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[Goldenroad]

See, you're doing it again. You're trying to justify your lack of actual arguments by saying there's no argument and justify your attempt at ending the discussion by saying there was no discussion in the first place.

Hilarious, and transparent.

I don't know why you gotta hate man. I didn't post the article. I didn't start the thread...I didn't even start the argument that this whole back and forth is about. I tend to reply to direct attacks on myself or my opinions...but I've got more to do then defend them all day in this thread. No biggie man. You win. I'm a joke. Whatever.

 

[Dennis]

What were the things that Polygon were going to do differently than others sites?

The game changer, what was it?

Serious question, what was the new way of doing games journalism about?

 

[Kade]

All this BS wouldn't exist if people didn't blindly attach the label of "Games Journalism" to everything. It's (sort of) shitty that a press release was copied and pasted and submitted with a new article title but come on. It's like calling a retail store employee an entrepreneur just because they both sell things.

 

[alr1ght]

We need a Photoshop expert. Stat!

All this BS wouldn't exist if people didn't blindly attach the label of "Games Journalism" to everything. It's (sort of) shitty that a press release was copied and pasted and submitted with a new article title but come on. It's like calling a retail store employee an entrepreneur just because they both sell things.

They brought this on themselves.

 

[Coconut]

Comments like this are infuriating

What is the need to put up this advert which we plainly all can see it is just that and pass it off as editorial? Why give free advertising to Pizza Hut and Microsoft? What would be the reasoning behind this? It's shameless and should be called out as such

This post brought to you by Pizza Hut

For those people who don't eat Pizza Hut regularly but like halo to get something free?

 

[antitrop]

Hey, you wanna know one thing that I absolutely could not possibly care less about ever?

A fucking Halo themed avatar costume from a Pizza Hut in the United Kingdom.

 

[Dennis]

I see what you did there.

 

[Lancehead]

They brought this on themselves.

Brilliant work!

 

[Vyse The Legend]

How does this simple article dismiss the fact that they've already put up a number of well thought up, lengthy features? I one of those people who wouldn't bother even reading a post like that upon seeing the headline, but I guess Polygon is under the microscope.

Either go the whole way, or don't bother at all.

You cannot pick and choose when you want to be a "serious" website.

 

[ultron87]

Hey, you wanna know one thing that I absolutely could not possibly care less about ever?

A fucking Halo themed avatar costume from a Pizza Hut in the United Kingdom.

Surely you are 100 percent representative of Polygon's audience, notorious Halo and UK haters that they are.

 

[JeffGrubb]

You guys are a bit daft. If Pizza Hut paid Polygon to run that story, then you're right. Otherwise they're just reporting on a promotion that some people may be interested to read about.

What is the exact issue with this story.

And I don't mean, "They said they would be different and this one story isn't different!"

What is the problem with this specific story?

 

[eznark]

^ Deleting the negative comments, shutting down the thread, and threatening their users mostly.

All this BS wouldn't exist if people didn't blindly attach the label of "Games Journalism" to everything. It's (sort of) shitty that a press release was copied and pasted and submitted with a new article title but come on. It's like calling a retail store employee an entrepreneur just because they both sell things.

Nah, this is like laughing at the fry jockey for calling himself an entrepreneur.

 

[Darklord]

I think the hardcore gamer thing on AC3 is more important than this. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=43776724&postcount=6745

The guy was literally promoting his ebay auction of AC3 promo stuff on the review!

 

[antitrop]

Surely you are 100 percent representative of Polygon's audience, notorious Halo and UK haters that they are.

I like Halo and I like England even more.

But we're talking about an Xbox 360 avatar through a Pizza Hut promotion here.

 

[Branduil]

You guys are a bit daft. If Pizza Hut paid Polygon to run that story, then you're right. Otherwise they're just reporting on a promotion that some people may be interested to read about.

What is the exact issue with this story.

And I don't mean, "They said they would be different and this one story isn't different!"

What is the problem with this specific story?

Does this help?

I will break it down for you:

1. Polygon claims to be ushering in a new era of serious games journalism.
2. They proceed to be a mouthpiece for PR, copying and pasting portions of a press release with minimal changes.
3. Other websites, EGMNOW and Videogamer, basically do the same, further highlighting the fact that Polygon is no different than other blogs.
4. Trusted, respected website Giantbomb takes the time to write a unique take on the same article, proving yet again why they win.

To everyone missing the point it's about the accepted norms and the appearance of impropriety. No one is really suggesting the news post is some huge Polygon conspiracy. And yes, it's no different to what other sites do but thats the point.

 

[chalkitdown1]

What is the problem with this specific story?

That it's not a story?

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

http://i.minus.com/ibeWGdahWlg4e8.jpg[img]

They brought this on themselves.[/quote]
lol

 

[inky]

What were the things that Polygon were going to do differently than others sites?

The game changer, what was it?

Serious question, what was the new way of doing games journalism about?

Personality based website backed up by tons of money. Seriously, they think their guys have some sort of street cred other sites don't.

Also, using gifs in the review pages and modern graphic design.

All this BS wouldn't exist if people didn't blindly attach the label of "Games Journalism" to everything. It's (sort of) shitty that a press release was copied and pasted and submitted with a new article title but come on. It's like calling a retail store employee an entrepreneur just because they both sell things.

Hey man, they are only being held to the standard they supposedly set. LOL.

 

[Trevelyon]

If there was a free Spartan 'Noid' costume I might give a care. But I don't give a caaaaare.

 

[Dennis]

Why is a serious gaming site running free ads for Microsoft and Pizza Hut?

Its worse than fluff. It is a straight press release copypaste masquerading as 'News' - without clearly labeling it as an ad. Freely given or not.

 

[IHaveCandy]

Our policies entirely permit placement of advertorial on Polygon. We will endeavor to clearly mark an advertisement or "infomercial" (videos, Flash animations, etc.) shown on Polygon as news. We will also endeavor to censor reader comments criticizing ethical breaches.

Ethical breaches?

 

[Margalis]

I see what you did there.

Someone needs to take pictures like the above and photoshop them into something respectable, like replace the Doritos with a stack of Strunk and Whites and Master Chief with FDR.

Next-level comedy!

If Pizza Hut paid Polygon to run that story, then you're right.

Why pay when they will use your copy and images for free? Generosity?

When PR can dictate the content of a website the difference between advertising and content is largely academic. MS and Pizza Hut could create a banner ad using the same image Polygon ran and pay Polygon to run it - or they could just have Polygon run it for free. Tough choice!

 

[Felix Lighter]

I don't think there is anything wrong with reporting on a press release. There is actual information that should be disseminated found in press releases. How the information was reported and what press release was deemed important enough to write about is what the criticism is aimed at. In the end, the article is just enough to make me roll my eyes, especially when considering the source and their claims of being above it all. The real problem I have is the deleting of critical comments and that is the reason why I am in this thread to begin with.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

What is the problem with this specific story?

To start.

It's an advertisement and not a story.

 

[ghst]

edit: ignore, looking at the wrong page.

 

[Floex]

For those people who don't eat Pizza Hut regularly but like halo to get something free?

.... And you don't see anything wrong with this. Pizza Hut should be advertising this, not gaming websites that (supposedly) have nothing to do with either affiliations and putting it out as editorial

And we haven't even started on the fact that stuff from the game can only be gotten at Pizza Hut. Incentive bullshit rears it's ugly head

 

[winstano]

Slightly OT, but finally got round to watching the last couple of eps of Press Reset. My GOD there's a lot of Halo 4 mentions in that thing.

 

[ThusZarathustra]

How does this simple article dismiss the fact that they've already put up a number of well thought up, lengthy features? I one of those people who wouldn't bother even reading a post like that upon seeing the headline, but I guess Polygon is under the microscope.

They put themselves under the microscope, man. They've only themselves to blame here. It really doesn't look good and doesn't at all ingratiate any potential readers to them.

It's discordant, defensive, and entirely counter to everything they say they stand for.

 

[AkuMifune]

Ethical breaches?

He means they're allowed to breach ethics, we're just not allowed to call them on it.

 

[Flavius]

I like Halo and I like England even more.

But we're talking about an Xbox 360 avatar through a Pizza Hut promotion here.

I don't know what the fuck you're going on about...

It's all I can do to grab a bottle and drink myself nearly to death, to wash away thoughts of running away to the UK and ordering a pizza. And will I have my 360 and copy of Halo 4 over there?

You bet your sweet ass, I will!

 

[JeffGrubb]

To start.

It's an advertisement and not a story.

Do you understand what an advertisement is? It's something someone pays you to say. Were they paid to say this?

 

[Dennis]

Personality based website backed up by tons of money. Seriously, they think their guys have some sort of street cred other sites don't.

Also, using gifs in the review pages and modern graphic design.



Hey man, they are only being held to the standard they supposedly set. LOL.

You know what?

Kudos to Polygon on the graphical design. I looked at their Assassins Creed 3 review and the visual presentation was top notch.

 

[Barbacoatl]

What's the big deal here?

Because of recent scandals involving eurogamer and pr people disguised as games journalists caught with their pants down and their hands in the honey pot, gaffers put on their tinfoil hats and readied their pitchforks. Polygon, an up and coming news organization dedicated to change the game of games reporting runs a 'story' about a pizza hut promotion for halo 4 in the UK, almost verbatim from the original press release.

People comment about it in a civil way but the moderation team deems the discussion unnecessary, censors the comments and closes the thread.

All is fine and dandy until you consider that this is the same editorial team that didn't consider 'newsworthy' the eurogamer scandal but the friggen pizza hut promotion is, very similar to the stephen totilo unboxing fiasco. They will argue that their sites are not about games journalism and in that regard they're partially right, their sites are more about tortilla chips and sweet colored water.

No big deal, only that all that hyperbolic spiel about changing the game? Yeah, no one eats that shit.

 

[shandy706]

Polygon is a crappy site.

Their "reviews" have made me laugh multiple times.

 

[Flachmatuch]

The mob mentality in this thread is quite stunning. This is a complete non-issue. But someone makes a thread with SCREENSHOTS and all of the sudden its a full on controversy.

Well, maybe the first post is a bit self-important. But the comment deletions and the dumb hypocritical silliness posted by Christopher Grant is in fact pretty god damn funny and awesome, and a very good illustration of what "game journalism" actually is. Of course there are more important issues in the world, but imo this one is definitely worth a thread on GAF, if anything. If only for my favourite sentence

"If you want to criticize us, you're welcome to send us an email to feedback@polygon.com"

...which in my opinion means "If you want to criticize us, you can't use our site's comment system, but can tell us in private."

Very unprofessional from any site claiming they're doing "journalism" type PR, as they cannot maintain plausible deniability. Just delete the comments and post a few fake ones so the deletion is not that obvious.

 

[FStop7]

To start.

It's an advertisement and not a story.

Well, at some point then everything becomes an advertisement. Release dates, titles, DLC news, etc. If you distill it that far down then reporting on any upcoming product or promotion is advertising.

 

[Coconut]

.... And you don't see anything wrong with this. Pizza Hut should be advertising this, not gaming websites that (supposedly) have nothing to do with either affiliations and putting it out as editorial

And we haven't even started on the fact that stuff from the game can only be gotten at Pizza Hut. Incentive bullshit rears it's ugly head

I will put every 10/10 they give to any Pizza Hut game into question from here on out.

 

[JABEE]

You guys are a bit daft. If Pizza Hut paid Polygon to run that story, then you're right. Otherwise they're just reporting on a promotion that some people may be interested to read about.

What is the exact issue with this story.

And I don't mean, "They said they would be different and this one story isn't different!"

What is the problem with this specific story?

They plagiarized EGMNow that copy-and-pasted a press release. The original image that accompanied the story looked like a picture that would be used in a banner ad. It used PR language throughout.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

Do you understand what an advertisement is? It's something someone pays you to say. Were they paid to say this?

Here is what is so fucked about the industry.

If Polygon wasn't paid for it...then they are fucking idiots.

I'm not sure what's worth. That they're so full of themselves talking about how different and forward thinking they are going to be...or that they're idiots.

 

[Dennis]

Because of recent scandals involving eurogamer and pr people disguised as games journalists caught with their pants down and their hands in the honey pot, gaffers put on their tinfoil hats and readied their pitchforks. Polygon, an up and coming news organization dedicated to change the game of games reporting runs a 'story' about a pizza hut promotion for halo 4 in the UK, almost verbatim from the original press release.

People comment about it in a civil way but the moderation team deems the discussion unnecessary, censors the comments and closes the thread.

All is fine and dandy until you consider that this is the same editorial team that didn't consider 'newsworthy' the eurogamer scandal but the friggen pizza hut promotion is, very similar to the stephen totilo unboxing fiasco. They will argue that their sites are not about games journalism and in that regard they're partially right, their sites are more about tortilla chips and sweet colored water.

No big deal, only that all that hyperbolic spiel about changing the game? Yeah, no one eats that shit.

Good point.

Priorities, we all have them.

 

[antitrop]

You know what?

Kudos to Polygon on the graphical design. I looked at their Assassins Creed 3 review and the visual presentation was top notch.

Compared to almost every other gaming site out there, it is substantially better. Everything is still too big on Polygon, but I'm sure they'll figure out a happy medium, eventually.

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

Mostly because it wasn't the appropriate resolution for the site and looked blurry.

Look, do I think it was the best, most useful post we've ever run? No, I don't. Do I see any malice in running it? Nope!

This smells like a witch hunt to me — all we're doing is keeping the comments thread clear and on-topic. Since that was going to require a lot of maintenance, we just turned comments off.

We've spent a lot of money creating great gaming content that I think goes beyond what many of our peers have. I hope you look to that when you decide to dismiss the entire site based on one contest post. Here's a story from today!

I'm not going to spend my time sorting through Pizza Hut ads labeled as news in the hope that I may eventually find some "great gaming content".

 

[Zeliard]

Do you understand what an advertisement is? It's something someone pays you to say. Were they paid to say this?

The entire point of Rab Florence's article clearly flew right over your head.

 

[Foxtastical]

You guys can take issue with this, but that isn't an advertorial.

Ignore those people. Ignore the people screaming money hats. Understand that many of us are concerned at the utter lack of awareness of game journalism. The Wainwright situation has brought up a discussion of cognitive dissonance, and and I think this story from Polygon should to. Not only a discussion of cognitive dissonance, but only a conversation about how an audience perceives this type of news in the wake of other news. Posting this PR while having a documentary funded by Microsoft does not mean Polygon is corrupt, but are you saying you do not understand how an individual might make that connection? I disagree with that connection, but, as evidenced by this thread, a lot of your audience will see it as a connection.

Stop responding to the people calling out these game journalists as being actively corrupt people (even though there does seem to be certain individuals that are corrupt or on the fringe, but this thread is not about those individuals). You need to go above those people and understand what might be causing people to create these mental connections. Why are people getting upset by this story?

While I think this idea of perception is important, again, I do find it silly to see so game journalists dismiss cognitive dissonance.

The entire point of Rab Florence's article clearly flew right over your head.

Exactly. Journalists are responding to the easy criticism. The surface criticism. The people screaming "this is a clear violation of church and state!" Stop responding to that and re-read through what Rab wrote to get to the deeper issues.

Edit: I also think this specific situation with Polygon is important because of the brand they were trying to create for the web site.

 

[DJ Crimson]

Do you understand what an advertisement is? It's something someone pays you to say. Were they paid to say this?

The fact you can't tell the difference is telling on how some people grew up on older game "journalism."

 

[Seda]

My quick thoughts:

I don't really care that they reworded a PR that happened to involve a Pizza Hut promotion. Regurgitating press releases is a daily occurrence by pretty much all video game sites and blogs and probably isn't going anywhere. However, the comment deleting and directing criticism towards an email address is stupid.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Every video game site on the planet probably ran that press release. CONSPIRACY

Right now I can't find a UK site which has run it, despite it being the only relevant country for this new piece of important junk food/Halo crossover news. Perhaps that will change tomorrow.

 

[Effnine]

I don't know what's worse, deleting comments in a comment section or people actually defending an advertisement disguised as a news item. Make up whatever rationalization you want, this is an advertisement, plain and simple. Whether or not they were paid, the intended result is still the same.

 

[Cat Party]

Well, maybe the first post is a bit self-important. But the comment deletions and the dumb hypocritical silliness posted by Christopher Grant is in fact pretty god damn funny and awesome, and a very good illustration of what "game journalism" actually is. Of course there are more important issues in the world, but imo this one is definitely worth a thread on GAF, if anything. If only for my favourite sentence

"If you want to criticize us, you're welcome to send us an email to feedback@polygon.com"

...which in my opinion means "If you want to criticize us, you can't use our site's comment system, but can tell us in private."

Very unprofessional from any site claiming they're doing "journalism" type PR, as they cannot maintain plausible deniability. Just delete the comments and post a few fake ones so the deletion is not that obvious.

If you went to NBC News's site and took over the comments section on an article by criticizing NBC News, I'm sure it'd get deleted too. Would that be controversial?

 

[inky]

You know what?

Kudos to Polygon on the graphical design. I looked at their Assassins Creed 3 review and the visual presentation was top notch.

Yep, I liked it too. Too bad it's attached to a mediocre website.