Posted by: schild @ 04:51:17 on 3/2/07
"I hope no one deals with them anymore. When you ask someone not to post something that isn't controversial, you expect that tiny bit of respect." - Anonymous Lead Designer
This hurts to write. My hands are shaking. I can't remember the exact time I read Crecente's post on Kotaku. Sometime this afternoon (March 1st, 2007), I read something that - in any normal situation - would make blood burst from my eyes. Today, one of the most popular gaming blogs on the internet confused integrity and honesty with investigative journalism. Michael McWhertor published a (not quite) rumor about something. You can find out what this something is on nearly every site on the internet, including this one - just a few posts down. In posting, Michael set in motion a series of emails and newsposts that have left - in my eyes - a stain on the entire gaming industry. It hurt the fans, the developers, the publishers, and most importantly - independent gaming sites. And who's pointing it out? I guess I will.
Kotaku isn't an "independent" news source. They're not even a "news source." They are a member of the Gawker Media. Gawker isn't the New York Times or the Washington Post. It's a tabloid. It's a bastard child of National Enquirer, Weekly World News, and People. It's a media group whose sole purpose is to create soundbites juicy enough to appeal to the target demographic of each of their BLOGS. They are a hype machine. You go to these sites to find gossip, sanitized press releases, and pretty pictures. You don't go to these sites for hard hitting news. Well, maybe you do, but that speaks more about you than it does about them.
With that established, I guess I can get to the point. Kotaku decided - in their infinite wisdom - to sever the very thin thread that holds the gaming press and gaming industry together. They were handed some information about something that was to be unveiled in less than a weeks time by Sony at GDC. Actually, let me back up a bit.
This website (f13.net) is small fries compared to Kotaku. Small fries enough that being shunned by a large corporation (like Sony or Microsoft) would not hurt us. Not like it could hurt Kotaku. As such, I can be pretty reckless with what I post. I can reveal trade secrets long before they hit official channels. But I don't. Why? Because there are official channels for giving the gaming press news. Those official channels are pretty much set in stone. There isn't any gray area. The gaming press - especially the Big Ones (Game Informer, EGM/1Up, Gamespot, IGN) - need these official channels to exist. There are people who only subscribe to EGM because of the rumor mill. There are people who only read 1Up for features (don't ask me to find these people, I might have just made that up). There are people who really do go to IGN because that's where a lot of news gets released first (these people, on the other hand, are very real). And then there's everyone else. The Destructoids, Kotakus, Neogafs, Slashdots, etc. These groups, for the most part, have to copy news from other sites. Simply because they don't have enough readers to get constant exclusivity. Yes, Gawker may be considered a giant, but at 3.7M unique readers between all their blogs, they are small fries. There are web comics with a bigger say in The Industry. This is why the latter group of sites needs to do industry relations and keep a dialogue running. Without it, there's absolutely no chance of any of us getting exclusive news. Hell, there's no reason for people to read sites like these (us) unless we have something new and interesting to say.
Well, I have a lot of things I could say that most would find new and interesting. News I found out months ago (nay, years ago for some companies) that still isn't released to the public. But I'm not going to. Because that tiny bit of trust... that tiny bit of respect that companies expect me to give them is what keeps that dialogue between us and them going. And the moment that trust is violated, I expect to get screwed.
Unfortunately (for me), Kotaku decided to violate that trust. With no permission from the rest of the gaming press I might add. They took a piece of news that they KNEW shouldn't be released, even if purely out of consideration for Sony's plans. They took a piece of news they were TOLD to keep quiet on and posted it. This news wasn't even Important. It was just a leak. Not even a good leak. What do I mean by that? Well, a good leak would at the very least - and bear with me on this one - imply that a company does not want information to come out. For example, if the revision numbers on the PS3 updates (we're up to 1.54 now?) represented the number of babies killed to reach an update, 1.54 being 154, I would have applauded Kotaku for releasing the news. Or if Nintendo had made the Wiistrap with subpar material just so people would have to drop $50 on a replacement Wiimote every few weeks, I would have applauded them. But no, that's not what happened here.
Kotaku merely decided to steal some thunder.
This wasn't journalism. There was no journalistic integrity here.
For the slower people reading this - which by the time I wake up, I'm sure there will be many of you - I'm going to do the favor of putting this into simpler terms. Kotaku found out something. Kotaku contacted Sony. Sony couldn't say "No Comment," Kotaku would have run with it. Sony couldn't have that happen - this was an announcement that had to come at a specific time, it was strategically planned and would have been executed in a shock and awe fashion. So Sony did the ONE thing they expected would work. They asked a gaming site that doesn't write real reviews and yet somehow has debug kits, to not do anything with the news. Kotaku ignored that. They ran with it thinking they Needed to. Like it was the Watergate of gaming.
Unfortunately, they weren't exposing anything. They were screwing with Sony. This isn't even an objective thing. It's the reality of the situation. Kotaku took the gaming blogopshere and bent it over a chair. They violated that sacred trust I mentioned. They took a piece of confidential information that had no reason to be made public since it's release was imminent (less than a week) and published it after being asked to do the exact oppisite - to not post the information.
Then they went and published private emails. This is the sort of three-ring circus act that Gawker is known for... They published the email solely to gain support to get back what they had lost. By publishing the emails, they gained the support of the chuckleheads at Destructoid, Digg, and to a lesser extent, Slashdot. They gained support in a large number of forums across the internet. Until now, despite Madden being the best-selling game each year (whoa, left field), I thought gamers were more than an illiterate mob - even after going to a few E3s. I was wrong. They are a mob. They are an unruly mob without the ability to think rationally. They are an unruly mob, who lack the ability to think rationally and can't understand why this situation is a bad thing.
What Kotaku did hurt the small sites and the big sites. It hurt the entire industry. The gaming press is entrusted with information and told when they can release it. It's not "news," not like you get on ABC, CBS or even The Daily Show. It's information that everyone will eventually get, but the developers and publishers have a time frame for their work, so they expect us to respect that. And we do, most of the time. Had this been any other blog besides Kotaku, I don't think Sony would have rolled over. But it was Kotaku, and they have enough exposure to bend things a bit in their direction. Or, at least, they apparently have a soapbox on which to stand.
It's a shame they don't use that soapbox for anything more than to steal thunder from other companies, sites, and forums. It's a shame that gamers somehow found sympathy for these thieving hacks. It's a shame that even some of the "smarter" websites decided to side with Kotaku.
I guess, most importantly, it's a shame that no one seems to have realized that all the inroads the independent gaming press has made with gaming companies was just hurt.
For a moment, I'd like to wag my finger at the industry. Sony, your PR is in shambles, you know it and Kotaku knows it. They used that against you and you folded like a house of cards. Kotaku, shame on you for abusing that. Why are you kicking people when they're down? Sony isn't Paris Hilton and you aren't the New York Times. If you want to pretend you're "investigative," dig up the patent information before you post the rumor - Sony can't get mad at the "discovery" of public information. Destructoid, you're better than this. Gamers across the world, don't make me hit you with the cluebat. Lastly, I'd like to specifically address Brian Crecente. You sir, are clown shoes. You don't even write real reviews. You don't invesigate jack or shit, and you don't have any business in the ivory tower you seem to inhabit. Get over yourself before you get your site blacklisted by the entire industry.
[discuss]
With that established, I guess I can get to the point. Kotaku decided - in their infinite wisdom - to sever the very thin thread that holds the gaming press and gaming industry together. They were handed some information about something that was to be unveiled in less than a weeks time by Sony at GDC. Actually, let me back up a bit.
This website (f13.net) is small fries compared to Kotaku. Small fries enough that being shunned by a large corporation (like Sony or Microsoft) would not hurt us. Not like it could hurt Kotaku. As such, I can be pretty reckless with what I post. I can reveal trade secrets long before they hit official channels. But I don't. Why? Because there are official channels for giving the gaming press news. Those official channels are pretty much set in stone. There isn't any gray area. The gaming press - especially the Big Ones (Game Informer, EGM/1Up, Gamespot, IGN) - need these official channels to exist. There are people who only subscribe to EGM because of the rumor mill. There are people who only read 1Up for features (don't ask me to find these people, I might have just made that up). There are people who really do go to IGN because that's where a lot of news gets released first (these people, on the other hand, are very real). And then there's everyone else. The Destructoids, Kotakus, Neogafs, Slashdots, etc. These groups, for the most part, have to copy news from other sites. Simply because they don't have enough readers to get constant exclusivity. Yes, Gawker may be considered a giant, but at 3.7M unique readers between all their blogs, they are small fries. There are web comics with a bigger say in The Industry. This is why the latter group of sites needs to do industry relations and keep a dialogue running. Without it, there's absolutely no chance of any of us getting exclusive news. Hell, there's no reason for people to read sites like these (us) unless we have something new and interesting to say.
Well, I have a lot of things I could say that most would find new and interesting. News I found out months ago (nay, years ago for some companies) that still isn't released to the public. But I'm not going to. Because that tiny bit of trust... that tiny bit of respect that companies expect me to give them is what keeps that dialogue between us and them going. And the moment that trust is violated, I expect to get screwed.
Unfortunately (for me), Kotaku decided to violate that trust. With no permission from the rest of the gaming press I might add. They took a piece of news that they KNEW shouldn't be released, even if purely out of consideration for Sony's plans. They took a piece of news they were TOLD to keep quiet on and posted it. This news wasn't even Important. It was just a leak. Not even a good leak. What do I mean by that? Well, a good leak would at the very least - and bear with me on this one - imply that a company does not want information to come out. For example, if the revision numbers on the PS3 updates (we're up to 1.54 now?) represented the number of babies killed to reach an update, 1.54 being 154, I would have applauded Kotaku for releasing the news. Or if Nintendo had made the Wiistrap with subpar material just so people would have to drop $50 on a replacement Wiimote every few weeks, I would have applauded them. But no, that's not what happened here.
Kotaku merely decided to steal some thunder.
This wasn't journalism. There was no journalistic integrity here.
For the slower people reading this - which by the time I wake up, I'm sure there will be many of you - I'm going to do the favor of putting this into simpler terms. Kotaku found out something. Kotaku contacted Sony. Sony couldn't say "No Comment," Kotaku would have run with it. Sony couldn't have that happen - this was an announcement that had to come at a specific time, it was strategically planned and would have been executed in a shock and awe fashion. So Sony did the ONE thing they expected would work. They asked a gaming site that doesn't write real reviews and yet somehow has debug kits, to not do anything with the news. Kotaku ignored that. They ran with it thinking they Needed to. Like it was the Watergate of gaming.
Unfortunately, they weren't exposing anything. They were screwing with Sony. This isn't even an objective thing. It's the reality of the situation. Kotaku took the gaming blogopshere and bent it over a chair. They violated that sacred trust I mentioned. They took a piece of confidential information that had no reason to be made public since it's release was imminent (less than a week) and published it after being asked to do the exact oppisite - to not post the information.
Then they went and published private emails. This is the sort of three-ring circus act that Gawker is known for... They published the email solely to gain support to get back what they had lost. By publishing the emails, they gained the support of the chuckleheads at Destructoid, Digg, and to a lesser extent, Slashdot. They gained support in a large number of forums across the internet. Until now, despite Madden being the best-selling game each year (whoa, left field), I thought gamers were more than an illiterate mob - even after going to a few E3s. I was wrong. They are a mob. They are an unruly mob without the ability to think rationally. They are an unruly mob, who lack the ability to think rationally and can't understand why this situation is a bad thing.
What Kotaku did hurt the small sites and the big sites. It hurt the entire industry. The gaming press is entrusted with information and told when they can release it. It's not "news," not like you get on ABC, CBS or even The Daily Show. It's information that everyone will eventually get, but the developers and publishers have a time frame for their work, so they expect us to respect that. And we do, most of the time. Had this been any other blog besides Kotaku, I don't think Sony would have rolled over. But it was Kotaku, and they have enough exposure to bend things a bit in their direction. Or, at least, they apparently have a soapbox on which to stand.
It's a shame they don't use that soapbox for anything more than to steal thunder from other companies, sites, and forums. It's a shame that gamers somehow found sympathy for these thieving hacks. It's a shame that even some of the "smarter" websites decided to side with Kotaku.
I guess, most importantly, it's a shame that no one seems to have realized that all the inroads the independent gaming press has made with gaming companies was just hurt.
For a moment, I'd like to wag my finger at the industry. Sony, your PR is in shambles, you know it and Kotaku knows it. They used that against you and you folded like a house of cards. Kotaku, shame on you for abusing that. Why are you kicking people when they're down? Sony isn't Paris Hilton and you aren't the New York Times. If you want to pretend you're "investigative," dig up the patent information before you post the rumor - Sony can't get mad at the "discovery" of public information. Destructoid, you're better than this. Gamers across the world, don't make me hit you with the cluebat. Lastly, I'd like to specifically address Brian Crecente. You sir, are clown shoes. You don't even write real reviews. You don't invesigate jack or shit, and you don't have any business in the ivory tower you seem to inhabit. Get over yourself before you get your site blacklisted by the entire industry.
[discuss]