Fucking Kotaku

[Hot Heart]

You don't have to click the link but the headline...

http://kotaku.com/5840076/armored-core-vs-singleplayer-is-a-mess-of-explosions-and-yellow-writing

 

...combined with the writer (Luke) and this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism

 

...is quite funny.

 

Of course, he literally means yellow text on the screen.

[Thorgi Duke of Frisbee]

With the constant barrage of PlayStation ads on Kotaku's front page for weeks now, and the way they continue hyping up the Vita and tearing down the 3DS, one can only be a little curious. I'm not outright accusing them of being motivated by monetary contributions from Sony's marketing department, but the way they're constantly attacking the 3DS, even when it's doing much better than it was before, is very curious.

[Strangelove]

Are they the only ones knocking the 3DS and glorifying the Vita? It doesnt seem like it.

[fuchikoma]

As a 3DS owner, I can completely see the reasoning for tearing down the 3DS and hyping the Vita, personally. Joel's Razer Blade article was actually the only time I've suggested paid editorial, I think.

 

Sony's PR companies have definitely been known to make stupid moves in the past, but I don't think they'd be THAT stupid - paying off journalists - that could tank their reputation in one swoop.

 

(Though when someone's basically paying your bills, I'm sure in most cases there's a bit more "sensitivity" to their product's image despite best intentions to stay objective...)

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

I think the whole "paid editorial" thing is much rarer than many commenters suggest. It just doesn't happen where journalists meet devs or publishers in dark alleys and do secret transactions and laugh evilly.

 

That said, I can see where pubs & devs can sway journalists without outright paying for content. Swag, publisher events, free games, a good personal relationship, etc., can all affect editorial content. I gotta admit it's hard sometimes to give a bad review on a product when a dev has been nothing but kind to you. I do it anyway, but I can definitely see where that temptation comes in. I got a free pass to CODXP and a free copy of the Hardened Edition of the game just for writing about the event: can that affect my eventual review of MW3? I won't let it, but hopefully that gives some perspective on where we get that paid advertorial feel.

 

In Joel's case, I think he just got really hyped over a product without thinking through the issues.

[RockyRan]

Yeah, I think everyone at this point is tearing down the 3DS and glorifying the Vita. The former because, well, it's had plenty of mistakes and the latter because it's new hardware.

[deanb]

http://gamejournos.com/tagged/vgchartz_week

 

If no one has read it yet. Start from bottom up.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

I wrote with Joe at DeltaGamer, as well as a few of the other VGC guys. Not really gonna comment on the whole debate, other than to say it may be tough to get work in the media field after leaking presumably confidential emails out to Game Journos.

[Strangelove]

Well, now that I dont have a star anymore I dont see a reason to post anymore. I gotta say, im relieved. I had this tendency to post for no reason every single day for a while. I havent felt like saying anything remotely important in a very long time on that website.

[deanb]

I like how you were unstarred for spoilers when Kotaku spoiled the plot of COD MW3 before the game was even officially announced.

 

@P4: I saw Ben Kuchera comment on it about leaking the emails making it hard to get work, someone pointed out that's maybe another problem with games press if exposing unethical behaviour would get you blacklisted. Unless other sites aren't up for having their dodgy payment schemes laid bare.

[excel_excel]

promoting a Gears 3 spoiler in a release date article featuring Gears 3. Classy.

[Strangelove]

I knew what was going to happen. Its why I did it. I dont even know if Dom dies or not. I just knew people were going to get angry.

Now that Owen, in a way, has confirmed the spoiler, I guess people do have a reason to be upset.

Gears of War has a shitty story anyways. Fuck 'em.

[GunFlame]

So it's a shitty story, but many still actually enjoy it. And it cannot be denied that Gears is a huge franchise, with a massive, dedicated fanbase. Just because you could not care less about a the story, does not mean that many, many others think the same way.

 

No one should ever go out there way to spoil the end of something for others. There is no reason for it. It's just an act of spite.

[Battra92]

NEWSFLASH! Tim Rogers dressing like a colorblind douche, uses $45 conditioner and becomes creepier and more revolting a human being every day.

 

Oh and uhhh videogames?

[BrainHurtBoy...2]

Tim Rogers is the most stuck-up, arrogant man in games journalism. I remember that Q&A article he did where he refused to mention the Director of FFXIII by name because he hadn't 'Earned the right' for Tim Rogers to know his name.

Who does this guy think he is, some kind of Rockstar? Everything about him makes me angry as shit. Irritating fellow.

[toxicitizen]

Tim Rogers is the most stuck-up, arrogant man in games journalism. I remember that Q&A article he did where he refused to mention the Director of FFXIII by name because he hadn't 'Earned the right' for Tim Rogers to know his name.

Who does this guy think he is, some kind of Rockstar? Everything about him makes me angry as shit. Irritating fellow.

Not trying to defend him or anything, you're entitled to your opinion of the man. But I'm pretty sure that what you're referring to was meant to be humorous.

For you to get that pissed off at him makes me think that you just don't get his style of humor. I always found his articles to be highly entertaining.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

@P4: I saw Ben Kuchera comment on it about leaking the emails making it hard to get work, someone pointed out that's maybe another problem with games press if exposing unethical behaviour would get you blacklisted. Unless other sites aren't up for having their dodgy payment schemes laid bare.

Trouble is, he wasn't just whisteblowing and releasing pertinent info from the sites, but uploading entire internal conversations. If the company had been, say, accepting money to write good reviews, I think that might be different, but we're talking more about perceived incompetence than diabolic schemes here.

[Strangelove]

Dammit, I did a farewell speech on there! I SWORE I wouldnt do that. Ugh.

[FredEffinChopin]

Dammit, I did a farewell speech on there! I SWORE I wouldnt do that. Ugh.

 

Aww dam, no you didn't.... Can I get a link though?

*grabs popcorn*

 

Just joking. Sort of. Anyway, I'd hoped to find a better shot of the scene, but this is for you.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Link! Link! Link! Link!

[Strangelove]

Hana, well funny thing is that if I log into my account, kotaku never loads for me. Just the logo and the background. If I log out my post doesn't show. What the fuck does that mean?

[Battra92]

Is THIS your link?

 

or is THIS your link?

 

or maybe it's this:

http://kotaku.com/58...045899#comments

Edited September 27, 2011 by Battra92

[fuchikoma]

Hana, well funny thing is that if I log into my account, kotaku never loads for me. Just the logo and the background. If I log out my post doesn't show. What the fuck does that mean?

 

Weird... Maybe try deleting all the cookies for Kotaku? Other Gawker sites should let you view your profile in any case. I'm destarred and banned on Kotaku, but still starred everywhere else because I'm one of the old ones from before they split the sites up.

 

Anyway, good exit note. You kept it civil and not too insulting (certainly nothing libelous... all facts.) I think that's good. Even if Joel would sooner assume the whole world is wrong and he's right, it's still good feedback to give them, and may make a difference to someone (Crecente? Denton?) some day. Now... just try to keep your integrity and don't post when you don't absolutely have to or it'll be no better than most game "boycotts."

[Thorgi Duke of Frisbee]

This one has more to do with the people reading Kotaku than Kotaku itself. They posted a story on how this 43-year-old unemployed family man ran to the next house over and started choking a kid because the kid kept killing him in Call of Duty. Instead of commenting on how fucked up it was for a grown man to do that, everyone's saying "WELL, THE KID SHOULDN'T BE PLAYING M GAMES IN THE FIRST PLACE HERP DE DERP!"

 

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but a grown man assaulting a child has no valid excuse whatsoever. And it ESPECIALLY doesn't matter if the kid's playing an M game.

[deanb]

Someone posted the article to r/gaming. The OPs response:

I believe the game has an 18 certificate in the UK, so the kid shouldn't have been playing it in the first place.