And Now... The Rest Of The Story

What the?! I'm away for a week and crazy shit goes down! Honestly though guys if this is the evolution of GB and there's no change in the amount of crazy business I'm in! Happy for you guys.

Man talk about MASSIVE WALLS OF TEXT on the previous page

@I_smell: Hey idiot - you do get news coverage, don't you? News, previews, exclusive interviews, quick looks, some special people invited on the podcast, podcasts promoting a product and all that shit? You pay them by visiting them and creating internet traffic, besides the paid membership perks, like 99 % of other websites, you fucking moron! They don't get ads like you get on GameSpot, IGN, Gametrailers because they're not as mainstream as those sites and because GB is more community driven.

And those events are the same for anybody- it's not like there are thousands of videogame dedicated events happening at the same time on daily basis. There are big events like E3, PAX, GDC, there are smaller ones and some invitation-based press events created by a publisher to promote either a single title or a new lineup of future titles, where it's all hush-hush, embargo shit and where, if they're known or if they managed to pull some strings, they get there to give you coverage.

You bring news, write articles or discuss stuff that is good and interesting enough to attract visitors- you get paid! That's the whole business! And they're competing with others for coverage, like getting an exclusive interview with somebody, or an exclusive preview of some product, because that's the crux of beating other similar websites, plus offering different or repackaged articles according to the taste of their core audience or to attract new audiences! These are the basics of the business. I hope you don't want me to explain you how every basic shit in this life works, because I see that you're a bright fellow since you managed to learn how to breathe..and now to even smell! Congratulations!

And, again, for the last time: that was MY opinion on that incident, which is dead to me to care about it anymore! How dare you challenge and even insult me for having a different opinion, when nothing has been cleared and proven, you piece of shit?! Believe what you want, have your own opinion, but don't insult me for having a different opinion than you, you fucking sheep! Freedom of speech and opinion...those things ring a bell for you, Nazi?

But hey, anybody could sell you used toilet paper, the love of your family and even the air you breathe, because this business thrives on gullible consumerist imbecile kiss-ass fanatics like you.

Now, get the fuck off my case and be gone, you blithering idiot, and stop bothering me again with your stupid shit!

Oh, and I_smell..smell my fuckin' fart as you go!

@Vlad_Tiberius: Take your meds, idiot.

I think many people may not realize what the inherent right of freedom of speech means anymore.

It's the right for you to express yourself, not for anyone to care about what you say, respect what you say, listen to what you say, or refrain from calling you an idiot for what you say.

People are expressing their own freedom of speech to say your speech is stupid and/or offensive. Expressing the idea that someone may be doing damage with their speech isn't to suggest that a government take away their ability to speak; instead, it serves to point out that a lot of speech is stupid or horrible. If a government comes to remove your ability to express yourself, shout freedom of speech. But if someone calls you on being an idiot for what you say, freedom of speech has nothing to do with it.

@TruthTellah: Freedom of opinion, dude. How can somebody insult somebody else for having a different opinion on a matter that has not been cleared or settled in any way? Have I ever insulted anybody that expressed himself differently on that matter or any other matter? I thought this community was more mature and cerebral, open for real and clever discussions and one that's beyond childish name-calling and kindergarten insults under the guise of the anonymity which internet provides just because someone disagrees with an opinion.

We can discuss things civilized, but not by insulting each other and other offensive crap. I don't stand this kind of behavior, even if it's the internet. Again, I'm all for civilized and interesting arguments, I can admit when I'm wrong if you bring a strong argument, but I will not stand and be insulted by some idiot that doesn't even bring any worthy arguments.

If the moderator or the community doesn't punish that kind of behavior, I feel entitled to defend myself in any way.

Take Milkman- the case in point.

We all can like or dislike certain games, publishers or journalists and their views, we all can have different opinions about them and we all can agree to disagree. That's the beauty of the freedom of opinion and people have died for that right. If you can't respect that fact, then get fucked!

Have a good one!

@Milkman said:

@Vlad_Tiberius: Take your meds, idiot.

Can't. You took them all, genius.

@Vlad_Tiberius: I agree that along with people being able to insult you, you also have the capability to defend yourself as such. Though, none of that has anything to do with what freedom of speech means as an inherent human right. That's all I'm saying. Freedom of speech doesn't entitle you to having your words listened to or not insulted. It just means you have the right to say things, but that's pretty much it. If someone insults you, you can respond as you like. I certainly wouldn't hold it against someone to defend themselves.

It's unfortunate that you're not a subscriber, as the latest "Hot Jars Forever! - 03/19/2012" video posted this week by Jeff directly addresses your concerns here as far as videogame reviewer objectivity. The relevant question is asked 1h 9min into the video. You can try to Google the title of the video to find it if you like; I know some sites link to it. I encourage you to instead become a subscriber to support the guys, but hey, if not, it's cool. Just check out the video if you have a chance; I think Jeff explains their stance on it pretty well. :)

I wish I could say that every game journalist was bought off. I wonder how one acquires such extensive knowledge regarding the journalists' salaries..

@TruthTellah: I know, dude, I got it the first time, but I was talking about the freedom of OPINION, about which I think is one step above freedom of speech. Thank you for the heads-up on that show, although, again, that incident doesn't matter to me anymore, because there where other incidents, far bigger and more awful than that one that made me feel disgusted with this industry and all its "honest"people. But that doesn't mean that I despise or hate the guy; no, on the contrary, I just think that he's a funny, intelligent journalist that loves games in his own quirky way (like everybody else I guess), but I don't trust his innocence in all this and I've presented my reasons a while ago, therefore I'm not gonna repeat myself. Sure, I enjoy his jokes, sarcasm, the funny discussions about food and other shit and the unique and pleasurable atmosphere on their bombcasts, but that doesn't mean I trust him with my money (figuratively speaking) when buying a game.

Some of us know first-hand while others can only imagine the power of EA or Activision's marketing guys, the invisible strings that they pull, the major retailers' moves in this industry. When you're pumping a lot of cash into PR, marketing and the production and expect to receive millions in profit, you must be an idiot to allow yourself to be hampered by poor reviews and romantic shit like "honest" "stand-up straight journalism" and all that bullshit. And you must be a bigger idiot to believe and fall for such things, especially in an industry that invented the DLC, for fuck sakes! How many "journalists" have you heard tackling this sensitive subject and from a customer standpoint at least? NONE ! What do you hear instead? "Speak with your wallet". Yeah, do that in the single industry that still hasn't an independent regulating organism, an institution that could properly save the costumers from being ripped off or taken advantage by these big corporations, like in other, more serious industries. For example, if you get poisoned from a product, you don't"speak with your wallet", but a certain government consumer protective agency speaks for you. You get to court and then those big companies "speak with their wallets" to you, if you get what I'm saying.

But you don't see that in the videogame industry because it's the entertaining business- you don't need any rules! Yeah, it's like the Old West here.

But hey, it's videogames: it's all about having fun, awesome times, yeaah! Who cares that you're getting ripped off by everybody. Who cares that these shysters don't get to pay taxes because they took their liberty and put Obama ads in your fuckin' racing game, for example! Who cares that the media, the retailers and the publishers are shaking their hands and counting bills behind your back, laughing their ass off at you gullible idiot. You're here to pay and have fun, to talk about serious enlightening subjects like the nature of FPS, the western vs. eastern RPG philosophies, the achievements, the cyberpunk style in a certain game, the humor in a game, the voice quality and authenticity or the ending of a game, instead of "simple", "petty" subjects or questions like "who the fuck did bring that DLC shit in this business?" or "why the press didn't say anything about it and allowed it to become the norm in the biz?", "is there a logical reason for region-locking content and the separate zones crap?", "what about the recent online pass thing that slipped away from the media's scrutiny , just like the DLC shit?", "what about the console exclusivity content deals that are discriminating customers?", "what about the retail exclusive content that's also discriminating customers" , "region specific DLC ", "specific pre-order content", "false advertising" and many others. Naaah, not a sound about that.

I know a national TV program (bare in mind: national, not private!) that ceased being broadcasted just because a certain publisher that claims it's into electronic arts didn't like a review about a certain racing/ sports or dating sim game ( can't remember exactly which game was) on a show about electronics and gadgets in general, not videogames in specific.

No, let's talk instead about the ending of Mass Effect 3 and what we ate for lunch, because we don't wanna bite the hand that feeds us and we want to keep the fucking system going, right?

But hey, when you see only black zombies in game which has its story set in Africa nonetheless, some generous anime cleavage and some sexual innuendos in a J-RPG, some blood and gore and some f-bombs and racial slurs in a certain game, then all the media goes up in arms about it, "protecting" our innocence" and all that bullshit! Oh, the hypocrisy..

And , after sharing all this (and there is more of it), you're asking me to trust some guy that's been since the beginning in this biz that he refused some bribe because he just "loves" videogames and is recognized by his fellow "journalists" as a stand-up , nice , funny guy and a "professional"?! Yeah, like that would matter a lot to change all of the above!

But thank you for answering in a civilized manner!

End of huge rant and , hopefully, end of this old stupid "honest journalism" subject.

Couple of years ago I used to listen the Gamespot podcast (with Brendan Someone and Tom Can'tremember), but I had to stop subscribing because I thought they were mean to their listeners and didn't like games very much.

Which turned out fine, since I found your podcast instead. But just try to steer clear of the the gamespot podcast crew: their hatred towards games and gamers could rub off on you.

Love you guys, always be testing keep it real!

@Vlad_Tiberius: The video I was referring to is from this week, and it has nothing to do with the GameSpot ordeal. It's about "honest journalism" in general and complaints such as yours. You should look it up and go to that spot in the video that I referred to. :)

@AV_Gamer said:

@ZombiePie said:

Spooky...

Holy balls in a bear trap...you're right