I’ve posted a 1UP blog entry that clarifies the Metal Gear Solid 4 review embargo situation that has caused so much half-informed discussion on the ol’ Internet. It’s funny… if I had posted it a few weeks ago, or if whoever leaked info to Stephen Totilo had kept quiet and never caused this to flare into a raging forum debate topic, I probably would have posted a far more fiery commentary. As it is, though, the situation has been blown massively out of proportion. The assumptive leaps and fanboy rage have far outstripped what the situation actually merits. Worst of all, it threatens to overshadow our actual MGS4 reviews! That would be a shame, because I think my EGM and 1UP reviews for the game are among the best I’ve written. Yes, it’s all about me, me, me. (Fine, fine… Matt and Andrew wrote really excellent alternate opinions, too.)
Honestly, though, while NDAs like this are discouraging and occasionally demoralizing, I’m no longer upset about this little kerfuffle, because it’s inspired me to get the hell out of the PR-flack-driven game review business. I’m not sure exactly what that means in practical terms yet, but the upshot is that I’m determined not to have to sign any more legally-binding gag orders in order to write about something so trivial as video games. This is escapist entertainment we’re talking about, not the future of mankind or something. Seriously.
Reviews are a waste of everyone’s time, anyway. The holy score over shadows everything, and I”m sure it must suck to put hours of effort into something that’s only going to be discussed in terms of a single number or letter.
Hrm. I was making a comment about this, and I got flagged as spam. Bizarre.
Parish… I heart you.
You mean scores are a waste of everyone’s time. Reviews, I like them. Specially when someone with more background than videogames, like Parish, writes them. Even if I don’t agree with some of their statements, is a fun way to broaden my perception of tha particular product.
As of NDAs, whether is videogames, movies or whatever piece of fiction, they sure seem like a stupid thing but only to intelligent, sane people. Unfortunately, the majority of mankind probably don’t fit in that category, which forces an agreement that, in other circumstances (meaning, between gentlemen), would be there but unspoken.
Good for you, man. I hope that you end up finding something that uses your talents and passions and leaves you much happier, too.
But so many games begin with the phrase “The future of mankind hangs in balance…” somewhere. Let us know where you end up.
What makes you think I don’t intend to stay at 1UP? Silly rabbits.
Wait, does that mean you’re getting out of reviewing, or getting out of reviewing certain things?
Jeremy, how about you go into traditional news and political commentary? At least there when you sign a legally-binding gag order, you really are writing about the future of mankind.
No thanks. Given the state of the mainstream press these days, I’d have more self-respect in the gaming media.
“Given the state of the mainstream press these days, I’d have more self-respect in the gaming media.”
:(
“This is escapist entertainment we’re talking about, not the future of mankind or something. Seriously.”
We’ll see…. we’ll see. MUA HA HA MU*sputter* *fit of coughing*
I read your reviews because they make for enjoyable readin’. You should keep doing them.
yeah, I figured I was outside all the bullshit by not doing reviews or previews, but I’m certainly not. I’m still constantly lied to, misled, and people attempt to hush me up, et cetera. I do stop talking to those PR folks that do that, because if I don’t respect you as a human being, I don’t want to work with you.
But anyway, now that you’ve said this, you have to act on it of I’ll make fun of you. If it winds up with you doing something lame like just becoming a video producer or some crap, I will be disappointed! Keep that in mind.
Also I don’t buy the self-respect by being in games thing. Certainly mainstream news media is balls, but all the more reason for thinking people to get into it and try to change it. I’m not doing it either, I’m just saying that’s not an argument for self-respect. Dealing with entertainment media is (like everything else ultimately) just pointless fluff.
So another staffer is leaving 1UP?! John Davidson, Mark McDonald, Luke Smith, Crispin Boyer, Dan Hsu….when will it end?! I hear it’s because they’re bankrupt and EGM is gunna cease publication too!! AIEEEEEE
All kidding aside, I like reviews, but not scores. It’s the difference between criticism (i.e. commenting on something and providing proper context via comparing and contrasting it to other arts or experiences in your life) and just giving out scores/reviewing something as a consumer product (i.e. this vacuum works and didn’t murder my chinchilla), too, I suppose. Parish–via Retronauts and his features/blog posts–is an excellent critic, but I totally understand him getting sick of the reviews process. But I digress. This was way too long for a blog comment…
I think after this week (or maybe the next) there should be some time spent less on Metal Gear fandom and more spent on… I don’t know, sky diving or snowboarding. Something. Because I haven’t even played the game and already I feel MGS’d out. But that’s only me, and the rest of you can strap me to a snowboard and send me on my way down some steep cliffs.
This just leaves me with more questions, man.
I really like it when you say things like “this is escapist entertainment, not the future of mankind”… you grab words right out of my own brain. Why I need to read your writing them is an odd narcissistic conundrum, but… yeah.
The flipside is your experience and perspective is what makes your reviews so worth reading. I’m sure you can channel those energies into worthwhile related topics and formats, as long as interpretive dance stays out of the running.
Guys, the real story here is that Parish is happy with something he’s recently written.
“Honestly, though, while NDAs like this are discouraging and occasionally demoralizing, I’m no longer upset about this little kerfuffle, because it’s inspired me to get the hell out of the PR-flack-driven game review business.”
I hope this comment means you’ll be doing more “expanded content” work at 1up. I am very curious to see what you do with the idea. Gamespite-style articles? Literary commentary on video game themes? Roguelike Radio? The possibilities are intriguing.
Instead, they presented them to us at the literal last moment — I was watching the game’s closing credits scroll past — and made it clear that we wouldn’t be leaving until we signed them. This was a problem, as we had a plane to catch and a magazine to ship within the next few hours, which didn’t leave time for running things by legal. So, despite some misgivings, we signed. We didn’t really leave us a choice.
Wha? Did burly men with guns block the door or something? Has Konami hired Psycho Mantis as a PR rep?
I hope this comment means you’ll be doing more “expanded content” work at 1up. I am very curious to see what you do with the idea. Gamespite-style articles? Literary commentary on video game themes? Roguelike Radio? The possibilities are intriguing.
“all the more reason for thinking people to get into it and try to change it.”
It’s hard to change business realities from the inside. The only way to ‘change it’ is to have the bloggers doing better journalism than the ‘trusted’ sources.
Exactly. The reason the mainstream press is so terrible has nothing to do with the reporters (who I’m certain still go into the field hoping to change the world) and everything to do with corporate pressures. Good intentions count for nothing when you’re not allowed to report on substantial topics or express ideas that the large, rich, conservative suits calling the shots. It’s difficult to change the system when the system will happily can your ass in a second.
Media conglomeration has killed the concept of an informed public. The Internet is the only remedy…and conglomerates are working to change that, too.
Really? I was under the impression that mass media sucks because they simply don’t have the time to do reporting of any substance. They’re trying to fill up 24 hour news channels and pages of newspapers when really there’s not a lot going on in the world. Sure, you can write weightier pieces, but it’s a rare writer indeed that can distill a complex issue down to be simple and entertaining to read. That takes time, and because they have to fill up the hours because they’re already sold to advertisers, they favour stories that mean that they can write a lot of copy in a short amount of time. For instance, Barack Obama. Complete unknown (which means he’s more newsworthy than Hillary, who was pretty much the same old Clinton), which makes the narrative of the election easy to write (underdog wins), and not too much is known about him (research is much more worth it). I noticed a lot of the same copy showing up in story after story of the US election as not really very much had changed, so they did a copy-paste job and put the new facts at the top.
Blogs can top that standard, easy. Bloggers have nothing but time, it seems. Of course, you’ve still got the same ‘uninformed public’ problem with blogs in the picture, as it turns out that a blogosphere makes for an excellent echo chamber.
What disturbs me is the apparent ineffectiveness of NPR. It seems to serve the same function as the government-funded stations in first-world countries – a training ground for new talent and a non-commercial shelter for respected journalists who want to do something ‘real’ – but for the most part it doesn’t seem to have that effect.
Well, like Parish said over on his blog, Konami had 1up and EGM’s hands tied pretty good. I really liked what they ended up putting in the issue; now that I know they whipped that together in a few hours makes it even more impressive. It pisses me off that Konami pulled this kind of crap, and I’m glad they got called out for it. Now, this is becoming more of a focus than the actual game, but it’s Konami’s fault.
Sure, Americans’ ferret-like viewing habits affect how news is packaged, but ultimately the decline of news can be traced by to the absorption of competitive, independent news outlets into a small number of massive corporate globs. The concept of the “liberal media” is utterly laughable now that nearly every news outlet in America is owned by staunchly conservative moguls. But sure, it’s a compound effect: Television hastened the demise of newpapers, and cable killed network television, and now the instant-access of the Internet has reduced cable news to miniature soundbites. News is a commodity now, and people in the newsroom have been reduced to workers on an assembly line.
Merus – I didn’t mean to imply that the mainstream structures are worth fighting, or possible to fight from within – but I do think it’s worthwhile informing people about things that go on in our world. So I was more responding to: “Jeremy, how about you go into traditional news and political commentary?” and didn’t intend to endorse the current news media.
I had to use the dictionary TWICE while reading your review. That’s a good thing! So please keep writing reviews.