Game Review Embargoes

[Michael Hardner]

I'm not a gamer. In fact, I don't even feel comfortable calling video games 'games'. Games to me are things like chess, Monopoly, Risk, Clue, Formula One, Settlers of Catan, or maybe Crokinole if you'll allow it.

But I'm fascinated by this emerging culture.

http://www.wired.com/2014/11/assassins-creed-unity-embargo/

The latest hubub is that game companies are withholding free copies until AFTER release. I'm not sure why this is a big deal. Movie studios started doing this years ago for movies that they thought were dogs.

People are upset by this action for some reason, though:

It would be nice to see an end to the post-release embargo. Ubisoft probably didnt intend to start such heated discussion about it with its [/size]Unity[/size] maneuver, but it has. In the meantime, its not that no review automatically equals a bad review, but if youre at all concerned about it, theres nothing wrong with waiting to see how things shake out.[/size]

I am still hoping that a culture of intelligent discussion about government (politics as well as policy and services) emerges someday so we can live in a better off-screen world as well as the world on our XBoxes.

[Boges]

You can still review a movie the next day. It takes a few days to play a game to get an accurate review of it.

Honestly I find gaming to be in this weird limbo. Most people don't want to play $80 for a game anymore. As mobile gaming becomes a bigger THING, these studios are going to have trouble.

The game I find myself playing every day is a freemium game on my Tablet. It's addictive and I've been playing for months. I don't remember a traditional game I've stayed with as long as I've stayed with this game.

FTR it's WORLD AT ARMS.

[BubberMiley]

I'm not a gamer. In fact, I don't even feel comfortable calling video games 'games'. Games to me are things like chess, Monopoly, Risk, Clue, Formula One, Settlers of Catan, or maybe Crokinole if you'll allow it.

What about hockey, football, and baseball?

[Boges]

What about hockey, football, and baseball?

Those are sports.

What about Sports Video Games? Or Board Game Video Games?

Mind. . . Blown!

[GostHacked]

You can still review a movie the next day. It takes a few days to play a game to get an accurate review of it.

Honestly I find gaming to be in this weird limbo. Most people don't want to play $80 for a game anymore. As mobile gaming becomes a bigger THING, these studios are going to have trouble.

I can't see myself paying 70-80 dollars per game, when a couple years ago I could pay that much and get the retail version and get the nice box and manual, which have declined in quality and quantity dramatically since Steam and others introduced digital distribution. The studios are already in trouble. Most will develop a single game then close up shop or until they are bought out. Big titles are a big investment and could send a developer into bankruptcy.

The game I find myself playing every day is a freemium game on my Tablet. It's addictive and I've been playing for months. I don't remember a traditional game I've stayed with as long as I've stayed with this game.

FTR it's WORLD AT ARMS.

One of the South Park eps this season dealt with Canada and 'freemium' games feat Terrance and Phillip. Was very good.

Sports games are the worst for a release every year (FIFA for example) and still charging the full retail price. Then if you want other nice things like a custom shirt, there are micropay schemes for it all.

Me and my pals tried Evolve a couple weekends ago with a free beta demo. Great game, great action, not buggy at all, environments are very good looking with lots of detail. But alas I will wait until it comes down in price. 70 CND at launch without a box/manual is just robbery. And since none of my other friends are getting in on it, we are all going to wait. Regardless of how good the reviews are.

With that in mind, reviews are very subjective to the gamer/reviewer. But if companies want to generate some interest in the game before release, it still makes sense to give the game to some respected reviewers to gauge how good the game is going to do before launch.

It's also difficult for a gaming developer to come up with something really fresh these days, so if it looks and feels like everything else, people don't want in on it, again regardless of the reviews.

[BubberMiley]

Those are sports.

The best game you can name is the good ol' Monopoly game?

[Boges]

The best game you can name is the good ol' Monopoly game?

More words rhyme with game than sports. "Good Ole Hockey Sport" wouldn't have been such a hit for Stompin' Tom.

[BubberMiley]

"Good Ole Hockey Sport" wouldn't have been such a hit for Stompin' Tom.

It also wouldn't jibe with what everybody else in the world calls it, unless you've ever heard someone say "That was some sporting event last night!" when talking about the game.

[Boges]

It also wouldn't jibe with what everybody else in the world calls it, unless you've ever heard someone say "That was some sporting event last night!" when talking about the game.

True. I'm not the one that was trying to pigeon hole the word "game" though.

[TimG]

The game I find myself playing every day is a freemium game on my Tablet. It's addictive and I've been playing for months. I don't remember a traditional game I've stayed with as long as I've stayed with this game.

Freemium games are deliberately designed to annoy the user into paying. This greatly undermines the enjoyment factor. I would rather pay $40-80 for a prepackaged game + a few optional DLC. I also dislike the idea of paying for the transitory boosts which freemium games sell. If I am going shell out cash I want something permanent in return. Edited November 13, 2014 by TimG

[Boges]

Freemium games are deliberately designed to annoy the user into paying. This greatly undermines the enjoyment factor. I would rather pay $40-80 for a prepackaged game + a few optional DLC. I also dislike the idea of paying for the transitory boosts which freemium games sell. If I am going shell out cash I want something permanent in return.

There are games that give you an advantage if you pay but you can still play without paying. Usually the trade-off is having to wait to develop a building or an army etc. Which is kind of nice because you can play the game 5 or 10 minutes every day and stiff progress forward.

I did download a new Sim City game on my phone that was Freemium and it enraged me. I love Sim City but this game made it impossible to develop the city after fire stations were available because the only Fire stations you could afford couldn't cover the city. The city literally combusted in flames. I would much have rather paid $10 for the game than that crap.

So Freemium can work sometimes, other times they're idiotic.

[Michael Hardner]

What about hockey, football, and baseball?

These are sports.

[BubberMiley]

These are sports.

Odd. I was sure the popular definition of the word "game" was broader than "board game."

[Boges]

Are sports that don't require athletic ability sports or games? Golf, Curling, Darts, Billiards etc.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Boges

[Guest]

What about the Olympic Games?

[TimG]

So Freemium can work sometimes, other times they're idiotic.

Its the psychological manipulation that goes into the games that makes them distasteful. Game design used to be about playability and entertainment. Not anymore. Its about duping people into paying for upgrades.

A packaged game for $80 is like watching a TV series on netflix or DVD and freemium games are like watching it on live TV (no PVR to skip ads).

[Boges]

A packaged game for $80 is like watching a TV series on netflix or DVD and freemium games are like watching it on live TV (no PVR to skip ads).

But still addictive. There are ways to cheat or hack traditional games to make them easier.

I see paying for upgrades in Freemium games like that. Kind of cheating. Where it's unacceptable is when you can't progress without paying. Remember the original NES had the Game Genie.

A game I don't play, but I know people that do, Candy Crush Saga is like that. You can pay to move on, but that's cheating. It's wildly popular.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Boges

[TimG]

But still addictive.

Electronic slots are addictive too. That does not mean it would be a good thing if the game industry started producing nothing but variations on electronic slots. Freemium games have their niche but I do not want to see traditional games disappear.

[cybercoma]

Back to the review embargoes...

They're simply taking a strategy from movie studios. Film reviewers in recent years haven't been able to put out their reviews until after opening weekend. This allows the studios to put out crap films and reap the benefits of their marketing hype machines. In the gaming industry, they look to sell pre-orders with some sort of in-game incentive. Without reviews ahead of time, you have no idea if what you're pre-ordering is going to be any good. If you don't pre-order you're sometimes stuck paying for those incentives above the regular price of the game. You can go see a movie a few days after it comes out and have the same experience.

Another important point was made early in the thread though. A movie can be properly reviewed in a couple hours. Time needs to be spent with a videogame. I would expect someone to put at the absolute least 4-8 hours into a game (2-4x as long as you would most feature films) before reviewing it. You need to get a proper feel for it. Most major games are 16-20 hours long with RPGs clocking in at around 40 hours or more. This means a proper full review could take as long as a week or more after the full release to be properly prepared.

Another concern I have with the publishers is their recent practice of giving YouTubers games for free ahead of the release date, on the condition that they give it uncritical praise. Shadows of Mordor was one of those games. YouTubers were given a contract stating explicitly what the company wanted them to say about the game and what things they should not say at all (ie, referring to the movies).

The videogame industry is up to some bullshit lately and needs to be called out on it. Two major titles hit the market recently and were practically unfinished games (Destiny and Assassin's Creed Unity). Both expect players to pay $70 for an incomplete game, then spend an additional $20-30 per month after that as they finish it. I'm all for downloadable add-ons that are in addition or bonus material in some way. However, companies now are sending out incomplete products for $70, denying review copies, then pushing pre-orders as hard as possible. Instead of making more sales by putting out great products, they're trying to increase the amount you have to spend in order to get a complete experience.

To use a metaphor for those who don't play games, it's like buying a hardcover book for $35 but it's missing the last 6 chapters. In order to get those, they will be released each month following the release of the book and you will have to pay $10 for each of them. That $35 book you bought, expecting to be a complete novel is now $95. The way they used to do things was that the $35 would have gotten you a complete story. The subsequent months would have included bonus content that was in addition to the story, but not something that was necessary to complete it. Perhaps something that would flesh out some background on one of the characters. Or something that puts the character into a different environment. Maybe an epilogue of some sort. But not a chapter that's necessary to complete the story.

[Moonlight Graham]

http://www.wired.com/2014/11/assassins-creed-unity-embargo/

The latest hubub is that game companies are withholding free copies until AFTER release. I'm not sure why this is a big deal. Movie studios started doing this years ago for movies that they thought were dogs.

People are upset by this action for some reason, though:

I believe they still give out copies pre-release, but in order to receive it the reviewers have to agree not to publish/release their review or opinions on the game until a certain time. So most reviews went up on launch day when people had already bought the game from pre-orders etc. It's a filthy tactic but I don't think you can really prevent it. It just let's me know that if reviews aren't up a day or 2 or more before launch then the game will likely get mediocre reviews, same with movies (no reviews on "Dumb and Dumber To" yet...which looks horrible from the movie trailers).

This relationship game publishers and developers has with gaming journalists is really filthy. Game journalism is quite corrupt.