Alan Wake Dev Is Disappointed With Game Journalists

[SaintWaldo]

Assassin's Creed released footage of the whole first assassination, voluntarily. I think it did just fine. The difference is they got to control quality. Maybe there's a lesson there?

I suspect this is a weak (imo) attempt at viral cultivation, due to the main thrust of the story being that there's footage of an upcoming game available to watch on the net, only with a little spice because it's "kinda forbidden". If he really gave a shit about the quality, he'd OK releasing an official preview himself.

For everyone's edification (including my own), publishing portions of a work, especially if the publisher/reviewer feels it serves to communicate something about the work overall, is EXACTLY journalism. I suppose Siskel and Ebert should have never put clips in "Sneak Previews"? I've seen entire Game Informer AND LIFE stories that were nothing but other peoples pictures.

Also imo, but if there are story breaking spoilers in the first 10 minutes, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Danpascooch]

Does Steve Jobs cry to the industry when they leak the iPhone? No. So this guy should get over it and be glad people are still interested in this long delayed game. By the time it comes out unless you just want it that bad and keep looking at the trailer you'll forget about the trailer

No, he just beats Chinese employees until they commit suicide

Like I said in another post that was Foxconn. Apple doesn't even manufacture the phones they just design them. Plus I don't think Steve has time for that. He'll get the lower level guys to do it while he does his best jigsaw impersonation. "You have failed me for the last time. If you want to live as an Apple employee, which is the only way to live, you must past these trials. Cut thine hand for I am Jesus and you lost the Jesus phone or Bob from accounting will kill you. You have till I load the NY Times on a New York 3G connection. So about an hour lol."

I didn't read your whole post, but I know what it says

I meant this totally as a joke, and I know Apple couldn't have had any hand in it at all, and that the entire idea of him getting beaten isn't confirmed to have happened.

 

[Weaver]

Bring it back to PC and maybe I'll have some sympathy.

 

[aaronmcc]

I bought the special edition so fast it made my head spin

 

[EricGossett]

I found the leaked footage on some site because youtube pulled it off, and honestly I am not impressed with this game. It just seems kinda bland, its like a spooky game of flashlight tag, literally.

 

[Andraste]

Well this seems like perfectly reasonable response to... wait what?

Alan Wake comes out on May 14 in Europe and May 18 in North America.

Europe are getting a high profile game before America?

Calumon: No...that's not possubl-ee? Possobull? Jack why do you give me such big words to say?

...not to mention that games with a lot of European development (which I am guessing this has) are doubtlessly seeing increased pressure to release in Europe first for the sake of national pride if nothing else (specifically so they can say they had something first, which is becoming a big thing for a lot of Euro-gamers...

Remedy Entertainment, who makes this game, is Finnish, so they're releasing it close to home first. Side note: These are the same folks who made Max Payne.

For everyone's edification (including my own), publishing portions of a work, especially if the publisher/reviewer feels it serves to communicate something about the work overall, is EXACTLY journalism. I suppose Siskel and Ebert should have never put clips in "Sneak Previews"? I've seen entire Game Informer AND LIFE stories that were nothing but other peoples pictures.

Yes, but, when a reviewer gets a copy of a game before said game's release, there's generally an embargo for release of information. This is to level the playing field among review outlets (so the outlet down the street who gets their review copy two days before the outlet around the world doesn't have an inherent lead), and also indirectly forces a certain amount of time with a game before publishing information (who doesn't want better informed reviews/reviewers?).

Generally, along with the embargo is a request to not destroy plot points (sometimes these are laid out specifically) that might lessen a customer's experience with a game. It is, of course, not legally binding or anything close, but it's a point of courtesy, both to the developer and to the gaming public to follow those requests. Breaking those requests is not necessarily angering, it's disappointing. Along those same lines, showing unreasonably large clips of an unreleased title is unethical in the same way publishing unreasonably large excerpts from an online article is. That's not journalism, it's just lazy.

This feels early for a developer-sourced release of footage, the low quality of the videos also speaks to that. Any journalist should know that and especially those who chose to cover a specific topic (like games) should have a little respect for the people whom they are covering. And if someone got an early copy of the game and is posting footage from that to the internet, then shame on them and shame on anyone who picks that up as news. It's just plain rude.

To be clear, Waldo, I'm not speaking to you for most of this, I'm simply adding a bit to a point you made, and then continuing with what I had to say. This is the sort of thing that gets my panties all in a wad, because it's unethical and classless, and as a game journalist myself, I'm disappointed, too. I'm further upset because Matias is a friend and a genuinely good guy. Contrary to what some may say, he isn't whining, but rather simply saying 'Sigh, I thought we'd moved beyond such unpolished behavior.' So am I.

 

[dochmbi]

 

[SaintWaldo]

For everyone's edification (including my own), publishing portions of a work, especially if the publisher/reviewer feels it serves to communicate something about the work overall, is EXACTLY journalism. I suppose Siskel and Ebert should have never put clips in "Sneak Previews"? I've seen entire Game Informer AND LIFE stories that were nothing but other peoples pictures.

Yes, but, when a reviewer gets a copy of a game before said game's release, there's generally an embargo for release of information. This is to level the playing field among review outlets (so the outlet down the street who gets their review copy two days before the outlet around the world doesn't have an inherent lead), and also indirectly forces a certain amount of time with a game before publishing information (who doesn't want better informed reviews/reviewers?).

Good points, sure, and I don't think you are calling me out.

We're still (apparently) only talking about the first 10 minutes. You know, where's the outrage about the absolute public nature of the first 2 minutes of Heavy Rain [http://www.allgamesbeta.info/2010/02/heavy-rain-intro.html] and the nude scenes? As far as I can tell, those were pre-release leaks, as in, not released or necessarily approved by the publisher. Same thing, but no outrage or redressing of journalistic practices there...

Maybe because everyone was already looking at it...

 

[shemoanscazrex3]

Does Steve Jobs cry to the industry when they leak the iPhone? No. So this guy should get over it and be glad people are still interested in this long delayed game. By the time it comes out unless you just want it that bad and keep looking at the trailer you'll forget about the trailer

No, he just beats Chinese employees until they commit suicide

Like I said in another post that was Foxconn. Apple doesn't even manufacture the phones they just design them. Plus I don't think Steve has time for that. He'll get the lower level guys to do it while he does his best jigsaw impersonation. "You have failed me for the last time. If you want to live as an Apple employee, which is the only way to live, you must past these trials. Cut thine hand for I am Jesus and you lost the Jesus phone or Bob from accounting will kill you. You have till I load the NY Times on a New York 3G connection. So about an hour lol."

I didn't read your whole post, but I know what it says

I meant this totally as a joke, and I know Apple couldn't have had any hand in it at all, and that the entire idea of him getting beaten isn't confirmed to have happened.

Yeah I figured that is why i ended the post with a joke