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PR Firm Settles With FTC On Fake Game Reviews

Posted by Soulskill on from the amazing-summary-A-plus-plus-would-skim-again dept.

eldavojohn writes "So, you pay a PR firm like Reverb to generate some positive buzz for your new mobile game, and what do they do? Hire employees to post fake glowing reviews of your game wherever it's being distributed. The FTC says that's not okay due to regulations enacted last year requiring that paid reviews disclose they are paid reviews. Originally, the fear was that this regulation would target the small-time blogger, but this news of Reverb settling with the FTC over fake game reviews shows that the FTC is also targeting big PR firms. They said, 'We hope that this case will show advertisers that they have to be transparent in their practices and help guide other ad agencies.' The article says fake reviews like those alleged in the complaint (PDF) are pretty much the norm on iTunes. Reverb denies that this settlement is any acknowledgment of wrongdoing; rather, just a timesaver over a costly court battle. Will the FTC continue to make examples of big PR firms? Wait and see."

4 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Not just iTunes and games... by GuidedByVoices · · Score: 4, Interesting

    These fake reviews are common for businesses as well. Take a look at restaurants on Yelp sometime; many "boost" their review status by posting fakes. How is the FTC actually able to deduce which are from a firm and which are legit anyway?

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    idioelectric - Electric per se, or containing electricity in its natural state.
    1. Re:Not just iTunes and games... by dmonney · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yelp was recently sued for extortion for modding down those who didn't pay though. Maybe that's what we are missing. We need to pay Apple!, oh wait that's already done by them making a "featured" secion.

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      --Accept it, I'm a programmer and don't use spellcheck. As long as I spell things wrong consistently my programs work fi
  2. If I were kind of the judicial system by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I would make it illegal to settle a lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing.

    If you're innocent, then it's wrong for the plaintiff to get a dime from you. And if you're liable, then the results of discovery should be available to any other would-be plaintiff.

    Settlements basically set up a shakedown system.

  3. Re:Business as usual by cgenman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I feel like there is a quality scale in gaming, and a tickle-your-fancy factor. Borderlands is a reasonable quality game, but it never quite tickled my fancy. Some reviews were strongly positive (decent quality, very much of interest to the reviewer), while others just went "meh" (decent quality, not of interest to the reviewer). By comparison, I loved that terrible Burger King Pocket Bike Racer game. It wasn't amazing or terrible, but it happened to strike a sweet spot in my personal brain between a love of bikes, a love of kart racers, and a love of really, really short racing games. Similarly, I'm a fan of DeathSmiles. It is of moderate to high quality. But the appeal is on a razor edge of gothic bullet hell players. No matter the quality level, I can't think of a single friend that would enjoy playing the game.

    I find it's most useful to skim the reviews to get a sense for the overall build quality of the game. And if the soul of the game also genuinely appeals, go for it.

    Full disclosure: I work in gaming.

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    The ______ Agenda