I thought this was a great article and exposes a real problem in the gaming media, that is not being able to freely express an opinion on a new release.
I understand why a game company, who have invested potentially millions of dollars in developing a game, may get annoyed at a poor review but for them to then threaten legal action or pull sponsorship etc from the media outlet that has given the subpar review is a disturbing sign of the times and in a way is undermining a basic freedom of western society. That freedom is to be able to express a viewpoint, as long as its not defamatory or false. The major media corporations and their journalists now self censor their content for fear of upseting their sponsors. This means the average person who may not have the time nor possibly the level of education has to rely on the integrity and honesty of the media to be reliably informed. Yet this is being compromised because of commercial interests. This then begs the question: which is more important - the commercial interests of the game company or the integrity of the media outlet or journalist/reviewer who is providing an opinion that should be free from influence?
I suspect that journalistic integrity and the freedom of the press will be steadily eroded by the commercial imperative thus we will see fewer honest and impartial reviews of games [and other things/new ietsm etc] which in turn invokes the spectre of Orwells nightmare world of 1984 where everything is santitised and controled and the truth is irrelevant.
I understand why a game company, who have invested potentially millions of dollars in developing a game, may get annoyed at a poor review but for them to then threaten legal action or pull sponsorship etc from the media outlet that has given the subpar review is a disturbing sign of the times and in a way is undermining a basic freedom of western society. That freedom is to be able to express a viewpoint, as long as its not defamatory or false. The major media corporations and their journalists now self censor their content for fear of upseting their sponsors. This means the average person who may not have the time nor possibly the level of education has to rely on the integrity and honesty of the media to be reliably informed. Yet this is being compromised because of commercial interests. This then begs the question: which is more important - the commercial interests of the game company or the integrity of the media outlet or journalist/reviewer who is providing an opinion that should be free from influence?
I suspect that journalistic integrity and the freedom of the press will be steadily eroded by the commercial imperative thus we will see fewer honest and impartial reviews of games [and other things/new ietsm etc] which in turn invokes the spectre of Orwells nightmare world of 1984 where everything is santitised and controled and the truth is irrelevant.