Post by Victor Synn on Apr 10, 2007 20:11:18 GMT -5
Anyone that knows even a little bit about me knows that I'm an avid gamer. I've been playing video games since I was still shitting green. I picked up my first Atari controller at the tender age of 4 and have never looked back since. If video gaming were an Olympic sport, I'd be a multiple gold medalist. Ok, I'm digressing. Anyway, because I love gaming so much, I tend to keep my finger on the pulse of what goes on in the industry through magazines and websites. One of the magazines I try to look into once in a while is Gamepro. At one point, Gamepro used to be one of the biggest gaming publications since Nintendo Power Magazine first debuted in the 80s. At one point, if you wanted fair and unbiased opinion on games, Gamepro was the place. However, I've noticed a pretty disturbing trend among the last few issues of the magazine, but this month's in particular. Here's what has me so pissed off:
At one point in time, I was a subscriber to Gamepro. This was probably in the early to mid-90s. Back then, only Nintendo and Sega existed. At that point, Gamepro was an equally objective magazine that did their share of praising and condemning games on either side of the fence, as well as writing informative and interesting articles about the state of the industry at that time. What pisses me off now is that Gamepro Magazine has turned a biased eye towards Sony and everything that has to do with the Playstation brand. Before I go any deeper into this rant, let me first say that I have no issue with the Playstation consoles as a gaming system itself. They have their issues, which I'll explain more of later. That being said, it's a fucking travesty that a magazine has to staunchly support a company that obviously fucked up on so many levels with the release of the PS3. In this current issue of the mag, Gamepro has a multiple page writeup of how consumers and PS3 owners shouldn't panic about the lack of games and support for the system. That good games are guaranteed to be on the way soon. They further their spin by adding a list of 81 games that are planned to be released within a year, the highest game output for any platform in a single year ever. Now, normally, this type of propaganda wouldn't bother me if it were just left to these two articles. But it doesn't stop there. They go on by adding an editorial blurb about how Sony will soon dominate the console race over Microsoft and Nintendo. They assure the reader to "Just wait and see." A writer at the mag then has a section where he states that he is so pissed off about people mailing the magazine saying how biased they are towards Sony and that they are not biased in the least. Is that so? Well, then explain to me how Sony gets over 30 separate writeups in the magazine while Microsoft gets 17 and Nintendo even less than that?If you count all 81 games in their list, then Sony is mentioned around 100 times in the issue in one month. But we're not biased, right? Look, there's already a magazine dedicated to all things Playstation. It's called Playstation Monthly (PSM). Sony doesn't need another propaganda machine. They are doing just fine on their own. And while we're talking about the 81 game list, let me also clarify that in that list of 81, maybe 20 are only going to be on the PS3. The rest will see the light of day on the other systems as well. So these games have really no chance of setting the world on fire. They will be all the same across all consoles. So that list is pretty much nullified on that point alone. And if you have to state to your readers that you are not a biased publication, THAT MEANS YOU'RE FUCKING BIASED! It's kind of like the girl you went to school with who has a reputation for being a whore and you knew a guy that slept with her after a couple beers and she still claims she isn't one. How much credibility can you possibly have when your mag is crammed full of PS3 nut swinging and interviews with anyone even associated with the Sony brand?
And while I'm at it, lets discuss the PS3 itself. It is a flawed system right out of the box. actually, it's flawed before you open your wallet. Because no system in the fucking world is worth $600. According to Sony, PS3's price point is based on the Blu-ray drive used to play the games. I have a big, fat fucking scoop for anyone interested in getting a PS3 for that alone...YOU ARE PAYING $600 FOR A SYSTEM THAT ONLY USES THE BLU-RAY FOR EXTRA DISC STORAGE SPACE! Want to know how I know that? Because Game Informer Magazine ran an interview during the PS3's development with the CEO of Sony of America and he told GI that the Blu-ray was to keep production costs for large games down because even a large game that would take multi-discs to play can be compressed into a single Blu-ray disc. Aside from this fact, the system was shipped to consumers with a h ost of bugs and issues that needed firmware updates to fix. One huge issue was the fact that the system itself simply locked up and would not recover itself. Essentially, it became a boat anchor. A $600 boat anchor, but a boat anchor none-the-less. Add to that that the wireless controllers, which use blue tooth technology (think those cliched little headset cellphones), tend to do wild things with even the slightest interferance from an outside source. I know this to be true because just this past Sunday, my friend bought a PS3 and the fully charged controller crapped out on us out of nowhere and without warning. These two issues alone make the system less valuable over the other systems who have their tech perfected. And the lineup of games for the system is an abortion. Only one game (Resistance: Fall of Man) even garnered an above average rating in any unbiased gaming magazine. I gave the PS3a decent enough run-through to make one big decision...Until Sony gets their act together and fixes the bugs, as well as releases some games that are even worth half a damn, I will keep my money where it is. When that happens, I'll think about buying one.
To sum this up, Gamepro magazine is a shell of what it used to be. I wouldn't be surprised if they are accepting payola for kissing so much Sony ass in every issue. Gamepro, if you want people to actually believe your bullshit, try being genuine. Your readers will respect you more if you just come out and say you are a biased publication that is slanted so far towards the Sony camp that you might as well call yourself Playstation Pro. And Sony better fucking start paying attention to what the consumer is telling you instead of treating us like adorable little morons. We pay each and every one of your bloated fucking salaries. Respect us or we will go to a company that does. That's been obvious in the surge of excitement the Wii has gotten in it's first 4+ months of existence. Cutting edge tech doesn't get people off all the time. You still have to keep your consumer in mind. Which means you have to make a system that is fun and affordable. You, Sony, have neither at this point. Get your head out of your ass and start taking notice. You're last in the rankings for a reason.
At one point in time, I was a subscriber to Gamepro. This was probably in the early to mid-90s. Back then, only Nintendo and Sega existed. At that point, Gamepro was an equally objective magazine that did their share of praising and condemning games on either side of the fence, as well as writing informative and interesting articles about the state of the industry at that time. What pisses me off now is that Gamepro Magazine has turned a biased eye towards Sony and everything that has to do with the Playstation brand. Before I go any deeper into this rant, let me first say that I have no issue with the Playstation consoles as a gaming system itself. They have their issues, which I'll explain more of later. That being said, it's a fucking travesty that a magazine has to staunchly support a company that obviously fucked up on so many levels with the release of the PS3. In this current issue of the mag, Gamepro has a multiple page writeup of how consumers and PS3 owners shouldn't panic about the lack of games and support for the system. That good games are guaranteed to be on the way soon. They further their spin by adding a list of 81 games that are planned to be released within a year, the highest game output for any platform in a single year ever. Now, normally, this type of propaganda wouldn't bother me if it were just left to these two articles. But it doesn't stop there. They go on by adding an editorial blurb about how Sony will soon dominate the console race over Microsoft and Nintendo. They assure the reader to "Just wait and see." A writer at the mag then has a section where he states that he is so pissed off about people mailing the magazine saying how biased they are towards Sony and that they are not biased in the least. Is that so? Well, then explain to me how Sony gets over 30 separate writeups in the magazine while Microsoft gets 17 and Nintendo even less than that?If you count all 81 games in their list, then Sony is mentioned around 100 times in the issue in one month. But we're not biased, right? Look, there's already a magazine dedicated to all things Playstation. It's called Playstation Monthly (PSM). Sony doesn't need another propaganda machine. They are doing just fine on their own. And while we're talking about the 81 game list, let me also clarify that in that list of 81, maybe 20 are only going to be on the PS3. The rest will see the light of day on the other systems as well. So these games have really no chance of setting the world on fire. They will be all the same across all consoles. So that list is pretty much nullified on that point alone. And if you have to state to your readers that you are not a biased publication, THAT MEANS YOU'RE FUCKING BIASED! It's kind of like the girl you went to school with who has a reputation for being a whore and you knew a guy that slept with her after a couple beers and she still claims she isn't one. How much credibility can you possibly have when your mag is crammed full of PS3 nut swinging and interviews with anyone even associated with the Sony brand?
And while I'm at it, lets discuss the PS3 itself. It is a flawed system right out of the box. actually, it's flawed before you open your wallet. Because no system in the fucking world is worth $600. According to Sony, PS3's price point is based on the Blu-ray drive used to play the games. I have a big, fat fucking scoop for anyone interested in getting a PS3 for that alone...YOU ARE PAYING $600 FOR A SYSTEM THAT ONLY USES THE BLU-RAY FOR EXTRA DISC STORAGE SPACE! Want to know how I know that? Because Game Informer Magazine ran an interview during the PS3's development with the CEO of Sony of America and he told GI that the Blu-ray was to keep production costs for large games down because even a large game that would take multi-discs to play can be compressed into a single Blu-ray disc. Aside from this fact, the system was shipped to consumers with a h ost of bugs and issues that needed firmware updates to fix. One huge issue was the fact that the system itself simply locked up and would not recover itself. Essentially, it became a boat anchor. A $600 boat anchor, but a boat anchor none-the-less. Add to that that the wireless controllers, which use blue tooth technology (think those cliched little headset cellphones), tend to do wild things with even the slightest interferance from an outside source. I know this to be true because just this past Sunday, my friend bought a PS3 and the fully charged controller crapped out on us out of nowhere and without warning. These two issues alone make the system less valuable over the other systems who have their tech perfected. And the lineup of games for the system is an abortion. Only one game (Resistance: Fall of Man) even garnered an above average rating in any unbiased gaming magazine. I gave the PS3a decent enough run-through to make one big decision...Until Sony gets their act together and fixes the bugs, as well as releases some games that are even worth half a damn, I will keep my money where it is. When that happens, I'll think about buying one.
To sum this up, Gamepro magazine is a shell of what it used to be. I wouldn't be surprised if they are accepting payola for kissing so much Sony ass in every issue. Gamepro, if you want people to actually believe your bullshit, try being genuine. Your readers will respect you more if you just come out and say you are a biased publication that is slanted so far towards the Sony camp that you might as well call yourself Playstation Pro. And Sony better fucking start paying attention to what the consumer is telling you instead of treating us like adorable little morons. We pay each and every one of your bloated fucking salaries. Respect us or we will go to a company that does. That's been obvious in the surge of excitement the Wii has gotten in it's first 4+ months of existence. Cutting edge tech doesn't get people off all the time. You still have to keep your consumer in mind. Which means you have to make a system that is fun and affordable. You, Sony, have neither at this point. Get your head out of your ass and start taking notice. You're last in the rankings for a reason.
