Why do forign previews seem to give fewer blows?

[deuxhero]

NMA has a critical preview from a french publication, and this is by far far from the first time a forgin publication has acctualy looked at the game beyond hype (something the US/english speaking europe publications seem to do)


Anyone have anyidea why?.

 

[OSK]

They don't take/aren't offered bribes?

 

[Volourn]

Most big publishers don't give a shit about Europeans. Nort should they. Europeans are known to start world wars.

 

[Brother None]

Anyone have anyidea why?.

Sure.

Gaming media isn't just about pleasing the game publishers. Sure, it's part of it, and you can't become really big without drooling down the neck of the bigger publishers consistently (see: GameSpot and the likes).

But they don't make you money, they just give you content. The readers are the people that make you money, so yes, for a part you write for them.

Now Europeans have always been slightly more PC-oriented and slightly more traditionalist than American audiences. You can see this in some reviews and previews, but it's usually more subtle.

I think Fallout just tipped the balance. In countries like Russia and Poland, Fallout has a status that almost no other game ever achieved. It's less empathic in Germany and France, but it's still present. Oblivion, too, was just a step less well-received. Combine the too, and the reception of Fallout 3 just isn't that positive, overall.

So yeah, it's kind of a combination of the two. Less pressure from the publisher, more pressure from more PC-oriented readers.

 

[Serious_Business]

Because obviously Europeans are cultured and civilized compared to those tribals and colonial rebels, that's why

 

[Chefe]

This is a British Colony!

No... THIS IS AMERICA!

 

[Brother None]

Also, for those thinking all American media are basking in the glory.

Wired Blog preview:
If the Fallout universe were only an aesthetic, Bethesda would have completely nailed it with the upcoming Fallout 3.

Unfortunately, as my half an hour with the game a few moments ago demonstrated, all the external pieces are there, but the charm that made the series such a classic is almost entirely lacking.

That's not to say it won't be good; Shooter fans and those who loved Bethesda's Oblivion will probably adore the freedom offered by the game's open-world post-apocalyptic setting.

Dyed in the wool Fallout fans, however, may not be so pleased.

Aesthetically and aurally, Fallout 3 is amazing.
(...)
The key problem with the game though is in the writing. It really feels like someone wrote a fanfic based on the Fallout universe and somehow got the funding to create a game based on it. Though the story and characters are suitably gritty and conflicted, none of them are terribly likeable and the entire thing simply feels like it's trying too hard to adhere to the tenets of its predecessors.

I predict a heavy backlash from long-time fans. At best Fallout 3 will be the blacksheep of the series: An oddity played only for completion's sake by those who absolutely adore the original games.

Luckily for Bethesda, the game will sell tons of copies to those gamers less in love with the series' past if only for its gorgeous graphics, entertaining gameplay and ridiculous levels of gore.

 

[Serious_Business]

No doubt Europe is full of shit as well, but that is exclusively because of insidious American influence

 

[Spectacle]

LOL at the fanbois commenting on the wired blog.

 

[MaskedMartyr]

LOL at the fanbois commenting on the wired blog.

As you can clearly see this is a review, please judge it as such.

 

[MetalCraze]

Hmm, I didn't expect even a bit of truth from Wired. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Saxon1974]

Hmm, I didn't expect even a bit of truth from Wired. I was pleasantly surprised.

Me either....Maybe they didn't get an invite to the "Get the media guys laid" party that most of them go to.

I dont really want the game to suck because I like playing in a post apoc world...however if its what I think it will be (An Oblivion like FPS game) Im not going to buy it and will wait until I can get it cheap on ebay.

 

[kingcomrade]

Most big publishers don't give a shit about Europeans. Nort should they. Europeans are known to start world wars.

 

[Mareus]

Anyone have anyidea why?.

Sure.

Gaming media isn't just about pleasing the game publishers. Sure, it's part of it, and you can't become really big without drooling down the neck of the bigger publishers consistently (see: GameSpot and the likes).

But they don't make you money, they just give you content. The readers are the people that make you money, so yes, for a part you write for them.

Now Europeans have always been slightly more PC-oriented and slightly more traditionalist than American audiences. You can see this in some reviews and previews, but it's usually more subtle.

I think Fallout just tipped the balance. In countries like Russia and Poland, Fallout has a status that almost no other game ever achieved. It's less empathic in Germany and France, but it's still present. Oblivion, too, was just a step less well-received. Combine the too, and the reception of Fallout 3 just isn't that positive, overall.

So yeah, it's kind of a combination of the two. Less pressure from the publisher, more pressure from more PC-oriented readers.

To put this in Volly's style:
Europe>America
Poland, Russia>Germany, France> rest of the world
Bioware>everyone else

 

[elander_]

Fallout is an USA product isn't it? The review sites from USA must have some pride in it. They are willing to say Fallout 3 is a good game but some of them won't recognize it as an equal in quality to the original classic.

 

[Mareus]

It's all about money. If you spit shit on FO3 you will not get any content or you will get it last, so your magazine will sell bad. Praise us and you will get all the content, interviews and even a nice laptop as a reward. Fortunately some Europian previews still manage to resist the smell of money, but for how long?

 

[JarlFrank]

Strangely, here in Germany the hype for Fallout 3 is pretty low. Probably because of the huge disappointment that Oblivion was to us Germans, especially since the translation was so fucked up in the unpatched version that you couldn't understand ANYTHING and it even mixed up the translations of some spells.

So, basically, Fallout 3 hype over here is barely existant.

 

[Mareus]

Strangely, here in Germany the hype for Fallout 3 is pretty low. Probably because of the huge disappointment that Oblivion was to us Germans, especially since the translation was so fucked up in the unpatched version that you couldn't understand ANYTHING and it even mixed up the translations of some spells.

So, basically, Fallout 3 hype over here is barely existant.

Just one offtopic question JarlFrank. How hard it is in Germany to get a hold of original version of games and movies. I mean I am under impression everything is synchronized on German in Germany. I swear the day that starts happening in Croatia is the day I will move out of Croatia. Doesn't it bother you? Don't people in Germany find it annoying? Rhis goes to all of you guys that have the same problem in your countries.

Then again you can always download the game

 

[Jasede]

Depends. Most don't like dubs; I couldn't care less. Don't know about Jarl. Personally, I think our movie dubs are always very well done since they use stage actors mostly for that - who are much better actors than Hollywood actors, and one can hear that. Game translations are atrocious though.

Fortunately, with the advent of the DVD, most games usually let you install the English version too - but then again, hardly not all, so you might end up with an awful German version that ruins everything, like in PS:T

Very, very rarely is a game translation here -really- good. Still tons better than in Russia on average, though. The only great translations I remember were Thief and Kotor 2. They pretty much nailed Kreia - though the English one is still a tiny bit better; but she's a class of her own.

 

[Mareus]

So basicly it is more trouble than it's worth? You can get little but lose a lot.

 

[JarlFrank]

Personally, I import games and movies from amazon.uk or I use the torrents to get the original version. And in some shops you can order the English version, like in the local EB games in my city. You can tell them "Hey I want the English version of Oblivion." and they'll order the English version for you. So, it's not really hard to get a hold on original versions over here. Probably also depends on where exactly in Germany you live. And you can always import from the UK, what I often do.

But it really depends, I only get original versions of games that are censored in the German version and RPGs because I prefer my RPGs to be on English. With strategy games I just buy the German version fron the store, and they're usually translated very well, even the voice-acting is pretty good.
If the game is not story-intensive, I just get the German version. But I always get games with complex stories and a lot of text in English, because I'm generally sceptical of translations and hate it when some deeper meanings or some puns are lost in translation.

 

[mondblut]

But they don't make you money, they just give you content. The readers are the people that make you money, so yes, for a part you write for them.

Gaming media lives off ad revenues, not subscriptions or sold units. The readers matter only in as much as for securing higher ad billings when audience is larger.

"Throw out this negative review or we'll pull that full-page ad we were going to buy out in your next issue" is a most common instance of publishers/media relationship.

 

[JarlFrank]

"Throw out this negative review or we'll pull that full-page ad we were going to buy out in your next issue" is a most common instance of publishers/media relationship.

Maybe that's why German gaming magazines are less cocksucky... when I read through one of them, I notice that there are actually pretty many hardware advertisements, not only game ones.

 

[Mareus]

I figured that much by myself, but what really interests me, don't people nag about it? I mean if it happened here in Croatia, I think we would have a rebellion on our hands. I don't mind the synchronization if you are allowed to chose, but dammit when they make you listen to it, it's just annoying. At least for me. And no matter how good synchronization is, don't you find it atleast a bit annoying when you see mouth opening one way and words comming out differently then they should?

 

[JarlFrank]

As I said, I find it annoying that's why I get my movies on English from imports or from torrents. I don't mind it, and most Germans are happy that TV shows them everything on German because some can't speak English at all and most wouldn't want to pay so much attention to watch something in a foreign language. The majority of the population likes dubbing. I don't, so I don't watch movies on TV but buy/download them. And just for your information, I also download foreign movies [Eastern European, Asian...] in their original language and then get myself English subtitles because I don't really like dubs.