Fucking Kotaku

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

I just posted it on Kotaku's TAY. Flame suit ENGAGED

 

Holy fuck! We have a dashing warrior here, folks! All kidding aside, you gonna get banned!

 

Ah, well. Not like what was on it was made up or anything, no?

 

That would be pretty cool. I rarely post over there, plus I have a second starred account

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

I spotted Mr GOH with the link but no P4Warrior

 

I can't seem to ever find my comments on the new layout.

 

http://kotaku.com/#!5791210/talk-amongst-yourselves?comment=38310606

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

What is this; I don't even...

 

http://ca.kotaku.com/5793317/did-valve-just-take-everyone-for-a-ride

[FredEffinChopin]

What is this; I don't even...

 

http://ca.kotaku.com/5793317/did-valve-just-take-everyone-for-a-ride

 

Great reply here by thesinginghatchet:

 

"I'm sorry Luke, but being upset over this is preposterous. Nobody put a gun to anybody's head and made them play (many pretty awesome) games. As far as I can tell, it was sites like Kotaku hyping the idea that people would get the game early. Can you really complain that "... people bought ... games... in the belief that in doing so they'd really get to play one of the biggest games of the year a day or two early" after Kotaku ran the headline "We Can Unlock Portal 2 Early"? I know you didn't write that article, but acting like this is all Valve's fault for misleading people and torturing and manipulating them (GLADOS's specialties, I might add) with (simply amazing) games like Defense Grid and Amnesia is nothing short of ludicrous. The goals of the promotion were never defined, and people went with it anyway - totally bolstered on by gaming media. If you're looking to point the 'manipulative' finger - which I think is misplaced in any scenario - then it should be right back at Kotaku Tower. I love you guys, but that's a totally off base accusation."

 

Right in the fucking balls.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

What is this; I don't even...

 

http://ca.kotaku.com. ..yone-for-a-ride

 

Great reply here by thesinginghatchet:

 

"I'm sorry Luke, but being upset over this is preposterous. Nobody put a gun to anybody's head and made them play (many pretty awesome) games. As far as I can tell, it was sites like Kotaku hyping the idea that people would get the game early. Can you really complain that "... people bought ... games... in the belief that in doing so they'd really get to play one of the biggest games of the year a day or two early" after Kotaku ran the headline "We Can Unlock Portal 2 Early"? I know you didn't write that article, but acting like this is all Valve's fault for misleading people and torturing and manipulating them (GLADOS's specialties, I might add) with (simply amazing) games like Defense Grid and Amnesia is nothing short of ludicrous. The goals of the promotion were never defined, and people went with it anyway - totally bolstered on by gaming media. If you're looking to point the 'manipulative' finger - which I think is misplaced in any scenario - then it should be right back at Kotaku Tower. I love you guys, but that's a totally off base accusation."

 

Right in the fucking balls.

 

Are you completely unaware that Kotaku does stuff like this purely for hits and heated discussion (which equals more hits) ?

[FredEffinChopin]

What is this; I don't even...

 

http://ca.kotaku.com. ..yone-for-a-ride

 

Great reply here by thesinginghatchet:

 

"I'm sorry Luke, but being upset over this is preposterous. Nobody put a gun to anybody's head and made them play (many pretty awesome) games. As far as I can tell, it was sites like Kotaku hyping the idea that people would get the game early. Can you really complain that "... people bought ... games... in the belief that in doing so they'd really get to play one of the biggest games of the year a day or two early" after Kotaku ran the headline "We Can Unlock Portal 2 Early"? I know you didn't write that article, but acting like this is all Valve's fault for misleading people and torturing and manipulating them (GLADOS's specialties, I might add) with (simply amazing) games like Defense Grid and Amnesia is nothing short of ludicrous. The goals of the promotion were never defined, and people went with it anyway - totally bolstered on by gaming media. If you're looking to point the 'manipulative' finger - which I think is misplaced in any scenario - then it should be right back at Kotaku Tower. I love you guys, but that's a totally off base accusation."

 

Right in the fucking balls.

 

Are you completely unaware that Kotaku does stuff like this purely for hits and heated discussion (which equals more hits) ?

 

Yeah, I am. Any particular reason you bring it up?

 

*edit

am aware

Edited April 19, 2011 by FredEffinChopin

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

It just seems like this in particular isn't worth your time. If anything I would have pointed out how a lot of people in general have reacted in that way instead of just pointing fingers at Kotaku. Been on reddits gaming section in the past 72 hours?

[FredEffinChopin]

I don't visit Reddit, and I don't even really visit Kotaku anymore, with the exception of an occasional link click from this thread for a chuckle. My knowledge of this Valve ARG has been only peripheral, which is to say I've caught snippets from headlines while browsing game news. I thought the comment was a good one though, not just for this particular story (or at least my limited knowledge of it), but for non-stories that get reported on that people only talk about because of how hard gaming sites push it as a story in the first place. I often feel like sites take the smallest rumors, run with it, blow it out of proportion, and then write articles later on about how the rumor was false and why, or in Kotaku's case 8 follow-up editorials. Huge whoop over literally nothing. While the Valve ARG was going to be relatively big news regardless of how or whether or not Kotaku posted it, I do think there is something to be said for all the people who got hyped on the possibility of early Portal 2 because of the article mentioned in the comment I quoted, and other articles like it. Again, I don't know much about the story or the article, but I found a truth in the comment that I found pretty satisfying when applied to other articles I can recall that are results of the type of sensationalist journalism Kotaku seems to favor more and more as time moves on.

[AgamemnonV2]

I want to change my vote for Luke being my favorite writer.

 

"Sensationalist writing" is when you write two or three paragraphs and say something like, "company x sucks." Luke wrote up a featurette, explained everything that happened, and finished off with the damn truth. This was a marketing ploy--nothing less, nothing more. And Valve didn't even have the courtesy to even attempt to mask what a money grab it was. And what did they tie it to? A $50 four-hour game.

 

Valve hasn't made a serious game since 2003, and frankly I'm a little tired of everyone hailing them as the baby Jesus of the industry for recycling old resources and slapping a new price tag on it.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Valve hasn't made a serious game since 2003

 

I don't understand what you mean by this. I'm curious how Half-Life 2, Episode 1 & 2, TF2, Portal, Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, and Portal 2 somehow don't qualify as "serious" games.

[AgamemnonV2]

Valve hasn't made a serious game since 2003

 

I don't understand what you mean by this. I'm curious how Half-Life 2, Episode 1 & 2, TF2, Portal, Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, and Portal 2 somehow don't qualify as "serious" games.

My bad, I meant 2004 (meaning Half-Life 2 was the last serious game).

 

As for the rest: http://agdom.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/a-definitive-look-at-valve/

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Valve hasn't made a serious game since 2003

 

I don't understand what you mean by this. I'm curious how Half-Life 2, Episode 1 & 2, TF2, Portal, Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, and Portal 2 somehow don't qualify as "serious" games.

My bad, I meant 2004 (meaning Half-Life 2 was the last serious game).

 

As for the rest: http://agdom.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/a-definitive-look-at-valve/

 

Good read. You have some valid criticisms, but I disagree with many of your assessments. Left 4 Dead is some of the best multiplayer gaming I've ever had, and I've spent hundreds of hours in both games. Half-Life 2's episodes were both brilliant in my opinion also (you seem to complete games faster than the rest of the gaming curve, by the way, which may affect your opinion a bit), and well worth the money.

 

Sounds like a lot of the issues you have with Valve are more based around the business model and price points rather than the games themselves. Anyway, don't want to derail the purpose of this thread. Maybe a PM or separate thread if you'd like to continue?

[AgamemnonV2]

There should totally be a video game developer/producer board or something so each company can get its own thread. Or is there already a Valve thread somewhere where we could continue?

[deanb]

Anyway, don't want to derail the purpose of this thread. Maybe a PM or separate thread if you'd like to continue?

 

"Fucking Valve"?

For the most part valve/steam related discussion has gone on in the "Steam Events/Sales" thread but I guess it could do to have it's own.

 

edit: a board for devs/pubs on their own might not be so needed, but feel free to dump threads in "General Gaming Chat" and if a fair few crop up in future we can make a new board and move them. Most of the time threads are made for particular games and then in there we'd discuss the merits of how shit and evil EA are in relation to that game and it's forums/DLC/employees.

[FredEffinChopin]

I want to change my vote for Luke being my favorite writer.

 

"Sensationalist writing" is when you write two or three paragraphs and say something like, "company x sucks." Luke wrote up a featurette, explained everything that happened, and finished off with the damn truth. This was a marketing ploy--nothing less, nothing more. And Valve didn't even have the courtesy to even attempt to mask what a money grab it was. And what did they tie it to? A $50 four-hour game.

 

Valve hasn't made a serious game since 2003, and frankly I'm a little tired of everyone hailing them as the baby Jesus of the industry for recycling old resources and slapping a new price tag on it.

 

Come on, don't quote me out of context so that you can spark the discussion you feel like having. If you want to talk about something bring it up on your own, but I never called out Luke or that article as being particularly sensationalist, though at very best the article was premature, given the fact that it had to be edited fairly quickly after it was posted. My comments about sensationalist journalism in regards to the comment I quoted were pretty clear if one reads them, and I admitted not having much knowledge or interest in this particular story.

 

I'd disagree slightly with your view of what constitutes sensationalist journalism though. I see sensationalist writing from Kotaku and other game sites as more like {headline} "Microsoft is now tracking your every move on the internet!" with a picture of Big Brother, while the article is about anonymous user statistics being collected on XBL the same way they are by countless programs that people use on a daily basis. To sensationalize is to blow completely out or proportion. This has become standard procedure for many game sites, Kotaku included (especially even). What's worse than the sensationalism alone in my eyes, is the fact that they will drag that nothing of a story on for days or weeks with their followups to something that was never worth mentioning in the first place.

 

Also, I'd be hard pressed to recall an ARG that wasn't used for marketing. I'm not sure why people are acting like they're pulling the curtain back on the Wizard with this one. Not to de-rail, sorry.... I really don't have any kind of stance of Valve one way or the other, which is likely the reason why my agreement with that comment may come off as strange to those following this story. Since I'm more or less ignorant on the topic though, and since it's a de-railer, I'll keep most of my opinion on it to myself.

[AgamemnonV2]

So Valve bringing in (potentially) hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few days, all for the sake of hinting at a game releasing early, is not big news? This reminds me of when everyone wanted to cover their eyes when the criticism started falling in about L4D2. "Oh, this is only an issue because people are making an issue of it." Uh, duh?

Edited April 19, 2011 by AgamemnonV2

[Pirandello]

I wasn't aware that sane people still posted on Kotaku. I was under the assumption of those that hadn't left already were of masochistic preference or something.

[McBeeferton]

Well I am a little submissive at times.

[Pirandello]

 

I wonder how far it'll fall.

[AgamemnonV2]

 

The redesign is for the best!

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

 

I wonder how far it'll fall.

 

Where'd you get that screengrab?

[McBeeferton]

I, too, would like to know where you got that...

 

So, according to this, Kotaku has lost 2million viewers?!

[AgamemnonV2]

Fits with Alexa stats for the most part.

 

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/kotaku.com

 

I like how nearly 30% of people on Kotaku are browsing on ca.kotaku/uk.kotaku.

[Pirandello]

 

I wonder how far it'll fall.

 

Where'd you get that screengrab?

I got it from reddit. Everyone was bitching about how the OP posted a link directly to the site and someone else came out with a screengrab.

 

I like how Plunkett's views dropped like a rock.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

How did that reddittor get it? Anyways, seems like April is on track with March. It's plateauing.