Respawn Denies Paying Bribes For Positive Titanfall Coverage

[Draken Steel]

I....can't believe people are actually believing this. Ea sucks, yea, but just because they suck doesn't mean that every negative rumor you hear about them is automatically true. IF Titanfall was doing poorly, then sure, its possible they could lean on a few outlets for some positive press. I saw the same rumors pop up for Colonial marines, and there it seemed like it could possibly be true, but here....they have no REASON to bribe people, and every reason not to. They published a good game, people like it, they have NOTHING to gain and everything to lose by putting pressure on reviewers or using bribes. If they had to lean on people to make good reviews, then it would have been suicidal for them to then have a very easy access/open beta with tens of thousands of players and hundreds of streamers. And the reaction from said event wouldn't have been massively positive overall.

 

[Ftaghn To You Too]

It's almost definite that something shady was going on, since it involves EA, Microsoft, and Games Journalism all at once. I doubt Respawn was behind anything itself, but in this day and age the corrupt, rotting mess that is the industry runs on greased palms.

 

[Metalrocks]

seriously? wow, i must have gotten a lot of money for playing the beta version, because i had a blast playing it that i even pre ordered it.
sure there wasnt enough in the beta but still good enough to give you an understanding how the game is and what we can expect. im sure the full version will have far more to offer.
sure, some people complained about the beta as well that they cant start it or cant get the beta key but thats pretty much it from what i saw in the respawn forum. otherwise, i hear a lot of good thing from it.

 

[EndlessSporadic]

FPS is my least favorite genre due to how stale it is and how crummy the multiplayer experience is for me. Even I will admit that I had fun playing the beta. I won't buy the finished product, but I can say I honestly had fun.

 

[mrdude2010]

Let's not kid ourselves: every single major game that has ever been released has had the company releasing it pay money to secure good reviews. Next time you download an app from google play or wherever, look at the reviews. How many of them are 5 star "Great game! Definitely going to buy (insert in game credit)! Can't wait for more!" How do you think CoD: Ghosts escaped with an 8.8 on IGN?

 

[Metalrocks]

Let's not kid ourselves: every single major game that has ever been released has had the company releasing it pay money to secure good reviews. Next time you download an app from google play or wherever, look at the reviews. How many of them are 5 star "Great game! Definitely going to buy (insert in game credit)! Can't wait for more!" How do you think CoD: Ghosts escaped with an 8.8 on IGN?

IGN gets payed off anyway. i never take their reviews seriously because i know that they are mostly false. because they get payed to say good things about any crappy game.
i read mainly opinions from others if they at least cover details which are needed to know what is good and bad about the game. in the end, if i cant make up my mind i just decide if i buy it or not and see for my self. and titanfall is a game i really like and so far havent regret pre ordering it.

 

[Yopaz]

God forbid the people saying nice things, you know, just like it. That'd be crazy!

You don't understand. We have to hate everything now.

No.

Everything.

Hate.

Have to.

Now.

Your comment in combination with your avatar... so hypnotic. I now hate... EVERYTHING!

OT: I really wish I could have made the beta, I would have tried harder to get in on it if I had known there would be bribed involved.

 

[The Lugz]

One of the producers on Titanfall says the idea that Respawn paid out bribes in exchange for positive press coverage is nothing short of insanity.

There's a good reason for that, it's because it's true.

it would be completely impossible to bribe everyone who's played the game, especially since we just had an opt-in open beta ( which I was a part of ) and this is no ordinary shooter, no bribery is required I can assure everyone of that.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

So where's my payout for saying good things about the game? I wouldn't have accepted one though, the game has legs and can stand on its own, no help from me and no need to pay up. Its going to make the XB1 sell, and may change the console war's face for a little while. And if that comes about I call it now that folk are going to put Titanfall down simply because it sold the XB1.

 

[Strazdas]

Folks, its NeoGaf. you expect somone on there to be credible? of course its insanity, thats what goes on there.
Besides, its an Xbox game so console wars will make sure to dig as much dirt as possible.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I have a couple of friends who played the Beta and they loved it, thought it was a great game. I know noone paid them, they aren't even in the game industry, just game fans.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I find it odd how willing people are to believe a theory that requires hundreds of people across dozens of organizations to be complicit in the process when every single one of those people has an excellent reason to expose the bribe attempt. It would literally be in their best interest to expose the attempt, both in terms of direct finance (that story is going to get a lot of hits) and the credibility it would lend to their personal brand down the line - something that means more readers and, of course, more clicks.

The theory as it currently stands basically relies on some combination of the following propositions being true:

1) People who work in the games media are morally bankrupt - even the fresh faced youngsters who just got their foot in the door and would otherwise have to kill to get the kind of exposure revealing a bribe attempt would bring them
2) People who are not morally bankrupt are too stupid to notice a bribe attempt
3) People who work in the games media are short sighted enough to take a small cash payment now rather than guarntee an increase in revenue over time
4) Respawn or EA paid such a tremendous sum of money that all of the above were rendered moot - everyone has a price after all. Good thing they spent millions bribing people for good press when the game is being marketed to a crowd that, by and large, don't read the press.

 

[Tropicaz]

As others have said, it's been in Beta for a while now. If it wasnt as much fun as people were saying it would have become pretty fucking apparent in the last week.

I guess in this day it's impossible to think that people are just genuinely excited about a pretty revolutionary game. This could basically overhaul the shooter market. It's unbelievably good fun.

 

[Tropicaz]

I find it odd how willing people are to believe a theory that requires hundreds of people across dozens of organizations to be complicit in the process when every single one of those people has an excellent reason to expose the bribe attempt. It would literally be in their best interest to expose the attempt, both in terms of direct finance (that story is going to get a lot of hits) and the credibility it would lend to their personal brand down the line - something that means more readers and, of course, more clicks.

The theory as it currently stands basically relies on some combination of the following propositions being true:

1) People who work in the games media are morally bankrupt - even the fresh faced youngsters who just got their foot in the door and would otherwise have to kill to get the kind of exposure revealing a bribe attempt would bring them
2) People who are not morally bankrupt are too stupid to notice a bribe attempt
3) People who work in the games media are short sighted enough to take a small cash payment now rather than guarntee an increase in revenue over time
4) Respawn or EA paid such a tremendous sum of money that all of the above were rendered moot - everyone has a price after all. Good thing they spent millions bribing people for good press when the game is being marketed to a crowd that, by and large, don't read the press.

And as well as all of this, presumably they're bribing the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people playingthe Beta at the moment.

I'm expecting my cheque from them in the post.

 

[Kahani]

I wouldn't be surprised if there were bribes involved somewhere. The game obviously doesn't need it and clearly everyone saying it's good are just giving their honest opinion, I just don't believe EA are physically capable of releasing a decent game without desperately trying to screw themselves over in some hilariously stupid way. If not bribes, I fully expect a video of Larry Probst beating a disabled orphan with a copy of the game to surface soon.

 

[Playful Pony]

Wut? I could get money for saying Titanfall is great? Man, did I miss out...

 

[smithy_2045]

From what I've seen (the Achievement Hunter Let's Play) it's a game that's good enough to sell consoles. It's completely unnecessary to bribe anyone for positive coverage on this game. The only thing that surprises me is that it's not Xbox One exclusive, because if it was I'd seriously consider buying a One for it myself, and I suspect I wouldn't be alone.

 

[Sassafrass]

God forbid the people saying nice things, you know, just like it. That'd be crazy!

You don't understand. We have to hate everything now.

No.

Everything.

Hate.

Have to.

Now.

Your comment in combination with your avatar... so hypnotic. I now hate... EVERYTHING!

OT: I really wish I could have made the beta, I would have tried harder to get in on it if I had known there would be bribed involved.

Nah, they didn't pay me and I was in the Beta for 4 days. Fuckers owe me big time for saying that Titanfall is one of the most enjoyable and fun games I've played recently.