10 Things That Suck About the Videogame Industry
Cover Athlete Announcements
First of all, why does anyone give a shit which athlete will be selected for the cover of a game? Are you hanging game boxes on your wall and kneeling before it on a daily basis? I don't know about you, but my game boxes go on a shelf, spine facing outward, so I rarely see the cover at all. When it comes time to open the box, my left hand is usually obscuring the cover as I pry it open, so once again, I don't really see the athlete.
Have you ever not purchased a game because of the athlete on the cover? Of course not. Has the appearance of a particular athlete on a cover swayed you into purchasing said game when you otherwise may have passed? No. Therefore, cover athlete announcements are ridiculous and useless, unless you happen to be the athlete involved and need a little extra spending money.
Embargoes
Embargo dates are the scourge of the industry, a power play that grows in strength with every new year. For those not in the know, an embargo is essentially an order from a game company not to post a particular review or preview before a specific date and time. Who does this benefit? The company. Does it benefit the consumer? No. Does it benefit the press? Absolutely not.
Ever wonder why it seems that information about a particular game seems to explode on a particular day? Ever wonder why every gaming website on the planet seemingly posts the same crap at the same time? Embargoes. The company who issues an embargo date is all about the control of information and nearly every gaming site is more than happy to play along, diluting the impact of their piece in the process, if for no other reason than it is now one of a hundred articles on the exact same topic.
The embargo situation is only getting worse as there is now a thing I call tiered-embargoes. A tiered-embargo is one that says it's okay for website “A” to post on Tuesday, but every other website has to wait until Thursday. If you break this embargo you'll incur the wrath of the company in question, ensuring you'll never again receive any kind of access. A perfect example of this bullshit happened with Grand Theft Auto IV, when 2K allowed IGN to run their review three days before everyone else. You'd rightfully think that all competitors would go ahead and break the embargo once IGN cut in front of the line, but no. Not a single website had the balls, which goes to show how pussy-whipped game journalists have become.
Inflated Piracy Numbers
“Videogame piracy cost the industry $10-billion last year.” We see a headline like that at least a few times a year and the only thing that changes is the numerical value. Problem is, it's not true. There is a flawed assumption made that renders the argument pointless: every game illegally downloaded is a lost sale.
I'm not saying piracy doesn't hurt. Nor am I implying that piracy doesn't cost money. But it's a hell of a stretch to insinuate every downloaded game represents a lost sale. In order for monetary value to be properly calculated you'd have to know the mindset of every pirate involved. For example, would said pirate have purchased the game if an illegal version weren't readily available? In most cases, probably not. I think it's safe to say that a large number of pirates download a game just to see what the title is all about, play it for 10-15 minutes and then bail.
Horrible Writers
Game companies spend a fortune on finding the best artists and programmers to bring a title to life, yet when it comes to writing a plot and dialog, the intern slaving away in the mailroom is a perfectly acceptable choice. Videogames aren't known for their stories, which is odd considering 99% of games make some attempt to tell a story, so why top-notch talent isn't hired is beyond me. Let's take Grand Theft Auto IV as an example, a game riddled with cinematic cliche's and scenes ripped straight from B-level gangster movies. Dan Houser is no Elmore Leonard, but how awesome would it be if Mr. Leonard were actually involved? Or James Elroy? Or Carl Hiaasen? Or Walter Mosley?
If you want games to be considered art than you had better start elevating the quality of your production, and just like the movies, it all starts with a script. There are so many talented science-fiction, crime and fantasy writers out there that not to use their abilities is shame.
PR Scumbags
Once upon a time I had the personal email address of every major designer on the planet. If I wanted Molyneux's opinion on something then all I had to do was drop him a line and I'd get a response. Same was true of John Carmack, John Romero, David Cook, Sid Meier and tons of others. Ahhh, those were the days. Then, in the mid-to-late 90s everything changed. PR Reps began exerting more control and before I knew it there was a firewall in place. Want to talk to Molyneux? Tough, gotta go through the “proper channels”. Everything had to be approved and discussed, ultimately watering down whatever topic I was after.
There are only a handful of decent PR people out there. Most are total scumbags. Scumbags like to make demands above and beyond an embargo. They want certain assurances about the positive nature of a piece. Some even want to read a feature before it goes up. Some use strong-arm tactics like, “If we like this review then we can discuss better access for future products,” which is their coy way of saying, “Write a positive review and you'll move up the food-chain.” Worst of all is when PR hacks use their power to delete a review on aggregate review sites (you know who you are) because it upsets the average during that precious release week (this has happened to me twice).
Game Reviewers
In the grand hierarchy of critique, game reviewing has to rank near or at the bottom, slightly below porn movie reviewer. Much of the problem has to do with the format, which hasn't changed in any meaningful way in 20 years. The majority of reviewers are quite content to reduce their critiques into a numerical scale; a scale that usually starts at 6 and goes to 10, with anything less than a 6 reserved for game companies with little or no power to strike back.
Even worse is the categorization, or breakdown score, wherein the reviewer allocates a usually arbitrary number to Graphics, Sound, Multiplayer, Playability, etc., and then calculates an average that is supposedly indicative of the game as a whole. This is a pathetic practice. Can you imagine if film critics did the same thing? Citizen Kane wouldn't stand a chance.
Beyond the idiotic practice of scores, the majority of reviewers really have no business reviewing anything. An overwhelming numbers of critics have a shocking lack of gaming history, have little knowledge of what has come before, lack the wherewithal to frame a critique within a historical context and have played only one generation of games. Maybe it's just me, but a film critic who has only seen movies made in the last five years is incapable of having an opinion that is worth more than a lump of steaming fecal matter.
Media Days
Media days are special events hosted by a particular game company wherein they fly a gaggle of game journalists to a specific location and show off their upcoming titles. I went to many of these in the early days but have refused to attend a single one for the last six or so years. It's not that I didn't have a good time. When Sierra flew me to the PGA Championship game in 1998 and put me up in a ritzy hotel for three days, all expenses paid, well, how can you not have a good time? And how could I not write glowing things about PGA Tour Golf? When you're treated like royalty you tend to respond in kind, and that's exactly what PR Scumbags are hoping for. So I stopped going, keeping my integrity intact. It meant less access, sure, but I don't feel like a total sell-out anymore. Unfortunately, I'm the only I know who doesn't participate in these events.
Strategy Guides
I've written over 20 strategy guides for Prima, Sybex, Brady and GameSpot GameGuides. Quake II, Links LS 97, Red Baron 3D, Civilization: Call to Power and Spec Ops were a few of my titles. I was even tasked with writing a strategy guide for Activision's Asteroids remake for the PS1. Let me tell you something: writing a 70-page, full color guide on how to blow up rocks is a friggin' nightmare. Most people think strategy guides suck and they're right. If you're one of those people who thinks there is a conspiracy to skimp on game manuals as a way to increase strategy guide sales, then you're right, there is. There's a ton of money to be made on these useless books.
Funny story for you: At an E3 convention in the 90s I was roaming around and talking to all of the editors from the major strategy guide publishers, feeling them out for possible assignments. One publisher, who shall remain nameless, knew I was a game journalist and said the following: “We really want to do a book about (the biggest RTS of the time) but we don't have the license, so we're going to do an unofficial guide. Would you be able to use your position as a game journalist, setup an appointment with the developer of the game under the guise of writing a preview, and maybe, you know, confiscate any materials you see sitting around?”
No joke. It was soon thereafter that I ended my strategy guide career.
Fanboy Apologists
I've written a lot of cynical, brutally honest articles in my day and with that comes volumes of hate mail. When I wrote 10 Things That Suck About Grand Theft Auto IV, forums across the Internet called me every name in the book. What kills me is the Fanboy Apologist, of which there is no shortage. These are the people who cling to a particular game and refuse to acknowledge any valid critique. All is perfect in their world with no room for improvement. It's these very vocal people who help ensure the industry as whole evolves at a snail's pace, guaranteeing more uninspiring sequels, more clinging to cliche's, and more of the same, just with fancier graphics. Demand more and you might actually get more.
Glowing Previews
How many critical previews of a game have you seen? Not many, huh? There is an unwritten law in game journalism that a preview must dance around negatives and focus entirely on the positives. If a journalist does stretch his neck out, the blow is usually softened by this line: “...will hopefully be addressed by the game's release.”
A positive preview is exactly what PR Scumbags push for. Write anything remotely negative and you can guarantee you'll never see another pre-release from the company in question. So where does that leave the integrity of a preview? Simple: previews have no integrity. It's free advertising for the company, hyping something up with the hope of increasing sales. I've been guilty of it like every other game writer, though I have long since stopped writing previews unless I have unrestrained access, which is a near impossibility these days.
Here's another story for you that highlights the power of being honest, and this time I'll mention the company because it speaks volumes about their continued success: Blizzard. Back in 1998, Blizzard asked me to come to their HQ in Irvine, California for the purpose of writing an exclusive preview of their new game, WarCraft Adventures. Bill Roper showed me through the game for several hours and it struck me as a Monkey Island clone that didn't really live up to Blizzard's standards. Bill must have sensed my ambivalence as I got a call later that day from Susan Wooley, head of PR, and I was probed about my impressions. I spoke honestly: it's an okay game and I think it will do well, but it seemed a little stale and dated. The next day, Blizzard announced the cancellation of WarCraft Adventures. Was I responsible? Partly. I'm sure I wasn't the only one Blizzard was probing, but I did represent the last straw. Blizzard did the right thing and yanked it, ensuring their legacy remained firmly intact.
If more writers were honest about their impressions during the preview stage then I guarantee developers would try and correct fundamental flaws prior to release. If we keep telling people their shit doesn't stink then don't be surprised to see more $60 discs o' crap earmarked for the bargain bin.
(Source: InfoAddict Original)
Cover Athlete Announcements
First of all, why does anyone give a shit which athlete will be selected for the cover of a game? Are you hanging game boxes on your wall and kneeling before it on a daily basis? I don't know about you, but my game boxes go on a shelf, spine facing outward, so I rarely see the cover at all. When it comes time to open the box, my left hand is usually obscuring the cover as I pry it open, so once again, I don't really see the athlete.
Have you ever not purchased a game because of the athlete on the cover? Of course not. Has the appearance of a particular athlete on a cover swayed you into purchasing said game when you otherwise may have passed? No. Therefore, cover athlete announcements are ridiculous and useless, unless you happen to be the athlete involved and need a little extra spending money.
Embargoes
Embargo dates are the scourge of the industry, a power play that grows in strength with every new year. For those not in the know, an embargo is essentially an order from a game company not to post a particular review or preview before a specific date and time. Who does this benefit? The company. Does it benefit the consumer? No. Does it benefit the press? Absolutely not.
Ever wonder why it seems that information about a particular game seems to explode on a particular day? Ever wonder why every gaming website on the planet seemingly posts the same crap at the same time? Embargoes. The company who issues an embargo date is all about the control of information and nearly every gaming site is more than happy to play along, diluting the impact of their piece in the process, if for no other reason than it is now one of a hundred articles on the exact same topic.
The embargo situation is only getting worse as there is now a thing I call tiered-embargoes. A tiered-embargo is one that says it's okay for website “A” to post on Tuesday, but every other website has to wait until Thursday. If you break this embargo you'll incur the wrath of the company in question, ensuring you'll never again receive any kind of access. A perfect example of this bullshit happened with Grand Theft Auto IV, when 2K allowed IGN to run their review three days before everyone else. You'd rightfully think that all competitors would go ahead and break the embargo once IGN cut in front of the line, but no. Not a single website had the balls, which goes to show how pussy-whipped game journalists have become.
Inflated Piracy Numbers
“Videogame piracy cost the industry $10-billion last year.” We see a headline like that at least a few times a year and the only thing that changes is the numerical value. Problem is, it's not true. There is a flawed assumption made that renders the argument pointless: every game illegally downloaded is a lost sale.
I'm not saying piracy doesn't hurt. Nor am I implying that piracy doesn't cost money. But it's a hell of a stretch to insinuate every downloaded game represents a lost sale. In order for monetary value to be properly calculated you'd have to know the mindset of every pirate involved. For example, would said pirate have purchased the game if an illegal version weren't readily available? In most cases, probably not. I think it's safe to say that a large number of pirates download a game just to see what the title is all about, play it for 10-15 minutes and then bail.
Horrible Writers
Game companies spend a fortune on finding the best artists and programmers to bring a title to life, yet when it comes to writing a plot and dialog, the intern slaving away in the mailroom is a perfectly acceptable choice. Videogames aren't known for their stories, which is odd considering 99% of games make some attempt to tell a story, so why top-notch talent isn't hired is beyond me. Let's take Grand Theft Auto IV as an example, a game riddled with cinematic cliche's and scenes ripped straight from B-level gangster movies. Dan Houser is no Elmore Leonard, but how awesome would it be if Mr. Leonard were actually involved? Or James Elroy? Or Carl Hiaasen? Or Walter Mosley?
If you want games to be considered art than you had better start elevating the quality of your production, and just like the movies, it all starts with a script. There are so many talented science-fiction, crime and fantasy writers out there that not to use their abilities is shame.
PR Scumbags
Once upon a time I had the personal email address of every major designer on the planet. If I wanted Molyneux's opinion on something then all I had to do was drop him a line and I'd get a response. Same was true of John Carmack, John Romero, David Cook, Sid Meier and tons of others. Ahhh, those were the days. Then, in the mid-to-late 90s everything changed. PR Reps began exerting more control and before I knew it there was a firewall in place. Want to talk to Molyneux? Tough, gotta go through the “proper channels”. Everything had to be approved and discussed, ultimately watering down whatever topic I was after.
There are only a handful of decent PR people out there. Most are total scumbags. Scumbags like to make demands above and beyond an embargo. They want certain assurances about the positive nature of a piece. Some even want to read a feature before it goes up. Some use strong-arm tactics like, “If we like this review then we can discuss better access for future products,” which is their coy way of saying, “Write a positive review and you'll move up the food-chain.” Worst of all is when PR hacks use their power to delete a review on aggregate review sites (you know who you are) because it upsets the average during that precious release week (this has happened to me twice).
Game Reviewers
In the grand hierarchy of critique, game reviewing has to rank near or at the bottom, slightly below porn movie reviewer. Much of the problem has to do with the format, which hasn't changed in any meaningful way in 20 years. The majority of reviewers are quite content to reduce their critiques into a numerical scale; a scale that usually starts at 6 and goes to 10, with anything less than a 6 reserved for game companies with little or no power to strike back.
Even worse is the categorization, or breakdown score, wherein the reviewer allocates a usually arbitrary number to Graphics, Sound, Multiplayer, Playability, etc., and then calculates an average that is supposedly indicative of the game as a whole. This is a pathetic practice. Can you imagine if film critics did the same thing? Citizen Kane wouldn't stand a chance.
Beyond the idiotic practice of scores, the majority of reviewers really have no business reviewing anything. An overwhelming numbers of critics have a shocking lack of gaming history, have little knowledge of what has come before, lack the wherewithal to frame a critique within a historical context and have played only one generation of games. Maybe it's just me, but a film critic who has only seen movies made in the last five years is incapable of having an opinion that is worth more than a lump of steaming fecal matter.
Media Days
Media days are special events hosted by a particular game company wherein they fly a gaggle of game journalists to a specific location and show off their upcoming titles. I went to many of these in the early days but have refused to attend a single one for the last six or so years. It's not that I didn't have a good time. When Sierra flew me to the PGA Championship game in 1998 and put me up in a ritzy hotel for three days, all expenses paid, well, how can you not have a good time? And how could I not write glowing things about PGA Tour Golf? When you're treated like royalty you tend to respond in kind, and that's exactly what PR Scumbags are hoping for. So I stopped going, keeping my integrity intact. It meant less access, sure, but I don't feel like a total sell-out anymore. Unfortunately, I'm the only I know who doesn't participate in these events.
Strategy Guides
I've written over 20 strategy guides for Prima, Sybex, Brady and GameSpot GameGuides. Quake II, Links LS 97, Red Baron 3D, Civilization: Call to Power and Spec Ops were a few of my titles. I was even tasked with writing a strategy guide for Activision's Asteroids remake for the PS1. Let me tell you something: writing a 70-page, full color guide on how to blow up rocks is a friggin' nightmare. Most people think strategy guides suck and they're right. If you're one of those people who thinks there is a conspiracy to skimp on game manuals as a way to increase strategy guide sales, then you're right, there is. There's a ton of money to be made on these useless books.
Funny story for you: At an E3 convention in the 90s I was roaming around and talking to all of the editors from the major strategy guide publishers, feeling them out for possible assignments. One publisher, who shall remain nameless, knew I was a game journalist and said the following: “We really want to do a book about (the biggest RTS of the time) but we don't have the license, so we're going to do an unofficial guide. Would you be able to use your position as a game journalist, setup an appointment with the developer of the game under the guise of writing a preview, and maybe, you know, confiscate any materials you see sitting around?”
No joke. It was soon thereafter that I ended my strategy guide career.
Fanboy Apologists
I've written a lot of cynical, brutally honest articles in my day and with that comes volumes of hate mail. When I wrote 10 Things That Suck About Grand Theft Auto IV, forums across the Internet called me every name in the book. What kills me is the Fanboy Apologist, of which there is no shortage. These are the people who cling to a particular game and refuse to acknowledge any valid critique. All is perfect in their world with no room for improvement. It's these very vocal people who help ensure the industry as whole evolves at a snail's pace, guaranteeing more uninspiring sequels, more clinging to cliche's, and more of the same, just with fancier graphics. Demand more and you might actually get more.
Glowing Previews
How many critical previews of a game have you seen? Not many, huh? There is an unwritten law in game journalism that a preview must dance around negatives and focus entirely on the positives. If a journalist does stretch his neck out, the blow is usually softened by this line: “...will hopefully be addressed by the game's release.”
A positive preview is exactly what PR Scumbags push for. Write anything remotely negative and you can guarantee you'll never see another pre-release from the company in question. So where does that leave the integrity of a preview? Simple: previews have no integrity. It's free advertising for the company, hyping something up with the hope of increasing sales. I've been guilty of it like every other game writer, though I have long since stopped writing previews unless I have unrestrained access, which is a near impossibility these days.
Here's another story for you that highlights the power of being honest, and this time I'll mention the company because it speaks volumes about their continued success: Blizzard. Back in 1998, Blizzard asked me to come to their HQ in Irvine, California for the purpose of writing an exclusive preview of their new game, WarCraft Adventures. Bill Roper showed me through the game for several hours and it struck me as a Monkey Island clone that didn't really live up to Blizzard's standards. Bill must have sensed my ambivalence as I got a call later that day from Susan Wooley, head of PR, and I was probed about my impressions. I spoke honestly: it's an okay game and I think it will do well, but it seemed a little stale and dated. The next day, Blizzard announced the cancellation of WarCraft Adventures. Was I responsible? Partly. I'm sure I wasn't the only one Blizzard was probing, but I did represent the last straw. Blizzard did the right thing and yanked it, ensuring their legacy remained firmly intact.
If more writers were honest about their impressions during the preview stage then I guarantee developers would try and correct fundamental flaws prior to release. If we keep telling people their shit doesn't stink then don't be surprised to see more $60 discs o' crap earmarked for the bargain bin.
(Source: InfoAddict Original)
