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."

Comments

Fox does it again

[ValuJet]

Just when you thought IGN couldn't get any shittier, fox goes and buys it. Does anyone take their game reviews seriously? Every time I read them the reviews seem like they are purchased from the companies that make the game.

Re:Fox does it again

[CoffeeJedi]

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!

Re:Fox does it again

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

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/technologically obsolete/bugfest has largely ceased to exist, particularly on the consoles, where the console manufacturers enforce a minimum standard.

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.

Re:Fox does it again

[Trepalium]

Given the fact there's typically a three month lead to magazine printing, it's hardly surprising that they were reviewing unfinished games. That also means, for better or worse, they have to make some assumption about the bugs they may or may not run into being fixed before release. How stupid would they look complaining about a bug that didn't exist on the shipping version?

Re:Fox does it again

[xtracto]

Try Metacritic I find it very useful for game revies and scores. And it has also Films, DVDs, Music and Books.

I yearn for the day...

[Anonymous Coward]

When we will all be able to say in unison : "Don't blame me, I voted for Kang!"

omglol this is great!

[Ender Ryan]

Now IGN's game coverage will be Fair and Balanced(TM)!

Hello Gentlemen

[El_Muerte_TDS]

All your sites are belong to us.

a logo is in order

[phoenix42]

Maybe /. need a Rupert Murdoch logo, for every time News Corp. buys some craptacular internet company.

Adventures in Digital BS

[Japong]

Which is kind of an odd conflict of interest, seeing as Fox Interactive has a games division.

As soon as the big media companies start buying out gaming sites, and gaming developers (I'm looking at you, Rockstar) - do you think we're still going to see all this BS reporting on the news about how "dangerous" videogames are hurting America? I somehow think there's going to be a whole lot of back-scratching going on, with games based on Fox's IP licenses getting good reviews, and games produced by Fox getting positive attention in the media. And so the circle of shit is complete.

Oh great.

[vertinox]

Another purchase and another merger... When was the last time you heard of someone selling off or splitting up a company?

At this rate, we'll have one company that does everything by 2020.

FoxMicrosoftWarnerGlaxol Corp Inc.

"Where do we want you to consume today?"

Re:Oh great.

[tdvaughan]

Palm split into PalmOne and PalmSource.

For those not in the know...

[Bnderan]

For those not in the know, sites under the IGN network include IGN.com, GameSpy, GameSpy Arena...

For once, those not in the know are better off for it.

Nintendo

[peel]

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

Re:Nintendo

[nmaster64]

Ok, your being ridiculous, shut up...

Excluding the retarted comparison between Fox and Nintendo, I'm not quite sure either what to make of this move.

Technically, I don't think this should affect anything. You still have the same people working the same jobs. Nothings really changed except that rich jerk stuck himself on the top of the totem pole.

The only thing I see as an issue is the possibility of this guy not approving budgets towards the Nintendo Network plans. He's a rich prick and all he cares about is getting richer, despite how completely uneccesary it is. So, when the GameSpy division writes the budget and he sees it, there's a small chance the following scenario pans out:

"What is this crap!? 1 million dollars towards the Nintendo Wi-Fi project? Why the @#$% are we paying these Japanese pansies?"
"Sir, those are the costs for R&D to develop the GameSpy Arcade software for the DS and Revolution. Nintendo is covering advertisment and dispursement costs. Their budget goes well into the tens of millions. This project is huge."
"Well then let them pay for it themselves!"
"Sir, this collaboration has brought in an entirely new market to GameSpy. Our user base has multiplied three-fold. Also, premium memberships for our PC services are on the rise too. In the long-run, this will be one of our most profitable projects..."
"I don't care about your long-term projections! I want lots of money right now! I only bought this company so I could soak for what it's worth over a couple years and then retire on more money that I will ever have a use for! Now go get me another victim to feed my cannabalistic appetite! Preferably a baby!"

Murdoch: Corporate-leech & baby-eater

...and probably the US president in 2008. :P

(Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't know where that came from, but it was funny. In all fairness, there's just as good a chance that this is good news for the IGN network and it's users, because it brings in more money to the network as a whole. As long as the corporate pricks keep their minds out of the gaming portion, and let the gamers do their jobs, it'll be fine... But even if it does work out for the better, Murdoch will still be a cannibal. :P )

Brought to you by...

[charlesbakerharris]

...the folks who reviewed Master of Orion III - a game that was so poorly done that you could literally start a new game, then do nothing but hit "End Turn" about 500 times, and win the game...

They gave it 9.2 out of 10, including a subscore of 9.4 for "lasting appeal". Nice work, morons.

Re:Well...

[EvilDonut]

More Sources: GamesIndustry.biz/a> and News Corp themselves.

Re:Well...

[jasoncart]

How about...
Bloomberg, ZDnet, Financial Times, BBC, Reuters, USAToday, or Washington Post?

Re:Well...

[Elwaryn]

Or Even... Google News