The Guardian also did a piece on it with the following bits at the end.
ALL articles resulting from hosted press trips and events will be flagged as such.
This practice is common throughout the Guardian and it forms part of the newspaper's code of conduct. Press trips are a very useful element of games writing and they can result in fantastic and interesting articles — they allow unique access to the people who develop the content. But it is important for readers to know when something they are reading is the direct result of a trip or event funded by a publisher.
I will no longer commission reviews based on publisher-organised events.
Often major publishers, rightfully fearful of their game code slipping into the wrong hands and being pirated before release, will hold special review events. This is really specific to the games industry, at least to the best of my knowledge. Journalists are invited to attend and can play forthcoming titles, usually for a couple of days, without distraction. They're convenient, well-managed and well-intentioned, but they also limit the reviewer's time with the game and can be perceived by some as a questionable form of collaboration between publisher and critic. Non-attendance at such events will mean that we sometimes provide our reviews later than other sources. I think it's worth it.
Please read our Community Guidelines here – we reserve every right to delete comments that aren't helpful or on-topic. If you want to criticize us, you're welcome to send us an email to [email protected] If you want to make a new account – which all the detractors here have done – and come here to rile up negativity, we're going to stop you.
We're closing this thread for now and will reconsider opening it later.
That's the only comment now.
Remember don't be a debbie downer, post only positive things about how awesome this is.
Hard hitting journalism folks.
0
HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Please read our Community Guidelines here – we reserve every right to delete comments that aren't helpful or on-topic. If you want to criticize us, you're welcome to send us an email to [email protected] If you want to make a new account – which all the detractors here have done – and come here to rile up negativity, we're going to stop you.
We're closing this thread for now and will reconsider opening it later.
That's the only comment now.
Remember don't be a debbie downer, post only positive things about how awesome this is.
Hard hitting journalism folks.
Well we can't hurt their feelings because we all know how hard making a website is after watching their self made documentary telling us just that.
Frankly it's a little distressing to suggest that a video game writer is totally discredited because they didn't hate the ending of one video game with the fire of a thousand suns.
Some people really hated that ending. Trust is a fickle thing.
It isn't even about having the wrong or right opinion - it's about actually knowing what the other person is saying correctly in the first place. Most of the major offenders of this at the time demonstrated no clue what anyone disliked about them.
I guess my point is that I interact with people on this forum everyday about games, I talk to IRL friends about them and I generally play enough games that I know what I want. Frankly, I can't think of the last game I bought based on a review in the past 2 years.
Do I even need them anymore? I mean I can find out if a game sucks or not by reading its thread on this forum for an hour or so. I usually know what I want regardless of reviews anyway, like Borderlands 2, XCOM and Dishonored, which I bought recently and not a single one did I read a review before deciding to buy them.
Agreed whole heartedly.
Though in regards to Reviewers (and a bit off topic);
If I see that a bunch of reviewers are raving about a game and then one reviewer says it sucks, well that just smacks of trolling for viewers IMHO.
I don't mean when most people give a game an 8 and then one dude gives it a 7, but rather when I see damn near most review sites giving a game an 8+ and then one exception giving it a 4, well to me that doesn't sit right. I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion, but at the same time a situation like that feels to me like either A) The person is trying to generate views by being controversial or That they were not a fan of the genre to begin with, in which case the site did a disservice to its readers.
That is just my opinion on it though.
To be honest, out of the last couple of games I have bought I do not think I could tell you what their review scores were as I haven't paid attention to such things in a long, long time. I have no need to when I can pop in this forum and see what PAers have to say.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
I get the feeling that Cortana was always supposed to be depicted as a kind of nude woman's form, but the technology wasn't there. She also has the ability to make herself appear in any way she wants. She's way past her shelf life as an AI, so maybe its supposed to reflect her rapidly decaying thought processes/inhibitions?
Or maybe its just "Sex Sells"? :P
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
0
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I will no longer commission reviews based on publisher-organised events.
Often major publishers, rightfully fearful of their game code slipping into the wrong hands and being pirated before release, will hold special review events. This is really specific to the games industry, at least to the best of my knowledge. Journalists are invited to attend and can play forthcoming titles, usually for a couple of days, without distraction. They're convenient, well-managed and well-intentioned, but they also limit the reviewer's time with the game and can be perceived by some as a questionable form of collaboration between publisher and critic. Non-attendance at such events will mean that we sometimes provide our reviews later than other sources. I think it's worth it.
How often has a reviewer been responsible for a leak? Almost all of them have come from production, haven't they?
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
And the design changes in the Chief.
I like to think of it as symbolic of Master Chief's growing obsession with his AI waifu. Like that he is physically changing the appearance to make her more realistic. Or maybe she is the one doing it.
So ACIII and Liberation are probably some of the bigger games this month. ACIII is getting the expected 90s and will probably be the usual moneymaker. Liberation has three reviews so far on metacritic with 78, 72, and 60 so I wouldn't expect much from it. Also, it shares the same title as that PSP Killzone game. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!
Grand Theft Auto V will be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 in spring 2013, Rockstar Games has announced, confirming rumours sparked by photos of retail displays leaked over the weekend.
Founder Sam Houser said: “Grand Theft Auto V builds on everything we’ve learned about open-world game design. We can’t wait to share it with fans.” In a press release, publisher Take-Two said the game “delivers a world of unprecedented scale and detail bursting with life, from mountaintops to the depths of the ocean.”
Pre-orders begin on November 5; as we pointed out yesterday, a May release seems likely, though publisher Take-Two might prefer it to launch in March so that its doubtless gargantuan sales revenue can be included in its year-end accounts. More information is expected in the coming weeks, as the game features on the cover of the next issue of US magazine Game Informer.
Drawn chick says if you buy this hot chicks will love you!
Q1-pocolypse continues!
This is what the Mayan's meant by the world ending December 2012*! Everyone will be too busy playing games that the world will collapse!
*Yes, I know the Mayan's never said that; it's a set up for a joke :P
Modern Warfare 4 is unsurprisingly Infinity Ward's next game, according to Bill Murray, the actor who voices series stalwart Captain Price (and no, he's not that Bill Murray).
Murray leaked the confirmation to This is Xbox after unknowingly sitting next to one of its editors on a plane.
"On Monday I am off to meet Infinity Ward about the next game, Modern Warfare 4," he said. "I'm doing work on the sequel to Modern Warfare 3, it carries straight on and I only ever appear in the Modern Warfare games…"
The next Call of Duty game, Black Ops 2, isn't even due until 13th November, while a Wii U version will coincide with the system's launch. Historically Infinity Ward switches off with Treyarch to produce a new entry in the series every November, so it would make sense for Infinity Ward to release Modern Warfare 4 in November of 2013.
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
And the design changes in the Chief.
I like to think of it as symbolic of Master Chief's growing obsession with his AI waifu. Like that he is physically changing the appearance to make her more realistic. Or maybe she is the one doing it.
Halo is weird.
I'm fairly sure that the AI's in Halo define their own projections, so Cortana changing her appearance is just her redefining herself. Of course, that's just the in-universe explanation for it, and the real-life motive is far more obvious. I don't see why anyone really cares that much, though.
Is there a reason that video game websites both with slightly altering the contents of press releases instead of just saying, "hey, here is a fucking press release with a deal you might be interested in if you live in the UK."
If writing a straight-up news article based on a press release, writers tend to cut out all the marketing/PR bullcrap that's often crammed into the releases. Good news writers will boil a lengthy release into the cogent information and will use their own description of the game rather than the effervescent prose generally used in the press release. The not-so-good ones will just cut off the beginning and end of the release and re-arrange some words so it looks like they've done their own work, much as middle schoolers will do with encyclopedia/wiki entries when writing research assignments.
Really, nobody wants to be on "news from press release" duty, but it's a necessary evil. If you ignore the press releases, your readers start whining that you're not reporting the news like the other sites are (especially since a lot of game announcements and release date announcements come from releases.) So generally the duty gets tossed onto less-experienced people as the better writers get moved into better positions. It's often used as a weed-out position and you'll see the poor versions of it when a site doesn't have the best editorial processes or the resources to use on making people re-do a crappy news article (which is sadly frequent.)
A few sites just post the contents of all press releases, and while I think that's cool, there's a limited reading audience for it. Most people just want the 1-2 sentence summary of the news rather than wading through the entire release.
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
Modern Warfare 4 is unsurprisingly Infinity Ward's next game, according to Bill Murray, the actor who voices series stalwart Captain Price (and no, he's not that Bill Murray).
Murray leaked the confirmation to This is Xbox after unknowingly sitting next to one of its editors on a plane.
"On Monday I am off to meet Infinity Ward about the next game, Modern Warfare 4," he said. "I'm doing work on the sequel to Modern Warfare 3, it carries straight on and I only ever appear in the Modern Warfare games…"
The next Call of Duty game, Black Ops 2, isn't even due until 13th November, while a Wii U version will coincide with the system's launch. Historically Infinity Ward switches off with Treyarch to produce a new entry in the series every November, so it would make sense for Infinity Ward to release Modern Warfare 4 in November of 2013.
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
And the design changes in the Chief.
I like to think of it as symbolic of Master Chief's growing obsession with his AI waifu. Like that he is physically changing the appearance to make her more realistic. Or maybe she is the one doing it.
Halo is weird.
The fact that the culmination of a love story between a cyborg child soldier killing machine and the computer lady that lives in his head is an honest-to-god selling point makes me genuinely cheerful.
Is there a reason that video game websites both with slightly altering the contents of press releases instead of just saying, "hey, here is a fucking press release with a deal you might be interested in if you live in the UK."
If writing a straight-up news article based on a press release, writers tend to cut out all the marketing/PR bullcrap that's often crammed into the releases. Good news writers will boil a lengthy release into the cogent information and will use their own description of the game rather than the effervescent prose generally used in the press release. The not-so-good ones will just cut off the beginning and end of the release and re-arrange some words so it looks like they've done their own work, much as middle schoolers will do with encyclopedia/wiki entries when writing research assignments.
Really, nobody wants to be on "news from press release" duty, but it's a necessary evil. If you ignore the press releases, your readers start whining that you're not reporting the news like the other sites are (especially since a lot of game announcements and release date announcements come from releases.) So generally the duty gets tossed onto less-experienced people as the better writers get moved into better positions. It's often used as a weed-out position and you'll see the poor versions of it when a site doesn't have the best editorial processes or the resources to use on making people re-do a crappy news article (which is sadly frequent.)
A few sites just post the contents of all press releases, and while I think that's cool, there's a limited reading audience for it. Most people just want the 1-2 sentence summary of the news rather than wading through the entire release.
*Waves hand*. I'm that guy for GI.Biz (US). Those higher up the food chain are the ones working furiously on editorials and interviews.
My output lately has been down due to a wrist injury, but there you go.
I've long pondered other options for the games media on this front.
Surely after 4 of them, the next iteration must be Call of Duty: Postmodern Warfare
Something like that would actually be interesting. Exploring themes such as lack of absolute truth could be interesting in a military context. It would also need to be ironic as all hell. They could do some extremely controversial relativism to drum up hype.
God help us when they get to post-postmodernism or metamodernism.
Getting 10% back on all digital purchases on the WiiU is a step in the right direction. However, they really need to start doing actual sales on a regular basis. Right now, when it comes to quality & quantity of sales, it goes Steam > Sony > Microsoft > Nintendo (with a huge gap between Steam & Sony and between Microsoft & Nintendo).
I'm starting to think maybe Nintendo does get digital.
Very cool, but I probably save as much or more buying the titles through different outlets. Store credits, Buy X Get X Free, Mark downs, etc. That's currently the only problem with digital storefronts from Microsoft, Sony, and now Nintendo.
So does anybody know how purchases of dollar stuff works profit wise? I thought credit card companies always got their pound of flesh so was wondering how that would work.
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
And the design changes in the Chief.
I like to think of it as symbolic of Master Chief's growing obsession with his AI waifu. Like that he is physically changing the appearance to make her more realistic. Or maybe she is the one doing it.
Halo is weird.
I'm fairly sure that the AI's in Halo define their own projections, so Cortana changing her appearance is just her redefining herself. Of course, that's just the in-universe explanation for it, and the real-life motive is far more obvious. I don't see why anyone really cares that much, though.
AIs in Halo are created by cloning a brain's architecture. They look and sound like the person they are hewn from, in Cortana's case it is Dr Halsey. She was in Reach and is identical to Cortana, even having the same voice actress. They don't get to pick what they look like.
Oh wow, I feel like an idiot. They already had hologram versions of Cortana since the first Halo. That'll teach me to not play an acclaimed series.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
And the design changes in the Chief.
I like to think of it as symbolic of Master Chief's growing obsession with his AI waifu. Like that he is physically changing the appearance to make her more realistic. Or maybe she is the one doing it.
Halo is weird.
I'm fairly sure that the AI's in Halo define their own projections, so Cortana changing her appearance is just her redefining herself. Of course, that's just the in-universe explanation for it, and the real-life motive is far more obvious. I don't see why anyone really cares that much, though.
AIs in Halo are created by cloning a brain's architecture. They look and sound like the person they are hewn from, in Cortana's case it is Dr Halsey. She was in Reach and is identical to Cortana, even having the same voice actress. They don't get to pick what they look like.
This is actually spelled out in the book that comes with Reach's collector editions--namely, the AI pick what they look like, and that Cortana initially looked like a much younger Halsey. I think she even expected Cortana would change her appearance over time as she matured.
Apparently, that meant she'd eventually get a navel and visible toes.
Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.
Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.
“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”
Further PR confirms an Star Wars Episode 7 for 2015.
Hmm I wonder if this increases the chance of a new Star Wars space sim or not, because that's the only thing I really want from that franchise. just give me X-Wing vs. Tie-Fighter 2 already.
Well I guess that's not super surprising. Disney and Star Wars have always been chummy considering:
-Star Tours in Disney/MGM Studios park
-Star Wars Nights in Disney World
-(not SW but) Indy attractions at MGM and Disneyland
Questions coming from this:
-Will this possibly screw up The Clone Wars TV show's relationship with Cartoon Network (alas Spectacular Spider-Man...)?
-Will this make the live action TV show thing more likely to happen within Lucas' lifetime?
-Any weird game stuff (probably not) from this?
Edit: LOL Star Wars Episode 7. Shows how little I know with my questions.
Posts
http://wosland.podgamer.com/the-players-and-the-game/
The Guardian also did a piece on it with the following bits at the end.
Only a small thing but nice to see.
That's the only comment now.
Remember don't be a debbie downer, post only positive things about how awesome this is.
Hard hitting journalism folks.
Well we can't hurt their feelings because we all know how hard making a website is after watching their self made documentary telling us just that.
Agreed whole heartedly.
Though in regards to Reviewers (and a bit off topic);
If I see that a bunch of reviewers are raving about a game and then one reviewer says it sucks, well that just smacks of trolling for viewers IMHO.
I don't mean when most people give a game an 8 and then one dude gives it a 7, but rather when I see damn near most review sites giving a game an 8+ and then one exception giving it a 4, well to me that doesn't sit right. I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion, but at the same time a situation like that feels to me like either A) The person is trying to generate views by being controversial or
That is just my opinion on it though.
To be honest, out of the last couple of games I have bought I do not think I could tell you what their review scores were as I haven't paid attention to such things in a long, long time. I have no need to when I can pop in this forum and see what PAers have to say.
Worry not. There has been a bit of a row over the changes in Cortana's character design over time. It's not as bad as the Soul Calibur progressions, but hey.
And the design changes in the Chief.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
Or maybe its just "Sex Sells"? :P
How often has a reviewer been responsible for a leak? Almost all of them have come from production, haven't they?
I like to think of it as symbolic of Master Chief's growing obsession with his AI waifu. Like that he is physically changing the appearance to make her more realistic. Or maybe she is the one doing it.
Halo is weird.
Q1-pocolypse continues!
This is what the Mayan's meant by the world ending December 2012*! Everyone will be too busy playing games that the world will collapse!
*Yes, I know the Mayan's never said that; it's a set up for a joke :P
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-30-modern-warfare-4-leaked-by-captain-price-voice-actor
I'm fairly sure that the AI's in Halo define their own projections, so Cortana changing her appearance is just her redefining herself. Of course, that's just the in-universe explanation for it, and the real-life motive is far more obvious. I don't see why anyone really cares that much, though.
If writing a straight-up news article based on a press release, writers tend to cut out all the marketing/PR bullcrap that's often crammed into the releases. Good news writers will boil a lengthy release into the cogent information and will use their own description of the game rather than the effervescent prose generally used in the press release. The not-so-good ones will just cut off the beginning and end of the release and re-arrange some words so it looks like they've done their own work, much as middle schoolers will do with encyclopedia/wiki entries when writing research assignments.
Really, nobody wants to be on "news from press release" duty, but it's a necessary evil. If you ignore the press releases, your readers start whining that you're not reporting the news like the other sites are (especially since a lot of game announcements and release date announcements come from releases.) So generally the duty gets tossed onto less-experienced people as the better writers get moved into better positions. It's often used as a weed-out position and you'll see the poor versions of it when a site doesn't have the best editorial processes or the resources to use on making people re-do a crappy news article (which is sadly frequent.)
A few sites just post the contents of all press releases, and while I think that's cool, there's a limited reading audience for it. Most people just want the 1-2 sentence summary of the news rather than wading through the entire release.
The fact that the culmination of a love story between a cyborg child soldier killing machine and the computer lady that lives in his head is an honest-to-god selling point makes me genuinely cheerful.
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
*Waves hand*. I'm that guy for GI.Biz (US). Those higher up the food chain are the ones working furiously on editorials and interviews.
My output lately has been down due to a wrist injury, but there you go.
I've long pondered other options for the games media on this front.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
Something like that would actually be interesting. Exploring themes such as lack of absolute truth could be interesting in a military context. It would also need to be ironic as all hell. They could do some extremely controversial relativism to drum up hype.
God help us when they get to post-postmodernism or metamodernism.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
Very cool, but I probably save as much or more buying the titles through different outlets. Store credits, Buy X Get X Free, Mark downs, etc. That's currently the only problem with digital storefronts from Microsoft, Sony, and now Nintendo.
Good for convenience buys.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
AIs in Halo are created by cloning a brain's architecture. They look and sound like the person they are hewn from, in Cortana's case it is Dr Halsey. She was in Reach and is identical to Cortana, even having the same voice actress. They don't get to pick what they look like.
This is actually spelled out in the book that comes with Reach's collector editions--namely, the AI pick what they look like, and that Cortana initially looked like a much younger Halsey. I think she even expected Cortana would change her appearance over time as she matured.
Apparently, that meant she'd eventually get a navel and visible toes.
Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.
http://www.benzinga.com/news/12/10/3039512/disney-to-buy-lucasfilm-for-4-05b-in-cash-and-stock
Further PR confirms an Star Wars Episode 7 for 2015.
http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2012/10/disney-acquire-lucasfilm-ltd
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
Considering how badly Lucasarts has been managed since the adventure games/X-Wing days I can't imagine how they could possibly do worse.
-Star Tours in Disney/MGM Studios park
-Star Wars Nights in Disney World
-(not SW but) Indy attractions at MGM and Disneyland
Questions coming from this:
-Will this possibly screw up The Clone Wars TV show's relationship with Cartoon Network (alas Spectacular Spider-Man...)?
-Will this make the live action TV show thing more likely to happen within Lucas' lifetime?
-Any weird game stuff (probably not) from this?
Edit: LOL Star Wars Episode 7. Shows how little I know with my questions.
it just occurred to me, Star Wars characters in Kingdom Hearts. That would be the weirdest thing I could ever think of coming out of this.
Also, Disney buying Lucasarts guarantees that we'll never get anything mature out of Star Wars ever again.