with their holier then though attitudes taking shot after shot at the astablished press. no its not perfect but this story just goes to prove that journalism on the internet is just as corruptible. in a way its even more so due to the lack of checks and balances.
- sniperfora, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0I just don't understand it. Is the point of rebuilding to say, "Well, Nature got us this time, but we will prevail!" At what point will they realize it's not a war to be won? I'm sorry but it just doesn't seem to be worth endangering the lives nor spending the money--building under sea level in that area just isn't sensible.
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http://jobs.3walim.com/ - klimtog, on 12/06/2007, -0/+0well written, well said.
- Qposter, on 12/05/2007, -3/+1I think it is dumb. Ars Technica we have no idea of your motivation to smooth out the bumps of Jeff vs Spot. Maybe we consumers are sick of some companies treat everyone like ***** and do as I say attitude. Was Jeff a crap employee? Does he has a history of bad reviews for good games? Did he need to be disciplined? What about the other side of the coin? What does gamespot owe it's visitors? The truth or falsely inflated reviews? Are they driven by corporate greed? I personally hate GS. I could care less if Jeff was a jackass. I'd like to know your motivation do you have friends at GS? Do you want to help soften up the damage done by Jeff's firing?
I want honest reviews. I want good products. If the product costs more to produce raise the price. If it is worth owning I will find the cash to get it.
An advertising site can easily say SORRY we don't lie to our consumers and stick to it period. They can also recommend fixes and get the gaming company to delay the release until the product is better. Thereby protecting their integrity and strengthening the bond of trust in all directions.
>If you as a gaming writer want an exclusive, you had better treat the game nice in the review, thanks. umm no!
Why not make sure the product is worth my hard earned money. If your writing about games you have the moral obligation to not LIE. What you say above makes no sense to any consumer and proves the pure crap that consumers have to deal with to own something worth having.
>For sites that need fresh, exclusive news to function, it's the kiss of death.
Yeah like lying to your visitor base is not?
Shortsighted greed? It is never moral or ethical to lie about products.
Of course the conscious consumer has to find people that they can trust... Thankfully we can just surf elsewhere.
>Do not patronize me by telling me the reader is the customer—your real customer is the one that pays you your revenue...
The 3DO president proves that he could care less about the customer, releases an unfinished product, it gets a ***** review and he complains about it. BFD.
Lets see the logic here... If you lie to me I won't come to your site. Now who is your real customer? They pay big bucks to advertise because your journalistic integrity is still in tact. If their product sucks tell them to delay it or how to fix it and then you got something to write about. The cart can't pull the horse but it can drag if off a cliff.
>One of the most common conversations that occurs when game writers get together to drink is who likes you, who you're on the outs with, who is easy to deal with...
Actually the conversation should be about how company X should fix their product before releasing it. This backwards model of caring more about the company than the consumer is the problem here. The consumer is the only customer and they deserve decent products not some greed controlled paid writeup. Get out of the business if you can't be a moral and decent reporter. Get out of the gaming business if you won't produce decent products WTF are you in business for if you are only interested in getting good reviews and beating deadlines? The companies that are not interested in those two things are the heroes of the gaming industry. The companies that are interested creating something worthwhile are not having to try to get someone to lie.
Once again if you want good reviews invest the time into producing something worth having. What really makes me fuming mad is Customers should be treated better than Companies and there are too few companies who understand this. A company is not even a person in any sense of the word. It is a collection of people for sure. Those employees do what ever it takes for the Company sometimes to the detriment of their Customers. And I feel that the large majority of the employees would love to do something wonderful but don't get to. - hospitalcio, on 12/05/2007, -7/+4Did he say "gaming press"? That makes me laugh.
- heystoopid, on 12/05/2007, -7/+1scrap heap rubbish is scrap heap rubbish no matter what salad dressing you put on it !
- Dylson, on 12/05/2007, -8/+1SHUT UP!
- UrfTheWog, on 12/05/2007, -11/+2Not to rain on the blogger parade - but seriously - who friggin cares. When it comes to reviews, I USED to rely on CNET - but I only go there for USER reviews since most of the time their ad-biased, get a totally different product then the public gets, or are just crappy reviewers with good writing/editorial skills - can you say "social network".
Enough - get another job. - morph988, on 12/05/2007, -13/+2shut the ***** up about conspiracy theories. Stop using that term in a derogatory way.
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