http://chrishecker.com/Me_and_the_Wii
This is just depressing.
Small part:
Eurogamer - why the fuck would this developer or anyone else ever talk to you ever again after you pull this nonsense? Do you take pleasure in actively dissuading future interesting stories from ever being written?
This is awfully similar to the "CliffyB thinks Heavy Rain is for Women" bullshit from last week. Again, Eurogamer just being terrible.
Eurogamer: Cliffy B: Heavy Rain perfect for girls
Misses the entire point of the conversation on the podcast. The body of the article didn't do any better at explaining the context. As a result, the comments section is full of hate and vitriol directed at Cliff, even though there was absolutely nothing whatsoever in the actual context worth attacking him over.
Think he will be so eager to talk candidly ever again in the future? Maybe he will be, maybe not. But anyone else would probably be totally put off from that forever.
Sad, actually, that Kotaku did a much more commendable job at putting things in context. Just read the tone of Kotaku's article vs. the tone of Eurogamer's article, and the comments that follow each.
This is just depressing.
Small part:
Chris Hecker said:Now, years later, a journalist interviewed me about my new game SpyParty, indie game development in general, and my misadventures with the press. I figured enough time had passed, so I talked openly about the mistakes I'd made in the Wii rant, the context in which it happened, and how I thought the journalists who covered it also made mistakes, especially in choosing inflammatory headlines to drive traffic that grossly misrepresented the subtlety of what I was actually trying to say.
We spoke about this topic for almost an hour. We talked about how misquotes and out-of-context quotes are why most game developers never talk openly with the press, and always stay on message, even though those pre-approved messages are almost always boring and content-free. We talked about the chilling effect this has on the free flow of information in our industry. We talked about how there is a responsibility on the parts of both developers and the press to make sure interesting and accurate information is conveyed to the fans. We talked about how the title of a piece should reflect its actual content.
The article for this interview was just published with the title Hecker: I stand by my Wii is s*** rant. It's as if the conversation about the importance of the choice of title for a subtle discussion about controversial subjects never happened. The quotes inside the article present some of the longer, more nuanced discussion, but as you can read in the comments, the damage is already done. Again. And then, of course, because the initial tone of this article is senselessly negative, this is carried across to the other articles regurgitating the interview, including Chris Wii = Cubes duct taped together Hecker stands by his original comments, and the beyond-awesome Former Spore Dev Still Thinks the Wii is "a Piece of Sh*t".
Eurogamer - why the fuck would this developer or anyone else ever talk to you ever again after you pull this nonsense? Do you take pleasure in actively dissuading future interesting stories from ever being written?
This is awfully similar to the "CliffyB thinks Heavy Rain is for Women" bullshit from last week. Again, Eurogamer just being terrible.
Eurogamer: Cliffy B: Heavy Rain perfect for girls
Misses the entire point of the conversation on the podcast. The body of the article didn't do any better at explaining the context. As a result, the comments section is full of hate and vitriol directed at Cliff, even though there was absolutely nothing whatsoever in the actual context worth attacking him over.
Think he will be so eager to talk candidly ever again in the future? Maybe he will be, maybe not. But anyone else would probably be totally put off from that forever.
Sad, actually, that Kotaku did a much more commendable job at putting things in context. Just read the tone of Kotaku's article vs. the tone of Eurogamer's article, and the comments that follow each.