Magazine Editor Claims Rockstar Got Him Fired

[Lord_Ascendant]

Four words come to mind; head in the sand

 

[The Brewin]

i think this thread needs an editor looking at the typo in the title...

 

[Treblaine]

It is things like that that mean Print media for game journalism isn't dying... it's already dead.

I don't buy print mags and to be frank I won't miss them. Online mags do the job much better.

 

[rougeknife]

Lol Zoo.

EDIT: To elaborate, Zoo is a lads mag. Its a few steps away from being soft-core porn, and nobody reads it for the articles.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's not impossible that Rockstar put a little pressure on the magazine, but I don't know.

Still looking forward to the game, though.

 

[Killian Kalthorne]

I rather get a fair review of my game than a forced "good" review.

 

[dibblywibbles]

is anyone really excited about this game? I thought the first one was mediocre and have no real intentions of even playing this latest one. I wish we could get the whole e-mail though. I have no doubt game companies do push for positive reviews because almost every review of a big budget game gets a favourable review, even if they suck.

 

[NickCooley]

I'm gonna call BS on this one. Why would Rockstar pressure a crappy little magazine like Zoo to give it a good score? Sounds to me like they just wanted a good review, that is to say a decent length, well thought out review instead of "Hurr hurr there are no boobs but it has guns!" which is what I'd expect from Zoo.

I have a more plausible theory. Journalist gets sacked for x reason and uses Rockstar's letter out of context to drum up sympathy.

 

[Desworks]

Personally, I think he is currently trying to play the innocent whistle-blower angle on the internet. It's easy to convince people that the big bad company was stomping down on the little journalist, especially when all the evidence that could show the opposite is stuck behind NDAs.

I'm with Rockstar on this one, as I can't see them deciding that Zoo Magazine is the one they need to bribe for a good review. Their review credibility with me is about on par with that of the average Tabloid paper, and I doubt their core demographic are reading them for the reviews.

 

[digotw]

I don't really understand how the editor can get all morally-high-groundish since Zoo is the flat out worst magazine in Australia, i wouldn't read that fucking crappy dog-shit magazine if my life depended on it.

 

[seule]

I don't really understand how the editor can get all morally-high-groundish since Zoo is the flat out worst magazine in Australia, i wouldn't read that fucking crappy dog-shit magazine if my life depended on it.

I didn't realise that there was text in the magazine, i thought it was just pictures of fake tits from cover to cover Which makes this story all the more hilarious.

 

[Mr. Mike]

Umm...
Rockstar, if you are so insecure about your game, then maybe it really isn't as good as you think it is.

Agreed. If they think it's such a huge achievement then they really shouldn't need to pressure reviewers into giving good reviews. There wasn't that much pressure here, but it was definitely a reminder.

Nonetheless, I am very much looking forward to this game.

 

[Dogstile]

I doubt that email is telling him to give it a good review, just a "don't look at the front cover and say what you think based on that" request.

 

[Audioave10]

I don't think we are getting the whole story here. I'm sure more crap is going on behind closed doors.

 

[DigitalSushi]

Its ok people, this is a Zoo employee, he's not a real journalist!.

Seriously go read articles in Zoo magazine, they are bulletpoints with a huge pictures of tits and cars.

 

[mooseodeath]

zoo does game reviews? i've never even thought about picking up a copy, this is the first time i thought anything even remotely useful would be inside. for the most part i agree it sounds more like "don't just write a paragraph in monosyllabic points"

however, my opinion of rockstar is low enough to consider this true without needing any proof. they essentially thrive on controversy to sell their games as of late. getting some random guy over a barrel til he blows the whistle and creates news like this gets their game on gaming news sites.....i'd not heard of it before now. that email may be this guys only "proof" but who knows what kind of phonecalls he's received. rockstar has learnt how powerful bad press can be to their cause as long as they remain the victim.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

This is the biggest game we've done since GTA IV, and is already receiving Game of the Year 2010 nominations from specialists all around the world. Can you please ensure Toby's article reflects this - he needs to respect the huge achievement he's writing about here.

Is it just me, or does that not sound like a forced positive review request?
I obviously haven't read the whole email, but this little snippet seems less like a 'make sure this is reviewed positively' and more like a 'make sure this guy knows that this game is a big deal'. That doesn't seem shady to me, that seems like they want the guy to know that this game is a big up-and-comer in the market that a lot of people (Myself included) are looking forward to, and they he should really give this game it's due when reviewing it (By going into detail and not skimping out).

With the information given, I really don't have much sympathy for the guy.

Oh it does sound, it does. If the article needs to reflect the game is a big achievement and nominated for Game of the year 2010 it means, obviously needs to be a positive review. You dont need to threat with a "Just give 5 stars rate, will you?! Or else!".
That word already means loads, means they are pointing its considered among the best titles of the year from "specialists". if that word wanst there I would be tempted to totally agree with you.
Besides the message should be more, its our biggest game since bla bla bla and be frontal asking for a detailed review. And the guy being fired pretty much reveals the lobby going on there.

But:
Was the mail real? Or were the two previous warnings and several other reasons to sack the guy really a fact? Only God and the guys inside rockstar and the zoo magazine really know the truth.

 

[cabalistics]

I hardly doubt that the people reading a tit magazine are part of Rockstar's core demographic

Yes they are, probably young, male and easily impressed.

 

[lostzombies.com]

Maybe they got used to paying other companies to write biased review *cough* gamespot *cough* and thought all companies did it?