Gearbox CEO On Gamer Criticism: "Some People Are Sadists"

Steven Bogos

The Taco Man
Jan 17, 2013
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Gearbox CEO On Gamer Criticism: "Some People Are Sadists"


Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford dismisses vocal, highly critical gamers as "the kid that kicks down your sandcastle".

"There is always the person who's got to stand on the sandcastle, they must crush it," said Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford at the Develop conference in Brighton, UK. "That's their way of relating to that. It's typically a less sophisticated mind. There's a dark part of us all that likes the idea of crushing a sandcastle, but most of us will respect it and let it be."

Pitchford used this sandcastle analogy to describe to the "problem" of vocal, highly critical gamers in today's industry, making some allusions to his own studio's critically panned Duke Nukem Forever [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/aliens%20colonial%20marines].

"If you're making entertainment on a grand scale, if you're reaching millions, there will be tens of thousands of people who absolutely hate us, and some percentage of those will take it upon themselves to let us known how they feel," he said.

"I read it in this way: we moved those people, we touched them - even the person who hates [your game] so much, you've affected them. That's why we fight, we're creating emotion and experience - and some people thrive on that type of feeling, some people are sadists."

As part of his keynote, Pitchford performed a magic trick based on the classic Three Card Monte street scam, explaining to attendees that while the vast majority of spectators would quietly appreciate the entertainment act, a small percentage would be critical and seek to validate that by attempting to convert others.

So there you go. According to Pitchford's speech, all of you guys complaining about how laughably broken Colonial Marines was are just that jerk kid at the beach who kicks over sandcastles.

Source: The Guardian [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/15/gearbox-ceo-randy-pitchford-gamer-criticism]

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NathLines

New member
May 23, 2010
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But... but... YOUR GOD DAMN SAND CASTLE WAS BUILT UPON LIES!!

I'm literally speechless. I think I'm just gonna kick some sand castles in frustration.
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
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Well, not as if the guy hadnt done more than his fair share to earn that ire.

Still wont factor in when im considering buying Battleborn and the next Borderlands at launch though.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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Wow, two articles in one day that give me cause to say unflattering things about Randy Pitchford? And, er... fulfill my sadistic appetites in the process, apparently?

Oh Escapist, you shouldn't have!

Things is, he's not entirely wrong. Anything popular or widespread is going to have a large number of detractors proportionate to that popularity. Some of them are going to be needlessly petty and venomous. Gamers certainly aren't any better than anyone else at voicing their grievances in an articulate and respectful manner. And yes, some people just plain enjoy shitting in your cereal.

However, pointing to a pile of shit and saying, "That right there is a pile of shit", is not an act of sadism. Hell, I wish I'd been able to derive some form of sadistic thrill from a Gearbox game. Sure would have been an improvement over wishing the fucking thing could end so I can get onto another, better game, or maybe clean the bathroom.

Also, defending something that made people angry by saying, "Hey, we touched them with our finely crafted emotional experiences," is weak bullshit. It'd be like Warner Bros saying that the PC version of Arkham Knight must be a powerful bit of media to have "touched" audiences the way it did.
 

Doom972

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Dec 25, 2008
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It's more like he made a blob of wet sand, called it a sandcastle, and cried when someone stepped on it without realizing it was someone's "sand castle".

Don't play the victim. You played on people's expectations, made fake gameplay videos, and delivered a poor-quality game.
 

Quellist

Migratory coconut
Oct 7, 2010
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Soo, You make a fake trailer that looks better than the game and appears to play better than the game and has content that's not in the game and when people complain about this they are sadists?

Fuck you Randy Pitchford!
 

Revolutionary

Pub Club Am Broken
May 30, 2009
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Yeah us gamers derive sick pleasure from calling out obscenely shitty games that were built on a bed of lies.
 

09philj

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 31, 2015
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We, as a community, get nasty too easily. Although in this case it's justified.
 

CardinalPiggles

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Jun 24, 2010
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I'll agree with him to an extent. Some people are just whiny sadistic assholes looking to berate other people to make themselves feel good, but in the case of Gearbox they really did deserve the shitstorm feedback after DNF and Aliens. Hell even the last Borderlands was pretty bad, just a cash-in really, with a pointless gimmick.

I'm a fan of Borderlands but Gearbox have been delivering utter shite lately, I don't think it's fair to paint every complaint with the same dismissive brush. It's also unhealthy for your business, because if you can't handle criticism and you bury your head in the sand how do you expect to improve your product in the future?
 

Jake Martinez

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Apr 2, 2010
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Smilomaniac said:
I get it, it must suck, but the guy also forgets just how massively poorly customers in gaming are treated. The fact that we just got refunds on Steam, is completely baffling to me. That it took that long, I mean.
The EU basically forced Steam to do it. That being said, they were not forced to extend it to every territory that Steam is in. They did that on their own, probably as a good faith gesture to their other customers.

This will quickly be forgotten the next time someone wants to claim that all government regulation is bad and all private industry is good. Because the world is completely binary that way... or something.
 

Oly J

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Nov 9, 2009
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the moment I saw the headline I pre-emptively thought "oh fuck off Randy", that thought was not misplaced, I'm sure some people are sadists, but they would be no less justified in calling you out on the bullshit of your game than anyone else, you lied to everyone, and now you're calling us sadists for taking issue with it, I shall say once more, fuck off Randy Pitchford!
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
Legacy
Jul 18, 2009
19,570
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Those were sandcastles?! I thought that was just dog crap I stepped in. 60 bucks worth.

Seriously Randy, be glad some people even bought your junk.
 

Scars Unseen

^ ^ v v < > < > B A
May 7, 2009
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Randy, I'd just like to take this time to assure you that I did not personally kick over your sand castle. Mostly because that wasn't sand it was made of, but finely minced shit that would stick to my boot if I so much as touched it. I played other, better games instead.
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

Hella noided
Dec 11, 2009
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Keep digging Randy, maybe if you dig deep enough you'll find an actual excuse for your bullshit.

And I'm sorry, but you're not a rapper: "fuck the haters" doesn't really work if you just make bad games and then shift responsibility.
 

FirstNameLastName

Premium Fraud
Nov 6, 2014
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Perhaps if they stopped making shitty games and selling them on lies people would stop telling them how shit their games are. Yes, I know there are plenty of people who genuinely are just arseholes looking to tear down your dreams, but if your dreams consist of making money by exploiting fans with lies and bullshit you shouldn't expect anyone to weep for you.
 

crotchdot

New member
Jun 11, 2010
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Your castle wasn't made of sand, Randy, it was made of dog turds.
Guess I must be a sadist for not appreciating dog turds.