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Jim Sterlings PS4 Top Ten(MS PR wont talk to him?)

unbias

Member
http://youtu.be/t4kWDKs2UOs?t=6m1s

Is he joking? Or is MS really mad at him about something? That is horeshit if true, I mean over what? He doesn't just praise everything, so they brush him off?

He starts talking about how he is too unpredictable so they don't talk to him, a little past the 6 min mark.

Edit: Looks like there is something to it.



Jim's comment on the talking point:
Clarification:

Sony's reaction to the Escapist hiring me was to congratulate the site.

MS' PR department's reaction was to hope the Escapist puts a leash on me.

And again:
...There's no actual conversation, and that is the thing I am talking about. MS' PR wing has been doing a lot of talking ABOUT me, and no talking TO me.

Usually, publishers are actually very accepting of my opinions and coverage, even if it's harsh, and even if they don't agree. Very rarely, a company pulls the kind of stunt where it strings someone along and talks vaguely to them without having the stones to actually tell that person what the problem is, and then they hear about it from friends and colleagues.

And then they make smarmy little tweets one morning for no reason other than to highlight the problem with not actually telling someone directly what the problem is.
 

unbias

Member
you probably shouldn't take anything in that video seriously

Ya, I normally wouldnt, it just sounds like he was actually telling us what was happening, but in a sarcastic/joking manner. I was just curious if this is the 1st time he mentioned it, and wondering if there is any validity to it.
 

zroid

Banned
Hmmm. I don't know, then. Maybe they're just really busy and Sterling is not near the top of their priority list. Or maybe they're still bitter over his acerbic criticism of XB1 and MS over the last few months.
 

QaaQer

Member
Hmmm. I don't know, then. Maybe they're just really busy and Sterling is not near the top of their priority list. Or maybe they're still bitter over his acerbic criticism of XB1 and MS over the last few months.

Jim is very well known and worth their time. & any decisions like that are made with one aim and that is managing the message, they aren't 'bitter'.

So the natural conclusion is that Jim wont play ball and so he isn't worth their time. They would rather talk to journos like Gies, Sessler, Orland, etc. who are more receptive to helping them manage the message.
 

Honey Bunny

Member
I wondered how long it would take for that to happen to him with the scores he's been giving. Expected a third party to do it first though (maybe they have)
 

Jedi2016

Member
Well, yeah, that's the way the modern reviewing system works. Say good things about us and give us good reviews, and you'll continue to be able to work with us. Say bad things about us and give our games bad (i.e. actual) reviews, and we'll cut you off, and you'll never review again!! Mwahaha!!

That's what makes pretty much every "professional" reviews, particularly those that give a numerical assignment, absolutely pointless.
 

unbias

Member
Put some of his tweets up to add more validity to the video. Apparently greylisted is a thing? Good to know.
 

Skeff

Member
In before major nelson asks to get in contact with him to clear this all up....

that whole banned ordeal was ridiculous, it's good they fixed it, but it's shit for the other 99.9% of people with wrongly banned consoles who are still banned...
 

DBT85

Member
Were I a publisher one of the few people I think I'd want to annoy by not talking to would be Jim Sterling, simply because he will quite happily stand up and call them out on it.
 
He is probably the only one that would give a really disappointing game like Ryse for example something like a 3/10. I can see why they are scared.
 

zroid

Banned
Jim is very well known and worth their time. & any decisions like that are made with one aim and that is managing the message, they aren't 'bitter'.

So the natural conclusion is that Jim wont play ball and so he isn't worth their time. They would rather talk to journos like Gies, Sessler, Orland, etc. who are more receptive to helping them manage the message.

Yeah I know, lol, "bitter" isn't the ideal term here, but I think it gets the point across. They don't want to deal with him because he has been so critical of them recently.
 

zainetor

Banned
that whole banned ordeal was ridiculous, it's good they fixed it, but it's shit for the other 99.9% of people with wrongly banned consoles who are still banned...
Every person who isnt a ms guy or a journ. Has his console banned atm.
 

Dennis

Banned
I hope Jim comes in here to shed some light on the situation.

If one of the platform holders are essentially blacklisting journalists we need to know about it.
 

epmode

Member
I'm glad I saw that first Jimquisition a while back because I wouldn't have known that Jim Sterling is pretty keen otherwise.

Can't say I'm surprised to hear about MS being an idiot again. It's been their MO for years.
 

GashPrex

NeoGaf-Gold™ Member
This whole embargo thing is very strange - its like none of these journalists have legal departments or something that explain this stuff to them. Jim doesn't come across as very professional here...just passive aggressive.
 

mhayze

Member
He is probably the only one that would give a really disappointing game like Ryse for example something like a 3/10. I can see why they are scared.

I don't see how not talking to him would help that situation. He's going to review it anyways.
 

unbias

Member
He's complaining that he has to stick to embargo deadlines? Am I reading that wrong?

Ya, going by the tweets and what not it seems he is trying to get PR to talk to him. Since he knows how to get the embargo list, that isn't the actual reason why he is doing what he is doing.
 
He's complaining that he has to stick to embargo deadlines? Am I reading that wrong?

I believe he is trying to contact MS PR to ask when the embargo lifts, but they're not responding. He said he could find out the date (probably by asking fellow Journalists), but is trying to make a point or highlight the fact he is being ignored.
 
MS wants all their games to get a 9.5, just like MW3. Seriously though, if MS aren't going to talk to someone who gives lower scores and criticizes them more often then that is BS, such opinions give more scope for improvement than a 9 or 10.
 

Nibel

Member
They don't talk to him?

What
KuGsj.gif
 

Empty

Member
companies go to great efforts to increase metacritic points, as highly reviewed games get more attention. cutting out a reviewer who has the ability to drop games scores by actually using the full scale and not bowing to manufactured prestige is probably much cheaper than throwing fancy events and buttering them up with pr or buying them a vanity documentary
 
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