Jimquisition: Cloak and Dagger

[Canadamus Prime]

No what I want to say was that it never ceases to amaze and depress me how low the industry has sunk these days. It's like the industry is living in a bubbled off dystopia.

...and I don't see it getting better any time soon. Reminds me of when there was a buzz here about a second gaming industry crash.

Thankfully, we have indie games as a nice alternative to the AAA industry.

At this point I'd welcome that. The triple A's have gotten too big for their britches so maybe it's time for a good crash so the indies can take their place. ...till they too become too big for their britches and then we can have another crash and new indie's can take their place and the cycle can repeat itself. Oh man that's a depressing thought.

 

[Petromir]

The problem with full disclosure in the gaming world is that it often causes as much angst (if not more) as not disclosing it would.

Anyone whos ever seen a devloper put that feature x is intended to be put out in patch y but it actually gets delayed until path z, will understand why secrecy can seem attractive. Sufficient parts of our community will take statements about merely looking into including a feature as a cast iron promise that it will appear soon.


The industry could do with being more open, but all the openess in the world wont calm the rumour mills. Hell the easiest way of makign a rumour blow ups out of all proportion is often to deny it comepletly, even if you are telling the truth.

Also just because you've released all the info you have doesnt mean that a person forming an opion on a forum will have read it or beleive the bits they have read, however good the source of it was.

 

[AntiChrist]

I hope you will find some new opportunities after the breakup with destructoid. You were the only reason I went there so I hope I get to read your insightful reviews somewhere else.

And regarding the information blackout in the games media....

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master. "

The best thing about Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is it's ability to provide profound quotes for almost any occasion.

 

[God of Path]

Is that a Miniature Fantasy Jason Voorhees(tm) sharing the podium with Miniature Fantasy Willem DaFoe(tm) this week?

 

[kailus13]

The mask is indeed awesome, but it doesn't compare to your beautiful face. Scarecrow is scarier anyway.

Why doesn't the gaming industry understand that if the let rumours run rampant then they will only get worse?

 

[synobal]

Most corporations in the game industry thinks it's customers should be Mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed on bullshit.

 

[Michael Brockbanks]

I understand to a degree why publishers and manufacturers prefer to keep shtum until the official press-release: they've set a date for announcements, they don't want to show their hand too early and if the rumour-mill gives their impending product more time in the collective consciousness than their own marketing would allow, all the better for them.

More than that, it allows a dev. to test the water, propagating their own rumours to see what public reaction would be, and if negative, looking like the good-guy by saying 'No, no, that was never the plan. We'd never be so cynical'.

Of course, that backfires somewhat when your idea to have a console always online receives immense criticism, only to say 'Of course it doesn't *always* have to be online...though here's a few things we *are* doing that are ten times worse'. And don't forget that lack of clarity led to a lack of consumer interest and not only a drop in their own stock, but a boost to their biggest rival's.

As for the sales figures thing, I don't have a problem with that either. If a dev. reveals their sales figures, it means they're happy with them; if not, it means they suck and probably suck hard. Whatever delusions they may have about protecting themselves, all they're really doing is allowing people to speculate that they've failed even more then they actually have.

So let the devs and manufacturers have their petty little secrets. The only ones they're really hurting are themselves.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Jim, I don't KNooow MUUUccch... but I know IIIiii love YOOOooouuu!

OT: I do find it strange that other forms of news media are often critisised for being over zealous when it comes to getting information and yet gameing journalism can't even report on leads without having their work slapped with a CEASE AND DISIST order.

How strange is it that videogames became a reckonised art form before its journalism beame a legitimate information distributor... or what ever you want to call it?

Well, the thing is, people are assholes regardless of their career path.

Flip side to more freedom, is that people will abuse it. Jim is right that the games industry is so tight it squeaks and the only information being passed is info they want us to hear. On the other hand other media outlets have very little respect for privacy. Okay so an actor is acting up and making a fool of themselves, why would their family need to be dragged in too? A politician has made some bad decisions, but now the media is obsessed over any nuance of his life that they can hang him on (which can often drag the family in too).

The game industry severely restricts the flow of information at the expense of consumer knowledge. Other media often gives too much freedom to journalists, allowing them to invade the lives of people at their expense and only to that publications benefit.

It's very difficult to strike a good balance, but where the game industry is at now in that regards needs to change.

 

[Chimichanga]

Egad, A tattooed fish-man has replaced Jim and stole his voice! Somebody call for help!

 

[RandV80]

I'd imagine that a lot of it has to do with this being such a young industry. We're basically starting from ground zero so the content providers can implement all sorts of modern methods of consumer & media control. Trying some of this shit in the movie industry would be suicide, but in game journalism they never had an opportunity to grow a backbone to begin with. Big business here nipped journalistic integrity right in the bud before it had a chance to get anywhere.

 

[PunkRex]

Jim, I don't KNooow MUUUccch... but I know IIIiii love YOOOooouuu!

OT: I do find it strange that other forms of news media are often critisised for being over zealous when it comes to getting information and yet gameing journalism can't even report on leads without having their work slapped with a CEASE AND DISIST order.

How strange is it that videogames became a reckonised art form before its journalism beame a legitimate information distributor... or what ever you want to call it?

Well, the thing is, people are assholes regardless of their career path.

Flip side to more freedom, is that people will abuse it. Jim is right that the games industry is so tight it squeaks and the only information being passed is info they want us to hear. On the other hand other media outlets have very little respect for privacy. Okay so an actor is acting up and making a fool of themselves, why would their family need to be dragged in too? A politician has made some bad decisions, but now the media is obsessed over any nuance of his life that they can hang him on (which can often drag the family in too).

The game industry severely restricts the flow of information at the expense of consumer knowledge. Other media often gives too much freedom to journalists, allowing them to invade the lives of people at their expense and only to that publications benefit.

It's very difficult to strike a good balance, but where the game industry is at now in that regards needs to change.

Oh I definatly agree, I was gonna mention, as a Londoner, I know how far it can go in the opposite direction. I don't know if folks outside of Britain know about the Daily Mail and it's little 'exploits' but it's enough to make you cringe.

 

[Yopaz]

This is actually exactly why I stopped caring about the Xbox One. The DRM thing was something I despised, but the fact that they couldn't ever give a straight answer pissed me off. When they finally revealed it they presented an awful sort of DRM and at some point they gave some vague information about family sharing. To this day we don't know how it would work. It ranges from quite crappy to something I thought was brilliant. Do I love it or hate it? Well, I don't know.

 

[shrekfan246]

While on a much different scale and done for different reasons, just yesterday I was actually remarking on a supposed leaked image telling when the next two Steam holiday sales would begin. While I can understand the want to encourage people to buy full price, most people are going to be expecting a Christmas sale at least, and I'm of the opinion that they shouldn't be so tight-lipped about when their big sales are going to happen, because I'd much rather be able to plan my potential spending and opening Steam one day to suddenly see that it's broken because six million people are all accessing it at once due to holiday sales is not as exciting as it could be.

Either come out with it, or keeps your mouth(s) shut.

That makes me think of what Microsoft's damage control was like for the first month or two after this year's E3, with them constantly saying "Oh, it's totally awesome, and we have tons of reasons for why, but we're not going to tell you any of them, just know they're there!"

 

[The Great JT]

Two things.

1: The mask was funny.
2: Yeah, it would be nice to know what the blue-blazes the gaming industry is hiding. This argument of, "you just don't know what went on behind the scenes therefore you didn't play the game right," smacks to me of a restaurateur or chef telling a customer who didn't like their meal, "you don't know what went into preparing the meal and you don't know how to enjoy it properly." Who knows, maybe if they decided to come clean and tell us, the unthinkable would happen and people would respect the company for being forward.

 

[Mahoshonen]

Whether companies keep internal development issues secret is of course, their business (not saying Jim's wrong that it's better to air it out). But there is one point I feel strong about: Sales figures

This should never be kept secret, from a financial market standpoint. At least in the U.S., a company has to provide very specific information on major segments when releasing financial reports. To do otherwise is not just misleading to customers, but to investors-you know, the folks that own the company

 

[JenSeven]

Oh Jim, you charismatic blobfish. You can't fool me with that mask, I know it's you!

All joking aside, great episode. I really wish the industry wasn't run by a bunch of dickheads who love power and money and lack moral fiber, kind of like how banks are run, it seems. Maybe there is some overlap.

 

[Lightknight]

Hmm, particularly nice use of images corresponding to what was being said this week.

Jim, may I ask why the public knowing sales number would do anything but assuage our curiosity? I'd of course love to have that information from a God's-eye view but I don't know what kind of purpose that would serve except to give competitors valuable information that could disadvantage the company.

In general though, you're right. They are being overly secretive. But holy heck if the media doesn't blow up about even inane things.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Ahh subterfuge and information control. The telltale signs of an entity that's feeling incredibly insecure of its position with someone or something.

In this case, that something is the general public and their paying customers.

At this point I'd welcome that. The triple A's have gotten too big for their britches so maybe it's time for a good crash so the indies can take their place. ...till they too become too big for their britches and then we can have another crash and new indie's can take their place and the cycle can repeat itself. Oh man that's a depressing thought.

You're right; it does go in a cycle.
But now, I'm a bit more optimistic about it really.

For one, nothing lasts forever. The super-successful rarely go onto to better and better things; most often they become complacent or arrogant. Or too addicted to the influence they earn as a result of their success. Or they burn out.

It happens.

But at the same time, periodic overturning of a market is good. Especially any market driven by a creative medium.

It allows fresh talent a chance to be significant in the greater market. To bring (hopefully) their new perspectives, wit the some benefits of hindsight but without the taint of "original sin", so to speak.

(Like with EA for example. it's pretty much impossible for EA to repair their image now, no matter how much good they do in the future. That history of controversy and mistrust is too associated with their name.)

It can also force some older talent out of their complacent routine and back into a creative proper. At worst, they take their increasingly tired routine offerings and leave. (something I desperately wish would happen to Nintendo at times, and to Capcom for even longer.)

And it's good for the consumer side of the market to be exposed to new things, just to see what works.