On Early Driv3r Reviews, World Exclusives

(54)T-Dub writes "SPOnG has a very interesting article about Atari's latest iteration in the Driver series: Driv3r. Back in May there was a SpOnG messageboard post claiming that Atari was demanding a 9/10 score in exchange for early review code. In the heated race for the early reviews, two UK-based Future Publishing publications, Xbox World and PSM2 ran cover stories for Driv3r, and coincidentally gave the game a 9/10 score. XBox World even dubbed it 'the new GTA' while PSM claimed to have 'the World's first and only review' of the PS2 version. As earlier reported on Slashdot Games, subsequent reviews for the quite buggy Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions of the game have hovered in the 60s. Having shipped 2.5 million copies it's estimated that Atari is gambling over $60 million on this game." While the source is hardly concrete, and claims of 'bribery' are likely overblown, it's interesting to ruminate on how getting an "exclusive review" affects game scoring, a phenomenon not limited to Driv3r.

Comments

Re:Can you handle the truth?

[SkyWalk423]

I'd say you got ripped off.

How the heck is it not bribery?

[Moraelin]

'Cause it sure as heck doesn't look like a honest reviewing process to me.

At the very least it's dishonesty. They're lying to their readers (in the case of their sites) and to their customers (in the case of Atari.)

It also goes contrary to all that a review was supposed to mean. At that point, it's no longer a review, it's a paid _ad_. Just when I thought that the lame-ass ads disguised as reviews (some with ludicrious scores like 110%) of lame ragazines of the past were finally dead and burried, here comes an even lamer variant. One that even in the fine print isn't actually marked as an ad.

Lame. Real real lame.

Personally I'd like to see a list with sites which do this kind of crap, just so I know never to read them again.

Re:How the heck is it not bribery?

[Anonymous Coward]

Speaking as a game developer, reviews have never been honest, in general.

I've seen one of my games canned in favour of another similar game released in the same month,
with the reviewer complaining that we didn't have a bunch of features that we did, in fact, have.
When one of our marketting guys asked the reviewer if he'd even played the game, he said,
"No, I was at the dinner supplied by *other company* since you guys were too cheap to take me out."
That's not the only case I've seen of reviewers expecting to be bribed, one way or another, just
one of the more blatant. I've also seen obvious plagiarism, where one reviewer makes a serious
mistake about the game, and four or five other reviews repeat the same error, then claim that
"sure we played the game for half an hour, just like all the other guys."

I don't believe in reviews any more, certainly not ones that anyone involved gets paid for.

Rewards now, losses later...

[BTWR]

Magazines that cater to these bribes (and yes, such cases are bribes/extortion/blackmail) will rake in $$$ and readers now, with their "exclusive reviews," but will pay for it later when readers learn of such ripoffs.

Magazines like Consumer Reports have bent over backwards to give unbiased reports, and readers feel that they can trust them. Could CR have sold out and given better reviews in return for "donations?" Sure. Would it help their immediate revenue? You bet. Would it still be credible now, 40 years (whatever) after they came around? Not a chance.

Re:Can you handle the truth?

[NanoGator]

"What would you say if I told you I received a blowjob for giving the original Redneck Racing a 10/10?"

How much money did you save that week?

this kind of bs

[WormholeFiend]

This kind of bs doesnt just happen in the game industry, sadly enough.

These marketing tactics are used to promote everything from computer parts to cars to movies...

There are even survey companies who have unscrupulous practices, such as giving clients the survey results they want to get, as opposed to what people are really responding, because clients would otherwise go from one survey company to the next until they got the results they expected.

There are even other less scrupulous "award/review" companies who hold "best business" surveys, then call each business in order to tell them they were "chosen". If this business accepts to pay the fee, they can put the Award logo up in their ads, on their premises, etc. If the top business declines, they just go on to the next one, and so on.

Never believe the hype.

Re:I'm Confused.

[(54)T-Dub]

It means the printed 2.5 million copies of the game and sent them to retailsers, which is a huge financial gamble because they have to pay royalties on all those copies (not to mention printing costs). It's estimated to be in the $20 million range.