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
- LG paying for reviews… [7 Updates]
- Phil Fish [22 Updates]
- PAX Prime panel opp: Aladdin SNES vs. Aladdin Genesis [2 Updates]
- Freelance copy editing at Polygon? [1 Update]
- Survey on game PR [1 Update]
…but game critics are the ones wearing money hats…
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/05/lg-is-looking-to-buy-some-coverage-for-its-new-phone/
—
Senior Gaming Editor, Ars …more
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
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
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s right. I just find it interesting.
—
n: William O’Neal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/williamoneal
…more
Read the comments. When Animals Attack ™.
—
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
…more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/girl-with-dragon-tattoo-david-denby-scott-rudin-embargo-269617
It happens from time to time, but I’ve never seen anything on the level of
Fish’s flameout. …more
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
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
Fez 2 was definitely a real thing.
On Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 9:01 AM, Garrett Martin
…more
Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man” jumps to mind as an example of a
musician taking it to the press through his work in devastating fashion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballad_of_a_Thin_Man
…more
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
If Phil Fish talked like Nixon, the entire ordeal would have been far more
entertaining.
…more
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
He felt the media was out to get him is my point.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130192940
—
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
…more
This couldn’t be better timed for this discussion
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/06/chris-brown-quit-music-x-mistake_n_3713262.html
—
Senior Gaming Editor, Ars …more
Best Twitter response yet:
https://twitter.com/ericwalkuski/status/364790387233132545
…more
New best Twitter response:
https://twitter.com/gizmogladstone/status/364812383497105409
On Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 12:52 PM, Adam Rosenberg
—
Senior Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: …more
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
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
That is all.
-Samit
—
Reporter, *Polygon* <http://www.polygon.com>
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
https://twitter.com/russpitts/status/364771285286400001
—
Senior Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/
http://www.kyleorland.com