Ethics - Kotaku

IGN Editor Fires Back On Exclusive GTA IV Review Flak, Ethics Concerns

Variety's Ben Fritz opined in his column The Cut Scene last week that the concept of an "exclusive" review, specifically the case of IGN's Grand Theft Auto IV review, was something he found troublesome. His entry on the matter read that Fritz seemed less concerned with the 10 out of 10 score, but that IGN securing an exclusive review—as it often does with game announcements, media and interviews—was the thing ethically troubling. (We suggest you read Fritz's original post, lest we misinterpret it in some sort of telephone game.)

The reviewer in question, Hilary Goldstein, editor-in-chief at IGN's Xbox 360 channel, talked to GameDaily about the GTA IV review mini-hubbub, chalking up Fritz's concerns to a possible grudge.

More »

7:30 PM on Fri May 2 2008
By Michael McWhertor
12,674 views, 87 comments

Latest by freespeech: Here's my take on the situation, WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! let them squabble about who gets what exclusivity (that's a word right??)!!!! Do reviews really matter that much, do we not know when a games good or not????? Rent if you more »

game reviewing

Can Game Critics Cheat? Ethics In Reviewing

Chris Dahlen has an interesting post up on the issue of cheating in video games, in particular whether game reviewers can (or should) cheat. Of course, anyone is capable of cheating their way past a tough spot, but should reviewers be held to a higher standard? Dahlen points out that reviewers who admit to taking shortcuts or blowing past extra features or side quests tend to cause people to throw a fit; on the other hand, is galloping through a game at a blinding pace good for anyone, reviewers especially? Is there any hard and fast rule for this sort of stuff? More »

2:30 PM on Sat Feb 16 2008
By mgreene
7,500 views, 96 comments

Latest by PsycheDiver: If it's so hard that the reviewer cannot obtain a rich understanding of the game, then I have no problem with cheating. more »

industry

Dan Hsu On Industry Blackballing and Ethics

GameDaily's 'Media Coverage' section has an interview up with Dan Hsu, editor in chief of EGM, on the plight of game journalists and sites getting frozen out by companies as punishment. We recently mentioned Hsu's blog entry that called out Ubisoft, Sony's sports game division and Midway's Mortal Kombat team for practicing this sort of freeze out of media outlets in punishment for '"candid reviews" and "less-than-totally-positive previews."'. Hsu hastens to point out that this isn't a regular occurrence, but it does happen. What's a blackballed media outlet to do?

When the occasional company does turn the screws, Hsu relies on advice from those that came before him. "The thing that always guides me is something my first editorial director [Joe Funk] told me on the day I interviewed at EGM [in 1996]," he said. "I brought up an old EGM editorial where the editor said that Capcom has pulled advertising, but EGM wouldn't change its ways to win them back. I asked the editorial director about that, and how can EGM survive without advertising...how does the magazine deal with that pressure? He told me, 'As long as you write for the readers and not the companies, the readership will come, and the advertisers will have no choice but to advertise with you.'"

Companies giveth, companies taketh away, but soldiering forward with some modicum of integrity will at least leave your reputation (and readership) intact. It's an interesting look at some of the behind the scenes aspects of game journalism and the industry as the whole.

Media Coverage: Frozen Out [GameDaily]

2:30 PM on Sat Jan 12 2008
By mgreene
6,143 views, 190 comments

Latest by zenpoet: @Guu: I agree completely, and you stated it better than I. This is not a legal question, but a moral one. Thanks for saying it better than me! more »

advertorials

1Up Shows Support For GameSpot Reviewers

In the growing wake of the controversy surrounding GameSpot's alleged firing of editorial director Jeff Gerstmann comes a little bit of surprising solidarity.

A bunch of Ziff Davis staffers (including 1Up) made a banner to show their support for fellow game reviewers and marched it the two blocks to the GameSpot building on Friday. The banner, and impromptu march, shows that despite being competition, what may have happened at GameSpot could have wide-spread implications in the game publication industry.

We're also told that the Kane & Lynch user reviews on Gamespot have been, at least temporarily, disabled and there are rumors that people are canceling their Gamespot accounts "en masse."

I'm not sure how Gamespot is going to deal with all of this since I'm pretty sure they're not legally able to talk about why Gerstmann is no longer there. I'd assume that at some point Gerstmann might talk, but I'd guess right now he's trying to figure out what to do in the way of a job.

What about you? Do you work as a game reviewer? Have you been forced to rewrite a review due to advertising pressure? Feel free to email us at tips if you have or to editor. Remember, you can remain anonymous.

The 1Up Show [Flickr]

3:00 PM on Sat Dec 1 2007
By Brian Crecente
35,782 views, 245 comments

dev diary

Tabula Rasa's Ethical Parables

If you thought game developement was all fun and...games, you'd do well to remember the example of the Tabula Rasa dev team. They had to write an essay on the use of ethical parables present in the gameplay of Rochard Garriott's new MMO, detailing the insertion of heavy moral dilemnas into standard mission-based gameplay to give the world a more epic, lively feel. Eschewing what they call the "static, boring type of storytelling," the TR team wanted to give the players decisions with long-term consequences in the game. The essay in its entirety appears after the jump, and I really do feel for the poor bloke who had to piece this together. Even talking about someone else writing an essay makes kicks my lazy procrastinating gland into high gear. More »

8:30 AM on Mon Aug 20 2007
By Mike Fahey
3,121 views, 34 comments

Latest by FunkyJ: @PapaBear434: That's the kind of thing I signed up to WoW for. Then I realised it was just a waste of time and fun stuff was killed because of the vocal and sooky wankers who play the game. TR sounds so cool, more »

jack thompson

Thompson Ethics Trial Set

Everyone's favorite crazy attorney is once more facing a hearing for his bizarre and unethical behavior in the court room. More »

7:00 PM on Wed Apr 4 2007
By Brian Crecente
1,642 views, 34 comments

jack thompson

Feature: The Florida Bar's Many Jack Thompson Imbroglios

By: Brian Crecente (Art by Fahey) More »

ea

EA Punishes Spanish Site For Negative Comments

Well this isn't very nice. More »

gamasutra

Lawyers Attack Game Site For Academy Awards Comparison (It Didn't Make)

The Academy Awards. Hollywood's opportunity to bask in itself and spend loads of money on limos, parties and wooing Academy members to vote for "important" motion pictures. Last week, Gamasutra ran an article, which compared a planned Japanese game award show to the Oscars. The Academy's sue-happy lawyers jumped down Gamasutra's throat: More »

1:22 AM on Mon Aug 28 2006
By Brian Ashcraft
351 views, 7 comments

square enix

Square Asks For Embargo on Published Game

Kotaku graduate and big-headed leader of the 1Up news crew Luke Smith just gave Square-Enix a public dressing down for an absurd email the publisher sent out to some game writers reminding them what not to cover. More »

8:00 PM on Fri Jun 23 2006
By Brian Crecente
198 views, 10 comments

casamassina

Casamassina Reminds Us He's an Ass

Well there you go, I made the mistake of assuming that something posted on one of IGN's blogs was in fact based on reality and not just a pathetic cry for attention. Boo me. More »

11:41 PM on Wed Jun 21 2006
By Brian Crecente
509 views, 16 comments

ethics

Hudson's E3 Escorts

Simon over at GameSetWatch writes about a nasty little rumor that has been making the rounds since before E3. Word had it that Hudson Entertainment was offering attractive woman as "personal assistants" to the editors of top gaming publications. More »

7:00 AM on Mon May 22 2006
By Brian Crecente
521 views, 2 comments

top

PGR3's Free Caddy Pack Hits In May

A Cadillac marketeer sent me more details about the upcoming car pack that Cadillac will be giving to Project Gotham Racer 3 gamers. More »

8:03 AM on Mon May 1 2006
By Brian Crecente
472 views, 5 comments

feature

Preview Ho: Gamespot/Gamespy

By: Wagner James Au More »

eidos

25 to Life Writer Feels Moral Dilemma

The author of the script for 25 to Life, the poorly reviewed and controversially violent shooter, claims that he experienced a moral dilemma after writing the game. P. Frank Williams talked to the London Free Press about it, but the article doesn't really go into any details about what moral dilemma, exactly, he experienced. More »

9:00 AM on Thu Jan 26 2006
By Brian Crecente
132 views, 2 comments

spike tv

Spike TV VGA Vote Opens Today

Apparently I m now part of the Spike TV VG Awards Council. That means that I am one of "over 200 video game industry writers/reporters from media companies" I get to vote on the winners for the award show and wear a spiffy robe. Actually, I m not quite clear on the robe thing, they never mentioned one, but I plan on wearing one anyway. More »

4:47 PM on Tue Nov 1 2005
By Brian Crecente
180 views, 3 comments

oddities

A Cynical Journalist and the Game Industry

Over at Game Daily sits an Op-Ed piece that places the journalist and game industry PR at odds. Pseudonym Jezebel Sinclair's ire with game industry PR isn't really wrought out of wanting free stuff, but rather out of wanting to simply have games to write about in a timely fashion before the kids over at Gaming Age label it "teh old." More »

2:40 PM on Thu Oct 13 2005
By lsmith
60 views, Comment

Kotaku

ESA, Game Critics' Awards Debate "Best Of E3" Eligibility

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Posts Tagged “Ethics”