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Randy Pitchford only has time for Colonial Marines praise, [losing money on Aliens]
- Thread starter dmr87
- Start date
This. Nobody forced you to buy the game.
Wickerbasket
Member
Or the proceeds from winning might fund a new Samba de Amigo game.
Think of the possibilities!
My girlfriend preordered it for me on Steam for Valentines day based off of the false advertising.
She was pretty upset when she realised how bad the game was she bought me.
There's a lot of people who buy based off previews and advertising who are going to be really disappointed.
Randy is adding fuel to the fire though. He should have just left his Twitter account alone for a few weeks. In the meantime think of a way to sort out this mess. Maybe promise a patch that fixes most of the errors (if that's even possible).
SpikedGunner
Member
Meatvillain
Banned
I feel like anyone calling for Sega to sue Gearbox is suffering from some real bad Tall Poppy Syndrome and are looking to feel some sweet sweet schadenfreude. It's a bad game, it had troubled development, it happens, I know litigation is the answer to everything in the US but jeez, lay off.
Freezasaurus
Member
You made a shitty game, Randy. It doesn't make you a bad person. Accept it and move on.
The issue isn't that "it's just another bad game", the issue is how Gearbox strung along all the "gaming journalists" and consumers to believe what they saw at E3 and other events (not to mention the screenshots, which are still being used to falsely advertise the Wii U version) would reflect the final game. All the lies they spouted throughout the whole time pre-release.
It shouldn't be something that's swept under the rug just because it's another licensed movie game that's bad. It's the practices that went into feeding information to the journalists and consumers about the game before it released.
If this were an actual popular gaming franchise and much bigger dev studio, you wouldn't be saying what you just said.
Wickerbasket
Member
Tall Poppy Syndrome - "a social phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are resented, attacked, cut down, or criticised because their talents or achievements elevate them above or distinguish them from their peers."
I had to look that up, but I don't feel that description fits what's going on here. What they released was obviously devoid of any genuine merit or achievement. It was genuinely one of the worst games I've ever played, I've played games from 15 years ago with better A.I.
AvP 2010 was an average game when it released and it shits all over Colonial Marines.
I resent them because they sold a game based on lies.
Gearbox used money Sega gave them to work on Borderlands 1&2 instead of developing Aliens: Colonial Marines themselves. Has that happened before in this industry? Yep. Should companies get away from that when they're caught? Fuck no.
It wouldn't be the first and won't be the last time game journalists are used to prop up a dead-on-arrival turd.
it's the best thing that's happened to video games since geoff keighley sat down next to a bag of chips.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
ROFL.
Honestly this playground stuff just cracks me up. Gearbox (specifically Randy Pitchford) are the bad guys, whilst SEGA who supplied the license, the backing, the QA, the marketing, the disc-pressing are the goodies here ?!?
WTF!
Delivering a game to a publisher isn't like handing in an unfinished homework assignment and shuffling it down to the bottom of the stack in hopes Teacher doesn't notice... there's no way its quality is going to sneak under their radar!
If there was a case to sue, they would have done so prior to publishing! Or more reasonably demanded fixes and changes prior to signing off on the final master...
Honestly this playground stuff just cracks me up. Gearbox (specifically Randy Pitchford) are the bad guys, whilst SEGA who supplied the license, the backing, the QA, the marketing, the disc-pressing are the goodies here ?!?
WTF!
Delivering a game to a publisher isn't like handing in an unfinished homework assignment and shuffling it down to the bottom of the stack in hopes Teacher doesn't notice... there's no way its quality is going to sneak under their radar!
If there was a case to sue, they would have done so prior to publishing! Or more reasonably demanded fixes and changes prior to signing off on the final master...
I like you
It's not that I was referring to (which I'm aware happens kinda often), instead it sounded like even the journalists didn't know the game is what it is right now before it came out. The way all of them reacted prior to the embargo being lifted on the reviews sounded like they couldn't wait to publish their reviews of the game because of how bad it was vs what they had been shown for the last several months.
slightconfuse
Banned
Shameless and disrespectful.
Jim Sterling
Member
Personal update, I've been accused by Mr. Pitchford of attempting to do nothing but vilify and injury for the purposes of grandstanding, and was told I should have sent private questions.
Trouble is, last time I asked questions through official channels, I got told Aliens: Colonial Marines would ship with next-gen lighting in an interview I now cringe at the thought of.
That's a problem inherent in "game journalism," such that it is. You're a "shoddy journalist" for not taking part in the big PR Rube Goldberg machine -- very much like how Eurogamer got called out for announcing Borderlands 2 before Game Informer got its big exclusive reveal -- despite the fact that such a machine is exactly WHY a situation like Colonial Marines is allowed to happen.
Maybe I am indeed showboating a little, but y'know, when we serve an audience, how are we doing right by them in asking the questions privately?
Trouble is, last time I asked questions through official channels, I got told Aliens: Colonial Marines would ship with next-gen lighting in an interview I now cringe at the thought of.
That's a problem inherent in "game journalism," such that it is. You're a "shoddy journalist" for not taking part in the big PR Rube Goldberg machine -- very much like how Eurogamer got called out for announcing Borderlands 2 before Game Informer got its big exclusive reveal -- despite the fact that such a machine is exactly WHY a situation like Colonial Marines is allowed to happen.
Maybe I am indeed showboating a little, but y'know, when we serve an audience, how are we doing right by them in asking the questions privately?
keltickennedy
Member
Speaking about the bullshots and questionable videos, its not like this is a new thing. It seems Gearbox and Sega are just the first people to be called out on it. Numerous other companies do the same thing. Ubisoft is probably the worst offender of it. I think targets should be switch from directly at Gearbox and instead at the entire industry as a whole.
Forsaken82
Member
This isn't how GAF works...
Dan ‏@Extremely_Moist
@DuvalMagic So basically you're putting your fingers in your ears about a poor product your company shipped? Real mature.
Randy Pitchford ‏@DuvalMagic
@Extremely_Moist No - we have countless paths for feedback and are learning many lessons. My personal twitter is my own. Also, blocked...
hahaha What a douchebag.
@DuvalMagic So basically you're putting your fingers in your ears about a poor product your company shipped? Real mature.
Randy Pitchford ‏@DuvalMagic
@Extremely_Moist No - we have countless paths for feedback and are learning many lessons. My personal twitter is my own. Also, blocked...
hahaha What a douchebag.
GoddyofAus
Banned
That's the point Pitchford is missing; you shouldn't have to ask them privately. People who feel they got screwed want answers.
I like the way you think.
BlastProcessing
Member
Jim Sterling's Twitter said:
At least this whole mess has put Jim Sterling on my radar.
#TEAMBIGJIM
ConradCervantes
Banned
What a child. Too bad there's still people who'll give him money when Borderlands 3 eventually releases, purportedly on the backing of another publisher's money.
IdreamofHIME
Member
Dude is Dyack Jr for sure.
But they took it to a new level. They basically provided a demo room for journalists with a carefully crafted demo experience running on a far flashier engine with better AI. They let these journalists play the demo so they would lavish praise, knowing that the demo was nothing like the game they were making. The missions and events in the demo weren't even present in the final game, other than some familiar level assets. They also listed out all these features that would be in the game, while not putting those features in. I don't recall any company going this far to misrepresent their game.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
They have no problem with the attention and journo enthusiasm when it's positive... "oh yes please write a fluffy preview for us, based on this IP you're excited about and the disingenuous PR materials we've provided, really".
"Oh yeah, okay... so we kinda lied there a bit, but um... can't we talk about this privately, hopefully ignoring you long enough for the internet to move on and this be old news?"
He really learned some lessons after Halo...
"Oh yeah, okay... so we kinda lied there a bit, but um... can't we talk about this privately, hopefully ignoring you long enough for the internet to move on and this be old news?"
He really learned some lessons after Halo...
Keep it up, Jim! I think it's safe to say that a lot of people here appreciate the fact that someone is trying to stand up to this type of behavior. It shouldn't be forgotten so quickly.
plutoknight
Member
Yeah, this is way beyond the typical "bullshot." at least when Ubisoft shows Connon spearing some guy with his Tomahawk, ..you can actually go buy Assassin's Creed 3 and kill a guy with a Tomahawk.
I noticed Stephen over at Kotaku joined Jim's crusade on questioning the idea of previews. I kinda hope that becomes a trend.
BlastProcessing
Member
DoctorPayne
Banned
Good stuff as usual by Jim. The man gets a lot of GAF-hate, but he's got some big brass British balls.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
Idk... after Bethesda PS3 Skyrim, I believe these damn big-money companies are seemingly impervious if they just play their cards right.
Though as a gamer and enthusiast, I do very much appreciate what Jim has been doing here.
Uh, Totilo is like the Anti-Sterling. Guy is clinical/dull as hell and wouldn't come near bucking the system outside of flat lip service.
alfredofroylan
Member
We are talking about a company that published Sonic 2006, they know about the quality of the game, they just run out of time and ecided to throw the title trying to recover some of the money they invested.
Palette Swap
Member
From the review thread:
Are we there yet?
The Lamonster
Member
We should all make it our goal for Randy to block us.
"Hey Randy, what's your favorite color?"
"How dare you even ask that. Blocked..."
"Hey Randy, what's your favorite color?"
"How dare you even ask that. Blocked..."
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
They have an Alien game in development and they could always start up the Obsidian game again.
You don't do it privately. If you have criticisms of the game, it is your duty as a journalist to expose the public to what you believe is a deceitful preview process. Sometimes the truth hurts, and it may hurt Destructoid in the end, but it's better than just letting them get away with it. The only power the media has is as a voice for those who have reasonable criticisms that can't be heard. It's one of the only protections consumers have.