"Yeah, sure, feel free to criticize, freedom of expression and what not......oh hold up guys, not us, thats just out of line!"
Hypocrites.
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Polygon posts ad/re-worded press release as 'News' & deletes user comments [Removed]
- Thread starter Gowans
- Start date
"Yeah, sure, feel free to criticize, freedom of expression and what not......oh hold up guys, not us, thats just out of line!"
Hypocrites.
Games journalists have slid down the hill so far the only way they know how to handle the valid criticism is with funny blog posts, silly images, sarcastic tweets and deleting comments.
Nope.
He obviously believes they can do things better, that doesn't mean he literally thinks of them as some sort of savior.
WrenchNinja
Member
At least it would make sense if they were getting money out of it.
I don't know, maybe these
Air Zombie Meat
Member
I just see it as a funny gif to bust out in the context of these threads. I like to think most people understand what the reality of it was. And theres also the issue others have mentioned of treating a valid concern with conceit and sarcasm.
GAF, you have completely legit points and criticisms, but I think a lot of the ugliness and snark in these comments are just as tacky as Polygon's handling of the situation. I feel disappointed as I had high hopes for the site, but I didn't realize that some of the staff were so loathed around here.
Can anyone explain why Chris Grant or Arthur Gies aren't worthwhile to listen to?
Can anyone explain why Chris Grant or Arthur Gies aren't worthwhile to listen to?
Right, but then it would actually be unethical.
Hydrogen Bluebird
Member
I think it's worse that they do it for free. It means they can't differentiate between reporting and advertising.
ThusZarathustra
Member
It's the hipster cycle. Nothing real allowed. All artifice.
sure, but but it would at least be rationally (not morally or ethically) understandable, as they would actually be reimbursed for they behavior, rather than just be used.
You're only as strong as your weakest link, and people are going to be yanking that chain pretty hard when you've created an entire PR video campaign around how you're going to be the best there is.
No, they're not. There have been incidents of poor choices, and the pre launch pr movies were a little thick, but there have been very good features and well written reviews since they started.
I know gaf tends to gang up for laughs but they're too new to just dismiss them outright.
If by Pizza Hut the game you mean Halo 4 then yes I'll guess you'll be coming round to my way of thinking
bigdaddygamebot
Member
you seem to be attempting to deconstruct what this piece encapsulates.
polygon's relationship with microsoft is already under the lens for 750,000 reasons. they are a start-up with an MO built around a bringing code of ethics to popular games journalism, and many would argue that this has already been compromised by the initial MS deal.
since then, the debate regarding conflict of interest and cognitive dissonance within the incestuous game journalism/PR relationship has fired up in to an inferno. the debate has shifted from the crude beginnings of "bought" allegations, and now highlights that even if a journalist is somehow completely incorruptible, the mere appearance of this kind of journalist:subject collusion is damaging enough on its own.
can you think of anything more boneheaded for a start-up in this situation to do in this climate than regurgitate a near word-for-word press release for a trivial microsoft promo deal with a fast food chain, presenting it as news, then actively censor their audience's criticisms?
They are not new, they are the same guys we've been reading for years in other websites. we know them. They have a fancy new page, but that's about it.
Felix Lighter
Member
I don't believe Giant Bomb posted anything about this specific press release. I think the example of GB's take on a news story based on a press release was the GTA V scheduled release story.
I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
Sarcasm only works if you make it just obvious enough that you are kidding.
Seeing a man child spinning with a game is sadly par for the course in games journalism, so you just cannot tell.
This situation calls more for tears than laughter.
Nobody does it half as good as you. Baby, you're the one.after reaping the harvest of a $750,000 investment on behalf of the generous philanthropists at microsoft's IE department, who saw an opportunity to become gracious patrons of the bastion of a new kind of non-partisan game journalism, polygon have unfairly come under fire from those wishing to grind their tin-foil corruption axes and cynics who couldn't find it in themselves to have faith in polygon's cause.
despite a heart-wrenching documentary which for the first time truly illustrates the toil and struggle that these crusaders of digital truth have put themselves through in order to act on their moral convictions, people were still trying to pour water on polygon's beacon lone beacon in the night.
rising above the noise, polygon came out defiant, with an ethics statement which stood them apart from all those two bit e-rags clambering over each other to suck at the PR teat:
"Our policies do not permit placements of advertorial on Polygon. We will endeavor to clearly mark any advertisement or "infomercial" (videos, Flash animations, etc.) shown on Polygon as an advertisement."
oops:
well, uh. maybe they actively sought out this story? you shouldn't assume that every PR-alike piece is straight from the corporate chimera's mouth..
Polygon:
Videogamer.com
EGMnow.com
i guess it's a story people want so bad that there's no time to dress it up in flowery new language, just get it out there, let their audience decide!
uh. so, i guess they were all just off topic trolls and spam comments then, like these?
well shit.
Isn't the contest free though?
The got a press release about the biggest game of November and they lazily copy and pasted the content. By your standard every single press release before a game comes out in advertising. Is the cross promotion the thing that is making it worse. The Uncharted 3/subway, taco bell/vita promotions were certainly important to a lot of people here?
fastballspecial
Member
For me, it's all this. ^^^
It scares me that this isn't sarcasm. Since when cant reviewers be excited for games?
We want them to judge them/rate them, but not be excited for them?
The lady doth protest too much methinks.
SteveWinwood
Member
Makes sense.
Yep, this is the issue for me. I believe my now deleted comment, which you can see in the OP screenshot, was valid. Was it critical? Yes. Did it include personal comments of any kind? No. It was deleted because apparently we're not allowed to criticise articles. It's censorship and it's poor to say the least that Chris Grant considers that acceptable behaviour.
ThusZarathustra
Member
wouldn't matter even if they were going to be giving you free pizza. it's the mindshare that matters, the number of eyes on it, the people aware of the brand.
Barbacoatl
Banned
One press release has damaged their reputation irrevokably. They can never return because their integrity has been forever damaged. HOW DO I KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY ACTUALLY PLAYED AND ENJOYED HOTLINE MIAMI? That halo feature....man not sure if they actually saw multiplayer testing...perhaps Halo 4 hasn't been tested at all and this is all just advertising from the 750k they paid for the doc.
Hydrogen Bluebird
Member
In my opinion, the problem is that press release / advertisement articles are posted as news. Way I see it, they are not news.
Well done; shoud've been the OP.
Then pretty much nothing posted on most major game blogs is news.
Italian Ceramics With the LeWitt Touch
ArtWare Editions, a company that sells limited-edition functional artworks, has dinnerware and tiles designed by the artist Sol LeWitt and produced in the maiolica workshops of rural Italy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/g...s-sol-lewitt-italian-ceramics.html?ref=garden
I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
Excitement leads to bias which leads to shoddy journalism. I can't trust the professional opinion of someone who is already so deeply in love with the game from the outset. It's a simple enough concept to grasp really.
A few years ago, Doritos-sponsored games were launched on XBLA. They were free. It was newsworthy, just like the free stuff from Pizza Hut today. Now, free games is much more interesting to me than free avatar stuff, but some readers might like it.
And this is where we find ourselves. Do we have to carry on with business as usual or can we try to take some of the leverage back from PR?
Is it asking too much for gaming news outlets who pay journalists to write stores to do some actual work?
Canis lupus
Member
This just pathetic.
So game journalists shouldn't like games. Awesome. That is so ridiculous.
Do I want AC3 reviewed by the guy who only plays madden?
NO i want the guy who has played them all!
I get excited about videogames. I want to read opinions by people who are also excited about videogames. That doesn't mean you wont get their honest opinions...
yes
bigdaddygamebot
Member
If you think it's just because of the press release, you need to read the entire thread.
I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
Between the self aggrandizing, pretentious articles, poor reviews with horrible formatting (HD images within the text? come on), terrible website design, and now this... i'll be sticking with my opinion. Nothing i've seen has been worthwhile, let alone worth $750,000.
Some legitimate news sites don't even publish a lot of comments, there's censorship even before any comments get through.
I don't see a difference, not with the way it's often reported by such rapid Apple fanboys as the second coming or something.
BurnOutBrighter
Banned
protip: it's not free...