Review Embargoes and APB.

[Delusibeta]

To quote Rock Paper Shotgun [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/17/apb-review-embargo-set-week-after-release/]

In such circumstances you might expect a developer to embargo reviews until the moment of release. The game goes live in the States on the 29th June, let?s say at 9am. So reviews might normally all appear at 9am on the 29th. So as expected, on 4th June, an email accompanying the Key To The City event details from PR agency Indigo Pearl, working for RTW, explained that the beta code is reviewable, with an embargo for the 29th June. Exactly as we?d expected.

But then on the 10th June, two days before the Key To The City open beta began, the a correction was sent out. We were informed that the Key To The City was in fact for previews only. We were told that reviews can be ?finalised? when we have the released version of the game, which we?d get on 29th June. And then they added that reviews are embargoed until 6th July.

This is extraordinary. They are attempting to tell press that they cannot write a review of the game for a full week after the game is available for the public to buy.

Whatever their reason is, they?ve crossed a very obvious, very ridiculous line. When anyone anywhere can post a review to their blog, a comments thread, or a site?s reader reviews section, it?s beyond daft to think that the site itself cannot.

I realise that APB is an MMO, and MMOs are notoriously difficult to review. However, I can't help but feel that this is covering up a poor game on launch. It's depressing the review embargoes seem to be the norm these days, but this is ridiculous.

Discuss.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

We might get frustrated about how games journalists are apparently all corrupt and incompetent but when a game just plain stinks they almost have to tell the truth or they risk ruining their reputation.

Blogs, forums and other internet communications on the other hand, well. Few people take reputations so seriously, we often have very poor judgement and hype bad games based on a comedy trailer or the first few minutes of gameplay. All that is also before you realise how easy it is for them to manipulate our opinion with a few well placed PR people pretending to be normal users.

An easy choice between PR paradise and PR hell when promoting a terrible game.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

So people will make their decisions based on previews instead of reviews, that's all that will change, customers will have to make their buying decision based on a less complete, less good version of the game. Well done guys!

I kinda sympathise with the idea of trying to review an 'empty' MMO however, but surely they have been running a beta full of volunteer players, surely they would have sent a key to many press reviewers also?

Surely a line at the start of any reviews stating that this is a review of the beta, full review to come later, would give people an idea of what it's like instead of leaving people waiting.

If they find a poor sales curve until 6th June, they're going to kick themselves I think.

From videos etc that I've seen it looks really fun, however I hope it's VERY scalable or they're going to do a 'crysis' and scale themselves out of the public's ability to play, as it looks REALLY nice!

My main problem at the moment is the £30 down to see if I like it, and the confusing MMO fees, seems there's a monthly fee AND an hourly action fee, as tho you pay to play, then pay again if you want to enter a mission area? I couldd be totally wrong, but as I say, the info isn't exactly brimming over right now, it's mainly been 'look at the shiny shiny things, and you can customise everything...lots!'.

Throw me a 14 day trial, and I'll be there, at least for 14 days.

 

[LongAndShort]

Doesn't matter to me much in Australia anyway. This is just further proving that they're a pack of bastards. I say fuck'em and write a review anyway.

 

[Cutit]

[...] and the confusing MMO fees, seems there's a monthly fee AND an hourly action fee, as tho you pay to play, then pay again if you want to enter a mission area?

nope, it's actually quite easy...you can either get a 30 days pass (like most mmos) or buy x number of game hours (like wow in china, as far as i know). basically, it's to accomodate the casual gamer. if you play seriously, you get the 30 days, if you just do a couple of hours a week, get limited number of hours.

OT: idk why, but i'm getting that media exageration vibe. it's not going to be great, no MMO is ever great at launch: wow didn't have bgs, druids or raids, eve looked like an asteroids remake and Age of Conan didn't have working stats (rpg lol)

and besides, if you only buy a game based on the IGN score or whatever, you deserve to lose your money. most normal people (excluding testers, fans, etc) will wait to see what the internets have to say and go for the trial before playing it.

EDIT:and besides, critics aren't always correct, and a lot of the time it's a different personal taste. I personally love Gangsters 2, a game that got like 50 from gamespot.


TL;DR: makes almost no difference, most will play the trial or wait to hear news from actual gamers.

 

[Tallim]

I think that the gaming community as a whole should take any review embargo that prevents a review of something before it is released as a sign to avoid the product. As the current market stands it encourages hype as a way to push a product, combining hype and an embargo is almost admitting they don't have the conviction in the game to sell on it's own merits.

The APB thing is frankly strange, given that MMOs rely on the playerbase to be part of the game it sort of makes sense. They want a populated world with time for people to start seeing some good stuff before reviews are done.

But then MMOs are an investment for people who no doubt want to know what they are getting into before they shell out the money.

 

[Flying-Emu]

It's because APB does have a number of bugs, glitches, and problems that they'll need to work out upon launch. The server stress this game will be experiencing is likely far beyond anything RTW expects, and I fully expect the game to go completely offline at least twice during the first week of launch.

 

[RvLeshrac]

It's because APB does have a number of bugs, glitches, and problems that they'll need to work out upon launch. The server stress this game will be experiencing is likely far beyond anything RTW expects, and I fully expect the game to go completely offline at least twice during the first week of launch.

Basically, exactly the same thing that every single developer that has released an MMO has experienced, and completely failed to learn from, then. So I can expect the same low level of quality control from RTW that every other MMO developer has experienced at least once.

I can tell everyone exactly how APB is going to turn out:

The customisation gets high marks, while the Action is abysmal. It will remain so, and will worsen over time without MASSIVE developer intervention in the second month.

Here's the problem: Why, exactly, should you pay for a game that is poor at launch, then continue paying it on the faint promise of some improvement in "the future"?

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Don't say "discuss..."

But you shouldn't be able to review an MMO in beta or a demo like this. Imagine if everyone who did a review for Mirror's Edge only played through the demo, and then everyone goes out to buy the full game...

 

[SexMeat]

The server stress this game will be experiencing is likely far beyond anything RTW expects, and I fully expect the game to go completely offline at least twice during the first week of launch.

On that subject, I was in the APB beta and I can confirm that lag was rampant throughout the whole thing.

 

[scnj]

Doesn't matter to me much in Australia anyway. This is just further proving that they're a pack of bastards. I say fuck'em and write a review anyway.

That would be a really bad idea if they want to keep their jobs.

 

[MasterMongoose0]

Metal Gear Solid 4 had a tough review embargo if I recall. People were ranting that the game was going to be terrible when it turned out spectacular (in my opinion).

Just play it for yourself and decide!