Stephen Totilo wrote an interesting article about the status of game reviewing in the form of a Game Reviewer’s Bill of Rights. In response to his asking what the gaming public’s thoughts were, I commented with:
I’d like to see more reviews from media outlets that aren’t at all involved in the game publishing and reporting industries.
Unethical publisher/gaming press pressure is now slowly being confirmed, like in Alex Navarro’s comment, where he was asked to delay a review until after the game’s launch if it’s score was going to be <9.0. Admissions like that, while greatly appreciated, leave (intelligent) readers skeptical. It’s not all doom & gloom, though — Giant Bomb was created out of it, and I’m very much enjoying Jeff & Ryan’s work, again. Sadly, Gamespot is a husk of it’s previous self after nearly all of it’s talent have fled, but deservedly so.
When I read a music or movie review, I usually temper my expectation based on the reviewer’s past writing. The question of whether or not the media publisher has explicitly (Gerstmann-gate) or even IMPLICITLY (Navarro’s comment, above) pressured the reviewer, never comes to mind.
MTV Multiplayer » The Game Reviewer’s Bill Of Rights:
by Stephen Totilo on 5/27/08 at 8:54 pm.The Bill of RightsGame reviewers aren’t satisfied with the opportunities they get to review games. In interviews, they tell me that things could be better. And they’ve explained how some standard practices affect the reviews they write.
What if it could all be perfect? I asked a few top game reviewers to tell me their desires for the perfect review experience. I put their requests in a list. The result is the first draft of:
The Game Reviewer’s Bill Of Rights
(rough draft!)Item 1: A final, boxed copy of a game will be provided to a reviewer prior to the writing of a review
Item 2: The review copy of a game will be made available to the reviewer at least a week prior to a game’s release
Item 3: Developers and publishers will not be present while a game is reviewed
Item 4: Reviewers will be given access to a game’s online mode during the review process