Sneakily changing controversial articles - would appreciate some official feedback

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  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 00:49:46 15 posts
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    Transparency in journalism is never a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?

    Interesting "how-to" guide on running emulators and android devices. Currently first thing on the home page.

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-05-turning-your-android-phone-into-a-retro-gaming-powerhouse-article

    Now setting aside the commercial lunacy of a site dependent on gaming companies advertising having their biggest article pretty much giving a how-to guide to accessing pirate content (and whether that content is really pirated or fair use, and if abandonware is justified etc etc), there was an interesting edit on the article.

    The article as originally posted had a section pointing readers towards where the could download game ROMs and suggesting some apps to assist this. This was removed from the article without trace around midday.

    I would be interested in some comment from Eurogamer on why the section was removed, and why the fact that article has been changed isn't highlighted (best practice is generally to flag when an article has been edited or pulled post production. Errr Gerstmanngate anyone?).

    As a key industry voice, I think Eurogamer should be open about their editorial standards. Presumably the article was edited for a reason - was this an acknowledgement that the article was misguided in the first place (at least in its original form), or a response to pressure from advertisers?

    I think your readers would love to know. Transparency in journalism is never a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?

    Ta

    J
  • uiruki 6 Dec 2011 00:53:20 3,661 posts
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    Changing articles without any flags is all very Kotaku, really. It's not a comparison I think anyone really wants to have levelled at them.
  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 00:56:06
    Yes, because I can pop into a shop and buy Capcom's Aladdin.
  • uiruki 6 Dec 2011 00:57:21 3,661 posts
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    CrispyXUK wrote:
    Yes, because I can pop into a shop and buy Capcom's Aladdin.
    The only Aladdin was Dave Perry's Aladdin. Trufax.
  • disusedgenius 6 Dec 2011 00:59:51 5,220 posts
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    You're expecting an answer at 1 in the morning? I doubt whether they're even half way through the coke and hookers by this point.
  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 01:02:04
    I've no idea why he gives a fuck at all or why anyone would want to play a badly emulated game on a crappy phone either.
  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 01:14:44 15 posts
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    "I've no idea why he gives a fuck at all or why anyone would want to play a badly emulated game on a crappy phone either."

    @CrispyXUK -
    Two reasons why I give a f*ck:

    1) As we all know games journalism is wildly screwed. Think Kotaku, Gerstmanngate and the relentless metacritic-score-chasing of gaming PRs. I've always thought Eurogamer was a cut above all this and one of the few quality sites so it concerns me when I see them acting like Gamespot.

    2) I agree trying to play emu games on a touchscreen is the height of lunacy, but piracy as a whole isn't. As I just scrawled on the comments for the original article:

    "You wanna know why PC gaming has shrivelled? Why no games being developed remotely exploit cutting edge graphics hardware any more? Why a five your old game (Crysis) still has the best graphics current available? Why your local game store has one shelf of tatty PC games (if that) and fifteen shelves of shiny console exclusives? Why PCZone and a bunch of other great magazines have gone the way of the dodo?

    This isn't just some enthusiasts pissing about trying to run Castlevania. An entire part of the industry has been wiped out over the last five years right in front of our eyes. For guys who grew up with Wing Commander or Flight Simulator or Ultima or Kings Quest or any number of great PC franchises its heart breaking, and it should be heart breaking for anyone who cares about gaming."

    Of course you may not care about any of this, but if so I wonder why you're on this forum at 1am in the morning.

    J

    PS and of course I don't expect a response tout de suite. But I'm up at this time so I may as well put the req in...
  • Articulate-Troll 6 Dec 2011 01:28:33 3,104 posts
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    jontseng wrote:

    "You wanna know why PC gaming has shrivelled? Why no games being developed remotely exploit cutting edge graphics hardware any more? Why a five your old game (Crysis) still has the best graphics current available? Why your local game store has one shelf of tatty PC games (if that) and fifteen shelves of shiny console exclusives? Why PCZone and a bunch of other great magazines have gone the way of the dodo?
    Global warming?
  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 01:32:24
    1) Kotaku isn't games journalism, it's a blog

    2) Emulation is preservation foremost, PC gaming hasn't shivelled, show me evidence. Emulation is popular because gaming used to be much more varied.
  • neilka 6 Dec 2011 01:36:14 15,665 posts
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    FRAUD ACTIONS
  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 01:51:56 15 posts
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    "2) Emulation is preservation foremost, PC gaming hasn't shivelled, show me evidence."

    @CrispyXUK -
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2005: EUR135m (25% of total)
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2007: EUR109m (16% of total)
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2009: EUR95m (9% of total)
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2011: EUR42m (4% of total)

    Let me know if you have trouble interpreting these numbers...
  • Psychotext 6 Dec 2011 01:55:10 53,846 posts
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    Ubisoft gave up on PC gaming years ago didn't they? What're EA and Activision's figures like?
  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 01:56:12 77,475 posts
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    Ubisoft make shit ports, reduced their PC output, include invasive DRM and are generally offensive towards PC gamers - that's why their market has dried up, no other reason.

    Edited by Dirtbox at 01:57:21 06-12-2011

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  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 01:57:36
    jontseng wrote:
    "2) Emulation is preservation foremost, PC gaming hasn't shivelled, show me evidence."

    @CrispyXUK -
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2005: EUR135m (25% of total)
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2007: EUR109m (16% of total)
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2009: EUR95m (9% of total)
    Ubisoft PC game sales 2011: EUR42m (4% of total)

    Let me know if you have trouble interpreting these numbers...
    Infrogrames aren't the only company that make games you know.
  • uiruki 6 Dec 2011 01:59:27 3,661 posts
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    One publisher who has been actively alienating their PC userbase is a poor example. PC gaming is richer and more varied than it has been for years - just start up Steam. If there wasn't money to be made, then why are so many people heading to PC to publish? Games like Frozen Synapse, which would have sunk without trace on PC but a few years ago and would have been complete non-starters thanks to console manufacturers' licensing agreements, are selling in the six figures.
  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 01:59:48 77,475 posts
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    EA sings a different tune http://www.computerandvideogames.com/292677/ea-pc-extremely-healthy-may-become-our-biggest-platform/

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  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 02:03:21 77,475 posts
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    Anyway, if EG want to remove some potentially copyright infringing links from an article then so be it. Apending a "btw, we removed links to romworld.com and thepirategay.org" is pointless.

    Edited by Dirtbox at 02:04:20 06-12-2011

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  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 02:04:25
    Too many twits looking at metacunt and retail sales like the shitty outdated dinosaurs that they are. No one gives a fuck about your shitty mega companies anymore, you'll never understand, you'll probably always think it's a competition, and you'll most likely die a fat, sweaty, virgin with terrible socks.
  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 02:11:29 77,475 posts
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    He's gone. Apparently his outrage has rendered him incapable of countering rational arguments. And Crispy's frankly bizarre outburst about socks.

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  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 02:15:25
    Socks are less tedious then these utter fuck wits, play games, have fun. No need to be a cunt about it.

    /lost
  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 02:19:35 77,475 posts
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    Also Crysis was long since surpassed several times (Witcher 2 and Metro being obvious examples), what rock has this muppet been living under. I'm thinking he just wants attention for his posts because no one pays any attention to them in the comments.

    Edited by Dirtbox at 02:21:06 06-12-2011

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  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 02:21:47
    They've applied the plastic wrap on top of the last one? Good one them, we just need the Unreal engine to make characters even wider now.
  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 02:23:58 77,475 posts
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    Unreal engine: Extreme neck gen gaming

    :D

    ed: Oh well, it worked in my head.

    Edited by Dirtbox at 02:24:42 06-12-2011

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  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 02:27:01
    /render-clouds
    /render-wrists

    Even batman plays like Unreal and looks just as shit.
  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 02:51:42 15 posts
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    My my children, I'm stung by your devastating wit. Truly stung. I shall go away and cry into my socks as you have vanquished me with your verbal dexterity.

    But unless you have more intelligent contributions to make than gibbering name-calling, please hear me out.

    It was interesting you mentioned Witcher 2, as that's the one title released this year which does stretch PC hardware. Now I love CD-Projekt not only for W1 and 2, but for GOG and the stance they've taken on senseless DRM, but even they highlight that piracy has, quite simply, been a massive issue for them. http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/29/interview-cd-projekts-ceo-on-witcher-2-piracy-why-drms-still-not-worth-it/

    Now if you really think developers are still pushing the boundaries of technology answer me this simple question. Why do this year's marquee releases (well, those that still made it onto PC) such as MW3, Skyrim and Arkham City still run fine on GTX8800 spec hardware? Are you seriously telling me people are pushing the envelope when the biggest releases of the year run on five year hardware?

    The reason is well understood. Devs code for a PS3/XBOX360 hardware baseline because that is where the money is. PC is no longer a primary development platform. EA doesn't even bother to put some of its (lucrative) EA Sports franchises (NHL a notable example) onto PC anymore. That is a complete turnaround from five years ago when games like Crysis were pushing the envelope. Its notable that Crysis 2 was a less hardware intensive game than its five year old predecessor. In the old days I'd buy a new video card for a new title - now I may as well downgrade my video card!

    That's a crying shame. Historically great PC-only franchises like Wing Commander, Ultima and later Crysis really pushed the limits of the hardware. This meant more innovation and better games. Contrast that to today where you have by-the-rails shooters (Modern Warfare I'm looking at you) with zero innovation and five year old graphics. Frankly there's no point getting a GTX 580 or even a 480 nowadays (pace, perhaps Witcher 2) because unless you're gaming across three screens that horsepower is never going to be used.

    Now there is a side argument that the indy scene on PC still has a fertile vein of innovation (although minimal commercial impact thus far). But the bottom line is that PC Gaming has become an utter sideshow. At best you can saw Warcraft and The Sims have kept it from complete irrelevance, but lets be frank all the major games releases are aimed at XBOX and PS3. Now I don't dispute there's some great games out for these platforms, but if we had an active vibrant market for A-list PC titles driving the cutting edge (as we did 1995-2005) gaming would be a lot better.

    And returning to my original point, I think piracy has been a big part of this. For a period the fact that games were CD/DVD fat and broadband pipes were restricted held things back, but now a 4GB download is no big deal this natural bottleneck has lifted away. Bottom line, piracy kills PC sales, publishers flee back to the (relative) safety of console gaming, A-list titles code for 5 year old hardware and innovation (at least technical innovation) dies.

    J
  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 02:58:42 15 posts
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    Just to deal with the subsidiary argument, you cite games like Frozen Synapse as examples that PC games are vibrant and doing well.

    Total sales of Frozen Synapse so far? $300k http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/38920/The_Business_Of_Selling_Frozen_Synapse.php

    Total launch day sales of MW3? $400m (ok maybe a couple of percent of them may have been the PC version, but you get the point).

    So the fact that day one sales of the top console franchise outsell YTD sales of your champion PC game by a factor of 1000 underlines my point. If this is the best the PC can do it is withering.

    Now I admit there is a helluva lot of innovation in the indy scene. And I hope we do have more games like Minecraft that really break through. But that fact that the standard bearers for PC gaming are, in effect, a bedroom industry again reinforces my point. The PC gaming industry is a shadow of its previous self.

    I'd be interested in hearing your perspectives on this. CrispyXUK and Dirtbox, for all your childish insults your post totals and posting history (and least for Dirtbox) implies you've been around for some time. I'm sure underneath it you have interesting perspectives to add to the debate.

    Edited by jontseng at 03:01:23 06-12-2011
  • Deleted user 6 December 2011 02:59:42
    Boring. Indie gaming has always been a staple of pc gaming, a 25 year history proves this.

    I'm not sure what youre trying to say or prove.
  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 03:02:12 15 posts
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    @CrispyXUK -
    Thank you, at least you are being a little more civil now.

    I'd love to hear your perspectives on other parts of my argument.

    The point is I'm aware that a lot of my argument that PC gaming has withered focuses on tech specs, and that better graphics do not necessary make the better game. But I think the period when the PC was the standard bearer for the gaming industry saw the envelope being pushed both in technical and gameplay terms.

    Perhaps the Indy scene implies the envelope is still being pushed in gameplay terms despite my misgivings. That was my point.

    And I don't think the Indy scene has been as active certainly that long. When I look at some of the "indy" stuff I was pulling off BBSs in the early 90s a lot of it was frankly of pretty ropey standards. Improvements in coding tools and middleware today make it much easier for the bedroom programmer to build something usable quickly.

    Edited by jontseng at 03:05:33 06-12-2011
  • Dirtbox 6 Dec 2011 03:02:20 77,475 posts
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    The problem you're highlighting is the unsustainable market that all the large publishers have created with more recent games. Due to huge dev and marketing budgets, they're far less inclined to take risks, and so you get sequel after sequel of tried and true best selling IPs. It's the same for all platforms, not just the PC.

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  • jontseng 6 Dec 2011 03:07:29 15 posts
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    @Dirtbox -
    That may be true, but my point is that publishers have decided that when they do have a huge dev and marketing budget to spend, they are spending it on the XBox and PS3 as the lead platform, and the PC becomes an afterthought.

    My argument is that rampant piracy on the PC is one of the major reasons they have taken this decision.
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