Shutout and Stonewalled

In the realm of video game journalism, access is everything. By fostering relationships with publishers and public relations executives, journalists are privy to exclusive interviews, art for cover stories, and review copies of games. The underlying principle that rules most publishers and PR reps is: “take care of us, and we’ll take care of you.” This uneasy relationship is succinctly exemplified on a recent post of Sony’s Playstation Blog, which stated:

“Kotaku on Socom.com – Kotaku showed us some love, so we”

Clicking on the link, shows how cozy Kotaku and Socom publisher, Sony, are:

“Big ups to Brian Crecente @ Kotaku for hitting us with some kind words last week. He’s got the screens we ran last week and some other stuff for you to check out.”

So what’s the big problem with this symbiotic relationship, anyway? Kotaku is getting web hits from the Socom site, while Kotaku readers are hitting Sony’s link. As soon as Kotaku posts any less than ideal impressions, Sony could limit any future access the site has. Sound far-fetched? Former 1Up editor Dan Hsu mentioned how publisher Ziff-Davis no longer had access to Sony’s sport games, Mortal Kombat titles, and anything from Ubisoft. Apparently, bridges haven’t been mended as 1UP still has not reviewed the high-profile Playstation 3 FPS, Haze. Many speculate that Jeff Gerstmann’s unflattering review of Kane and Lynch ended with his pink slip from Gamespot.

Recently, Tech-Gaming had one of the first reviews of a game based on a summer blockbuster. After weeks of developing a working relationship with a number of public relation execs, we were sent a review copy of the title. After playing the game for over six hours, we found the title to be sub-standard in nearly all aspects. We posting the review, and as requested, e-mailed our contacts the link to the review.

It was at that point communication stopped. E-mails that would typically be responded to in hours were never replied to. Messages left on voice-mail systems went unreturned.  This didn’t come as a surprise however; previously two other companies stonewalled us after a unfavorable review and preview(!). This termination of access put us at a distinct disadvantage- no longer could we have reviews before release day, and interviews with game creators were no longer possible.

So what can loyal Tech-Gaming readers expect from this site? The same honesty and dedication that they have received for the past six months. Unlike some other blogs, whose news consists of regurgitated press releases with a short throwaway comment, we aim to conduct actual journalism. That means candid reviews, interviews you won’t find anywhere else, and primary research. And if we don’t last a year abiding by those standards, so be it; we’d rather shut the site down, then bend our principles.