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Video Game Industry Thread: February's done, go to the new thread
Posts
Eh. The biggest factor with a tablet is the software it runs, and how well it runs that software. Benchmarks are almost completely unimportant, as is comparing processors and GPUs. If you want the games and apps that iOS offers, you get an iPad. If you want the games (heh) and apps that Android offers you get a... I don't know, a, uh... Kindle Fire? Galaxy tablet?
The most important hardware aspect--by far--of a tablet is the screen, and Apple has just made a huuuuuge upgrade there.
What he does, how he acts and what he writes is completely separate.
I haven't read or watched the review in question, so it is completely possible that he wrote something that is questionable. But you are talking as if they are all connected all the time, using these examples as "proofs". They don't have to be. Assuming so is ad hominem.
I'm not defending him. I don't give a flying whatsit about that guy. I'm critiquing your logic.
Rock & Roll Racing, motherfuckers.
I just can't see any adult giving that much of a shit about what someone else is doing in their free time. I guess it stems from when I was in college, though, and I'd see people doing everything and anything on the bus, from writing reports on laptops, to brushing their teeth, to vomiting, to even having sex. So I quickly learned that whatever anybody does on the bus is their own prerogative.
...but what if people genuinely enjoy the device, even if it's "underpowered?"
Yeah. Sorry about that. Nesting quotes ain't what it used to be around here.
tails Gets trolled
Except we had pages of discussion about the flaws in his reviewing process. Refer to his review on Neir, and how he felt compelled to write an entire review based off of the very opening of the game.
And I disagree that how one acts and how one writes are completely separate. When you spend hundreds of hours on forums gushing in anticipation about an upcoming game, film yourself dancing with the game before playing it, and subsequently write a lavish review of the game, your per-conceived notions are going to seep into your writing to some degree. If this guy had previously displayed considerable restraint, then maybe you might be more forgiving, but since he already had another high profile, controversial review which already called into question his reviewing process, why would you give him the benefit of the doubt?
And understand that I'm not slamming this guy specifically. I'm not saying "oh that justin, he's a prick, fuck his reviews personally." I'm using him more as an example of the flaws which pervade game reviews, and game journalism, as a whole. He's not an anomaly, he's just a very public example of a lot of problems with the process.
There are so many Blizzard games that should be remade/rebooted/rereleased. It seems like since Starcraft came out, they've been churning out the same thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_Entertainment#Titles
Edit: Well, maybe not that many.
Wii U and 3DS Codes
tails Gets trolled
His love of the game can inform what he writes, but you've presupposed that it makes of the entirety of what he writes. False assumption.
The fact that you don't trust any of the outlets is your decision, and a valid one.
Out of the last two pages, all I've seen is the Nier example. That's a poor review if it hinged on that fact alone, but pointing out that it's non-intuitive (as some here have asserted) is completely fair game.
Then we agree to disagree.
This is when you get into fuzzy territory. Does right by what metric? Stacked against other titles in the genre? On the same system? Up against the intentions of the developer? On a pure novelty basis? For example, a game can be technically poor, but end up being enjoyable because it does clearly convey the developer's intent. If a sequel has perfected the gameplay of its predecessors, but it boring to the reviewer, which way does that review go?
The answers to those questions are wholly dependent on the reviewer/critic. Some hated Dragon Age II for the changes in gameplay, while others defend it for it characterization and some of the themes it tackles. It's a decisive game that has lead to way more written criticism than other blockbuster titles. I like it that way. Much like the Eurogamer reviewer who tackled Uncharted 3. He wondered if perhaps the was too much like a theme park ride on rails, and less like an interactive experience. He gave it an 8, but for some, the game did everything right. Whose viewpoint is correct?
(Out on errands so may not answer immediately)
I write news there. It is fun.
Wii U and 3DS Codes
I don't think his concern was about performance or people's enjoyment, but rather the pricing. He feels the ipad should be priced according to the tech it uses. The price point the ipad currently uses is based off of its demand.
I'll personally spend $500 on a gaming computer that is 28 years old, so clearly this is a subject on which I can't really speak about. But I do think both sides of the argument have valid points.
I don't understand what this means. Can someone fill me in?
MechWarrior Online: Khyber Pryde
Yeah, I do - any set of outside motives which could compromise the integrity of of ones actions. Do you think conflicts of interest can only be monetary or something? I'd think rampant fanboyism is definitely at odds with the task of writing an objective review.
On the other hand, why the hell should it matter with regards to your review? Who gives a shit what you do when you're off the clock?
"In my professional opinion, this game is good. You should buy it."
"Yeah, but you danced with the case. Fuck yo' opinion."
Pokemon Black code - 3009 7390 5907 Send PM if you add me
It isn't even really about being underpowered or anything. It's more about the spin they put on it to continually hype up their products. I mean you watch these keynotes and they talk about it as if it's all kinds of high tech and bleeding edge when it's simply not. It's a bunch of tech repurposed from Samsung's (As all sources I can find seem to indicate them as their suppliers.) older run of Galaxy devices.
The screen is great, and if people are happy with the device, more power to them. This is just more me observing the usual stint of Apple selling off name alone, when most other products would be dissected and people would be bemoaning the innards almost instantly. (See any android device launch and its almost immediately a comparison between chipsets and similar.)
I suppose its just the state of their consumer base when people will gobble up a device without question, not even wondering what it is. Except 'New ipad'.
My Backloggery
No, I'm saying you shouldn't assume they are connected. Noting a biased remark is fine. "This game is awesome". Well you can look at that, look at his history, link that up, explain it away, then ignore it.
But what you are doing is two things: automatically assuming he can't write anything worth reading ever based on limited examples and automatically assuming most gaming journalism is the same.
Both of these are actually poor judgement and reasoning on your part.
tails Gets trolled
To be clear, I'm not assume that the entirety of his review is based off of his devotion to the game. I'm instead saying that his devotion to the game causes me to question his review. Are the things he writes about his enjoyment actually derived from his enjoyment of the game, or are they preconceived? Is he listing every fault in the game, or is he glossing over them because he wants to like the game so much? I'm not saying he is or isn't doing these things, I'm saying that his surrounding actions causes me to be skeptical of his claims. Which sort of goes back to your "trusted source" claim - we accept reviews because we trust them, and these sorts of actions cause me not to trust them.
Your comment about metrics is a great point, though. I don't think that's something that should be decided on a game by game basis. I don't think you can definitively say what makes a game good or bad, but I do think you can put forth a good argument and explaination as to why you personally feel a feature is well done or not. Which is what I'm generally looking for. Essentially, less "The controls in game X are clunky" and more "I couldn't get into the controls of game X, because I've been trained on game Y's conventions and they're more natural to me, where as game X's conventions differ from what I expect in A, B, and C manner." I'm more receptive to the latter because it presents me an argument which I can decide myself if I agree or disagree with.
that's why I don't agree with review scores - they naturally pit one game against another, and like you said, what one game does wrong for one person, it might do right for another. I'd much rather read about what one person found the game did right and wrong, than boiling down the argument to "this game is good" or 'this game is bad."
This is just getting sad. I went to bed early last night joking and talking about other joke Vita photoshops and by the time I sit down to work the next morning its all over the web on supposedly legitimate websites. Now this.
This is clear evidence that they don't know how reporting works. You're supposed to check and see if something is real before reporting it. You don't just report whateverthefuck, assume it's real, then wait for someone to prove it's fake.
That is so fucking backwards.
This is a consequence of the OMG MUST GET IT ONLINE TEH FIRST!!!! mentality.
Wasn't it originally posted as a rumor and then other news sites started posting it as fact?
Wii U and 3DS Codes
The actual post is lost to the annuals of time as far as I know, but way back before even the current generation of consoles IIRC, somebody on the PA forums tried to post about how consoles are basically "three year old PCs." Except he somehow butchered his typing and actually wrote "three yard elf PC."
The absurdity of the phrase was only matched by it's hilarity, and thus a meme was born.
Steam | TF2 inventory
Eurogamer posted it first as fact that the screen shot was a legitimate screen grab of those Play.com listings. No one has denied that in any of the news posts I've seen. The only rumor part here is the "validity" of these games coming to the Vita.
tails Gets trolled
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/156834/video-game-industry-thread-apple-does-something-or-other
Which I guess explains why nobody is apparently going apeshit over Pokemon Grey coming to the Vita. Obvious fake is fake. Except when it's not, in which case it must be real, amirite?
Pokemon Black code - 3009 7390 5907 Send PM if you add me