"Everyone in Hollywood is exactly as I thought they'd be. There is an incredible amount of backstabbing. I mean, you could understand, if you were a religious person actually, that Satan had come to Earth and he was Stephen Spielberg in disguise."
-Peter Molyneux, Game Informer, Issue 131 (March 2004)
The emphasis in the above quote is added by me, although upon reflection I think it's hardly neccesary. While this quote isn't really libelous (not by a long shot), it's still not the kind of thing you print lightly about a major public figure. If I were Spielberg's publicist, I'd be fuming right now, and probably rightly so.
Of course, context is important here. The quote itself is buried on page five of an unsigned eight-page preview of Molyneux's The Movies, and, to be fair, there is the impression as you read that Molyneux is speaking half-jokingly. The author introduces the quote: "Amusingly, Molyneux himself went out to Hollywood and was proud to say that his game was right on track." Apparently he didn't like what he saw:
"They do the most terrible things... unfogivable things, and yet they are still stars. If they were politicians or businessmen or anything else, they'd probably be thrown in jail."
"We may think we [the video game industry] are near Hollywood but... our equivalent of cocaine and class-A drugs is pizza and Coca-Cola... When they have an industry party, they are people doing the most unspeakable things all over the place. It is everything you'd expect it to be."
These quotes do serve a purpose in the article by illustrating the kinds of stereotypes that Molyneux will be recreating in the game. And making broad generalizations about a sleazy, drug-obsessed Hollywood isn't exactly going to raise anyones ire. But should you think twice before printing possibly defamtory statements (even half-joking defamatory statements) about specific people?
I framed that last statement as a question because I want to know what you guys think of all this. Was this just a colorful quote that's nothing to get worked up over? Is this the kind of thing an editor should have cut out before in made it to print? Should GI not be held culpable because they were just reprinting what Molyneux said? I have my own feelings, but I'd like to hear from the readers first on this one. Feel free to post your comments below (especially if you wrote the article).
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Monday, February 23, 2004
Some more quick links
Quick link #1: I imagine you;ve all heard about HardOCP's little spat with Infinium Labs, but I felt I'd link to it anyway. I've e-mailed both sides and, unserstanably, neither one wants to talk for fear of affecting pending legal action. Suffice it to say that I think the threat is baseless and that the original article seems like a well-researched example of good reporting (as I have said previously). Please note that this is just my opinion and should not be taken as defamatory and/or libelous by any parties involved.
Quick link number 2: An editorial cartoon by Jason Plott of EvolCorp. I'm sure most of you reading this will find something to love and/or hate about it.
Quick link #3: Want an example of a horrible video game journalist? Take a look at how Ulala handles the Morolian beat (bonus points if you caught the double meaning there).
Quick link number 2: An editorial cartoon by Jason Plott of EvolCorp. I'm sure most of you reading this will find something to love and/or hate about it.
Quick link #3: Want an example of a horrible video game journalist? Take a look at how Ulala handles the Morolian beat (bonus points if you caught the double meaning there).
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Nintendo's Next: The morning after
Actually, it's two or three mornings after, but that doesn't make for a witty headline.
Games Asylum called it a kafuffle. GamesIndustry.biz called it a global game of Chinese Whispers. 1up called it the most confusing day of Nintendo news in some time. Whatever you call it, it definitely wasn't the worst media circus I've ever seen, owing largely to the quick response of both Nintendo of America and Nintendo Co. Ltd.
The pattern around the web seems to have been this:
I could go on about how some stories managed to get it right the first time by waiting a little bit and some others seemed to ignore vital facts just to get a good headline. I probably shouldn't bother, though, since Rob Fahey of GamesIndustry.biz has beaten me to the punch with some choice criticism of the press that beats anything I could have written:
"Many journalists have pet theories about what Nintendo's future, and most of them focus on the company pulling out of hardware - ranging from the popular idea that the company will "do a Sega" and produce software for other platforms, to the more bonkers concepts of it selling re-branded Microsoft Xbox 2 hardware or even teaming up entirely with Microsoft to take on Sony. None of these theories have any particular foundation in fact, and they should not have influenced coverage of Iwata's comments - but influence it they did, as writers dived headlong at the story in the belief that it confirmed their own favourite Nintendo conspiracy theory.
This is hardly the proudest hour for online game media, and it illustrates the need for journalists - even some of those working for large professional sites - to more effectively divide fact from speculation and opinion in their reporting.
All I have to add is: Well put.
Games Asylum called it a kafuffle. GamesIndustry.biz called it a global game of Chinese Whispers. 1up called it the most confusing day of Nintendo news in some time. Whatever you call it, it definitely wasn't the worst media circus I've ever seen, owing largely to the quick response of both Nintendo of America and Nintendo Co. Ltd.
The pattern around the web seems to have been this:
- Post a story that features the Shimbun story prominently, perhaps mentioning that Nintendo spokespeople have started to deny the rumors.
- (optional) Post an update (or two or three) to the story to include Nintendo's refutation more prominently.
- Post a follow-up story completely dispelling the rumors and talking about Nintendo's official announcement of their console plans and E3 2004 unveiling date.
I could go on about how some stories managed to get it right the first time by waiting a little bit and some others seemed to ignore vital facts just to get a good headline. I probably shouldn't bother, though, since Rob Fahey of GamesIndustry.biz has beaten me to the punch with some choice criticism of the press that beats anything I could have written:
"Many journalists have pet theories about what Nintendo's future, and most of them focus on the company pulling out of hardware - ranging from the popular idea that the company will "do a Sega" and produce software for other platforms, to the more bonkers concepts of it selling re-branded Microsoft Xbox 2 hardware or even teaming up entirely with Microsoft to take on Sony. None of these theories have any particular foundation in fact, and they should not have influenced coverage of Iwata's comments - but influence it they did, as writers dived headlong at the story in the belief that it confirmed their own favourite Nintendo conspiracy theory.
This is hardly the proudest hour for online game media, and it illustrates the need for journalists - even some of those working for large professional sites - to more effectively divide fact from speculation and opinion in their reporting.
All I have to add is: Well put.
Monday, February 9, 2004
Breaking News: Nintendo Delays Next System?
Usually, when seemingly spectacular news breaks, the VG Ombudsman waits for the initial rampant speculation to die down before sorting out who's right, who's wrong, and whose just sloppy. With speculative reports leaking out of Japan about Nintendo's place in the next console wars, I've decided to forgo that schedule and try to make some sense of the conflicting reports American web sites are offering on the ordeal. We'll see how this works out in the end.
The first I heard of this important story was from a GamerFeed article that summarized a Nihon Keizai Shimbun story (copied by GameCube Europe) as saying that Nintendo "will not be releasing a brand-new video game console for the time being," and instead be "providing new peripherals for the system and a wider, more appealing variety of software." (Note: The VG Ombudsman writes a companion blog for GamerFeed) I was shocked. This news went counter to all the chatter I had been hearing about Nintendo's plans to get into the next console race first, not last. It also seemed strikingly similar to the historically bad decisions that forced Sega to exit the console race. A little cross-checking was in order.
I hopped over to Gamespot, where, sure enough, there was a similar headline staring at me from the newsbox: Nintendo postpones next-gen console?. The content was quite different, though, owing mostly to a boldfaced [UPDATE] at the top of the story quoting Nintendo of America's Beth Llewellyn as calling the Shimbun report "speculation." The article doesn't actually get to Llewelyn's quote until the fourth paragraph, where she adds that parts of the Shimbun article were taken out of context and that "we will launch at the same time as our competitors. Our status hasn't changed." (Minutes later, Gamerfeed updated their story with this same information, crediting GameSpot.) So either this is a case of some mangled journalism on the part of the Shimbun, or a case of some severely crossed wires between Nintendo and its American subsidiary.
A little message board surfing led me to a report from IGN proclaiming "New Console Delayed" in the headline. The rather sensationalistic initial article (whose text I found copied in a GameCritics.com forum thread) went farther than the others, saying Nintendo "has decided not to release a successor to the GameCube," a headline that seems to imply they are leaving the console race for good. Recall that the other stories said Nintendo would focus on the GameCube for the near future, and release its successor later than expected, in 2007 perhaps.
IGN gets bonus points for contrasting this surprising new information with recent quotes from Nintendo of America's George Harrison and Perrin Kaplan saying that Nintendo planned to stay in the console business. However, IGN loses these points by posting the story while still "waiting for an official statement" from Nintendo of America. Oh well, at least they made the effort this time. The updated story bears little resemblance to the initial one, dealing mostly with Nintendo of America's refutation of the charges.
Other outlets are slowly picking up on this story, but not with the speed and fervor I've come to expect form the internet. 1up has a story that analyzes the Shimbun's story for seven paragraphs before noting at the end that Nintendo of America has "scrambled to deny that the company had any plans other than to launch its next console alongside its competitors." So, they're basically saying "this story is pretty worthless, but we'll wait until the end to tell you that." A quick look at Google News shows that Forbes is reporting a refutation from Nintendo of Japan now, so it seems the truth may be able to get its pants on before this particular lie can get around the world. Then again, it is hard to compete with such an interesting lie with something as boring as the truth. How will the video game media handle this one? As video game news authors seem so fond of saying: Only time will tell!
The first I heard of this important story was from a GamerFeed article that summarized a Nihon Keizai Shimbun story (copied by GameCube Europe) as saying that Nintendo "will not be releasing a brand-new video game console for the time being," and instead be "providing new peripherals for the system and a wider, more appealing variety of software." (Note: The VG Ombudsman writes a companion blog for GamerFeed) I was shocked. This news went counter to all the chatter I had been hearing about Nintendo's plans to get into the next console race first, not last. It also seemed strikingly similar to the historically bad decisions that forced Sega to exit the console race. A little cross-checking was in order.
I hopped over to Gamespot, where, sure enough, there was a similar headline staring at me from the newsbox: Nintendo postpones next-gen console?. The content was quite different, though, owing mostly to a boldfaced [UPDATE] at the top of the story quoting Nintendo of America's Beth Llewellyn as calling the Shimbun report "speculation." The article doesn't actually get to Llewelyn's quote until the fourth paragraph, where she adds that parts of the Shimbun article were taken out of context and that "we will launch at the same time as our competitors. Our status hasn't changed." (Minutes later, Gamerfeed updated their story with this same information, crediting GameSpot.) So either this is a case of some mangled journalism on the part of the Shimbun, or a case of some severely crossed wires between Nintendo and its American subsidiary.
A little message board surfing led me to a report from IGN proclaiming "New Console Delayed" in the headline. The rather sensationalistic initial article (whose text I found copied in a GameCritics.com forum thread) went farther than the others, saying Nintendo "has decided not to release a successor to the GameCube," a headline that seems to imply they are leaving the console race for good. Recall that the other stories said Nintendo would focus on the GameCube for the near future, and release its successor later than expected, in 2007 perhaps.
IGN gets bonus points for contrasting this surprising new information with recent quotes from Nintendo of America's George Harrison and Perrin Kaplan saying that Nintendo planned to stay in the console business. However, IGN loses these points by posting the story while still "waiting for an official statement" from Nintendo of America. Oh well, at least they made the effort this time. The updated story bears little resemblance to the initial one, dealing mostly with Nintendo of America's refutation of the charges.
Other outlets are slowly picking up on this story, but not with the speed and fervor I've come to expect form the internet. 1up has a story that analyzes the Shimbun's story for seven paragraphs before noting at the end that Nintendo of America has "scrambled to deny that the company had any plans other than to launch its next console alongside its competitors." So, they're basically saying "this story is pretty worthless, but we'll wait until the end to tell you that." A quick look at Google News shows that Forbes is reporting a refutation from Nintendo of Japan now, so it seems the truth may be able to get its pants on before this particular lie can get around the world. Then again, it is hard to compete with such an interesting lie with something as boring as the truth. How will the video game media handle this one? As video game news authors seem so fond of saying: Only time will tell!
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
The First Annual "Nintendo DS" Awards
Didja miss me?
Sorry for the longish lack of updates, but starting classes and a new job and a snowstorm meant I didn't have much time to write about video game journalism last week. I'm back now, and hoping to work my way through some of those story ideas on a semi-regular basis.
First up, as promised, is more coverage of the Nintendo DS coverage. I feel like I've read every article about Nintendo's surprise announcement at least twice (and believe me, there are a lot of them). Instead of trying to discuss them all as a group, or discuss each one specifically, I've decided to showcase some of the best and worst in a feature I'm calling The First Annual "Nintendo DS" Awards (which probably won't become an annual event, but you never know).
To be clear, these awards focus on the initial coverage of the announcement (the first 72 hours) and not any follow-up pieces that have come in the past week or so. Feel free to post your own nominees and/or question my choices in the comments link at the bottom of the article. So without further ado:
Best Analysis
This award is actually going to be split into into two awards. For best business analysis, the award goes to The Motley Fool for Nintendo's Road Less Traveled. The article uses the anouncement to point out Nintendo's risk-taking nature to investors, then uses it as a jumping off point to talk about the confusing handheld market in general. Not too interesting to most gamers, but well suited for the Fool's audience.
For game-centered analysis, though, the award goes to GameSpot for Spot On: The Nintendo DS. The article takes us through the rumored history of the device, the announcement itself, and speculation on its future from industry analysts. What more could you ask for?
Worst Analysis
There's no need to split this one. TotalVideoGames takes it easily with their article: Nintendo DS Round-Up. After guessing wrong about the "1 GB semiconductor memory" (which they say is RAM and not software capacity), TVG makes some lazy and obvious comparisons to the Virtual Boy, cooks up some groundless concerns about battery life, and calls it a day. It's pretty obvious that this article is the product of a few minutes light thinking on the subject with no real effort at research of any kind.
Most Biased
This one was a tight race. MobileMag almost took it by inserting two paragraphs of opinion into the beginning of an otherwise fine news story. The Californian almost took it with their fairly headlined article, Nintendo DS won't match Sony's PSP, but they get off on a technicality (in that the article is technically a column and not straight news).
Sorry, but it seems like the winner here is Andrew Burnes for his mention of the DS In Other News. With no actual reporting (or even repetition of other reporting), this barely even qualifies as news. Tell ya what Andrew, call the section "My opinions on other news," then we can all be happy.
Oddest Headline
Some strong contenders here. Cubed3 gets second runner-up prize for Nintendo's New System... The Connectevision Becomes Reality! (Connectevision?). Gamespot gets first runner up for an excellent article inexplicably placed in the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! section.
But the clear winner here is Ferrago with the crytptically titled Remember the two screen Game&Watch? It's almost like they want me to go in knowing nothing about the article! Bravo Ferrago. Post-modern headlining at its best.
Oddest "What is it going to be?" Prediction
Before Nintendo's big announcement, the press had a field day speculating about what Nintendo's new system might be. A lot of the announcement stories quoted some of these old assumptions in passing. This race was really neck and neck, and GameSpot's mention of the GameBoy Enhanced, ("a portable game deck that could play both GameCube and Game Boy Advance titles") very nearly took it. Then I found this GamePro article that mentions the announcement is not "a domestic version of the iQue as previously speculated by some." I follow the news pretty closely, and I don't remember anyone speculating on a domestic version of the iQue (please correct me if I'm wrong)
Worst Speculation
When so little actual information is announced, you can expect a whole lot of rampant speculation masquerading as news. This story was no exception. The leaps of faith included IT Vibe's gigabyte of RAM (from many other sources as well), Cubed3's lack of backward compatibility (which is widely speculated but still has yet to be confirmed, to my knowledge), and MobileMag's passing assertion that the system will be "for single players only (odd, considering every other Game Boy has had the option to link to another system for multiplayer gaming)
But hands down, the speculation award goes to Gaming Horizon for pricing the system at $187 with no source. Not even a link to a disreputable web site to confirm this allegation. Are you guys just making stuff up over there? You've got to give me some sort of source on something like this! Oh, and Silent Hill 4 won't be on th GameCube. Uh, OK then.
Most Egregious Quoting from the Press Release
I think the first three paragraphs of this Globe and Mail article speak for themselves. Or, more accurately, they speak for Nintendo.
By the way: If I read one more article that says the Nintendo DS will be enhancing both the speed and strategy of the challenge," I will puke.
Best Overall Article
Count on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to perform well on its home turf. Their story, Nintendo working on dual-screen portable, gives the available information without going overboard with speculation, and puts the announcement in the context of the PSP and the rest of Nintendo's line-up without droning on. A nice, succinct article.
Worst Overall Article
This one wasn't that tough. Gaming Horizon's coverage is just a mess, both grammatically and factually. Besides providing no important information outside of the system specs and no analysis of related news, the article includes seemingly baseless assumptions such as "[the system is] aiming for older gamers" and "the company already has a few un-named titles in development." I actually feel less informed now that I've read this article.
Most Surprisingly Good Coverage
What's this? The New York Post actually has something worth reading? They actually talk to analysts and Nintendo representative to get the whole story? Color me amazed.
Most Unnecessary Joke Image
I'm sure this MS Paint mockup of a two-screen system (linked from this article) seems hillarious to the guys at IGN, but it's really not that funny. Nintendo hasn't released a picture yet. Get over it.
IGN also gets runner up for the image at the upper-right of this intro page, tastefully captioned "The Nintendo WTF..." Smooth guys. Real smooth.
All right, that's it. Time to put this whole mess behind us and prepare for the next big announcement. Feel free to leave your comments below, I'd love to hear what you guys thought of the coverage.
Sorry for the longish lack of updates, but starting classes and a new job and a snowstorm meant I didn't have much time to write about video game journalism last week. I'm back now, and hoping to work my way through some of those story ideas on a semi-regular basis.
First up, as promised, is more coverage of the Nintendo DS coverage. I feel like I've read every article about Nintendo's surprise announcement at least twice (and believe me, there are a lot of them). Instead of trying to discuss them all as a group, or discuss each one specifically, I've decided to showcase some of the best and worst in a feature I'm calling The First Annual "Nintendo DS" Awards (which probably won't become an annual event, but you never know).
To be clear, these awards focus on the initial coverage of the announcement (the first 72 hours) and not any follow-up pieces that have come in the past week or so. Feel free to post your own nominees and/or question my choices in the comments link at the bottom of the article. So without further ado:
Best Analysis
This award is actually going to be split into into two awards. For best business analysis, the award goes to The Motley Fool for Nintendo's Road Less Traveled. The article uses the anouncement to point out Nintendo's risk-taking nature to investors, then uses it as a jumping off point to talk about the confusing handheld market in general. Not too interesting to most gamers, but well suited for the Fool's audience.
For game-centered analysis, though, the award goes to GameSpot for Spot On: The Nintendo DS. The article takes us through the rumored history of the device, the announcement itself, and speculation on its future from industry analysts. What more could you ask for?
Worst Analysis
There's no need to split this one. TotalVideoGames takes it easily with their article: Nintendo DS Round-Up. After guessing wrong about the "1 GB semiconductor memory" (which they say is RAM and not software capacity), TVG makes some lazy and obvious comparisons to the Virtual Boy, cooks up some groundless concerns about battery life, and calls it a day. It's pretty obvious that this article is the product of a few minutes light thinking on the subject with no real effort at research of any kind.
Most Biased
This one was a tight race. MobileMag almost took it by inserting two paragraphs of opinion into the beginning of an otherwise fine news story. The Californian almost took it with their fairly headlined article, Nintendo DS won't match Sony's PSP, but they get off on a technicality (in that the article is technically a column and not straight news).
Sorry, but it seems like the winner here is Andrew Burnes for his mention of the DS In Other News. With no actual reporting (or even repetition of other reporting), this barely even qualifies as news. Tell ya what Andrew, call the section "My opinions on other news," then we can all be happy.
Oddest Headline
Some strong contenders here. Cubed3 gets second runner-up prize for Nintendo's New System... The Connectevision Becomes Reality! (Connectevision?). Gamespot gets first runner up for an excellent article inexplicably placed in the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! section.
But the clear winner here is Ferrago with the crytptically titled Remember the two screen Game&Watch? It's almost like they want me to go in knowing nothing about the article! Bravo Ferrago. Post-modern headlining at its best.
Oddest "What is it going to be?" Prediction
Before Nintendo's big announcement, the press had a field day speculating about what Nintendo's new system might be. A lot of the announcement stories quoted some of these old assumptions in passing. This race was really neck and neck, and GameSpot's mention of the GameBoy Enhanced, ("a portable game deck that could play both GameCube and Game Boy Advance titles") very nearly took it. Then I found this GamePro article that mentions the announcement is not "a domestic version of the iQue as previously speculated by some." I follow the news pretty closely, and I don't remember anyone speculating on a domestic version of the iQue (please correct me if I'm wrong)
Worst Speculation
When so little actual information is announced, you can expect a whole lot of rampant speculation masquerading as news. This story was no exception. The leaps of faith included IT Vibe's gigabyte of RAM (from many other sources as well), Cubed3's lack of backward compatibility (which is widely speculated but still has yet to be confirmed, to my knowledge), and MobileMag's passing assertion that the system will be "for single players only (odd, considering every other Game Boy has had the option to link to another system for multiplayer gaming)
But hands down, the speculation award goes to Gaming Horizon for pricing the system at $187 with no source. Not even a link to a disreputable web site to confirm this allegation. Are you guys just making stuff up over there? You've got to give me some sort of source on something like this! Oh, and Silent Hill 4 won't be on th GameCube. Uh, OK then.
Most Egregious Quoting from the Press Release
I think the first three paragraphs of this Globe and Mail article speak for themselves. Or, more accurately, they speak for Nintendo.
By the way: If I read one more article that says the Nintendo DS will be enhancing both the speed and strategy of the challenge," I will puke.
Best Overall Article
Count on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to perform well on its home turf. Their story, Nintendo working on dual-screen portable, gives the available information without going overboard with speculation, and puts the announcement in the context of the PSP and the rest of Nintendo's line-up without droning on. A nice, succinct article.
Worst Overall Article
This one wasn't that tough. Gaming Horizon's coverage is just a mess, both grammatically and factually. Besides providing no important information outside of the system specs and no analysis of related news, the article includes seemingly baseless assumptions such as "[the system is] aiming for older gamers" and "the company already has a few un-named titles in development." I actually feel less informed now that I've read this article.
Most Surprisingly Good Coverage
What's this? The New York Post actually has something worth reading? They actually talk to analysts and Nintendo representative to get the whole story? Color me amazed.
Most Unnecessary Joke Image
I'm sure this MS Paint mockup of a two-screen system (linked from this article) seems hillarious to the guys at IGN, but it's really not that funny. Nintendo hasn't released a picture yet. Get over it.
IGN also gets runner up for the image at the upper-right of this intro page, tastefully captioned "The Nintendo WTF..." Smooth guys. Real smooth.
All right, that's it. Time to put this whole mess behind us and prepare for the next big announcement. Feel free to leave your comments below, I'd love to hear what you guys thought of the coverage.
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