So...how about that sponsored Battlefront article, eh?

[remnant_phoenix]

I understand that the Escapist may be hurting for cash or something...but running a puff piece seems below the Escapist.

I'm willing to accept the possibility that the EA worker who typed it up genuinely believed every word of it; I just wish I knew who the person was...but the article had no listed author.

And I wish people could respond to the article itself...but it apparently has no forum link. I posted this here.

I don't know. The whole thing just feels...sleazy.

EDIT: Here's the link: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/sponsored/?ds_t=3687

 

[ffronw]

I understand that the Escapist may be hurting for cash or something...but running a puff piece seems below the Escapist.

I'm willing to accept the possibility that the EA worker who typed it up genuinely believed every word of it; I just wish I knew who the person was...but the article had no listed author.

And I wish people could respond to the article itself...but it apparently has no forum link. I posted this here.

I don't know. The whole thing just feels...sleazy.

I know this may seem an odd question considering the source, but which article are you talking about? Could you provide a link?

 

[remnant_phoenix]

I understand that the Escapist may be hurting for cash or something...but running a puff piece seems below the Escapist.

I'm willing to accept the possibility that the EA worker who typed it up genuinely believed every word of it; I just wish I knew who the person was...but the article had no listed author.

And I wish people could respond to the article itself...but it apparently has no forum link. I posted this here.

I don't know. The whole thing just feels...sleazy.

I know this may seem an odd question considering the source, but which article are you talking about? Could you provide a link?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/sponsored/?ds_t=3687

 

[ffronw]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/sponsored/?ds_t=3687

Ah, OK. That's not an article anyone here wrote. That's an ad.

I was wondering why I couldn't find it in my normal article searches.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Did they take it down? Link comes up to a blank escapist page.

 

[Malfrun]

Even if The Escapist is advertising battlefront, we have Yahtzee's article on why it kind of failed at what it's supposed to do. It balances itself out.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/sponsored/?ds_t=3687

This blank white page seems like a reasonable summary of Battlefront's merits to me.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

Weird. When I copy/paste the link, I see it.

 

[Fappy]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/sponsored/?ds_t=3687

This blank white page seems like a reasonable summary of Battlefront's merits to me.

This made me grin wider than it should have.

 

[StatusNil]

Did they take it down? Link comes up to a blank escapist page.

Pub Club membership blocks ads when you're logged in. Logging out made the page appear for me.

 

[ffronw]

Pub Club membership blocks ads when you're logged in. Logging out made the page appear for me.

Yep, it's this. That's why I couldn't see it at first either. Hence my confusion.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

What of it?

It's clearly marked as an ad; if it truly bothers me, I can just not click on it. I don't feel like I'm being suckered into clicking on something I actually don't want to, so it doesn't really bother me much.

 

[ffronw]

Even if The Escapist is advertising battlefront, we have Yahtzee's article on why it kind of failed at what it's supposed to do. It balances itself out.

I think our review would also serve that purpose. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/15009-Star-Wars-Battlefront-Review-Electronic-Arts-and-DICE-s-Space-Ba

 

[Malfrun]

Even if The Escapist is advertising battlefront, we have Yahtzee's article on why it kind of failed at what it's supposed to do. It balances itself out.

I think our review would also serve that purpose. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/15009-Star-Wars-Battlefront-Review-Electronic-Arts-and-DICE-s-Space-Ba

You'd certainly hope so.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

What of it?

It's clearly marked as an ad; if it truly bothers me, I can just not click on it. I don't feel like I'm being suckered into clicking on something I actually don't want to, so it doesn't really bother me much.

In the end, yes, you're right. I just find it in bad taste is all. Then again, look at the difference in our join dates; my expectations for the Escapist are tempered by my time here, and as I said in the OP, I expect better than a puff piece that looks all-too-similar to an editorial.

Are my expectations too high? Unfair? Depends who you ask. It is what it is though: I saw it and alternated between thoughts of "Come on, Escapist. You're better than this..." and "Wow, are they really struggling financially? I've never seen anything comparable to this in the past four years." That's all I meant to communicate with my OP.

 

[Frankster]

Eugh reading that made me feel dirty *shivers*

Yeah never seen escapist put out something like that before, maybe I just haven't been paying attention though.

Closest I could think of was Ian Miles overwatch pieces, but as someone who had little clue about overwatch, I actually enjoyed reading about the game and the characters in between the ad speak.
That article though..is 100% ad speak and yeah i didn't enjoy reading that, i felt dirty instead.

 

[DoPo]

Yeah never seen escapist put out something like that before, maybe I just haven't been paying attention though.

I thought it was a regular thing. Well, or something. There was a sponsored article about online poker several months back (or last year?) that also upset somebody. I can't find the forum thread for it, but there was one that was pretty similar to this very thread with only two differences 1. it was in OT 2. about the poker article.

Well, at least I assume the sponsored articles are regular. The thread about the poker one was the first time I heard about them - I don't see these articles possibly because I'm a PubClub member but also because I don't actually go to the front page (my understanding is that they appear there).

 

[Drathnoxis]

"Below the Escapist." Really? It seems par for the course to me. The Escapist is pretty much a tabloid and has been for nearly as long as I've been coming here. The only articles I've found worth reading are Yahtzee's and Shamus's. The rest are sensationalized regurgitated news, top 8 lists, and ads.

 

[Xeorm]

Don't see what's special about the ad? It's clearly marked as an add, even before you click on it. It looks like an ad, and reads like an ad, and the Escapist has done stuff like this before. What is the problem though? Are we again seeing the Escapist as more than it is? People seem to have a too-high opinion of the Escapist. It's a fun little news site that runs Yahtzee's videos every week. It's never been classy, and I like that about it.