Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Gamespot's April 1 Rumor Control

Posted by Zonk on from the hole-in-the-windbag dept.

In case any of you were wondering what was and wasn't true yesterday, Gamespot has a rundown on some of the stories that made the rounds on 2005's April 1st. From the article: "One of the day's more devious pranks--also spread by the now obviously complicit Slashdot--plays on the fears of many gamers. In particular, it outlines the nightmare scenario of those who shelled out $99.99 for the Final Fantasy XI/PS2 hard drive bundle. Namely, if its subscriber base dwindles, Sony might discontinue support for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game." Heh.

10 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. FFXI....it would have been sorely missed... by ToddBox · · Score: 2

    Oh yeah...April Fools. I played FFXI for about a month and realized I didn't even enjoy the damn game. I'm sure there are people out there who do enjoy it...but if they were to pull support of the PS2 you wouldn't hear many of our tears hit the floor.

    1. Re:FFXI....it would have been sorely missed... by nomadic · · Score: 3, Funny

      Kids today have no work ethic. I can't imagine not playing a game simply because you don't find it fun.

  2. Honestly by FidelCatsro · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If anyone still fell for these after reading the articles..
    There was one really good April fools joke on slashdot yesterday , which would have been grand it been only one. The problem is that it was nuzzled in between some of the daft ones and thus made it so easy to pick out .
    "fool me once shame on me , Fool me twice shame on you , Fool me 7 or more times..."
    Seriously some the carefull planing that used to go into these jokes needs to be reintroduced, It seems hoaxing is a dead art .Seriously when that FFXI joke is considerd one of the more devious then i think they should take a look back for inspiration to thinks on the http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/
    Now some of those were masterfull

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    1. Re:Honestly by Geoffreyerffoeg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "fool me once shame on me , Fool me twice shame on you

      Uh...the phrase is "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." You're not supposed to get fooled twice, but how can you be blamed for being fooled the first time?

      Nevertheless, "fool me 7 or more times, drive away your readership" seems pretty accurate.

    2. Re:Honestly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      kongisking.net carried a great April Fool's produced by Peter Jackson himself.

      Kongisking.net is the fansite covering the production of the upcoming King Kong, and they get sent a production diary (a short movie clip from Peter Jackson) each day on what's happening on the set.

      For April 1st, Peter Jackson announced the sequel starring King Kong's son was out of the bag. He had mock sets, mock computer shots, interviews with Jack Black and Naomi Watts and a Universal spokesperson... a lot of thought went into it :)

      If you want to hear about the son of King Kong battling Nazis in World War 2, head on over to the site - it still has the production diary clip :)

    3. Re:Honestly by geminidomino · · Score: 2, Interesting

      People these days break the rules, though.

      When you get busted that it's a joke, you can't insist its not. That's when you go from being a "Clever Prankster" to being a "Jerk"

      Yeah, Alan, I'm talking to you. ;) And don't think I didn't figure out AthlonRob was in on it too. That was actually the giveaway. He laid it on WAY to thick.

  3. When will it end? by CDLewis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Next year I'll have to remember not only to avoid Slashdot on April 1 to miss the "funny" stories, but also on the 2nd to miss the Zonk-pats-self-on-back stories on getting Slashdot mentioned in Gamespot because of said "funny" stories. I'd actully enjoy a "Teen kills baby with shank fashioned from Grand Theft Auto disc, parents sue Rockstar" article right now.

  4. April 1st Rules!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah!!!! OMG, Yesterday was so cool!!! How come they don't run awesome posts like those everyday. I wish April 1st was all year round. Now I am sad I have to wait 364 days until we get all those extra funny blessings from our super friends at Slashdot again. Thank you Zonk for this retrospective post about the great day yesterday. Almost brought a tear to my eye.

  5. I hate April Fools Day by Phlod · · Score: 5

    0nce upon a time, you had to be creative, or at least devious to come up with, and execute an April Fools prank. Since the internet, all you have to do is post made up crap on your web site. I guess someone, somewhere still finds this funny. I'm getting sick of wasting my time one day a year reading BS stories that don't even sound believable anymore.

    Just stop already.
    --Phlod

  6. I saw a total of two good April Fools jokes ... by tdelaney · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1. Alston to take top Telstra job
    http://whirlpool.net.au/article.cfm/1462

    Near gave me a heart attack, but the last paragraph gave it away even before I clicked the "Media Release". Absolutely believable that Alston (ex telecomunications minister) would have so little integrity.

    2. "Son of Kong" - King Kong production diary day 123.
    http://www.kongisking.net/index.shtml

    This was one that took some real planning and work.

    Damn PJ has lost some weight ...