Topic: The PATHETIC state of the gaming 'media'

[Peachylala]

Yes, we were in the kitchen, making grilled cheese sandwiches because men can't cook stereo typing...

I really am trying to resist clicking that link. God knows how many comparisons one can make to the gaming 'media' with a random internet video.

Speaking of which, I once made a comparison to Nintendo being a winning contestant on the Price Is Right. I wanted to go further, but it started to depress me. God I hate this generation so much.

[Caterkiller]

I was wondering. When IGN makes editorials like "Nintendo is lazy and you don't care" does it ever affect their exclusive coverage at all?

I know IGN gets lots of traffic, but in this industry it seems like people like to hold grudges and lose money left and right. Does anyone know of any examples of a company not sharing exclusive news anymore with some other company because of bashing like that?

[Peachylala]

As of now, no. Should it happen to IGN right now because of them publishing whiny child bitching? Biased views and review scores can hurt a game's reputation (if you are not Mario, Zelda, or Metroid... and other established Nintendo IPs).
 
Wii Music is a great example of this.

[KDR_11k]

Wii Music was more a case of nobody wanting a game like that.

[Kairon]

I wanted a game like that!

[Mop it up]

I also wanted a game like that!

[SixthAngel]

I did not.

[Mop it up]

Then don't buy it.

[D_Average]

Neither did I.  I'd rather play the night levels in Sonic Unleashed.

[Dasmos]

So when are we going to ban D_Average for trolling? It's honestly like every thread.

[Peachylala]

Why ban someone when we can have entertainment?
 

Neither did I.  I'd rather play the night levels in Sonic Unleashed.

This is entertainment at it's finest. Someone likes nighttime levels in Sonic Unleashed, which is impossible since they are complete and utter ****.
 
I bet he likes MGS4 as well.

[Dasmos]

I'd rather have entertainment that doesn't make my brain hurt.

[Peachylala]

I set my expectations for meaningful arguements on the internet very low, so D_Average's trolling/IGNorance/basically every little media thing in this thread comes accross as hilariously bad fan fiction.
 
Liking Sonic Unfun's warehog stages is that kind of hilarity.

[vudu]

I'd rather have entertainment that doesn't make my brain hurt.

Your avatar makes my brain hurt.

[D_Average]

Trolling?  Lol. I was simply following the lead of the thread. As in who wanted Wii Music. Sheesh. So sensitive.

And for the the record, I would also choose the same Sonic levels over MGS. Just not my cup of tea

[Deguello]

All trolling/viral marketing aside and getting back to the topic, one of the other things the game media doesn't do that it used to was ask game companies some really tough questions.  I remember an IGN Story that was basically an interviewer grilling a top level Nintendo executive as to why there was only one Gamecube Game coming out in April, 2005.  It was hard-nosed investigative journalism.

Today, there is a similar line of questions to be asked of several video game companies, but today we'll focus on just two.  Firstly, UBISoft, after years of shovelware, decided to start rolling back Wii support because the Wii owners aren't buying minigame collections and knockoff junk.  IGN simply won't ask them the critical questions to make them a real press outlet.  In their 2005 days, they'd ask UBISoft if the reason their games were selling poorly is because they are bad (get bad ratings, etc.).  Today they just let it pass.

But the company and the IGN to watch in the next few weeks is Capcom and Dark Void.  It seems that Dark Void could be another bonafide flop from Capcom this generation, and one that might swallow the development team, again.  This is mere weeks after Capcom announced that they will be scaling back Wii support because a sequel to a spinioff didn't go over as well as planned.  A good press outlet will definitely point out the discrepancy, and ask Capcom if this means they will be scaling back PS3/360 development as well.

Media consumers want their press outlets to find the truth, not waste their time on angry editorials against fans of a game.  Maybe if IGN did this, they'd get some of those readers back.

[broodwars]

But the company and the IGN to watch in the next few weeks is Capcom and Dark Void.

I can understand keeping an eye on Capcom's reaction to Dark Void's sales (and Capcom knew in advance that this game was poor and wouldn't do well, as they cut their sales projections on it in half about a month ago), but what does IGN have to do with it?  They, along with most gaming organizations, have already panned the game as being at best average (I think IGN gave it a 5.0 and 5.5) and have mocked it on Podcast Beyond.  There's nothing more they really need to say on the matter, so I'm not sure what you expect to see now.  I don't see Dark Void being any better if it was made for Wii, considering the apparent problem with the game is that one gameplay design (the air combat) doesn't mesh well with the other (the ground combat).

Capcom's contention is that they were putting out good games (with the exception of Dead Rising: CtyD) that no one was buying on Wii.  Dark Void is a terrible game that might sell terribly on the HD consoles, so I don't see a discrepancy.

[Deguello]

You also forgot Spyborgs and Harvey Birdman and a few other of Capcom's worse titles .  The truth is that game quality as designated by reviewers does not necessarily mean it is the game quality as designated by buyers.  While Darkside Chronicles is good for a rail shooter, it's still a rail shooter, a market that was pre-saturated by Capcom themselves.  Instead of looking at other variables, and the refutation that Capcom "knows what the Wii consumer wants,"  they decide to blame the Wii consumers for not falling in line and buying a sequel to a spinoff.

Notice what you're doing here too.  You're holding Dark Void responsible for it's bad sales.  That doesn't happen with Wii games.  They blame the customers.  Darkside Chronicles failure is their failure, because IGN gave it an 8.whatever.

And So far Capcom hasn't really brought the effort to the Wii.  Their best game is still RE4: Wii edition, and their second best is a PS2 port, and their third best is a title so niche it hurts, and all were put forth with no marketing.  RE4:wii is still the best selling of the bunch.  You'd think they would have taken the hint.

But Capcom's scaling back of Wii games had mostly to do with sales.  If Darkside Chronicles outsells Dark Void (Likely), what will Capcom say then?  Will they close up shop on the 360/PS3?

Edit: and IGN has plenty to do with it because it's their job, with their access, to grill them on this issue on behalf of the many angry Wii consumers who feel hoodwinked by crappy spinoff tricks and being blamed for Capcom making unappealing games.  If they just let it go without comment, then they aren't doing the job their media consumers want them to.

[KDR_11k]

How about at least grilling Capcom over why their multi-million blockbuster HD game is inferior to the 5$ retro-styled promo game released on DSiWare?

[broodwars]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/episode-91-invisible-walls/61181

(last 1/3 of the show where they're talking about EA leads to talk about the state of the Wii's 3rd party support)

There.  Happy?

[Deguello]

That was a good part, but I believe I was talking about IGN, not Gametrailers.  (Nice to hear Bloodworth's voice again.)

But that show did touch on a few things that I thought were great, such as the shareholders thinking these publishers are nuts, and the idea that this "blaming Nintendo" thing is just so somebody doesn't get fired.  "Typical Corporate Bullshit" I believe he said.

[broodwars]

That was a good part, but I believe I was talking about IGN, not Gametrailers.   (Nice to hear Bloodworth's voice again.)

I just thought it was notable to post that because Invisible Walls specifically has previously been cited in this thread as one of those "biased" (read: critical of Nintendo) media sources.  Apparently, the show mellowed out quite a bit once Marcus Beer (who had been very critical of the Wii on the show) left to go join a developer back in December.  What was surprising in that show, though, was hearing Shane Satterfield taking 3rd parties to task on their Wii support considering he's a pretty die-hard Sony supporter.

[Deguello]

Apparently, the show mellowed out quite a bit once Marcus Beer (who had been very critical of the Wii on the show) left to go join a developer back in December.

Ever feel like some dudes are trying out for PR jobs at developers instead of actual reporting?  If their whole purpose for being a games journalist is to audition to be a spin doctor for a major publisher, that doesn't leave much room for impartiality, does it?

[D_Average]

Apparently, the show mellowed out quite a bit once Marcus Beer (who had been very critical of the Wii on the show) left to go join a developer back in December.

Ever feel like some dudes are trying out for PR jobs at developers instead of actual reporting?  If their whole purpose for being a games journalist is to audition to be a spin doctor for a major publisher, that doesn't leave much room for impartiality, does it?

Every now and then.  But I usually get the impression most of them are just looking to get paid for playing games, while hard hitting questions, and creative editorials are an afterthought.  Hopefully that'll change in the upcoming years, but not too much, as I do enjoy their laid back delivery.  Some of the NFL guys on ESPN and NFL Network bore me to death with their robotic delivery, and constant parroting of what other reporters are saying.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm in a quarterly corporate status report meeting when I listen to them.  The games journalists may me lazy, but hey, at least they made me laugh.

We did have slightly hard hitting journalists a while back with the US Edge Mag, unfortunately, I was the only subscriber.

[Deguello]

I should say that what I'm asking for isn't overly critical (what some would call "hard-nosed" or "hard-hitting") journalism.  That stuff's a dime a dozen and can be found on any angry blog. (and IGN expects to people to pay for their own special flavor.  HA!)  Journalists have the sort of access that they can set up interviews or ask long distance questions right to the relevant people that their readers (their customers) want them too.  Currently, they all have a content problem, in which they expect their readers to pay (with time or money) for editorials that basically criticize the readers.  On the other hand, them rounding up all the PR guys from various third parties and asking them questions about the quality of their Wii game portfolios and if that has anything to do with their underperfomance and why that should be the Wii consumers fault...  I'd pay to see that, and I don't think I would be the only one.