Are all awards and most of game critics corrupt?

Do you think they are? I think so

Take VGA for example. they always nominate popular games over quality games. for example last year skyrim won GOTY and True GOTY Deus Ex was not even nominated. they nominate Dragon age 2 over witcher 2. they havenot nominate shogun 2 for best RTS or even best PC game

Back in 2010. they claim Halo Reach and COD black OPS are highlight of FPS of 2010 when in reality Stalker Call of Pripyat and Metro 2033 were.

They have not even nominate Stalker Call of Pripyat for best FPS but it was clear winner. MUCH better than Garbage like Halo Reach and Black OPS.


http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/me...rug-money2.jpg


Its all money talks. Its all corrupt


Discuss

Not so much money talking, but the audience.

How many people bought The Witcher 2 compared to Dragon Age 2? And there are people who haven't even heard of STALKER (pity them).

It's like politics. They're being paid to tell people what they want to hear, not what really is or isn't.

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"I disagree, they are corrupt and taking bribes"

The point of ANY award is how well something meets the criteria and values of that committee.

For stuff like Academy Awards and movies, that is how dramatic and artsy your movie is
For video games, that is how well you combine mainstream accessibility with quality

don't share my opinion = corrupt

it really is like politics but you should be pointing at yourselves.

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Take VGA for example. they always nominate popular games over quality games. for example last year skyrim won GOTY and True GOTY Deus Ex was not even nominated.

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Ehrm... Games are usually popular because they are GOOD.

Awards ceremonies are populist, especially things like the VGAs, their audience is the millions of teen/early 20s gamers, who breathe COD. Don't mistake popularity with corruption, even if you can't quite understand why it's popular.

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Back in 2010. they claim Halo Reach and COD black OPS are highlight of FPS of 2010 when in reality Stalker Call of Pripyat and Metro 2033 were.

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You can't claim opinion as fact, I agree with you personally, but that doesn't make it objectively true.

Betteridge's Law of Headlines is more than apt here. The answer is obviously and resoundingly "no". If you feel otherwise... well, I'd say you have quite a black-and-white worldview.

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One thing though: This story is a great demonstration of my maxim that any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word "no". The reason why journalists use that style of headline is that they know the story is probably bollocks, and don’t actually have the sources and facts to back it up, but still want to run it

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Awards ceremonies are as corrupt as reviews, because they can be viewed as a form of promotion.

This is a for-profit industry, and as such it is guaranteed that if it makes money, it will be utilized. This includes bonuses for reviewers who give favorable reviews (and lockouts for reviewers who don't), and "sponsorship" and other bribery into awards committees. Everybody here can list games that got Game of the Year primarily because the publisher spent millions on marketing and wasn't about to take no for an answer.

The paid shills are gaming's form of payola, and are just as pervasive.

Complaining about the VGA awards not really paying attention to something like Stalker (a PC exclusive game with rough presentation and some goofy translation) is kind of silly. Spike's VGA is a big mainstream, console focused group and as a result wont really be interested in smaller, more PC centric games.
It would be like complaining to Classic FM because they don't feature enough Darkthrone.

There are more awards than just VGAs. Look to indie and developer based ones. But like the academys I am sure politics are involved.

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Originally Posted by Diesel-

Its all money talks. Its all corrupt


Discuss

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It's all money talks. It's all corrupt. Discuss?

What's to discuss? You've already decided that the awards are corrupt based on nothing more than personal belief it seems. Any more bum topics to post?

Thing is a lot of people have preconceived notions about games, particularly sequels. When you badmouth a game that they are hellbent on fanboying over, what's going to happen? You're going to piss off your audience big time.

I have no doubt though that a lot of reviewers get paid. Thing is I don't think it's really prohibited. Truth is, even in the finance industry if you badmouth a company your ibank is interested in by, say, issuing a sour research report you really can lose your job.

Don't say "discuss" at the end of a post. It's self-aggrandizing. Some reviews are either corrupt, inept, or swept up in hype. You can see this when the score doesn't match the text of the review, or when site has two contrary pieces on the same game within a few days of each other. Without concrete evidence its impossible to prove one, and the results for a bad review (bought or unbought) are much the same. PC Gamer's "Dragon Age II may be a candidate for best RPG of the decade," may or may not have been bought, but if it wasn't, I still will never trust Rich McCormick's reviews, lost respect for PC gamer, and rarely visit the site. Quinn's review of New Vegas, which was terrible but obviously not bought made me lose respect for him and not trust his reviews.

So, while the incentive in the short term may be to release corrupt reviews, it better be enough money to pay for the rest of a career. Especially since a site that's creator owned and not corrupt, like RPS, makes a fair bit of money anyways.

Remember how they nominated the King Kong game when it had only been out for a week by the time the VGAs arrived?

Yeah. The VGAs are glorified PR exercises.

This post is sponsored by Mountain Dew.

Yes. Especially the ones on this glorified blog.

Do not attribute to be evil that which can more easily be a explained by stupidity?

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Originally Posted by Heliocentric

Do not attribute to be evil that which can more easily be a explained by stupidity?

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Follow the money.

The thing with game reviews is that the lowest common denominator is the standart as opposed to the elitists. Elitists in gaming are often labelled as trolls, whiners, entitled,etc. Dont blame the scores guys blame the scoregiver.

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Originally Posted by Diesel-

Do you think they are? I think so

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I disagree to the notion that all awards and most of game critics are corrupt. They might simply have a different taste in games. Winners of such awards/popularity contests are often enough the lowest common denominator.

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Take VGA for example. they always nominate popular games over quality games.

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VGA are a over-produced advertising show, no more. I don't really pay attention to them, neither do most people I know. Games don't really have awards with a certain credibility, like the Oscars (arguably) are for movies.

This is actually rather fitting :P

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=495020
https://twitter.com/RichStanton
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Fut...ore-47988.html

Ex-freelance writer for Future Publishing/PC Gamer/EDGE apparently had some sort of meltdown or disagreement and started commenting about the practices used by said company on his Twitter while drunk yesterday, here are some of the most interesting ones.

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Q: “@CiaranMac90: @RichStanton Just give us the worst story on Future you have and get some rest!”
A: Edge gave GTA IV [10] but the review didn’t I’m genuinely amazed that nobody has picked up on the fact that GTA4 got a 9 which became Rockstar’s much sought-after [10] in Edge.

Q: “@theubermod: @RichStanton Do publishers/platform holders 'pay' for covers? In either ad spend or access.”
A: They control everything

Q: “@helloimandrew: @RichStanton do review scores in future publications sometimes magically change before it hits the self”
A: Yes

Q: “@Tim__Lane: @RichStanton game that got most obviously dodgy reviews?”
A: Homefront, less obviously. Most is Driv3rgate

Q: “@LittleJuiceBox1: @RichStanton Who were the dodgiest PRs for doing deals (review scores etc)?”
A: Rockstar, without question.

Q: "@bmart_12: @RichStanton If Rockstar was the dodgiest, who else is up there?"
A: 2K bitch a lot. EA/Acti are numbers-driven.

Q: “@LewieP: @RichStanton have you witnessed any dodgy deals?”
A: Yes. Future will do anything to accommodate advertisers.

Q: “@iambeano: @RichStanton Did Future think the EDGE forum community was a waste of time?”
A: Yes. Then lost 2/3rds of their traffic! Idiots.

Q: “@DilutedDante: @RichStanton worst games mag/site?”
A: CVG. They deliberately misquote devs, and claim it’s a mistake after the hits

Q: “@MDKII: @RichStanton Any other examples of good PR you’ve dealt with?”
A: Nintendo - flawless. Early access, no interest in the score.

Q: "@bmart_12: @RichStanton Any info to spill on Cod reviews/ad pressure?”
A: Actually, no. COD always earned the reviews, good series

Q: “@cgentero: @RichStanton Were Japanese publishers just as willing to buy scores?"
A: Capcom, for example, push for scores - but in the right way
What I mean by that is they’d send you the game early, with meganotes to ensure you ‘got it’. Works for me. Good PR.

PC Gamer asked me to take some photos of something very specific. A wall of concept art. I asked permission, and did so.
Valve went nuts. This wasn’t approved! Do you know what PC Gamer’s editor, Tim Edwards, did?
He denied I had ever been asked to do it. Said PCG were merely the innocent recipient. Lied, in other words. Cunt.

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Anyone remember that Dragon Age 2 Review? :P http://www.pcgamer.com/review/dragon-age-2-review/
It was my personal breaking point as to not trusting ANY "professional" reviews anymore, since it was so bloody obvious.

Publications/Websites owned by Future Publishing:

Magazines
EU
Edge
GamesMaster
GamesMaster Cheats
GamesMaster Presents
NGamer
Nintendo: The Official Magazine
PC Gamer
PlayStation: The Official Magazine
PSM3
Xbox 360: The Official Magazine
Xbox World

US
Nintendo Power
Official Xbox Magazine
PC Gamer
PlayStation: The Official Magazine

AUS
Nintendo: The Official Magazine
PSM3
Xbox 360: The Official Magazine

Websites
computerandvideogames.com
gamesradar.com
goldenjoystick.com
next-gen.biz
nintendopower.com
officialnintendomagazine.co.uk
officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk
oxm.co.uk
oxmonline.com
pcgamer.com