Kotaku: Creating Drama You Can't Make Up

[schild]

Seriously. I don't even know what to say. I have extreme dislike for Kotaku. They steal their content from various sites. Have horrible regular entries, and reviews that don't really say anything. But somehow, they rose to fame. A lot of people are going to take their side on this one. Well, that's just not how it works. When one of the Big Three (or even a little company) asks you nicely not to go forward with something - especially something THEY want to announce - you do them the favor of not going forward with it. I kept my mouth shut about Odin Sphere for Atlus, they can keep their mouth shut about playing house on their PS3.

I would've sided with them if the news was some sort of big expose on some horrible coverup in the industry. But it wasn't. It was just about Sony playing catchup on some features the 360 and Wii had. Weak sauce guys.

Someone who knows Crecente needs to hit him with the goddamn cluebat.

[stray]

Don't like them either. Not sure where to start.

[EDIT]

Only thing worse would be all the sycophants who post on their site.

[Calantus]

I had mercifully avoided being aware of these guys until the PAL PS3 emulation chip story broke and I read their take on it someone had linked somewhere. Just skimming a few of their stories was enough to see how unprofessional and juvanile these idiots are, so I'm not surprised they'd do this sort of thing. Seriously, they sound like teenagers writing some rag for their high school. How did they get popular again?

[stray]

How did they get popular again?

Probably something to do with all the dorks out there who think that there's such a thing as "games journalism".

Break an NDA! Woodward and Bernstein eat your heart out!

[EDIT] Also, the more self important you are, the bigger a gaming journalist.

The real "news" here is actually Kotaku posting that email exchange and "giving it to the man". Gaming journalism is just self advertisement, and not news at all. Some people like that sort of thing.

[schild]

Holy shit. Ok. It's blowing my mind. The number of people supporting this bone-headed decision is just ridiculous.

IT WAS NOT THAT IMPORTANT A PIECE OF NEWS.


Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. This isn't journalistic integrity. It's impatience.

[schild]

This just gets better. Gawker media sites are starting to support them and bring their legion of celebrity-worshipping, gadget-drooling meatheads to Crecente's rescue.

Please tell me that last paragraph isn't trying to gain sympathy by reminding Sony they spent a few grand on Kotaku/Giz.

[stray]

I hope it backfires on them. I would hope Nintendo and Microsoft (and other game developers) wouldn't want to deal with someone so self promoting and loose with company secrets, and just boot them like Sony did.

They don't seem to realize that gaming journalistic "integrity" is really nothing more than being in a good relationship with companies that don't need you. It's doling out what's been handed to you. Not "getting the big scoop".

[EDIT]

Or maybe I'm just too cynical. Huh.

The industry could do with less secrets in the first place though. Then you wouldn't even have this bullshit, and everyone would be happy.

[Calantus]

I'm definitely agreeing with schild on this. They broke a positive story a company wanted to make public, but wanted to wait before breaking it so it could be unveiled at the right time. Journalistic integrity applies when you're breaking stories people want hushed up and that the public needs to hear. Not shitting on a press release to get your spotlight on.

[DataGod]

Eh well, thats Gawker though, I mean look at thier stable of Blog sites:

Defamer: Celebrity Gossip
Valleywag: SV tech gossip (should be called valley shag, since about 40% of the time its about...does anyone really care who Kevin Rose is boning this week? I mean except for the cult of Digg?)
Kotaku: Gaming gossip

But mostly its about Nick Denton style journalism, which is load a bunch of reality TV style sensationalism in a shotgun, and unload it on the screen in a badly designed website.....

[schild]

Honestly, if this somehow creates a movement in the industry to totally shit on trade secrets, I may disappear forever. Kotaku can NOT be supported on this decision. It undermines every relationship any game journo has ever built with any company.

Godfuckingdamnit Crecente. You're on my LIST.

[DataGod]

Calantus:

"They broke a positive story a company wanted to make public, but wanted to wait before breaking it so it could be unveiled at the right time"


Thats called an Embargo, a common request for companies waiting to fire up the PR machine, and its completely fucking Jr League to be violating it.

Theres a very short window of opprotunity cost with PR, meaning your press and marketing has to be executed simultaniously to get the most bang for the buck, no one wants to run a news story that broke last week......all journalists want to be first to have the scoop, thats the leverdge point companies have with press.

Fucking with someones embargo is not a good idea

[schild]

It's not an embargo. He probably leaned on someone who gave him a hint.

You want to know how I know it wasn't embargoed? Cuz I didn't know about it.

And trust me, I'd have found out.

For this stunt, he needs to fry.

Edit: You especially don't leak news when you've probably been told "Hey, this is what's happening, no, this isn't a release, Sony will be delivering this straight to the people." I hope his source kills him in the night.

[DataGod]

ROFL....somehow the image of 150 little midget sony elves streaming through a window with tiny littloe daggers and black shirts with PS3 logos on them comes to mind....

hmmm less caffine more sleep methinks

[stray]

The best I could ask for is honest reviews and tough questions (fear of losing swag or not). That's about the best journalism is going to get.

[schild]

SOE Keynote stuff, via MaxConsole, from Neoseeker.

Details from Phil Harrison- Sony Computer Worldwide Studios
Keynote at GDC March 7th 2007:

Anouncements:

Firmware update available on the 8th for North America/Japan and Asia. European PS3's will be preloaded with this latest update.

Features of this latest firmware include:

More refined PS Store frontend
Playstation Network integrity enhanced
Wallpapers from pictures
Ability to change background colours
Sony Connect Store for music and movies added to the PS Store. Hundreds of trailers/full films/song videos and mps3's available for download.
Playstation Card option in PS Store enabled.
Playstation Lifestyle- Similar to my space/youtube. User generated content and experiences are the key.
+ more.

Removal of Emotion Engine chips in PS3's in NA and Japan to follow in April. Reason for this is to reduce costs and focus on enhanced opportunities via software. Benefits include the ability to upscale selected PSone/PS2 games to 1080i/720p.

Lots of development talk.
Release dates for key games. Warhawk in June/July 2007. Heavenly Sword delayed. Killzone and MGS4 in late 2007.

New content on PS Store available on the 8th:

Tekken 6 trailer
Lair demo & trailer
Rainbow Six Vegas demo
EA: Skate trailer
Battlefield Bad Company trailer
Warhawk demo
Virtua Fighter 5 demo
Virtua Tennis 3 demo & trailer
GRAW 2: trailer
Mortal Kombat 2 game
Killzone trailer

Killzone demo for May.

More details. Stay tuned on the 7th.

If Kotaku just wanted to post a rumor, they should have posted that.

[angry.bob]

I once had a friend who was not only an alcoholic, but an angry alcoholic that would not only vomit all over himself, but would punch his friends and shout at them while he vomited all over them, too.

This is horrible writing on every level. Based on what that crap site must be pulling in with ads, F13 writers should be making a mint.

[UnSub]

I agree with others here - Sony asked Kotaku not to publish a rumour about a new product they may have coming out. The sensible thing would be to have asked for an in when the product was released, or some other quid pro quo. If it had been a story on how Blu-Ray needs the blood of kittens to operate, sure - that's a story to run without the company's permission. But what they ran was something Sony no doubt wanted to launch as an expected surprise at some future point. Now everyone is just waiting for the official announcement.

What also got me was how disappointed the Sony PR guy sounded. Seriously, he felt a lot of trust get violated there.

So, Kotaku shoots itself in the foot. Any future PR guy is going to want to hold his tongue around them (or not invite them) just in case.

[DataGod]

awwww....they made up....

traffic driving stunts = WTG

[stray]

Sony has been suffering from so much bad PR, even this shit made them look like the bad guy. Guess they had no choice but to make up. Might turn out for the better. Now there's some interesting rumours out there for them, and they don't look like "evil blackballing corporate assholes" (Whether it's true or not doesn't matter. The perception does).


Still though, I say Boo! Kotaku deserves to be shitlisted.

[schild]

I need to write when I get home.

I am DISGUSTED. Fucking DISGUSTED with this.

Goddamnit. I think I'm gonna put my head through my monitor.

[schild]

Neogaf found the logo in doubletime.

[Trippy]

Unless Kotaku signed some sort of NDA I don't see what the problem is. There was one quote from an unnamed source and the rest of the info came from Sony itself or other published material. If Sony doesn't want people rumor-mongering about potential upcoming announcements maybe they should shut their own mouths first. I.e. this isn't information Sony privately gave them, asked them not to publish it and they did it anyways. They did their own research of publically available information plus one unnamed source and decided they didn't feel like being bullied by Sony into keeping quiet and published it.

Edit: extra first

[schild]

This isn't even bullying. It was a favor.

Not even a big one.

[stray]

The point is it's not news Trippy (it was being prepared to be released for all journos anyways), and they decided to steal Sony's thunder to make themselves look good. Before they do so, they ask Sony about it, Sony politely tells them to hold off -- and for whatever reason, Kotaku decides to ignore them. Then Sony pulls the plug on their swag.

And then Kotaku decides to bring further attention to themselves by publishing the email exchange, and tried to turn it into some David vs Goliath story (and nothing about the rumor at all). It's all silly and pointless, and not journalism.

[Trippy]

I agree it's silly and pointless. What I don't understand is why all of you think "prior restraint" is a good thing.

[schild]

Because this isn't an industry of "news." It's a luxury industry. Companies get to drop bombs on us. Not journalists. This was PURELY Kotaku not respecting Sony and acting the fool.

They deserve to get blacklisted by the whole industry. Actually, they deserved to get blacklisted a long time ago. This is just icing.

[Riggswolfe]

I have mixed feelings. I know nothing about Kutaku or however it's spelled. So...

1) It was just a rumor and they chose to print it. Sony asked them not to.
2) They were dicks and printed it anyway.
3) Sony over reacted IMO, as was said, this wasn't an NDA type of situation or information given to them officially by Sony.
4) They play victim and Sony makes up to avoid bad PR.

Honestly, both parties have mud on them in this one.

[schild]

Honestly, both parties have mud on them in this one.

I don't see how Sony does.

[stray]

I don't see how Sony does.

It's "perceived mud". Which is actually worse than real mud ;).

[Margalis]

This isn't a story that the public just has to know right now.

From Sony's perspective they've given Kotaku stuff, can't they ask for something in return? Again this isn't Sony asking to squelch a story about how the PS3 catches on fire..."responsible journalism" lol.

Kotaku is crap. I don't understand a lot of the new websites. Digg is another good example of a site I just don't get. It sometimes has something vaguely interesting but 95% of it is just retarded. The whole content aggregation trend annoys me - someone has to produce actual content!

The fans of these sites are slobbering morons for the most part. Comments section read like a gunshot to the face.

[schild]

Sony just wanted shock and awe at a show.

Seriously. I wish the worst plights I can think of upon Crecente right now. This wasn't balls OR journalism. This was a bandwidth bumping PR stunt of the worst kind.

[LK]

This reminds me of the Player Hater's Ball.

[stray]

I remember this one time my brother told me about this cool gumball machine my parents got me for my birthday. Totally pissed my parents off. I liked it either way, but it made me kind of sad that they couldn't show me in their own way. 

[Trippy]

Honestly, both parties have mud on them in this one.

I don't see how Sony does.

Cause they look petty for (initially) cutting off Kokatu at GDC.

[schild]

You know, I toyed around for a long time with making a rumor mill site.

This situation, where the website looks like a total asshole (though gamers would LOVE IT) is the exact reason I never went forward with it.

Edit: Sony doesn't look petty. When you cut off ties with someone, you cut them off. Kotaku deserved it. Sony pussied out. I think less of Sony now. They just keeled over to a fucking blog run by people who honestly don't even seem to know much about gaming.