Jim Sterling
Member
Ha, good luck with that. I hate going to events.
They'd have to hold the event in my back yard. I'll charge a reasonable rate for land.
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Jim Sterlings PS4 Top Ten(MS PR wont talk to him?)
- Thread starter unbias
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They'd have to hold the event in my back yard. I'll charge a reasonable rate for land.
You mean they'd rather talk to Gies and others that are willing to play ball and lick some Microsoft ass.
Would be quite funny to see MS forced to treat Jim with visible openness as he thrashes their games in reviews.
And then still yell about getting off your lawn? Porch only or GTFO?
Don't you like to be locked in a hotel to review games? And don't you want some free swag? Come now, do not reject this most generous offer of Microsoft gratitude.
not_so_special
Banned
at first i wasnt a big fan of jim
but in the past months he grow on me,he is one of the only journos who sided with the consumers,he was genuine and its a very smart and clever guy so this industry needs more jim sterlings and less gies
but in the past months he grow on me,he is one of the only journos who sided with the consumers,he was genuine and its a very smart and clever guy so this industry needs more jim sterlings and less gies
jakonovski
Member
Plata o plomo.
EmptySpace
Banned
that's the problem with sterling. his reviews revolve around whether or not he liked the game. he throws objectivity out of the window. was it actually good, whether or not he liked it? who cares. as long as he had fun, he'll give it a good score. doesn't matter if it's the 10th reiteration, if the same problems still persisted, etc. as long as he had fun because that's all that matters to him.
then, if he didn't like the game, he'll use ever negative metaphor he can think of and pick apart the smallest little details and puts on his know-it-all persona, while he easily ignores the same problems on games that he liked playing.
is that really how critiques should work? opinions are subjective, but there at least has to have some objectivity and an effort to understand what the game is before calling it trash and slapping it a low score just because you didn't enjoy it. a lot of people don't like to play certain games but they wouldn't really give it low scores just because.
Why don't you just release your reviews now instead of waiting if they're being dicks to you?
As a film student aspiring to one day write and direct for videogames or film and who currently writes about games in my spare time, I'd like to say thanks for taking the time to rationally and calmly be open with members of the gaming community. This weird symbiotic loop of publishers and journalists, where normal game enthusiasts get cut out of the loop, is something that perturbs me and I think harms the overall culture and the artistic discourse back and forth. I hate the idea of a limited discourse between artists and their audience, enforced by PR companies and even journalists. It's why I have such respect for BioWare, for engaging with that fan community and really listening to them. I don't see it as a flaw of the democratization of art, but a desire to discuss. So as someone who may one day be actually working on games (a small chance, but I can have my delusions) I hope that when I do, there are more people like you are willing to interact with the audience and cut through the bullshit fed to them by publishers and many other journalists. I don't always agree with you - I adored Beyond: Two Souls and quite intently disliked Modern Warfare 3 - but I'm happy that you're around.
Objectivity on a subjective product isnt something you can really do. If you give it a higher score then you personally think it deserves because you "can see what it is trying to do" then you are effectively not giving an honest assessment of how good you think the game is.
The problem isn't the review, imo, the problem is how obnoxious the scoring system works in this industry.
Lawsuits are expensive.
KimonoNoNo
Member
Now that's just cynical.
Not talking about the non-talking PR, but the cynical video of Ps4 top 10 OF ALL TIME.
Thanks Jim, I for one enjoyed your little video.
Back on-topic.
If there's one thing the last month or so has proved, is that problems miraculously disappear after some publicity.
Legally purchased early XBone banned, let Larry sort it out and get invited to swank launch party.
Or maybe curse out retailer on twitter get free Ps4 to shut you up.
Not talking about the non-talking PR, but the cynical video of Ps4 top 10 OF ALL TIME.
Thanks Jim, I for one enjoyed your little video.
Back on-topic.
If there's one thing the last month or so has proved, is that problems miraculously disappear after some publicity.
Legally purchased early XBone banned, let Larry sort it out and get invited to swank launch party.
Or maybe curse out retailer on twitter get free Ps4 to shut you up.
Richardbro
Neo Member
Jim, I might not always agree with your opinion on games, but I respect and recognize that you are honest and that's all that matters. MS are a bunch of scumbags.
mhayze
Member
Someone decided to give him a review copy. Even if your conspiracy theory is correct, too late for that.
hydrophilic attack
Member
It's how reviews work in any other medium (literature, movies, music, dramas etc.). A review should reflect the reviewer's opinion not try to find the objective truth. If every reviewer managed to find the objective truth, then all reviews would be identical. It's much more helpful to read some reviews from people who like a game/movie/CD/whatever and some from people who didn't to get different perspectives. Do the things that people who gave a bad score complain about sound like they would be a problem for you? If it's a game that some people love and some hate, find out why some people love it, and whether that would appeal to you. Alternatively, find a few reviewers whose opinions you trust and whose views seem to align with yours and follow them.
I'm so sick of gamers whining after a game gets a bad review. Doing that is really acting against our own interest :/
Well, they probably are former journos like Geise.
Imperfected
Member
Your word choice is maybe less than spectacular.
This whole thing strikes me as particularly futile on Microsoft's part. The worst they can do is refuse to give Jim and/or The Escapist review copies, which would only prevent them from reviewing games prior to their release; that sucks for hits, certainly, but it doesn't stop a person from going out and buying the game retail and then saying whatever they want about it afterwards. You literally cannot stop someone from reviewing your product, you can only make it harder for them to make money from doing so - which is a great way to positively influence reviews, I'm sure!
So, you can't actually (effectively) blacklist a review site. You can't stop them from posting news relating to your company or products, either, you can only really refuse to give them statements. (Again, this is totally awesome idea. The only thing better than having negative stories published about your company is not even bothering to try and spin them your way!) There is no actual way to blacklist journalists, so instead you're going to "graylist" them and accomplish... what, exactly?
Microsoft, things haven't fallen in your favor very often lately, I get that. The job of your PR and marketing departments is always going to be making the best of a bad situation, though, not making things worse by pouting in a corner because yet another website didn't hire the person you wanted for their reviews editor. Please do a once-over on your PR department and get rid of anyone who doesn't see a "problem" like Jim Sterling as something they need to apply themselves to, you really can't afford to have your public face plugging their fingers in their ears and hoping all the bad things go away.
dreamghost
Member
not all the time, probably the only objective review of final fantasy 13 in existence: http://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Keep fighting the good fight. I never use your reviews as criteria for purchases due to them being so off base for me personally and me believing in "The Must-Play 7/10 Game" theory, but I'd be goddamned if I wouldn't want 100 of inscrutable reviewers like yourself over one reviewer in a console maker/publisher/developer's pocket or cowed by their strong-arm tactics.
You got Orthed, man.
You mind actually expounding on that instead of your drive by cheap comment?
GrizzleBoy
Banned
Are there any links to what MS said about Jim?
Your avatar is perfect for that drive by shit post...
DeviantBoi
Member
If Marcus Beer can get a free XBone after his very critical videos of MS and their DRM plans, you'll probably be okay eventually, Jim.
eddfromtheriver
Banned
MS just can't stop putting themselves in a bad light... it's kinda sad actually...
You're a reasonable one, aren't you.
EmptySpace
Banned
then it should be called an essay, not a critique. a lot of people can do objectivity just fine.
the problem isn't the scoring system, the problem is a single person trying to review everything of every genre, especially those which they don't enjoy and don't have a full understanding of. being a gamer does not mean playing every game there is. that's not to say reviewers shouldn't review games they don't enjoy, but if some reviewer does not have full understanding of the game, then it's best to ignore it. people have picked apart sterling's beyond two souls review in the ot and pointed out every wrong in his review (which was a majority of it). reviewers always give the nba 2k series a 9.0 score, but people who have been playing nba 2k games for a while can easily point out persistent faults and unfixed problems (and the problem being there's no better alternative to that game).
there are a lot of problems with reviewers.
1) their personal experience tends to be taken as fact, no matter how people say it's subjective. those reviews certainly influence people's perception of the game, regardless of whether or not those reviews are wrong on so many levels. that is the thing about these reviews. their opinions are as legitimate as any other gamer who plays video games, the only difference being they play games as their jobs. reviews make or break someone else's purchase, and that is where pr can see a problem. let's face it, reviewers are disposable because their opinions are as legit as anyone else's. pr knows that as well.
2) the use of metaphors, of tired descriptive adjectives, and overall the lack of specificity especially in a lot of genres. for example, a game like battlefield can have specifics on how the recoil system works, but a review for gran turismo wouldn't even go into how adjusting the weather works against the car's movement and instead would be written as "there's weather, there's tuning customizations, etc." again, the problem being reviewers tend to focus on the little things in the games that they care about, and just make general statements about games that they sorta enjoyed, don't really much care about, therefore they don't make an effort to understand the game. just get it over and done with.
3) it's entirely possible that even devs don't like reviewers, not just publishers. especially if someone calls your graphics not up-to-par with today's standards and you've given 3 years' worth of work on it, dozens of people putting time and effort only to be trashed in one sentence by some dude on the internet who happens to be taken seriously by other dudes and that's how word spreads, regardless of whether or not those words are true.
to conclude, listen to other gaf (or other players) members' impressions of the game in the ot rather than a single reviewer in the industry.
no fucking way origins is a 3.5 game sorry. It has its flaws but no, that's just making an example out of it, on the wrong franchise.
I hope people will read this and your other fucking posts for clarification. I was reading the thread before posting.
This type of thing should be pointed out always. And yeah, talking ABOUT and not TO someone is definitely "high school" behavior.
That is one heavy load of horse shit to have to deal with. Good lord.
I'm both sorry for the immaturity you're having to deal with and highly unnerved by their behavior. That's.... That's just not right on so many levels.
I'm going to assume the reason they haven't confronted you directly was to try and avoid furthering any negativity you might go public with. They probably thought silence would be the best course of action in hopes that you wouldn't do what you're doing now.
Jokes on them I suppose. They deserve whatever bad press they get at this point.
MHWilliams
Member
If Jim has an Xbox One for review, he's ahead of us.
Impeccable
Member
Oh snap.
GunFingers
Member
So a couple of middle-schoolers are apparently bickering, and now one is going on a Twitter PR campaign thinking that's going to help things? And making empty threats, hinting that his personal ignorance of an embargo absolves his company from having to adhere to it?
God I hate twitter. Sterling is supposedly a journalist, and from what I'm reading here, a hard hitting screw the man one at that, who's opinions are respected by the community. If there's something substantial and necessary to say to your audience, why not actually write a sourced, backed, researched editorial? Instead we're getting postings on GAF that a friend's friend heard that Sally doesn't like you? C'mon, it's about as unprofessional as possible. If I behaved that way in my own career I would be blackballed, too. From my career.
God I hate twitter. Sterling is supposedly a journalist, and from what I'm reading here, a hard hitting screw the man one at that, who's opinions are respected by the community. If there's something substantial and necessary to say to your audience, why not actually write a sourced, backed, researched editorial? Instead we're getting postings on GAF that a friend's friend heard that Sally doesn't like you? C'mon, it's about as unprofessional as possible. If I behaved that way in my own career I would be blackballed, too. From my career.
I never go by reviews, and if you check my posting history, I think your typical review is a fairly useless thing as a whole, imo. With the arrival of lets plays and watching actual game play with commentary, regular reviews really should become a thing of the past. However, I dont read Jim for his super objective reviews(I've personally never witnessed such a thing with a game), I read/watch him for his personality and his opinions, the subjective kind specifically.
dragonbane
Member
You really have to separate review Sterling from editorial Sterling. I disagree with his reviews most of the time, but I still very enjoy his Jimquisitions and other output.
I actually like the overtly subjective approach much better. Other than technical facts (framerate, resolution, load times), it's virtually impossible to 'objectively' review anything. If I know someone's tastes are usually in sync with mine, then just knowing whether they liked it is usually enough.
This was the reason I liked reading movie reviews by Roger Ebert...over the years, I got to know his tastes, and knew what he liked in a film, and so I knew that if he really liked something, there was a good chance that I'd like it too.
The notion of an 'objective' review of a thing designed to produce an emotional response is kinda silly. What _is_ annoying, is the pretense of objectivity, backed by an obvious bias.
Wolves Evolve
Member
Yeah the idea of objective reviews is a total joke. If a review seems obiective it is because the writer has nothing to say and is using filler, or has been leashed by PR, not because they have insights into the inherent qualities of games.
Jim Sterling is unprofessional because he made Twitter comments and they were posted on NeoGAF by people that aren't him? He's not campaigning. He tweeted at a PR person and clarified why he did so. And I don't think he ever mentioned putting out reviews ASAP due to ignorance of the embargo date.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Yeah because Sony is so humbled... oh wait paywall
They only look good compared to MS, oneye is the king of the blind
Come on. Microsoft, as big as they are, does not operate like a monolithic evil robot. We're only getting one side of the story here.
This sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. MS are professionals right?
While this is true (only having one side of the story), I fail to see any reason why they would be doing this to him. Even if he had done something awful, this doesn't seem professional at all.
While this is true (only having one side of the story), I fail to see any reason why they would be doing this to him. Even if he had done something awful, this doesn't seem professional at all.