Did anyone actually see this? Because I visited the site and I can't find a single article that has a sponsored company in the corner like in that picture. Admittedly I don't actually read the site so this is just a quick glance.
Does anyone else find it odd that the banner with the V DVD/ (covered) is different than what is actually shown when you visit the review?
It appears that categoryid dictates the header. categoryid=1269 is the header with the "sponsored by Sony" page. categoryid=1023 is "home ent" without the Sony ad.
So basically, the Galaxy links now head to a page without a Sony header, whereas Assassin's Creed does. Now the question becomes, did Variety's article about Galaxy ever link to the Sony header, or did Nsider splice together two different pages, like I have done above?
I'm more bothered by the fact that the review really doesn't tell me anything about the game. No matter what the spin, it's easily ignorable and I think that anybody who is happy enough with the way the game is described here without looking anywhere else wasn't going to buy it anyways.
Thus: We really shouldn't care either way, other than it's a lame review if it really was purchased. Waste of money, if you ask me, as the writing was pretty awful.
Are you guys reading the same article as me? I seriously don't see what the big deal is. So he didn't think the game was as great as you, big fucking whoop. Does the sony logo at the top with a comparison to a 3rd person platformer on a rival console seriously bother you that much?
The only line I really have a problem with is "it's one of the worst single play experiences of all time". It's a little over blown. Ok, a lot overblown. It's probably the best to introduce a significant other to Wii gaming including this game.
Are you guys reading the same article as me? I seriously don't see what the big deal is. So he didn't think the game was as great as you, big fucking whoop. Does the sony logo at the top with a comparison to a 3rd person platformer on a rival console seriously bother you that much?
When the two are related yes.
It's pretty balant. It's not like Sony hasn't done similar things before. I mean have you listend to the promo DVD for the PS3? According to Sony it's the only console with backwards compatibility and motion sensing controls.
King Riptor on
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
Are you guys reading the same article as me? I seriously don't see what the big deal is. So he didn't think the game was as great as you, big fucking whoop. Does the sony logo at the top with a comparison to a 3rd person platformer on a rival console seriously bother you that much?
I think it's the overall stupidity of the review, plus (now removed, possibly erroneous) Sony sponsership, plus the fact that it's the first negative review of the game I've read from any source at all. According to literally everyone else I've ever heard from about the game, it's the greatest thing Nintendo has put out in many years.
A non-perfect review is fine, but one that seems to contradict every single other while mostly bitching about the Wii and not the game its self is suspect. It bothers me for being shitty, not for being down on Galaxy. Galaxy doesn't need any more good reviews but the world does need fewer shitty reviewers.
So is there any other purpose for this thread now that the topic has been debunked?
I still like the idea of being able to manipulate ad space on a page, not to mention the general discussion about conflicts of interest between advertising departments and journalism staff...
But that's an age-old discussion, so take what you will.
It's pretty balant. It's not like Sony hasn't done similar things before. I mean have you listend to the promo DVD for the PS3? According to Sony it's the only console with backwards compatibility and motion sensing controls..
I'm pretty sure Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all sponsored 1UP, IGN and Gamespot at some points, so should we suddenly start proclaiming all their reviews are 'teh biased' too?
Better yet, lets hide in some bunkers and wear tin-foil hats, those evil corporations will never brainwash us!
ThePantsAssociationA million could-be years on a thousand may-be worldsRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
Ok, I used to work at Variety and with the author, Ben Fritz, on video game stuff for the publication. While I disagree with almost everything he wrote in the review, the accusations of some sort of Sony conspiracy are ridiculous.
Ben is just a dude with a different (arguably flawed) opinion of the game than most of the people here. I never considered him a "fanboy" of any particular system -- and he certainly wasn't being paid by any outside sources to say things about video games. Unless something has drastically changed in the publication since I left about a year ago, there's no big sinister plot behind it. First of all, Variety, as you may be aware, is a Hollywood trade publication. Sony's money would have been better spent elsewhere.
Honestly, I feel sorry for him -- can you imagine the amount of panty-twisted e-mails from Nintendo fans he's getting?
So is there any other purpose for this thread now that the topic has been debunked?
I still like the idea of being able to manipulate ad space on a page, not to mention the general discussion about conflicts of interest between advertising departments and journalism staff...
But that's an age-old discussion, so take what you will.
Ok, I used to work at Variety and with the author, Ben Fritz, on video game stuff for the publication. While I disagree with almost everything he wrote in the review, the accusations of some sort of Sony conspiracy are ridiculous.
Ben is just a dude with a different (arguably flawed) opinion of the game than most of the people here. I never considered him a "fanboy" of any particular system -- and he certainly wasn't being paid by any outside sources to say things about video games. Unless something has drastically changed in the publication since I left about a year ago, there's no big sinister plot behind it. First of all, Variety, as you may be aware, is a Hollywood trade publication. Sony's money would have been better spent elsewhere.
Honestly, I feel sorry for him -- can you imagine the amount of panty-twisted e-mails from Nintendo fans he's getting?
But he doesn't really have a bad opinion of the game, but instead of the system. Look at the review. He cites two... no three things that he doesn't like with the game:
Controls.
Camera.
2-player
Then he talkes about how the Wii sucks and disguises it as criticism of the game. I mean, harping on the graphics of the best-looking Wii game yet? Talking about how the controller is in two pieces? That's not SMG, that's just hating on the Wii. Now, if he just hates the Wii, that's another thing, but if I were to say "Halo 3 sucks because it doesn't have any waggle" that would be dumb too.
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Waka LakaRiding the stuffed UnicornIf ya know what I mean.Registered Userregular
I'm more bothered by the fact that the review really doesn't tell me anything about the game. No matter what the spin, it's easily ignorable and I think that anybody who is happy enough with the way the game is described here without looking anywhere else wasn't going to buy it anyways.
Thus: We really shouldn't care either way, other than it's a lame review if it really was purchased. Waste of money, if you ask me, as the writing was pretty awful.
Yeah it is a decent game, easily up there with Metroid Prime 3 as the best games on the system.Story is typical Mario, but the game itself shines. An improvement over Super Mario Sunshine in my book anyway.
But he doesn't really have a bad opinion of the game, but instead of the system. Look at the review. He cites two... no three things that he doesn't like with the game:
Controls.
Camera.
2-player
Then he talkes about how the Wii sucks and disguises it as criticism of the game. I mean, harping on the graphics of the best-looking Wii game yet? Talking about how the controller is in two pieces? That's not SMG, that's just hating on the Wii. Now, if he just hates the Wii, that's another thing, but if I were to say "Halo 3 sucks because it doesn't have any waggle" that would be dumb too.
I love the Wii and all, but all of his complaints are legitimate -- or at least arguable. Yes, maybe his review was more of a Wii bitch-fest than you would have liked. All I'm saying is that Sony didn't tell him to write that.
And think of the audience. He's not writing for gamers. He's writing for Hollywood industry folks, the vast majority completely uninitiated about the strengths and weaknesses of the different consoles. It's completely valid to bring up his problems with it in the review.
But he doesn't really have a bad opinion of the game, but instead of the system. Look at the review. He cites two... no three things that he doesn't like with the game:
Controls.
Camera.
2-player
Then he talkes about how the Wii sucks and disguises it as criticism of the game. I mean, harping on the graphics of the best-looking Wii game yet? Talking about how the controller is in two pieces? That's not SMG, that's just hating on the Wii. Now, if he just hates the Wii, that's another thing, but if I were to say "Halo 3 sucks because it doesn't have any waggle" that would be dumb too.
I love the Wii and all, but all of his complaints are legitimate -- or at least arguable. Yes, maybe his review was more of a Wii bitch-fest than you would have liked. All I'm saying is that Sony didn't tell him to write that.
And think of the audience. He's not writing for gamers. He's writing for Hollywood industry folks, the vast majority completely uninitiated about the strengths and weaknesses of the different consoles. It's completely valid to bring up his problems with it in the review.
Maybe he shouldn't have posted up a poorly written review of a game basically selling another game on a competitor's system with their logo right in the front.
But he doesn't really have a bad opinion of the game, but instead of the system. Look at the review. He cites two... no three things that he doesn't like with the game:
Controls.
Camera.
2-player
Then he talkes about how the Wii sucks and disguises it as criticism of the game. I mean, harping on the graphics of the best-looking Wii game yet? Talking about how the controller is in two pieces? That's not SMG, that's just hating on the Wii. Now, if he just hates the Wii, that's another thing, but if I were to say "Halo 3 sucks because it doesn't have any waggle" that would be dumb too.
I love the Wii and all, but all of his complaints are legitimate -- or at least arguable. Yes, maybe his review was more of a Wii bitch-fest than you would have liked. All I'm saying is that Sony didn't tell him to write that.
And think of the audience. He's not writing for gamers. He's writing for Hollywood industry folks, the vast majority completely uninitiated about the strengths and weaknesses of the different consoles. It's completely valid to bring up his problems with it in the review.
What.
It's a shitty review. It doesn't matter if his problems with the Wii are legitimate, it's a stupid and bad review to claim that Galaxy is somehow at fault here. It's not a review of the game. It's a review of the system. Which would be ok if he didn't claim to be reviewing the game.
Here, let me do a review:
Halo 3 doesn't have as much content as would be available on a blu-ray drive, which cuts into the game's enjoyability. Also, it really suffers because it doesn't have any motion control, which is unacceptable when games like Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Wii are out.
There. Do you see why that's a shitty review? I raised completely legitimate concerns about the 360. If it had an HD media format natively it could probably hold more content. MP3 had better controls for aiming and shooting than it did. But that doesn't mean that that would not be the most retarded review of Halo 3 ever.
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ThePantsAssociationA million could-be years on a thousand may-be worldsRegistered Userregular
But he doesn't really have a bad opinion of the game, but instead of the system. Look at the review. He cites two... no three things that he doesn't like with the game:
Controls.
Camera.
2-player
Then he talkes about how the Wii sucks and disguises it as criticism of the game. I mean, harping on the graphics of the best-looking Wii game yet? Talking about how the controller is in two pieces? That's not SMG, that's just hating on the Wii. Now, if he just hates the Wii, that's another thing, but if I were to say "Halo 3 sucks because it doesn't have any waggle" that would be dumb too.
I love the Wii and all, but all of his complaints are legitimate -- or at least arguable. Yes, maybe his review was more of a Wii bitch-fest than you would have liked. All I'm saying is that Sony didn't tell him to write that.
And think of the audience. He's not writing for gamers. He's writing for Hollywood industry folks, the vast majority completely uninitiated about the strengths and weaknesses of the different consoles. It's completely valid to bring up his problems with it in the review.
Maybe he shouldn't have posted up a poorly written review of a game basically selling another game on a competitor's system with their logo right in the front.
You guys are overreacting. If he didn't mention Ratchet and Clank and the PS3 at the end it would have been a perfectly valid review. The guy liked the game. He just didn't really like it. And a lot of the points he made make sense. I didn't particularly enjoy the story in Galaxy either, for one. Sure, it's pretty obvious that the PS3 comment was influenced by Sony, but I doubt the review would be that much different if Sony didn't sponsor them.
yeah ok i agree the review is dumb. not only because he is totally wrong about galaxy, but because criticizes the Wii instead of the actual game. But he hates nintendo? He's a journalist, not a fanboy.
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
I'm a Nintendo fan... huge Nintendo fan. I hate Sony with a passion that is unrivaled by many, and I have an indifference about Microsoft that's just plain silly. If I were to write for a publication, be it in an industry that really should have no business doing video game reviews, i'd be damned sure to check my fanboyism at the door. What I read has to be some of worst of the worst when it comes to out and out trashing something you personally hate because of your love (be it sponsored or not) of something else. All objectivity has been thrown by the wayside here, and it's not the first time this has happened either with this reviewer. His Metriod Prime 3 piece was just as bad, and I would almost say worse if not for the blatant Sony schill at the end of this one. This is irresponsible and downright repulsive to not only fans, but to the videogame industry as a whole if somebody on the outside cannot take their fanboyism out and add some subjectivity in fairness to what they write.
This is truly a smack in the face to all video game fans/people in the business, no matter if you agree with him or not. It makes everybody look bad in the end, and that's just not good at all.
It still sucks, though. Rather than griping about the game's visuals, he gripes about the Wii's visuals. No, you don't do that in a game review. You judge a game's visuals by how well they look relative to everything else on the system it appears on, not other systems.
In other words, that's like saying the PSP version of Ratchet and Clank looks like ass because the PS3 Ratchet looks better. The PSP Ratchet looks great based on the relative power of that system, and a review with even a vague motion toward professionalism would mention that.
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Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
Some of this review sounds far too "perfect" if you see what I'm saying
I realize that the Sony logo has been removed and wasn't meant for this specific column or article, but the way the reviewer goes "boy the graphics suck" and then goes "the far better game is Rachet and Clank Future which you only find on the Sony Playstation(TM) 3" makes me wonder if he didn't recieve some small contribution for his efforts
yeah ok i agree the review is dumb. not only because he is totally wrong about galaxy, but because criticizes the Wii instead of the actual game. But he hates nintendo? He's a journalist, not a fanboy.
I don't see how the two are mutually exclusive.
Either way, he obviously has a problem with the console, and I believe every game they've made for it.
So he doesn't hate Nintendo, just all of their products.
"As brilliant as “Super Mario Galaxy” is, in fact, it’s one of the worst two-player experiences ever seen in a videogame."
I just...what? He complains about the game the entire review, but all of a sudden it's brilliant in comparison to its two-player experience. Which, by the way, is the worst ever in a videogame.
EVER.
That's the line that tips the scale and makes me really think this review was unfair, not just a matter of opinion. And yeah, it is a shitty review.
What's the quote? 'Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity' ?
I don't think there's a conspiracy here, just a douchebag who only played about 10 minutes of a game, and then spent about 10 minutes writing some copy.
I think he was expecting Mario Galaxy to revolutionize the 3D platformer and blow him off of his seat. And when it didn't, he had to find reasons to justify his disappointment.
Maybe this game just doesn't appeal to everyone? I've played it several times and I just couldn't get into it. People foam at the mouth over it but I just didn't get it.
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The Black HunterThe key is a minimum of compromise, and a simple,unimpeachable reason to existRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
It doesn't really look that biased. And the sponsors are usually randomly generated on the page.
Those all seem to be quite valid points.
Also: The Wii does have 3rd rate graphics in comparison to the other two consoles.
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The Black HunterThe key is a minimum of compromise, and a simple,unimpeachable reason to existRegistered Userregular
Posts
Whose conduct was greatly to blame
Though he took their cash
The review, it was trash
And we "lol Sony" agaim.
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I think it was removed not too long ago. I saw it there a whilre ago on the actual review.
It can only go downhill after this post.
There it is.
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=dept_main&dept=home+ent
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117935430.html?categoryid=1269&cs=1
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117935396.html?categoryid=1269&cs=1
It appears that categoryid dictates the header. categoryid=1269 is the header with the "sponsored by Sony" page. categoryid=1023 is "home ent" without the Sony ad.
So basically, the Galaxy links now head to a page without a Sony header, whereas Assassin's Creed does. Now the question becomes, did Variety's article about Galaxy ever link to the Sony header, or did Nsider splice together two different pages, like I have done above?
Tumblr
C: No matter what some people will think it's too high/low
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117935427.html?categoryid=1269&cs=1
Thus: We really shouldn't care either way, other than it's a lame review if it really was purchased. Waste of money, if you ask me, as the writing was pretty awful.
nah I think it's actually pretty good. Game Revolution, which has pretty much nailed most Wii games, gave it an A.
http://DocumentingLaziness.blogspot.com/
When the two are related yes.
It's pretty balant. It's not like Sony hasn't done similar things before. I mean have you listend to the promo DVD for the PS3? According to Sony it's the only console with backwards compatibility and motion sensing controls.
I think it's the overall stupidity of the review, plus (now removed, possibly erroneous) Sony sponsership, plus the fact that it's the first negative review of the game I've read from any source at all. According to literally everyone else I've ever heard from about the game, it's the greatest thing Nintendo has put out in many years.
A non-perfect review is fine, but one that seems to contradict every single other while mostly bitching about the Wii and not the game its self is suspect. It bothers me for being shitty, not for being down on Galaxy. Galaxy doesn't need any more good reviews but the world does need fewer shitty reviewers.
I still like the idea of being able to manipulate ad space on a page, not to mention the general discussion about conflicts of interest between advertising departments and journalism staff...
But that's an age-old discussion, so take what you will.
I'm pretty sure Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all sponsored 1UP, IGN and Gamespot at some points, so should we suddenly start proclaiming all their reviews are 'teh biased' too?
Better yet, lets hide in some bunkers and wear tin-foil hats, those evil corporations will never brainwash us!
Ben is just a dude with a different (arguably flawed) opinion of the game than most of the people here. I never considered him a "fanboy" of any particular system -- and he certainly wasn't being paid by any outside sources to say things about video games. Unless something has drastically changed in the publication since I left about a year ago, there's no big sinister plot behind it. First of all, Variety, as you may be aware, is a Hollywood trade publication. Sony's money would have been better spent elsewhere.
Honestly, I feel sorry for him -- can you imagine the amount of panty-twisted e-mails from Nintendo fans he's getting?
But he doesn't really have a bad opinion of the game, but instead of the system. Look at the review. He cites two... no three things that he doesn't like with the game:
Controls.
Camera.
2-player
Then he talkes about how the Wii sucks and disguises it as criticism of the game. I mean, harping on the graphics of the best-looking Wii game yet? Talking about how the controller is in two pieces? That's not SMG, that's just hating on the Wii. Now, if he just hates the Wii, that's another thing, but if I were to say "Halo 3 sucks because it doesn't have any waggle" that would be dumb too.
Yeah it is a decent game, easily up there with Metroid Prime 3 as the best games on the system.Story is typical Mario, but the game itself shines. An improvement over Super Mario Sunshine in my book anyway.
Tumblr
I love the Wii and all, but all of his complaints are legitimate -- or at least arguable. Yes, maybe his review was more of a Wii bitch-fest than you would have liked. All I'm saying is that Sony didn't tell him to write that.
And think of the audience. He's not writing for gamers. He's writing for Hollywood industry folks, the vast majority completely uninitiated about the strengths and weaknesses of the different consoles. It's completely valid to bring up his problems with it in the review.
Maybe he shouldn't have posted up a poorly written review of a game basically selling another game on a competitor's system with their logo right in the front.
But that's just me.
What.
It's a shitty review. It doesn't matter if his problems with the Wii are legitimate, it's a stupid and bad review to claim that Galaxy is somehow at fault here. It's not a review of the game. It's a review of the system. Which would be ok if he didn't claim to be reviewing the game.
Here, let me do a review:
Halo 3 doesn't have as much content as would be available on a blu-ray drive, which cuts into the game's enjoyability. Also, it really suffers because it doesn't have any motion control, which is unacceptable when games like Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Wii are out.
There. Do you see why that's a shitty review? I raised completely legitimate concerns about the 360. If it had an HD media format natively it could probably hold more content. MP3 had better controls for aiming and shooting than it did. But that doesn't mean that that would not be the most retarded review of Halo 3 ever.
Poor form? Yeah, maybe.
Sony conspiracy? No.
It's that he just uses galaxy to shit all over the Wii. It's not a review of galaxy, it's a review of how much he hates Nintendo.
yeah ok i agree the review is dumb. not only because he is totally wrong about galaxy, but because criticizes the Wii instead of the actual game. But he hates nintendo? He's a journalist, not a fanboy.
???
I'm a Nintendo fan... huge Nintendo fan. I hate Sony with a passion that is unrivaled by many, and I have an indifference about Microsoft that's just plain silly. If I were to write for a publication, be it in an industry that really should have no business doing video game reviews, i'd be damned sure to check my fanboyism at the door. What I read has to be some of worst of the worst when it comes to out and out trashing something you personally hate because of your love (be it sponsored or not) of something else. All objectivity has been thrown by the wayside here, and it's not the first time this has happened either with this reviewer. His Metriod Prime 3 piece was just as bad, and I would almost say worse if not for the blatant Sony schill at the end of this one. This is irresponsible and downright repulsive to not only fans, but to the videogame industry as a whole if somebody on the outside cannot take their fanboyism out and add some subjectivity in fairness to what they write.
This is truly a smack in the face to all video game fans/people in the business, no matter if you agree with him or not. It makes everybody look bad in the end, and that's just not good at all.
PSN: HooverFanPA
Steam: HooverFan
It still sucks, though. Rather than griping about the game's visuals, he gripes about the Wii's visuals. No, you don't do that in a game review. You judge a game's visuals by how well they look relative to everything else on the system it appears on, not other systems.
In other words, that's like saying the PSP version of Ratchet and Clank looks like ass because the PS3 Ratchet looks better. The PSP Ratchet looks great based on the relative power of that system, and a review with even a vague motion toward professionalism would mention that.
I realize that the Sony logo has been removed and wasn't meant for this specific column or article, but the way the reviewer goes "boy the graphics suck" and then goes "the far better game is Rachet and Clank Future which you only find on the Sony Playstation(TM) 3" makes me wonder if he didn't recieve some small contribution for his efforts
But maybe that's just my natural cynicism
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
I don't see how the two are mutually exclusive.
Either way, he obviously has a problem with the console, and I believe every game they've made for it.
So he doesn't hate Nintendo, just all of their products.
"As brilliant as “Super Mario Galaxy” is, in fact, it’s one of the worst two-player experiences ever seen in a videogame."
I just...what? He complains about the game the entire review, but all of a sudden it's brilliant in comparison to its two-player experience. Which, by the way, is the worst ever in a videogame.
EVER.
That's the line that tips the scale and makes me really think this review was unfair, not just a matter of opinion. And yeah, it is a shitty review.
SteamID: FronWewq
Battle.net: Orange#1845
3DS Friend Code: 1289-9498-5797
I don't think there's a conspiracy here, just a douchebag who only played about 10 minutes of a game, and then spent about 10 minutes writing some copy.
Those all seem to be quite valid points.
Also: The Wii does have 3rd rate graphics in comparison to the other two consoles.
His site is sponsored by Sony, and as a result the articles are sponsored by Sony aswell?
Or it's possible this guy honestly reviewed the game and didn't like it. *GASP!*