Bioware caught posting metacritic reviews..

[Spark Mandriller]

freedom of speech

Freedom of speech doesn't really work like that.

 

[Antihero]

It's foolish of them, but a couple of BioWare employees pissing into a maelstrom is somehow worse than the entire farce of most professional game reviews anyway (which Metacritic helps perpetuate), who have a much bigger effect and influence?

Metacritic gets to pick and choose what it thinks are quality review sites, while that apparently includes sites willing to give a high "Metacritic translatable" score so they can get out before the general review embargo and avoid getting blackballed on future games. No conflict of interests there. How could anybody doubt PC Gamer's 94? Or the cautious 95s the other two now have given it to get on the front score page.

I never used to even know the Metacritic score for most games until Steam starting throwing it in your face all the time (or at least since I got a Steam account, either way).

 

[circ]

I dunno. From what I recall, the industry by and large hates Metacritic. Possibly because on occasion you will see scathing 'professional' reviews as well, bringing the score down. And they will think that translates to loss of revenue.

 

[DraQ]

It's foolish of them, but a couple of BioWare employees pissing into a maelstrom is somehow worse than the entire farce of most professional game reviews anyway (which Metacritic helps perpetuate), who have a much bigger effect and influence?

I think the difference here is that here we have some fairly concrete evidence that can't be just handwaved away by the derp crowd.

It's the difference between conspiracy theory and an actual scandal.

 

[HardCode]

Okay, who from here made the account BROBOCOP over there?

 

[Tolknaz]

Freedom of speech doesn't really work like that.

Oh yeah? How does it work then? I'm not speaking about how they treat flaming or spamming, but cases such as this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments ... _words_as/

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS FREEDOM OF SPEECH MEANS YOU CAN SAY WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT IT DOESNT MEAN YOU WONT GET FIRED OR BANNED OR WHATEVER YOU JUST WONT GET ARRESTED

LETS SAY SOME BRO WALKED INTO MY HOUSE AND CALLED ME A FAGGOT BRO HE CAN DO THAT AND THEN I CAN TELL HIM TO GET THE FUCK OUT

BRO IF I HAVE A FORUM I COULD LOCK A FUCKING TOPIC JUST BECAUSE I THINK YOU AREN A DOOSHBAG THEN I MIGHT LAUGH ABOUT IT

 

[Gobbo]

freedom of speech

Freedom of speech doesn't really work like that.

Yeah, authorities decide how it works.

 

[Beautiful Clown Painting]

BLOBERT IS GOD

(Graffiti on a London wall, 1967)

 

[Spark Mandriller]

Oh yeah? How does it work then?/

It works by you can say what the fuck you want and they can't stop you. They're not stopping you. They aren't helping you, but that's not exactly the same fucking thing now is it? Letting people post on their forums is a service, if they want to stop providing that service for any reason they want they can do that. If they want to stop providing it for no reason at all they can still do that. Being allowed to post on forums isn't exactly a human right bro.

 

[treave]

Freedom of speech doesn't really work like that.

Oh yeah? How does it work then? I'm not speaking about how they treat flaming or spamming, but cases such as this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments ... _words_as/

BLOBERT and Spark Mandriller are right about this. The moment you registered an account to post on their forums you waived any rights to free speech on the forums. Doesn't mean they aren't assholes about it, just saying that they do have the right to censor you there.

Codex could exercise its option to restrict the type of discourse permissible on the forums but it doesn't - or at least, the option is exercised far less frequently compared to corporate sell-outs. Bioware Social, as well as most of the other mainstream forums out there, does.

 

[Ovg]

That's how it is, like we say in GLORIOUS potatoland "a bird shitting in his own nest is a bad bird". And with untermenschen like Woo, or whatever the chink's name is, what can you expect?

 

[Quetzacoatl]

That's how it is, like we say in GLORIOUS potatoland "a bird shitting in his own nest is a bad bird". And with untermenschen like Woo, or whatever the kike's name is, what can you expect?

Fixed

 

[Brotherman Bill]

Let me let out a big fat "meh". If there was an organized effort by bioware to post positive reviews on metacritic, and they asked all of their employees to do so, there would be many, many more. Remember there's like, what, a hundred people working at DA2 and that one of them gets pissy by the low scores and posts one himself is not really very surprising and does not alter the score much. And there is some truth to the EA defense as well - he might very well actually *like* the game.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Let me let out a big fat "meh". If there was an organized effort by bioware to post positive reviews on metacritic, and they asked all of their employees to do so, there would be many, many more. Remember there's like, what, a hundred people working at DA2 and that one of them gets pissy by the low scores and posts one himself is not really very surprising and does not alter the score much. And there is some truth to the EA defense as well - he might very well actually *like* the game.

Perception is everything. This may be a small nail, but a nail nontheless. What you say may be true, but it doesn't matter, because many will perceive the action to be shady and disingenuous. Instead of looking at this by itself, add it on to all the other stupidities that Bioware has been conducting and the overall picture doesn't look good.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Let me let out a big fat "meh". If there was an organized effort by bioware to post positive reviews on metacritic, and they asked all of their employees to do so, there would be many, many more. Remember there's like, what, a hundred people working at DA2 and that one of them gets pissy by the low scores and posts one himself is not really very surprising and does not alter the score much. And there is some truth to the EA defense as well - he might very well actually *like* the game.

Perception is everything. This may be a small nail, but a nail nontheless. What you say may be true, but it doesn't matter, because many will perceive the action to be shady and disingenuous. Instead of looking at this by itself, add it on to all the other stupidities that Bioware has been conducting and the overall picture doesn't look good.

Exactly. Reality has never mattered and only the perception of reality is what matters.

 

[piydek]

Remember there's like, what, a hundred people working at DA2 and that one of them gets pissy by the low scores and posts one himself is not really very surprising and does not alter the score much. And there is some truth to the EA defense as well - he might very well actually *like* the game.

Except this doesn't really matter when it comes to the issue. The issue is that metacritic scores are perceived as "of the people, for the people". This guy is a developer voting for the game he was involved in making. That's conflict of interest. This reminds me of practice of some politicians here in Croatia. The same person as a politician creates conditions for making some business deal and then makes that business deal with his own firm. And ironically, then they say that in the first case they acted as a politician - within their right and professionally - and in the second case they acted as a private person, with private business - also within their right and professionally. As if, somehow, they were two people. It's not legitimate to take a same person as two functions of that same person in this case. Bioware developer voting on Bioware game on metacritic is NOT a private person voting on a game. This is by definition illegitimate practice. No amount of "perceptions" and relativization changes that. That's shitty liberal bullshit ideology.

 

[Volourn]

bULLSHIT.

he did nothing fukkin' wrong.

Besides, random people posting 10s or 0s without playing the game is bullshit as well. Who gives a flying fuck for ffs.


Yiou shouldn't be basing your purchases on other dinks opinjions. there's enoguh info out to decided to buy or not buy anyways.

FFS

 

[Shannow]

Except this doesn't really matter when it comes to the issue. The issue is that metacritic scores are perceived as "of the people, for the people". This guy is a developer voting for the game he was involved in making. That's conflict of interest. This reminds me of practice of most politicians everywhere. Bioware developer voting on Bioware game on metacritic is NOT a private person voting on a game. This is by definition illegitimate practice. No amount of "perceptions" and relativization changes that. That's shitty neocon bullshit ideology.

fixed that for ya.

What I find surprising is that some people seem to use "everybody does it, what do you expect?" as if that were an excuse or made the whole affair less dishonest. Personally I expect PR-types, politicians, girlfriends, disclaimers, corporations, reviews, news and all the rest to be honest with me. If they fail to do so (as they invariably will) I will call them on their bullshit and make them feel the consequences where I can. Without the first part I'd a worse cynic than I am and disbelieve anything and anyone, incabale of trust. Without the second part I'd litteraly want to be lied to.
Accepting that "everybody does it" without criticising them for it and making them feel consequences, is what brought us to the stage where "everybody does it".

 

[piydek]

Personally I expect PR-types, politicians, girlfriends, disclaimers, corporations, reviews, news and all the rest to be honest with me. If they fail to do so (as they invariably will) I will call them on their bullshit and make them feel the consequences where I can.

Exactly. It's funny how long period of lies, deceit and malpractice in certain areas of public existence has made people feel it's OK for some people to be in conflict of interest, lie, or at least present situations in rather...interesting ways. And then for people like Volly here..."It's no big deal". Well fuck off, even when it's insignificant in effect, it's just terrible practice.

 

[Achilles]

Hasn't this been pretty much common practice for ages?

 

[Konjad]

Hasn't this been pretty much common practice for ages?

It was but it's always fun when someone gets caught doing that, is it not?

 

[Brotherman Bill]

Let me let out a big fat "meh". If there was an organized effort by bioware to post positive reviews on metacritic, and they asked all of their employees to do so, there would be many, many more. Remember there's like, what, a hundred people working at DA2 and that one of them gets pissy by the low scores and posts one himself is not really very surprising and does not alter the score much. And there is some truth to the EA defense as well - he might very well actually *like* the game.

Perception is everything. This may be a small nail, but a nail nontheless. What you say may be true, but it doesn't matter, because many will perceive the action to be shady and disingenuous. Instead of looking at this by itself, add it on to all the other stupidities that Bioware has been conducting and the overall picture doesn't look good.

Exactly. Reality has never mattered and only the perception of reality is what matters.

I don't get what you argue here.

I'm not talking about the public perception of this, I'm talking about *our*, the codexian collective's perception of this. Hopefully, at least a few of you consider the facts of the case more important than the public perception of it when making up your opinions about it.

Except this doesn't really matter when it comes to the issue. The issue is that metacritic scores are perceived as "of the people, for the people".

Metacritic scores have the same deficiencies as all other internet polls and are meant to be taken with a grain of salt. It was never a bastion of truth and objectivity.

This is by definition illegitimate practice. No amount of "perceptions" and relativization changes that. That's shitty neocon bullshit ideology.

Dunno what neocon ideology has to do with this tbh...

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

I'm not talking about the public perception of this, I'm talking about *our*, the codexian collective's perception of this. Hopefully, at least a few of you consider the facts of the case more important than the public perception of it when making up your opinions about it.

What exactly is 'our' perception? I don't think there is a collective perception of anything here, apart from an overall feeling that things have generally gone down the toilet over time.

The public perception is all important; 'our' perception has made no difference when it comes to CRPG's being developed, except perhaps with a few independant developers. If the public crucifys Bioware however...

 

[Pablosdog]

There is much in-fighting in the codex; most posters revile at least one other poster. When I think of the codex I think of that scene in the first twenty minutes of 2001 with the rival ape groups combating each other.

 

[J1M]

There is much in-fighting in the codex; most posters revile at least one other poster. When I think of the codex I think of that scene in the first twenty minutes of 2001 with the rival ape groups combating each other.

As it should be. The moment everyone's posts contain "I agree", "Me as well" I'm gone.