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https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...review-after-youtubers-plagiarism-accusations

IGN has removed a review from its website following accusations that it heavily plagiarises a similar video from a YouTuber.

[Boomstick Gaming’s] review for indie roguelike Dead Cells was published to the video platform last week, with IGN releasing their own review yesterday. The latter's was penned by Nintendo editor Filip Miucin, and released in both video and written form.

IGN have pulled the review and are investigating.

Edit to add: I don’t want to see the guy tarred and feathered but if this turns out to be true, I don’t see how IGN could let him keep his position. Every time his byline shows up, there’ll be legitimate questions asked.

 

[Michele]

I don't get much of it, but how was that removed review plagiarizing? In what way did it copy?

 

[AV]

In what way did it copy?

See for yourself.

 

[Porcile]

Someone go back to the thread when it was announced he was replacing Jose Otero. I made a tongue in cheek comment about YouTubers being untrustworthy fellows as professional hires. I waz rite. Don't hire fucking YouTubers for anything, please.

 

[Mochilador]

Amazing. That's why I consider hard to trust game reviews/scores. We don't even know if the person actually played the game. Maybe he/she just copied some bits from other reviews and made his/her own.

 

[Nikana]

I couldn't tell on my phone screen, but was the review skipping around around time stamps? It sure didn't look like it, but if it's really broken down into the exact same segment structure that's....wow.

 

[DonF]

damn...at first I was like "yeah, ok what do you want...they are both describing the basics of the same game"
but then the phrase about the "fast, fluid and responsive fights", god damn...why? Maybe the ign writer asked a third person to do the review. I can't even. this is so dumb, you job is to review games. Many would kill for this job... damn, many do it for free...

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

IGN providing laughs in 2018. "Professional" game media needs to renovate.

 

[Hendrick's]

Haha someone was being lazy, definitely cribbed that review.

 

[Horsemama1956]

Sounds like someone didnt use a thesaurus.

 

[Orpheum]

Stealing from a small independend YouTuber is nothing but sad. Really curious as to how his career with IGN will go on after this. There's no way this is coincidence.

 

[Night.Ninja]

That’s life gotta do what you do

 

[Dunki]

Yeah this person should be fired. If you do this at university your are normally finished. Except some certain feminist blogger who stole lets play footage without giving credits

 

[Spukc]

Someone go back to the thread when it was announced he was replacing Jose Otero. I made a tongue in cheek comment about YouTubers being untrustworthy fellows as professional hires. I waz rite. Don't hire fucking YouTubers for anything, please.

What a dumb statement man.
Not all youtubers are like him.

 

[Petrae]

It’s easy to point fingers and laugh at IGN here, but really... the person who plagiarized here should be catching ALL of the shit.

It doesn’t matter what the excuse will be here; when you work for one of the most gaming-related websites around, you have to do the work. You don’t take shortcuts. You should have known what you signed up for before signing that contract or any new-hire paperwork. It’s about deadlines and time management— and hell, this isn’t even the busy season yet. This individual would NEVER have survived a busy season, based on having to steal content in late July/early August when it’s slower.

The damage here will be felt throughout IGN. Heightened sensitivity to possible plagiarism will have editors on high alert, adding to their workloads. IGN’s reputation is going to take (even more of) a hit here, as people will point fingers at the site for greenlighting such a review. Others will question the hiring process that brought this individual into the fold.

It’s a bad, bad situation.

 

[ILLtown]

Hopefully they make it right and give the YouTuber in question some promotion. I honestly don't know how the guy who did IGN's review thought he could get away with it.

 

[sublimit]

"Reviewers" (who most likely barely even touched the game they are "reviewing") copying other "reviewers"? I'm shocked!!!

 

[Mochilador]

Hopefully they make it right and give the YouTuber in question some promotion. I honestly don't know how the guy who did IGN's review thought he could get away with it.

He was only caught because the owner noticed the similarities. Who knows how many times they got away doing this.

 

[Maxximus]

This is a shame. There is no excuse for this to happen. I feel bad for Filip and wish him well as he looks for new employment, but IGN will have to fire him in order to maintain any credibility. But IGN also needs to take some responsibility as well for this.

 

[GametimeUK]

Holy shit. I was listening to the IGN review whilst thinking to myself "whoever is reviewing this game has really stepped it up in terms of quality". I guess I know why now. Jeez.

 

[ILLtown]

He was only caught because the owner noticed the similarities. Who knows how many times they got away doing this.

Right, but the risk of someone watching both videos is quite high I would have thought, which is why the IGN guy was dumb to do what he did.

 

[zombie_gamer87]

See for yourself.

This is why i never trust a single review posted on IGN.

 

[JimmyJones]

Further proof that video game journalists don’t have a clue about video games.

 

[iconmaster]

Right, but the risk of someone watching both videos is quite high I would have thought, which is why the IGN guy was dumb to do what he did.

This occurred to me too. Boomstick Gaming has over 11,000 subscribers. And, being a gaming channel, odds are fairly good that some of those subscribers visit IGN now and then. And if you're someone interested in Dead Cells, you're also fairly likely to gather opinions of the game from multiple sources.

The likelihood of getting caught seems relatively high.

 

[Bryank75]

See for yourself.

What really rubs me the wrong way is the stylized way he speaks, it’s so obnoxious and annoying.... especially since he has stolen his script and still seems so confident.

Modern games media though....

 

[Northeastmonk]

What really rubs me the wrong way is the stylized way he speaks, it’s so obnoxious and annoying.... especially since he has stolen his script and still seems so confident.

Modern games media though....

I felt that way too. He sounded like he was romanticizing all these key points that were obviously copied from the YouTuber. Its cringe worthy. It makes IGN look bad. Especially since you have 1 person providing an opinion on a game that reflects the entire company.

Yeah, I enjoyed hearing Adam Sessler talk about BioShock Infinite in his perfect review of the game. I enjoy it when creators can do that, but not when its like this. This is stealing and its obviously made to make you feel like this guy knows about the passion of video games.

 

[ILLtown]

A tweet from the IGN guy, made on August 4th: -

Finishing up my Dead Cells review this weekend. It’s the first IGN video review I’ve edited myself, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. If you still haven’t seen Dead Cells in action, check out the first 21 minutes on Nintendo Switch!

And also the last.

 

[dirthead]

Someone go back to the thread when it was announced he was replacing Jose Otero. I made a tongue in cheek comment about YouTubers being untrustworthy fellows as professional hires. I waz rite. Don't hire fucking YouTubers for anything, please.

Am I the only one who snickers when hearing a two bit streamer or Youtuber referring to himself as a "creator?" It's like, dude, you recorded some video with Shadowplay and talked over it inarticulately. These people are a dime a dozen. They largely have no talent or skills. It's comical.

Can't wait until the Youtube and streaming bubbles pop, because I don't think either one is worth the ad money that's going into them.

 

[Bryank75]

A tweet from the IGN guy, made on August 4th: -



And also the last.

Probably, Peer seems like a nice guy but I’d say he doesn’t suffer fools gladly either.

 

[dirthead]

I felt that way too. He sounded like he was romanticizing all these key points that were obviously copied from the YouTuber. Its cringe worthy. It makes IGN look bad. Especially since you have 1 person providing an opinion on a game that reflects the entire company.

Yeah, I enjoyed hearing Adam Sessler talk about BioShock Infinite in his perfect review of the game. I enjoy it when creators can do that, but not when its like this. This is stealing and its obviously made to make you feel like this guy knows about the passion of video games.

IGN was already a complete joke to anyone with a glimmer of what's going on out there.

 

[dirthead]

It’s easy to point fingers and laugh at IGN here, but really... the person who plagiarized here should be catching ALL of the shit.

It doesn’t matter what the excuse will be here; when you work for one of the most gaming-related websites around, you have to do the work. You don’t take shortcuts. You should have known what you signed up for before signing that contract or any new-hire paperwork. It’s about deadlines and time management— and hell, this isn’t even the busy season yet. This individual would NEVER have survived a busy season, based on having to steal content in late July/early August when it’s slower.

The damage here will be felt throughout IGN. Heightened sensitivity to possible plagiarism will have editors on high alert, adding to their workloads. IGN’s reputation is going to take (even more of) a hit here, as people will point fingers at the site for greenlighting such a review. Others will question the hiring process that brought this individual into the fold.

It’s a bad, bad situation.

This isn't half as bad as the fact that they give games softball scores because of bribes and swag bags. Honestly, if they rip off someone else's review but the review they rip off is at least an honest review of a game, it's BETTER than what they've been doing.

 

[ipukespiders]

"Reviewers" (who most likely barely even touched the game they are "reviewing") copying other "reviewers"? I'm shocked!!!

Stealing from a small independend YouTuber is nothing but sad. Really curious as to how his career with IGN will go on after this. There's no way this is coincidence. Haha someone was being lazy, definitely cribbed that review. If you do this at university your are normally finished. Except some certain feminist blogger who stole lets play footage without giving credits.

The damage here will be felt throughout IGN. Heightened sensitivity to possible plagiarism will have editors on high alert, adding to their workloads. IGN’s reputation is going to take (even more of) a hit here, as people will point fingers at the site for greenlighting such a review. Others will question the hiring process that brought this individual into the fold.

Holy shit. I was listening to the IGN review whilst thinking to myself "whoever is reviewing this game has really stepped it up in terms of quality". I guess I know why now. Jeez. Further proof that video game journalists don’t have a clue about video games.

 

[Imtjnotu]

When copying your friends homework goes wrong

 

[ILLtown]

Stealing from a small independend YouTuber is nothing but sad.

Even sadder when you consider that the guy who did the stealing was a small independent YouTuber himself who only got hired by IGN in October 2017.

 

[haxan7]

I watched that last night. It seems like this guy has a basis for filing a legal claim against IGN?

 

[grfunkulus]

"Reviewers" (who most likely barely even touched the game they are "reviewing") copying other "reviewers"? I'm shocked!!!

Stealing from a small independend YouTuber is nothing but sad. Really curious as to how his career with IGN will go on after this. There's no way this is coincidence. Haha someone was being lazy, definitely cribbed that review. If you do this at university your are normally finished. Except some certain feminist blogger who stole lets play footage without giving credits.

The damage here will be felt throughout IGN. Heightened sensitivity to possible plagiarism will have editors on high alert, adding to their workloads. IGN’s reputation is going to take (even more of) a hit here, as people will point fingers at the site for greenlighting such a review. Others will question the hiring process that brought this individual into the fold.

Holy shit. I was listening to the IGN review whilst thinking to myself "whoever is reviewing this game has really stepped it up in terms of quality". I guess I know why now. Jeez. Further proof that video game journalists don’t have a clue about video games.

I c wat u did here...and I like it, haha

 

[Mobile Suit Gooch]

Video game "journalism"

 

[Fbh]

"Can I copy your homework?"
"Yeah, just change it up a bit so it doesn't look obvious you copied"

A tweet from the IGN guy, made on August 4th: -
And also the last.

Lol seriously ?
His first video review and he is already plagiarising?

 

[ILLtown]

I watched that last night. It seems like this guy has a basis for filing a legal claim against IGN?

Possibly, but I don't think he will. He had 11,000 subscribers yesterday. Today he was 18,000. Every cloud.....

If IGN issue an apology and give his channel some promotion, which is the least they can do really, he'll gain a bunch more subscribers.

Filing a legal claim can be a super expensive and long drawn out process, so I reckon he'll let it drop as long as IGN do right by him.

 

[MC Safety]

I'd imagine both creators copped liberally from PR documents such as press releases and review materials. The phrasing used in both seems to embrace the sort of descriptors and buzzwords commonly issued by game marketers.

This seems a good example of why you'd want your new hires to have some basic experience in journalism or, at bare minimum, some education as to what's expected in the composition of a game critique (regardless of its format).

 

[dirthead]

I'd imagine both creators copped liberally from PR documents such as press releases and review materials. The phrasing used in both seems to embrace the sort of descriptors and buzzwords commonly issued by game marketers.

This seems a good example of why you'd want your new hires to have some basic experience in journalism or, at bare minimum, some education as to what's expected in the composition of a game critique (regardless of its format).

Heh that's what I was thinking, too. Like, if I were the dude whose review was copied, I'd be embarrassed about having written that crap. Sounded like a press release.

 

[Spukc]

Yet again resetera threathing this as a fucking manhunt.

Those loons really have no filter at all
Great to see this site is less fucking insane these days

 

[iconmaster]

I'd imagine both creators copped liberally from PR documents such as press releases and review materials. The phrasing used in both seems to embrace the sort of descriptors and buzzwords commonly issued by game marketers.

This is a good point. It's possible that both reviewers were heavily.. drawing from a third source. If that third source could be produced, it might argue against the plagiarism claim somewhat. (It'd still be an incredibly lazy review that'd seem to be unworthy of the IGN brand.)

 

[dirthead]

Yet again resetera threathing this as a fucking manhunt.

Manhunt? That's a sexist word. Don't you mean personhunt? I'm afraid we're going to have to ban you from the internet now because we can't bear to live in the same universe as someone as obviously sexist as you are.

 

[Dragon_Rocks]

It’s easy to point fingers and laugh at IGN here, but really... the person who plagiarized here should be catching ALL of the shit.

It doesn’t matter what the excuse will be here; when you work for one of the most gaming-related websites around, you have to do the work. You don’t take shortcuts. You should have known what you signed up for before signing that contract or any new-hire paperwork. It’s about deadlines and time management— and hell, this isn’t even the busy season yet. This individual would NEVER have survived a busy season, based on having to steal content in late July/early August when it’s slower.

The damage here will be felt throughout IGN. Heightened sensitivity to possible plagiarism will have editors on high alert, adding to their workloads. IGN’s reputation is going to take (even more of) a hit here, as people will point fingers at the site for greenlighting such a review. Others will question the hiring process that brought this individual into the fold.

It’s a bad, bad situation.

I never understand the statements which say fault the person and not the company. It is fine when the person did something which was out of the control of the company they worked for like say a bad tweet, facebook comment etc. but when they are putting out a work which is being published under the company platform then the company is responsible. It is the company's responsibility to make sure that stuff they publish is of utmost quality and integrity and free of content that is taken from others without permission. If they don't do that then there is no difference between an independent person putting out their review on some XYZ website and the employee of the company putting out their review on their company site which in this case happens to be IGN.

I also feel the same goes for when people say that a game review is just one person's opinion. It is fine when that one person is an independent youtuber, blogger etc. who has no affiliation to any company but when the review is being published as a company's review (IGN's review, Gamespot's review etc.) then the understanding should be that a set of professional people from that company should have their hand in it making sure that the review is company's opinion of that game and not just one person's. They should have a policy and guideline on how a review should be done and everyone working for the company should be following that rather than do in their own style which can come out to be biased in certain cases.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I never understand the statements which say fault the person and not the company. It is fine when the person did something which was out of the control of the company they worked for like say a bad tweet, facebook comment etc. but when they are putting out a work which is being published under the company platform then the company is responsible. It is the company's responsibility to make sure that stuff they publish is of utmost quality and integrity and free of content that is taken from others without permission. If they don't do that then there is no difference between an independent person putting out their review on some XYZ website and the employee of the company putting out their review on their company site which in this case happens to be IGN.

The company does have some responsibility for sure, but at the end of the day it's the employees fault. The responsibility of IGN was to take the review down when the plagiarism came to light (which they did), do a full investigation (which they seem to be in the process of doing) and fire the person if (when in this case) the investigation proves the employee plagiarized and apologize to the community for the employee's transgression.

I agree they have some responsibility to put out quality content, but it's impossible to always be 100% sure quality material wasn't plagiarized. No one can possibly read every review on every site or watch every review video on Youtube or read every forum post etc. and be able to spot plagiarism. There's just too much content out there that can be plagiarized. The most they can do is have editors review submissions for quality, read some major existing reviews (if they aren't the first one out) and so on before release and act properly if things like plagiarism are revealed after the fact.

 

[Drake]

Plagiarism is like the gran-daddy of all deadly sins when it comes to journalism. You basically become a leper at that point. No credible outlet will touch you with a 10 foot pole. His career in journalism is over. I hope he has a good backup plan.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

Well we already have gaming sites letting there reviewers put out reviews for games they only played half of, or even just a single level of, the logical next step was just stealing someone else's work instead of playing the game at all.

 

[Mobile Suit Gooch]

Plagiarism is like the gran-daddy of all deadly sins when it comes to journalism. You basically become a leper at that point. No credible outlet will touch you with a 10 foot pole. His career in journalism is over. I hope he has a good backup plan.

He could make a career out of attacking gamers...wait...

 

[DeepEnigma]

Yet again resetera threathing this as a fucking manhunt.

Those loons really have no filter at all
Great to see this site is less fucking insane these days

I think your first mistake was to give them credit for self thought.