Essential Linkage: Ars Technica reports on a PR storm following negative Duke Nukem Forever reviews. It's a messy business, folks...
We had bit of a ponder on the state of game review a couple of weeks back that seemed to strike a cord, and it seems we're not alone in pondering the impact game reviews have on the industry. Or, alternately, the impact the industry has on reivewing.
That's the thrust of a great piece over on Ars Technica, which reports on the Tweets of a US PR company threatening blacklisting over negative Duke Nukem Forever reviews. Here's an excerpt, but trust me, the whole article is worth reading.
The press and PR relationship may sometimes be strained, but it's rarely adversarial. That is, until the Redner Group's official Twitter account posted something you almost never see: an open threat stating that outlets who reviewed Duke Nukem Forever poorly may not receive review copies of games in the future. Anyone who has done this job for any amount of time has suffered through a dry spell after giving a publisher a bad review, but this is the first time the threat of a blacklist has been made public.
The press and PR relationship may sometimes be strained, but it's rarely adversarial.
That is, until the Redner Group's official Twitter account posted something you almost never see: an open threat stating that outlets who reviewed Duke Nukem Forever poorly may not receive review copies of games in the future. Anyone who has done this job for any amount of time has suffered through a dry spell after giving a publisher a bad review, but this is the first time the threat of a blacklist has been made public.
Ars seems to be doing a good job of keeping on top of the story as it evolves, too, and has gotten some timely comment from 2K games.
Game reviewing should not be a dirty business, but its things like this that hurt everyone involved. Bravo for Ars for bringing it to light and taking a stand.
Oh, and yeah, we were totally right about Duke :P
Issue: 137 | June, 2012