Slashdot Mirror
IGN Purchased By News Corp.
The Inquirer has the news that, it's official, IGN has been purchased by News Corporation. From the article: "For those not in the know, sites under the IGN network include IGN.com, GameSpy, GameSpy Arena, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, 3D Gamers, Direct2Drive, GameStats.com and a handful of sites under the Vault and Planet networks. IGN and its network will all become part of News Corporation's Fox Interactive Media unit, according to a News Corporation press release. This move is part of News Corp.'s plans to increase its presence online and follows the acquisition of Intermix - which ran MySpace.com - and a college sports outlet Scout Media."
well, it will be the same honest editorial quality, but now with tie-ins to this week's episode of 24! Synergy!
i could see the following happening:
Fox creates shoddy CGI animated feature that emphasises celebrity voices (from Fox shows) and crappy pop-culture references over story.
Fox commissions video game based on new feature.
Gamespy gives video game glowing review.
Gamespy interviews celebrity voices for site, asking about voiceover work for game, making sure to quote celebrity saying that they're a "big video game fan".
Fox runs cross-media marketing campaign for movie with a scratch-n-win game at Burger King.
Gamespy is plastered with Burger King ads tying into the scratch-n-win promotion.
Following link from Gamespy takes you to flash-based minigame on BK website, urging you to buy the burger, see the movie, and play the PS2 game.
Profit!
May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
I wonder if/how this will affect Nintendos use of the Gamespy network for the DS. I'm sure they probably won't be too happy about having to get into bed with Fox. Who knows though.
-peel
I actually don't quite "get" the bashing of IGN reviews. Sure, their scores tend to be a little high, but they follow a consistent scale. The text of the reviews is, for the most part, detailed and informative and highlights any significant flaws even in high-scoring games. I remember when Doom 3 came out, IGN's review was a little late in appearing, but ended up giving a much more balanced review than the 10/10 and 0/10 reviews that everywhere else had thrown out within 24 hours of release.
y obsolete/bugfest has largely ceased to exist, particularly on the consoles, where the console manufacturers enforce a minimum standard.
I'm not sure that the generally high scores thing is an indication of corruption, either. I think it's more a reflection of a problem that much of the games-reviewing media has had to put up with. Games have just gotten better across the board over the last decade. Don't go picking any emotional fights with me over how (random 10 year old game) is the best game ever and nobody who plays anything that came out since has any taste. The "bad" game - the unplayable/5 minute long/frustrating-as-hell/illogical/technologicall
Besides - do a search of IGN's reviews for all games scoring less than 4/10 - you'll find quite a few big-name licenses in there. Sure, IGN aren't perfect, but I still prefer them to most of the dead-tree gaming press.