Gamespot: "We are longtime partners with Sony"

[Red Cloak]

-- In addition, GameSpot continued to extend content relationships during the quarter, adding Walmart, MTV and Target as licensing partners. These build on GameSpot's existing partnerships with Yahoo! Games, AOL Games, and EBGames.com, and Sony Playstation, among others.
I always heard the rumors that they were in bed with each other (http://pressreleases.cnetnetworks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=67325&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=734491&highlight=), now it looks like CNET has come out and admitted it.

EDIT: One thing to note, there are rarely ever ANY Sony ads on Gamespot, they are few and far between, but there is always tons of coverage. During the recent PSP US launch the site was wall to wall coverage for weeks. Something to chew on....

[Klade]

I hate CNET. I was pretty ticked when they took over download.com, mostly cause I assumed that quality of the site would decline. And I was right as well. Go there now and type something like adaware in the search engine and you get nothing showing up even though they do indeed host the file. Plus their editor choice reviews tend to differ far too much from user reviews and this makes me suspicious.

[divinechaos]

is that y Gamespot seems to be rating PS2 games better than XBOX and GC? I really cant see how GTA:SA got a higher rating for PS2 than for XBOX, i mean, the thing has better graphix AND custom soundtracks...

[Blue]

is that y Gamespot seems to be rating PS2 games better than XBOX and GC? I really cant see how GTA:SA got a higher rating for PS2 than for XBOX, i mean, the thing has better graphix AND custom soundtracks...

And one of the crappiest control schemes ever.

[Reanimated]

Xbox Summit - no coverage. Last major site on the net to get ANYTHING up.

Sony conference - wall to wall live.

Squeenix conference - wall to wall live.



You make the call.

[divinechaos]

And one of the crappiest control schemes ever.

thats more of a personal problem than it is a real problem.

[Blue]

thats more of a personal problem than it is a real problem.

No, when you can't figure out how to handle a FPS on a console, that's a personal problem. When the layout just flat out sucks and isn't a good adaptation for the game itself, that's a real problem.

[divinechaos]

No, when you can't figure out how to handle a FPS on a console, that's a personal problem. When the layout just flat out sucks and isn't a good adaptation for the game itself, that's a real problem.

meh...whatever tickles ur funny bone, i guess. I have no problem with it.

[Savok]

GTA needs the two shoulder buttons a side only the PS2 has. Solution is plug a PS2 pad in, you can remap the buttons yeah?

[Genital Eclipse]

On a side note, i've only had 2 beers so far tonight and oddly enough roberto keeps saying gracias despite his constant will to drive into my walls.

[amusedtoe]

Doesn't that ever so slightly go against ethical, fair and unbiased journalism which they're supposed to represent? :p

[H.Bogard]

thats more of a personal problem than it is a real problem.


i agree

they gave the pc version the lowest score of all because they claimed the controls were horrible , i dont see where the problem is in the pc version here ...plays like just any other third person game...plus i never encountered any sound bugs nor have i ever heard of them..

Gamespot reviews just suck ass...Brothers In Arms is the biggest proof

[Furious Wang]

I hate CNET. I was pretty ticked when they took over download.com, mostly cause I assumed that quality of the site would decline. And I was right as well. Go there now and type something like adaware in the search engine and you get nothing showing up even though they do indeed host the file. Plus their editor choice reviews tend to differ far too much from user reviews and this makes me suspicious.

CNet has ran download.com for as long as I can remember. When exactly did they take over?

And I did your adaware search and got the program in the results:
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?qt=adaware&tg=dl-20&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=+Go%21

maybe you're thinking of something else. I've always had good experiances with the site. Are there any alternatives to it that are better quality?

[happycat]

No surprise, when the PSP came out they just wouldn't shut up about it, they even flew themselves to Japan to get it, gee I wonder who funded that trip.

[Draft]

I think you guys are maybe reading too much into this.

[kizke]

I think you guys are maybe reading too much into this.

They're an easily excited bunch, aren't they?

[TrackZero]

Heh, well it's good to see something verified of what I've always suspected (because, when you are looking for it, you can easily see where Gamespot always leans bias, regardless of who the competition is, towards Sony).

Reminds me of when the DS came out and they gave it hardly any coverage whatsoever. I remember waiting 1-2 weeks after every DS game came out (which were already few and far between at the start) before they'd bother to review them. Yet the moment the PSP was out, you couldn't go to a page on their site without another link to "check out the PSP hardware!" or "Lumines, the new crack?". I can understand how you'd be excited about one piece of hardware over the other, but as a major newsite, they should be better at trying to be impartial on their coverage.

Anyways, I'm sure someone's going to argue with me over this, so have at it. But you're only kidding youself, Gamespot's always favoured Sony in all things.
Oh, and leave the whole "Sony controls more of the market" argument out, because that wouldn't fly with the PSP, yet it was the same problem as with the PS2 coverage.

Edit: I should note that over time, Gamespot has turned around more on their DS coverage and I find it more balanced. The only point I'm trying to make is I have seen noticable bias in the past, and this article helps explain it.

[Red Cloak]

That Lumines review(among dozens of other things) was a dead giveaway. They never review games ahead of their release dte, yet they felt the need to give it a 9.0 two weeks before the PSP came out in the US. And from that point foward they pimped the PSP like no other.

I've seen both Gamespot AND Gamefaqs refer to the PSP as 'Sonys sleek new portable', same exact wording. Both are owned by Cnet, something tells me Sony hand fed them that line.

[Frogleg Special]

i agree

they gave the pc version the lowest score of all because they claimed the controls were horrible , i dont see where the problem is in the pc version here ...plays like just any other third person game...plus i never encountered any sound bugs nor have i ever heard of them..


That's pure BS. PC is the only platform that you can use both k/m and gamepad (dual action or d-pad take you're pick) so the control problem should not be an issue.

[PotatoNinja]

Pfft, silly Sony. At Gamespot, you get paid corporate cash to be biased towards one specific system, but here at Evil Avatar, we're willing to do it for free.

[Red Cloak]

EvilAvatar is sleek and portable on my wireless laptop :)

[IndependentGMR]

Doesn't that ever so slightly go against ethical, fair and unbiased journalism which they're supposed to represent? :p

Haha! Do any of the mainstream videogame journalism outlets really present information fairly, or without bias? In my opinion, videogame journalism is a fucking joke.

[amusedtoe]

They're an easily excited bunch, aren't they?

If it's just ads on the site that's one thing, but if they're being paid to cover one set of products more thoroughly and speak more favorably of them that's going right in the face of any journalistic integrity. Then if they're turning around and slighting competing products for the same reason there's not a word they say that should be taken with a shred of credibility. Now granted that's a pretty big accusation to throw around and one that's even harder to prove. It reminds me of how IGN has become kind of questionable because they not only license their technology for use in games, but had started being a conduit to in-game advertising. You won't know if that game's an 8.7 because it's really a good game, or if it's acctually a 7 that they want to sell better to further their revenue.

There's a lot of reasons the gaming press is still enthusiast, but when the public sees something that makes them seem amature it reflects badly on everyone in the industry press. You wouldn't have seen CNN running a glut of Martha Stewart coverage that made her look like a glowing saint during her trial because her company had taken out three weeks worth of ads at double price. It's a known practice that publishers do try to buy scores and positive attention, but the industry needs to live up to the standards of the most reputable news orginizations.

And to dig me a little fire ditch I'm not saying every outlet is like that, or everyone's crooked. Simply that the bad eggs don't help anyone and it shouldn't be forgiven or overlooked.

[IndependentGMR]

Amen, brother.

[Red Cloak]

What's CNET's #1 must have product on the market? Take a wild guess.... ;)

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8900_7-1008327-1.html?tag=cnetfd.ld

[doubtingthomas]

Haha! Do any of the mainstream videogame journalism outlets really present information fairly, or without bias? In my opinion, videogame journalism is a fucking joke.

Why should journalism about consumer products be fair and without bias? They aren't exactly reporting about concerns that are important to a community, whether that community is a global one or the size of your household. It's not about poverty, health care, the environment, civil liberties (at least REALLY important ones), or any one of a thousand significantly more important issues that affect the 6 billion people on the planet. It's "journalism" about shit people buy to entertain themselves. And I'm certainly not going to bemoan the lack of integrity concerning it.

[kwillhan]

What's CNET's #1 must have product on the market? Take a wild guess.... ;)

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8900_7-1008327-1.html?tag=cnetfd.ld


that's friggin hilarious.


"The Sony PlayStation Portable is the gadget of 2005. If you haven't gotten one already, you must not have seen one in action. The screen alone will make you salivate. So much more than a portable gaming console, it also plays music and movies. Not only does it look hot, it also has outstanding sound and graphics, a built-in Memory Stick Duo slot, and Wi-Fi. And if you already have one, read our PSP megafeature to unleash your PSP's full potential. "

I wonder if sony even sent them a psp, or just what text to put on their site.

I like the last bit "And if you already have one, read our PSP megafeature to unleash your PSP's full potential. "

I can't find the DS megafeature...


kel

[kwillhan]

I just checked, in order, Madden, bloodrayne, espn nhl 2k5, burnout, speed kings, grand theft auto, mace griffin, and mortal kombat.

Never once was a PS2 game rated lower than it's xbox rival, and on every single occasion the PS2 game was the "Top Game Match."

Hmm.

Especially Mace Griffin? How is the PS2 version the main?

kel

[bobbler]

Is there any other "gagdet" you'd have chosen, seriously?

What other portable device (from 2005) is that feature rich (especially now with new firmware)?

It seems to me some of you guys are going a bit far with this. It isn't as if any of you (I would hope not anyways) would go to gamespot for anything but videos/pictures or 'news' -- I've never seen a review site that wasn't dubious at best. We also don't know who else is in the list if companies they work with and what constitutes their relationship.

Some of you guys can't seem to think with a clear head at times. "Fuck thinking, the bandwagon is here!"

Now, don't get me wrong -- this entire situation is rather bad, but some of you are acting as if every thing they say or do was a concoction of turpitude and a briefcase of money.

[Adewade]

To me it just sounds like Gamespot is given better access to the PSP/otherSonystuff by Sony, than they are (comparatively) for the competition. So they can write better and longer features.

Hence the 'partners'. But I may be looking at this too optimistically.

[H.Bogard]

That's pure BS. PC is the only platform that you can use both k/m and gamepad (dual action or d-pad take you're pick) so the control problem should not be an issue.


Errr....either i could be wrong....or you might have misunderstood my post...i said that GAMESPOT said that the controls were crappy...i think otherwise :rolleyes:

[kwillhan]

Is there any other "gagdet" you'd have chosen, seriously?

What other portable device (from 2005) is that feature rich (especially now with new firmware)?

It seems to me some of you guys are going a bit far with this. It isn't as if any of you (I would hope not anyways) would go to gamespot for anything but videos/pictures or 'news' -- I've never seen a review site that wasn't dubious at best. We also don't know who else is in the list if companies they work with and what constitutes their relationship.

Some of you guys can't seem to think with a clear head at times. "Fuck thinking, the bandwagon is here!"

Now, don't get me wrong -- this entire situation is rather bad, but some of you are acting as if every thing they say or do was a concoction of turpitude and a briefcase of money.


Must have gadgets?

Well there’s the Ipod, which apparently the Cowon iAudio x5 has surpassed in the must have department.... People always come into the store asking for that... Wait... Yah, I don’t know what it is either. The blurb seems to imply that Apple should worry about this Cowon über product.

There’s the FM transmitters for all mp3 players that I sell a lot of.

There’s the Nintendo DS, which has outsold the PSP.

There’s the GBA which is still outselling the PSP

And sure, the GBA is old, so it shouldn’t be on that kind of list right?

But so are Palm Treos, still on the list. And Canon Digital Rebels. My mother in law got one used like 3 years ago…

The entire list is just items that companies paid to get on. A fucking universal remote? There’s a god damned universal remote on that list. A logitech universal remote. One of Two Logitech items.

Not one person has ever asked me for anything on that list.

Flush it.

kel

[KDups]

Ok guys, you're going way overboard with this. If you'll notice most of their multiplatform reviews say "Best" next to the Xbox versions. And the PSP is a cool portable, definitely something to be excited about. Every outlet under the sun got caught up in the launch hype, it's just the way Sony does it. Stop saying Sony fed them this line and that, you just sound ridiculous.

[Fonz]

So what is Evilavatar going to become anti gamespot now? I mean its already as Pro *** as possible with every PS3 rumour being reported as fact and every Xbox Rumour heading with (STUPID RUMOUR) tagged on to it. I think im done with EA for a few months its getting to be redicolous.

[TrainwreckX]

Screw you Sony, 1up.com, Ziff Davis, Cnet, Sony fanboys, Electronic Arts, Sony PSP, Rockstar (before SA), Sony Walkman, Neil Diamond, Sony Playstation, and Ken Kutaragi.

[Borys]

So what is Evilavatar going to become anti gamespot now? I mean its already as Pro *** as possible with every PS3 rumour being reported as fact and every Xbox Rumour heading with (STUPID RUMOUR) tagged on to it. I think im done with EA for a few months its getting to be redicolous.

Yeah but the MS love here is as official as you can get. You know this site is pro Xbox and noone here denies it.

Gamespot on the other hand hides it. Respect -100. Guess everyone was right shouting "Sony bias!" and only I was blind.

Gamespot, IGN are all money whores - where should I read non-biased reviews now?

[Red Cloak]

Yeah but the MS love here is as official as you can get. You know this site is pro Xbox and noone here denies it.

Gamespot on the other hand hides it. Respect -100. Guess everyone was right shouting "Sony bias!" and only I was blind.

Gamespot, IGN are all money whores - where should I read non-biased reviews now?

Gaming forums are my cup of tea. At least ones that have unbiased moderation or none at all.

EA is as close to a gaming forum news site as you can get, and that's why I've been a longtime fan.

[Frogleg Special]

Errr....either i could be wrong....or you might have misunderstood my post...i said that GAMESPOT said that the controls were crappy...i think otherwise :rolleyes:

Yeah, gratuitous BS is directed to Gamespot, not you H.Bogard. :)

[Savok]

they gave the pc version the lowest score of all because they claimed the controls were horrible , i dont see where the problem is in the pc version here ...plays like just any other third person game...plus i never encountered any sound bugs nor have i ever heard of them..

Bullshit. Flight Simulator controls suck now I suppose... oh what's that? You use a joystick and it's great? Well hey, why not plug in a controller for GTA then? You'd think "professionals" would think of such things.

[splatstick]

thats more of a personal problem than it is a real problem.

HERPES is a personal problem. Bad control schemes are just a pain in the ass.

[AspectVoid]

Yeash, you people are making a bunch of noise out of nothing. This is just more BS anti-sony crap that means nothing. Do you people ever read a newspaper? Did you know that most newspapers are owned by extreme left or extreme right people who dictate how the news is presented? How about magazines? Did you know that most gaming mags are owned by the same parent company? What about, gee, internet sites? A lot of companies own two or three different sites, and you never hear of the parent company.

Guess what, this sort of thing has been around in human culture for decades at least. The fact that you're all bitching about it now because its Sony is really pathetic.

[civx]

Guys I heard that Sony takes place 20 years before Gamespot is this true.

[Savok]

Void, that's why people should always keep looking and making noise about it.

[Chagrinful]

Void, that's why people should always keep looking and making noise about it.

Agreed, stop being a sheep and taking it up the ass happily, we'll never see any change in our time but maybe someday in the extremely distant future(its a dream anyway).

[fitbabits]

Oh well, I was looking for an excuse to manage my bookmarks - cheerio to GameSpot and 1Up. Now that felt good!

[Commissar Rob]

Fortunately for Gamespot, it seems that there's a "fanboi"-esqe sense of loyalty among gaming sites. Whatever the impact of this sort of news should be, in a journalistic perfect world, will be spun nicely by the members of their forums. I'd guess the actual editors will angrily refuse to lower themselves to responding to such baseless accusations and on they'll go.

Seems like every now and then I've stumbled across someone bemoaning the lack of a critical press for games such as exists for movies, books, etc. But c'mon folks, there's someone out there even now "reviewing" movies like Aliens vs. Predator and calling them 9/10. Gamespot's alleged bias towards Sony really isn't all that different.

Maybe a little disappointing...but not all that different.

[NACIONAL]

From the Top 10 Must haves according to Cnet.

The PlayStation 3 will boast some jaw-dropping graphics and use Blu-ray discs to enable high-def games and movies.

The XBox 360 is built for multimedia mayhem and will feature an upgraded version of Xbox Live for online gaming and entertainment

I think that this is bias...

[Klade]

CNet has ran download.com for as long as I can remember. When exactly did they take over?

And I did your adaware search and got the program in the results:
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?qt=adaware&tg=dl-20&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=+Go%21

maybe you're thinking of something else. I've always had good experiances with the site. Are there any alternatives to it that are better quality?

They must have finally fixed their search. It was down for at least 2 days before this and was bugging the hell out of me. CNET took over about 5 years back I think. Before that it was an independent group of sites. I still have very fond memories of builder.com. There really isn't anywhere else you can go these days to download apps other then direct from dev websites though. The quality has gone down since you basically can't trust any of their reviews for any of their products. It didn't used to be that way. Oh and what articles they have these days are usually very small and give very little information, plus they all tend to sound alike. They also used to have some personality to them as well.

[TrackZero]

Well, this was a fun thread. So many things taken out of context.

If you're just joining this thread, I sugest you read post #23 by amusedtoe. It's sums up nicely what's wrong with this sort of thing. It's not about being anti-Sony or anti-Gamespot. It's just that this kind of thing hurts gaming news credibility (whether you ever decided it was there or not is your problem).

Nothing else to see here, unless you want to see more fanboyism attack/defend between different parties. )

[Leaving Hope]

I hate CNET. I was pretty ticked when they took over download.com

I feel the same way about CNET taking over TV Tome.com. Now, the episode summaries on TV.com are terrible.

[EL CABONG]

from a recent gamespot news story

"Microsoft's Xbox 360 is due to go on sale this holiday season in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Meanwhile, Sony's PlayStation 3, with its powerful Cell processor, is slated to arrive next spring."

Thats like saying the new pepsi is going on sale this x-mas meanwhile coke with it's awesome new flavor will be out in the spring. clear bias.

[Kamalot]

Is there any other "gagdet" you'd have chosen, seriously?
Yeah.

The Treo should be at the top of the list.

320x240 DivX playback
Emulators:
NES
GameBoy
Sega Master System
Genesis
SNES

Email
Camera
SMS
Web browser
MP3 player (and other formats such as OGG)
Shoutcast Streaming Audio
RSS feed aggregator
MUCH Better Battery Life!
Oh yeah, It can run any Palm programs and make calls too.

[Wonka]

Yeah but the MS love here is as official as you can get. You know this site is pro Xbox and noone here denies it.

Gamespot on the other hand hides it. Respect -100. Guess everyone was right shouting "Sony bias!" and only I was blind.

Gamespot, IGN are all money whores - where should I read non-biased reviews now?

You could read them at gamerankings (http://www.gamerankings.com/), and hope that the bias washes out in the averaging. This is FAR from a perfect solution since a couple of drunk teens in a garage can still throw off a review score there by just giving a great game a 1/10, but at least you get a sense for a game across multiple different paid off sites instead of just one. You might even go so far as to assume that on average the payola will be evenly distributed between the big three?

[FunkyPoopMonkey]

I dont see any of this Sony bias you people are freaking out over. What, gamespot gave a score for the xbox version of GTASA that is 0.4 less then the PS2 one? The Xbox one came out half a year later! By that time, everyone had played the game to death, including the reviewer. Newsflash people! Reviews are just lengthy opinions! It was the reviewer's opinion that the game was less fun after he already played it dozens of hours.

It's my surprise how any sane human being can like that game enough to score it higher then 5 out of 10. I got 2 hours of fun out of the 10 hours I played, before stopping.

[Kelegacy]

I dont see any of this Sony bias you people are freaking out over. What, gamespot gave a score for the xbox version of GTASA that is 0.4 less then the PS2 one? The Xbox one came out half a year later! By that time, everyone had played the game to death, including the reviewer. Newsflash people! Reviews are just lengthy opinions! It was the reviewer's opinion that the game was less fun after he already played it dozens of hours.

It's my surprise how any sane human being can like that game enough to score it higher then 5 out of 10. I got 2 hours of fun out of the 10 hours I played, before stopping.

It deserved more than a .04 loss for the horrid control scheme alone. I played it on all the systems (my friend owns a videogame store) and I ended up going with the PC version...after playing the PS2 version up to the second city. I tried the S controller and it felt...wrong. Kind of like driving without a rearview mirror in your car. I use a Logitech Dual Action controller for PC and it's nigh flawless.

[Savok]

CNet raped GameFAQs until there was nothing left of the community. That alone can never be forgiven.

[Duc Ngai]

..shhh. You guys need to get a life here. So much negativity on game websites' forums that I tend to stir away from them especially from fanboys. If Gamespot was "bias" towards Sony and getting paid by them. Yes, I heard of the record industry and payola. I'm a regular visitor to downhillbattle.org. Gamespot wouldn't give reviews high marks for non-Sony games if they're getting paid. In addition most of Gamespot's non-Sony high profile game reviews don't differentiate that much from average.
For example:

9.6 Resident Evil 4 for the Nintendo Gamecube (96% Gametab's average) - http://www.gametab.com/gcn/resident.evil.4/2993/

9.4 Halo 2 for the Xbox. (94%) http://www.gametab.com/xbox/halo.2/1472/

9.2 Forza Motorsport for the Xbox (93%) http://www.gametab.com/xbox/forza.motorsport/3248/

Gamespot ranks Forza higher than Gran Turismo 4. Keep in mind, GT4 is the top selling North America game in the first half and Sony's "prize" franchise. http://www.gametab.com/ps2/gran.turismo.4/2385/

Gametab also uses "Outlier review. Would have normally been counted, but omitted due to high deviation." Most of the time Gamespot reviews tend to be included in averages.

Gamespot posts as much Xbox and Nintendo news compare to Sony. They posted the recent Japanese Playstation meeting a day late after the majority of websites such as 1up and Joystiq posted. So they're clearly bias against Sony. Grow up guys. I'm now staying clear away from Evil Avatar on Gametab because of recent childish post.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129611.html (July 22nd)
http://psp.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3142178 (July 21st)

[Wonka]

Whether Gamespot is actually biased or perfectly fair, you have to admit that this is a pretty bad conflict of interest. I suspect that payola is probably pretty bad across the board with game journalism. And this is why I always use meta-sites like gamerankings just to get a sense about whether or not a game will suck. As for the outlier review, that must be a new improvement, because they certainly didn't used to do anything like that. It sounds like there is no longer any excuse to not use gamerankings.

[TrainwreckX]

I feel the same way about CNET taking over TV Tome.com. Now, the episode summaries on TV.com are terrible.

No way! They bastardized one of the greatest sites the internet has ever known?!?!?

You could read them at gamerankings (http://www.gamerankings.com/), and hope that the bias washes out in the averaging. This is FAR from a perfect solution since a couple of drunk teens in a garage can still throw off a review score there by just giving a great game a 1/10, but at least you get a sense for a game across multiple different paid off sites instead of just one. You might even go so far as to assume that on average the payola will be evenly distributed between the big three?

Thanks a ton for this link, that's a good one. A similar system can be found at Gametab.com, where this thread is featured in the top 10 news articles on the internet.


I dont see any of this Sony bias you people are freaking out over. What, gamespot gave a score for the xbox version of GTASA that is 0.4 less then the PS2 one? The Xbox one came out half a year later! By that time, everyone had played the game to death, including the reviewer. Newsflash people! Reviews are just lengthy opinions! It was the reviewer's opinion that the game was less fun after he already played it dozens of hours.

It's my surprise how any sane human being can like that game enough to score it higher then 5 out of 10. I got 2 hours of fun out of the 10 hours I played, before stopping.

I hate the GTA franchise, but there is no reason to rate a game lower just because it came out later. That's total bullshit. The PS2 version should have no effect on the score of any other version unless it has features another one doesn't. End of story. If anything, the Xbox and PC versions both had features the PS2 one didn't, in the form of improved graphics. How is that hard to understand?

Must have been that they unlocked Hot coffee with an ARM.

[cjrizzo]

I think that this "partnership" talk is being looked at the wrong way. This is no different than most site's relationship with various companies and vendors. As a Gamespot member since they offered membership, I can say that I feel they have the best features and are probably among the most unbiased of gaming resources. They will always point out if an XBOX version of a game is better than a PS2 version of a game or vice-versa. You cannot blame them for the depth of their PS2 coverage when, in reality, the PS2 is the leading console in this generation.

Others have said it in their posts, but you have to think that Gamespot must have better access to Sony's hardware/software than they do other companies' goods. Either way, I'm behind Gamespot 100% - their reviews are generally fair and unbiased and I feel like I get the best quality information from them across all platforms. Of course, EvilAvatar is the next best thing.

[51|RandoM]

Guess what kids, it takes money to provide content, lots of money for lots of content.

When you figure out how to pay for it with just ads, let us know, we can start the 2nd .com wave.

Until then, partnerships like this one are going to be commonplace for the large, successful sites.

I find a nice agreement like that quite a bit more tasteful than some of the behaviour I see from sites who're just given a bribe now and then. Do you think you'll be seeing any bad press for AOE on this site any time soon? LoL.

[TrackZero]

Guess what kids, it takes money to provide content, lots of money for lots of content.

When you figure out how to pay for it with just ads, let us know, we can start the 2nd .com wave.

Until then, partnerships like this one are going to be commonplace for the large, successful sites.

I find a nice agreement like that quite a bit more tasteful than some of the behaviour I see from sites who're just given a bribe now and then. Do you think you'll be seeing any bad press for AOE on this site any time soon? LoL.

Guess what Random, they're already getting my fucking money, I pay for my account, and for those that don't, they see advertising. Gamespot is well funded as-is, relationships like the one mentioned in this article via CNET have nothing to do with that. If this relationship has existed, Gamespot should have come forward and mentioned this, as it is a direct conflict of interest on how they report things, period.

[amusedtoe]

Why should journalism about consumer products be fair and without bias? They aren't exactly reporting about concerns that are important to a community, whether that community is a global one or the size of your household. It's not about poverty, health care, the environment, civil liberties (at least REALLY important ones), or any one of a thousand significantly more important issues that affect the 6 billion people on the planet. It's "journalism" about shit people buy to entertain themselves. And I'm certainly not going to bemoan the lack of integrity concerning it.

Because every website and publication that exclusively covers consumer products is at heart a glorified buying guide. Maybe it's just me but if I'm being advised by any source on how to spend my money why should I listen to anything they have to say if they're not being straight with me? It's one thing when you pick up a Nintendo Power, OPM or OXM because everyone knows the company is the direct force behind it, but you tune into a multiplatform platform and there is the assumption that they're giving you fair coverage. If you want to call or think of yourself as a journalist in any medium on any subject you're being trusted by your audience and that should be treated as sacred.

[riposte101]

Because every website and publication that exclusively covers consumer products is at heart a glorified buying guide. Maybe it's just me but if I'm being advised by any source on how to spend my money why should I listen to anything they have to say if they're not being straight with me? It's one thing when you pick up a Nintendo Power, OPM or OXM because everyone knows the company is the direct force behind it, but you tune into a multiplatform platform and there is the assumption that they're giving you fair coverage. If you want to call or think of yourself as a journalist in any medium on any subject you're being trusted by your audience and that should be treated as sacred.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[mister_slim]

Any information as to what kind of a partnership this is?

[kwillhan]

I'm now staying clear away from Evil Avatar on Gametab because of recent childish post.



you are steering clear of a forum because somebody posted something you disagree with?

well that's strange.

kel

[kwillhan]

I find a nice agreement like that quite a bit more tasteful than some of the behaviour I see from sites who're just given a bribe now and then. Do you think you'll be seeing any bad press for AOE on this site any time soon? LoL.


That's not sane.

At the shack, where I do my time, the verizon reps and sprint reps both come in and give me blowjobs all the time. That doesn't mean I'm going to tell a customer that a shitty phone is worth buying. It just means that I got a free blow job.

if AOE sucks, it will be said here, trust me. thing is, it probably won't. That game is radzors. what was the code for food in AOE one? Pizza or something? And... Well nevermind. Good game.

kel

[Deadend]

Now It's my turn to attack!

The guy with 3 posts who won't be posting anymore...
I don't care, no one cares, you do not comment, thus you contribute nothing, so there is no loss, except the server is hammered less, everyone wins.

Gamespot having a partnership with Sony... and not letting everyone know that there may be a potential bias... BAD BAD BAD.

All the newspapers are supposed to warn us when they are talking about a company they are related to, to warn of a potential bias.

This sucks, as Gamespot was considered to be the most professional and legit site.

[Player 1]

Yeash, you people are making a bunch of noise out of nothing. This is just more BS anti-sony crap that means nothing. Do you people ever read a newspaper? Did you know that most newspapers are owned by extreme left or extreme right people who dictate how the news is presented? How about magazines? Did you know that most gaming mags are owned by the same parent company? What about, gee, internet sites? A lot of companies own two or three different sites, and you never hear of the parent company.

Guess what, this sort of thing has been around in human culture for decades at least. The fact that you're all bitching about it now because its Sony is really pathetic.

Void, that's why people should always keep looking and making noise about it.

But you're making a noise on a videogaming forum which means absolutely NOTHING. You want to make a difference, get off your ass and make a difference. Whining about life's injustices won't change them - regardless of how righteous you feel.

This whole topic is a joke. It's like watching the villagers pick up their pitchforks and trying to rally around a single victim. You'll all see a conspiracy where you want - so long as it suits your bias.

I'm amazed nobody has got the intelligence to make comparisons with another games news site (say, IGN for example) with Gamespot. Why bother? It'll just distract you from enjoying your little hate campaign.

The mentality in this topic mirrors the mentality of the politicians in the GTA:SA Hot Coffee scandal. You won't question anything or put it into genuine perspective because you like the sound of it too much.

I like Evil Avatar's news, but the faux-intelligence on this forum is an absolute joke. Get some perspective people.

[/rant]

[Savok]

But you're making a noise on a videogaming forum which means absolutely NOTHING. You want to make a difference, get off your ass and make a difference. Whining about life's injustices won't change them - regardless of how righteous you feel.
Where have you been?

Internet noise has had an impact on the real world, a real, noticeable impact.

[H.Bogard]

I dont see any of this Sony bias you people are freaking out over. What, gamespot gave a score for the xbox version of GTASA that is 0.4 less then the PS2 one? The Xbox one came out half a year later! By that time, everyone had played the game to death, including the reviewer. Newsflash people! Reviews are just lengthy opinions! It was the reviewer's opinion that the game was less fun after he already played it dozens of hours.

It's my surprise how any sane human being can like that game enough to score it higher then 5 out of 10. I got 2 hours of fun out of the 10 hours I played, before stopping.


While both versions have aspects that are better than the outstanding PS2 game, visual weirdness on the Xbox and a handful of technical issues on the PC prevent either version from being the clear-cut best of the bunch.

jeff needs to take his finger out of his fat ass while playing....theyre supposed to review their games on alienware fucking pcs and they still get technical issues??? i`m playing on an athlon xp 2000+ cpu and no issues so far...

[amusedtoe]

I'm amazed nobody has got the intelligence to make comparisons with another games news site (say, IGN for example) with Gamespot. Why bother? It'll just distract you from enjoying your little hate campaign.

It reminds me of how IGN has become kind of questionable because they not only license their technology for use in games, but had started being a conduit to in-game advertising. You won't know if that game's an 8.7 because it's really a good game, or if it's acctually a 7 that they want to sell better to further their revenue.

:p

I've never hated Gamespot, never read them as much as some others since I never cared much for their layout, nor do I hate Sony or virtually any other company.

[Gel214th]

THis news article is really reaching. Nothing in the quoted press release leads one to believe there is any sort of Bias at all. It is quite natural for a gaming site to form Advertising agreements and other agreements with game companies and retailers.

Do you know for certain that other gaming websites don't do anything similar? Evil Avatar has a promotion for NanoStray right now, should we now question your objectivity on anything to do with that game?

I think Gamespot is a good resource for information on the gaming world, and as any smart consumer I base my purchasing decision based on information from a variety of sources.

[Goronmon]

I for one never was naive enough to believe that a big time gaming news place like Gamespot or IGN didn't have some sort of bias due to business relations somwhere. Does that make there reviews invalid? Of course not. It just means you can't be a lazy POS and rely on only one source for information.