GameJournoPros: Joking about Paid Reviews and Mocking Phil Fish

GameJournoPros: Joking about Paid Reviews and Mocking Phil Fish

Even with the extravagant, all-expenses-paid parties, consumer electronics companies and games developers don’t hand out cash enough to pay the rent, whinges GameJournoPros founder Kyle Orland in another tranche of leaked emails from the game industry’s private mailing list. 

The new emails show games journalists discussing how PR representatives pay for positive coverage. “When I did marketing and PR for ASUS (a Taiwanese company), one of my coworkers casually asked me how much I paid editorial outlets to write good reviews of the products for which I was responsible,” confessed William O’Neill, a frequent poster on the list. 

The conversation, which we have received only in abridged summary form, pasted below, shows James Fudge, another journalist in the group, hinting that it might cost more to bribe journalists on the west coast of America than elsewhere.

Also featured in this latest leak are comments about developer Phil Fish, with some list members expressing doubt that Fish, who notoriously quit the games industry after receiving unpleasant tweets, was ever going to release another game regardless. 

“Judging him based on everything the dude has ever said or done publicly, I personally believe that he is fully capable of a tantrum on this scale. Whether or not this was planned I have no idea,” wrote Michael Rougeau, a freelance writer published at Kotaku, Complex and GameSpot. 

Fish will likely be dismayed to read the dismissive tone of many comments in the thread. “I think he maybe started fez 2 as a real project, then realized he just wasn’t feeling it for whatever reason, then used twitter drama as the public excuse,” writes Kyle Orland. 

The conversation about Fish was started by Nick Chester, a developer and not a journalist, which will raise questions in readers’ minds about the privileged access some developers had to journalists by being members of GameJournoPros. 

The full text of this latest leak appears below, lightly edited to remove private information.


THE LATEST EMAILS

Group: http://groups.google.com/group/GameJournoPros/topics

    “William O’Neal”  Aug 06 02:49PM -0400  

    When I did marketing and PR for ASUS (a Taiwanese company), one of my
    coworkers casually asked me how much I paid editorial outlets to write good
    reviews of the products for which I was responsible. …more

    Back to top.

    Kyle Orland  Aug 06 02:53PM -0400  

    There’s junkets and then there’s just giving a writer cold hard cash to do
    anything they want with. Even the most extravagant, unnecessary junket
    can’t be used to pay rent, for example. …more

    Back to top.

    James Fudge Aug 06 02:59PM -0400  

    Read the comments. When Animals Attack ™.
     
     
     
     
    — 
    James Fudge
    Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
    …more

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    “William O’Neal”  Aug 06 03:10PM -0400  

    I’ve worked for companies that had rules about accepting gifts of more than
    a specified dollar amount. $50. $100. I always found this funny. Especially
    when journalists were “hooking up” with PR …more

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    James Fudge  Aug 06 03:23PM -0400  

    On the west coast it’s probably pretty pricey. I’d imagine you would retail
    for around $550?
     
     
     
     
    — 
    James Fudge
    Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
    …more

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    Nick Chester Aug 05 02:11PM -0700  

    Serious question: does anyone on this list honestly believe that he Fish 
    stopped work on the game and that he hadn’t intended to “cancel” Fez 2 
    publicly all along? 
     
    On Monday, August 5, 2013 …more

    Back to top.

    Michael Rougeau  Aug 05 02:13PM -0700  

    Judging him based on everything the dude has ever said or done publicly, I personally believe that he is fully capable of a tantrum on this scale. Whether or not this was planned I have no idea.
    …more

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    Jason Aug 05 03:38PM -0700  

    I’d call Marcus a pundit.
     
    Sent from my couch
     
    …more

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    James Fudge  Aug 05 06:43PM -0400  

    That’s a fair characterization :) I guess I expected him to have some
    perspective on the relationship between the press and the industry is all.
    Sometimes they don’t respond… Also they don’t tend …more

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    Kyle Orland  Aug 06 09:37AM -0400  

    I think he maybe started fez 2 as a real project, then realized he just wasn’t feeling it for whatever reason, then used twitter drama as the public excuse. But who really knows.
     
    …more

    Back to top.

    James Fudge   Aug 06 09:46AM -0400  

    Maybe. If you watch Indie Game: The Movie you can see how much he struggled
    with the first game…
     
     
     
    — 
    James Fudge
    Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
    …more

    Back to top.

    “William O’Neal”  Aug 06 09:49AM -0400  

    Does shit like this happen in other industries? It must. Do movie critics
    have flame wars with each other and filmmakers? I remember Ebert vs. Gallo.
    And I guess it happens in music too. Never mind. …more

    Back to top.

    Anthony John Agnello  Aug 06 09:59AM -0400  

    HA!
     
    I’ve seen it in music too. The Stereophonics have a song called “Mr.
    Writer” on their 2001 album that was a direct response to some nasty review
    they got. I actually like the song, but it’s …more

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    Garrett Martin   Aug 06 10:01AM -0400  

    go read Lester Bangs’ interviews with Lou Reed
     
    On Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 9:59 AM, Anthony John Agnello <jconstantine@gmail.com
     
    — 
    Garrett Martin
    Games Editor for Paste Magazine …more

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    Patrick Klepek  Aug 06 09:27AM -0500  

    Fez 2 was definitely a real thing.
     
     
    On Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 9:01 AM, Garrett Martin
    …more

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    James Fudge  Aug 06 11:05AM -0400  

    This is the kind of thing you see in politics every day. Like Richard
    Nixon’s “last press conference” in ’62 after losing the Ca. Governor’s
    race. “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”
     
    …more

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    Anthony John Agnello  Aug 06 11:06AM -0400  

    If Phil Fish talked like Nixon, the entire ordeal would have been far more
    entertaining.
     
    …more

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    Kyle Orland   Aug 06 11:07AM -0400  

    Not sure that’s a great analogy. Nixon actually lost the race, and was
    thereby prevented from, um, being governor. When a politician quits, it’s
    usually because a legitimate scandal makes him …more

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    Jason Venter   Aug 06 11:44AM -0700  

    Didn’t Mary Louise Parker say she may stop acting because she’s tired of 
    the mean things people say about celebrities on the Internet? It’s easy to 
    make fun of such people, but the constant–often …more

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    Dennis Scimeca   Aug 06 12:09PM -0700  

    Or there’s always the possibility that Fish’s fit of pique turns out to be 
    one of the most epic flounces in recent history, and in six months he’ll 
    write some long post on the Polytron site about …more

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    Nick Chester Aug 06 10:49AM -0700  

    This is so wrong for so many reasons. But whatever you say, Samit. 
     
    On Monday, August 5, 2013 6:58:28 PM UTC-4, Samit Sarkar wrote:
    …more

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