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Cinemablend calls out gaming press, accuses them of living in a Doritocracy

Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Ga...One-Higher-Price-Lower-Resolution-60283.html

"When you go out to buy a new piece of technology, most times you're frugal enough with your money to pick up something that meets your needs and offers a nice technological power advantage over the competition. Usually, tech enthusiasts refer to benchmarks before taking the financial plunge. It's imperative to get the most for your hard earned money... right? Right?! Not in the land of the Doritocracy.

Gaming sites have been cropping up apologists articles left and right to dissuade on-the-fence gamers from canceling their Xbox One pre-orders (an attempt to appease the ad overlords, perhaps?), but before getting to that let's first look at how this scenario came about and why."

"Spending $500 is no small investment for the average household; with the media downplaying the $100 difference and lower resolution right out of the gate it instantly does a massive disservice for discerning consumers. Hopefully we'll get more honest coverage leading up to the release of both consoles. "​

Hit the link for the rest.

Good article though, absolutely nails it for me. The defensive mode the press have taken over the resolution failure for the Bone has been disgraceful. They should remember they answer to us, the readers, not slavishly defend Microsoft's poor execution.
 
Y

ymmv

Banned
Those mighty ad dollars at work for MS ... At least Digital Foundry took the goggles off just before they started to become a self parody.
 
G

Goon Boon

Banned
zomgbbqftw said:
Good article though, absolutely nails it for me. The defensive mode the press have taken over the resolution failure for the Bone has been disgraceful. They should remember they answer to us, the readers, not slavishly defend Microsoft's poor execution.
Click to expand...

I respect the ones that do, but they're far and few between. Too many Arthur Gies types.
 
D

DBT85

Member
I feel exactly the same. As someone in the comments said, the comments on those sites putting their head in the sand have also been calling them out. To see the players and the press on such opposite sides seems so weird.
 
J

JeffGrubb

Member
::jerkoff hand motion::

That logic makes no sense. "If Microsoft doesn't meet a certain sales quota, us games journalists are sure in trouble. Jeepers! Better put my integrity on the line to help them move a couple more units with a piece that says maybe the resolution isn't that big of a deal! That'll do it!"
 
S

Stat!

Member
$100 shouldn't be the reason why you go with one console over another. It's a ridiculous reason.

Take the 360/ps3 for example. I've gotten 8 years out of my xbox 360. I enjoyed my time with it and Im glad I chose the 360 as my console of choice. $100 over the long run over 8 years shouldn't be a reason why you choose one console over another. I'm willing to spend an extra $12.5 a year for 8 years knowing that I made the right decision.
 
I

Impeccable

Member
ACES11 said:
$100 shouldn't be the reason why you go with one console over another. It's a ridiculous reason.

Take the 360/ps3 for example. I've gotten 8 years out of my xbox 360. I enjoyed my time with it and Im glad I chose the 360 as my console of choice. $100 over the long run over 8 years shouldn't be a reason why you choose one console over another. I'm willing to spend an extra $12.5 a year for 8 years knowing that I made the right decision.
Click to expand...


That's one way to spin it.
 
E

eznark

Banned
JeffGrubb said:
::jerkoff hand motion::

That logic makes no sense. "If Microsoft doesn't meet a certain sales quota, us games journalists are sure in trouble. Jeepers! Better put my integrity on the line to help them move a couple more units with a piece that says maybe the resolution isn't that big of a deal! That'll do it!"
Click to expand...

Some sites sell their integrity to make a fancy launch documentary. It isn't that far fetched.
 
A

Alchemy

Member
JeffGrubb said:
::jerkoff hand motion::

That logic makes no sense. "If Microsoft doesn't meet a certain sales quota, us games journalists are sure in trouble. Jeepers! Better put my integrity on the line to help them move a couple more units with a piece that says maybe the resolution isn't that big of a deal! That'll do it!"
Click to expand...

Its about appeasing Microsoft not so they make sales quotas, but so Microsoft continues to be happy with that journalist and keeps sending them early review copies of software, hardware, and keeps inviting them to press events. Or just a fat stack of cash being waved under their nose.
 
J

Jeels

Member
zomgbbqftw said:
Good article though, absolutely nails it for me. The defensive mode the press have taken over the resolution failure for the Bone has been disgraceful. They should remember they answer to us, the readers, not slavishly defend Microsoft's poor execution.
Click to expand...

Remember, this is the same gaming press that was attacking their readers for being mad with the DRM policies on the Xbox One. And when gamers put enough pressure on Microsoft and they started making 180's, the gaming press changed their tune too.

If Microsoft actually got what they wanted with this console, things would be very scary. It's why I don't trust the gaming press much at all anymore. I come to GAF or hit up social media for my news or opinion. They lost their credibility with the DRM fiasco.
 
E

epmode

Member
ACES11 said:
$100 shouldn't be the reason why you go with one console over another. It's a ridiculous reason.
Click to expand...

It's like you completely missed the significantly lowered performance along with the extra $100

I feel like I'm walking into a hurricane here. I usually avoid console war bait.
 
P

pretty done

Member
Good article and counter to all those "the difference is not noticeable at all, 720p may be better on your eyes, Buy Xbox!" articles popping up after the Resolutiongate.

I prefer Dewmocracy though :lol ^^
 
Y

ymmv

Banned
The major site should be informing gamers about their next gen purchases instead of obfuscating facts. Millions of people are putting down either 470 or 570 euro for the pleasure of playing either CoD:G or BF4 on a next gen console. They deserve to know each and every little thing about their next purchase that should provide 6-8 years of gaming. It's an investment, a sizable one for a lot of people too. Resolution gate should be major news for Edge, Kotaku, Polygon and so many others.
 
R

ReturnOfTheRAT

Member
Two pages of jeers in the direction of sites that made their name off hardware comparison and spec differences, only to downplay it for these two consoles. I appreciate the author and Cinemablend for them taking the time to do this.
 
J

JeffGrubb

Member
Alchemy said:
Its about appeasing Microsoft not so they make sales quotas, but so Microsoft continues to be happy with that journalist and keeps sending them early review copies of software, hardware, and keeps inviting them to press events. Or just a fat stack of cash being waved under their nose.
Click to expand...

Again, why would anyone actively put their reputation on the line to appease them? Why not just ignore the issue? Isn't it more likely that some people just think that the resolution issue is a red herring?
 
legacyzero

legacyzero

Banned
theprodigy said:
Doritocracy?
what
Click to expand...

iEZbfyYXumYfd.gif
 
Y

ymmv

Banned
Jeels said:
Remember, this is the same gaming press that was attacking their readers for being mad with the DRM policies on the Xbox One. And when gamers put enough pressure on Microsoft and they started making 180's, the gaming press changed their tune too.
Click to expand...

What press outfits defended MS original DRM plans and now think 720p is good enough? Is there a pattern?
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Spending $500 is no small investment for the average household; with the media downplaying the $100 difference and lower resolution right out of the gate it instantly does a massive disservice for discerning consumers.
Click to expand...

Boom. This sums it up perfectly. Acting like it's not an issue for a more expensive product to be getting trounced in performance of it's primary function is one of the most frustrating things I've ever seen come out of the game press.
 
C

CambriaRising

Member
Like I said in another thread. Any person in the game's press that is downplaying the differences and saying that it isn't a big deal is an enemy of the consumer and should not be trusted.
 
M

Metalmurphy

Member
Not exactly a master piece in writing but I'm glad somebody finally wrote something about it.

As if the weekly Eurogamer article wasn't enough now we're getting the "720p is good enough" ones or even "720p > 1080p"... It's beyond pathetic imo.

Not only are they factually wrong, but they shouldn't even be writting that shit. You're supposed to be informative, and not be apologetic given your personal opinions.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
The media's been a joke in this regard for most of the generation. They don't even try to hide their huge preference for one over the other.
 
A

Acorn

Member
DBT85 said:
I feel exactly the same. As someone in the comments said, the comments on those sites putting their head in the sand have also been calling them out. To see the players and the press on such opposite sides seems so weird.
Click to expand...

Is it so weird? The games press sees themselves as part of the industry not as a outsider commenting, this sort of thing has been going on for a while now. Look at the Xbox One DRM shit for the best example.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
ymmv said:
What press outfits defended MS original DRM plans and now think 720p is good enough? Is there a pattern?
Click to expand...

Polygon, Penny Arcade, IGN. They have form. Ben Kuchera is a massive MS proponent though, he didn't get away with it so much on Ars because their editorial guidelines are probably quite strict and wouldn't allow for his personal bias to come through like it does now.

As for reasons why they would do it. Mostly because the "journalists" involved are angling for community manager jobs at MS.
 
K

Kimawolf

Member
I think the article is semi accurate because yes, downplaying those deficiencies of the Xbone is ridiculous, especially when they clobbered the Wii U so badly for its tech failings if you buy into that, BUT to put the PS4 on some pedestal like it's some great innovation and the second coming of gaming is equally as bad when it has average technology and pretty boring looking, samey/ cross gen launch games. MS has less than average tech, but better launch games. So really should game sites rally behind the technology or the games? they are game sites after all.

But I suppose bottom line is yeah if you HAVE to get one console over the other as a longer term investment, go with the PS4. at least it is somewhat improved, if you're going on games/community, then seems to me you should recommend Xbone, but honestly neither of them are impressive in the least to me and they may as well not bothered launching this year with the shit passed off as launch games.
 
Zabant

Zabant

Member
Jeels said:
Remember, this is the same gaming press that was attacking their readers for being mad with the DRM policies on the Xbox One.
Click to expand...

Apart from that tool totalbiscuit who isn't a real member of the games press, no real outlets were attacking readers, they were just downplaying the DRM because it didn't really effect them. (which was also a disservice)

This article, while a little hyperbolic comes at it with a logical viewpoint for that mid tier gamer that enjoys AAA Games and buys most games at launch but doesn't spend all day on forums and might fall for MS's marketing BS.

Lay out the facts on the table, The Xbone is quantifiably weaker than the PS4 and is also $100 more

Wether you value it's OS features enough to outweigh those disadvantages is a totally different discussion that should be had AFTER these facts are laid out on the table imo.

Games press is like the american media when covering politics, they always try to be "balanced" and tell both sides of the story, even in the face of one party clearly lying and seriously fucking it up like with the recent government shutdown.
 
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