January 13, 2009 6:12:38 AM
ElPresidente, thank you for your long post. It's good to know that *I* am not going mad. You absolutely summed up why your opinions "matter" and Scott's don't. All we ask from our critics is that they give an honest impression on what they see, with enough clues to give us an idea if it's something we'll be interested in. Critics don't make or break a product - even something panned can find a cult audience later on, and something well-reviewed will tank quickly if it sucks. They are the *first* guide; word-of-mouth is the last and longest. Internet media is there to be immediate rather than being something of lasting value. Because it doesn't have the editorial authority of some of the weightier print publications, the only way your voice is ever going to be listened to is if it is believed. There are a million blogs on the web and few are worth reading. ElPresidente, you summed up in your comments why I would be persuaded to read what you have to write because it is interesting and insightful. Having someone admit that they just followed the herd at the critical point just makes me think that their opinions just don't count for very much. To answer Scott's question, my experience is that people aren't buying Fallout 3 based on reviews at this stage - that only counted for the first week. People are recommending the game to their friends and that is what is persuading them to buy it - not the hype and not the ads. Oblivion doesn't continue to sell well because it was a cleverly-marketed title. People tell me that they bought it because their friends enjoyed it. It might not be your type of game, and it doesn't have to be. There is no obligation on your part to like it. All you ever had to do is to speak up at the time. If you want "mainstream", then the snobby cultural elite in high-school would have recognised a lack of individual thinking as its hallmark. If you really want to give one in the eye to the mainstream, try thinking for yourself.
January 12, 2009 5:26:12 PM
Do you also blame Marlboro for your smoking habit? They Made Me Do It?Journalism is no place for the weak. You have to tell the truth, even if that means losing friends, and God knows it's hard! Sometimes you might be tempted to find something to like if it nudges it up to a '6' from a '5'. Sometimes you get carried away and give a '10' to a game that only merits a '9'. Sometimes you might detest a genre you're asked to review, so unfairly give a low score because you literally don't know any better. In that case, you could blame the editor, because your opinion on that would be worth no more than my mother's, but you don't blame the marketing department for your own weaknesses.You have now undermined the faith of the reader in your integrity and in this website. Your mistake was not to admit now how you feel, but in failing to do so in the first place, when it was the only thing you were ever being asked to do.
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The games we're pulling together in this feature won't appear on any of those best-of lists and get confused looks when you mention them in conversation. Just because time has forgotten these titles, though, doesn't mean you should forget them, too. » Read On
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