Archive for Opinion
Are Video Game Reviews Bias?
PS3 + GameSpot + Three Speech + Fanboys + Sony + Opinion
03.05.2007 at 3:30 pm
ThreeSpeech has put up a great article concerning the state of the video game review. In it we found something that hits close to our heart.
“There’s another reason why game reviews may have lost some of the regard and influence they once held - slant. Many people comment on how they feel certain journalists/publishers have a particular lean towards one platform over another. I often see concern and speculation on forums as to which game site is on the payroll of which company. Is there any truth in it? Who knows, but it has to be said that game sites rarely do themselves any favours when they cease being impartial - or worse, consistently denigrate a particular platform to the extent that it becomes obvious.”
That’s why we created this site, to discuss and follow news about that very thing (as well as have some community fun). How partial can big gaming sites be while they collect their paychecks through advertising paid for by the games they’re reviewing? A game doesn’t sell well and advertising dollars will dry up. On a daily basis I read forum posts about sites giving certain games and companies a more favorable review, preview and push. It got so bad lately that GameSpot had to start banning users that discussed their alleged Sony/PS3 hatred.
“Okay, everyone that comes here has at least seen one of these whiny threads saying that GS hates the PS3…Well, from now on everyone that makes one of these threads will be suspended for a minimum of 5 days. If you guys don’t like GS, don’t post here. It’s not hard and you’re not being forced.”
“To all of you that think this violates you first amendment rights…This is a privately owned organization with it’s own set of rules, the Terms of Use. You don’t have freedom of speech unless it falls within that frame of reference. None of this does since it is trolling the staff.”
So are big gaming sites becoming more and more swayed by the dollars then they are the actual quality of the games they review?
+ nosedive51
