Turns out I don’t have to do a write-up about the Metal Gear Solid 5 fiasco. semprafi rather nicely covers it here:
Destructoid: “Metal Gear Solid 5 is NOT confirmed … yet”, November 21st, 2011
Kotaku: “Is Metal Gear Solid 5 Coming? “Probably…At Some Point”, November 21st, 2011
GameInformer: “Metal Gear Solid 5 Confirmed [Update]”, November 21st, 2011
Giant Bomb: “Turns Out Metal Gear Solid 5 Talk Was a False Alarm”, November 21st, 2011
NowGamer: “Kojima: Wants No Involvement In Metal Gear Solid 5”, November 21st, 2011
VG247: “Kojima: “We’ll probably have to make” Metal Gear Solid 5”, November 21st, 2011
CVG: “We’ll probably have to make Metal Gear Solid 5,’ admits Kojima”, November 21st, 2011
IGN: “MGS5: “We’ll Have To Make It,” Says Hideo Kojima”, November 21st, 2011
Shacknews: “Kojima has ‘no idea’ what MGS5 will be”, November 21st, 2011
Joystiq: “Kojima on MGS5: ‘We’ll probably have to make it at some point”, November 21st, 2011
Just a sampling of the sites covering this and/or backpedaling on their
acts of journalismerroneous assumptions (something that’s an increasingly big problem), as a result of Official PlayStation Magazine UK deciding to “address” their conjecture-filled, incredibly misleading-so-it-would-spread-like-wildfire cover article tease earlier this month:When asked about the sequel to MGS 4 the series’ creator replied “I think we’ll probably have to make it at some point, but what that will be, we have no idea”. Once again, though, Kojima is downplaying his involvement. “As far as my involvement in the project is concerned, [it] probably won’t be as much as it was with MGS1 – maybe I can do just one stage! For MGS1 I made the maps myself, laid out the enemy routes myself, did everything hands-on – that level I can’t do again.”
Now, compare to these same outlets’ original take on the now confirmed non-story.
Destructoid: “Kojima cover story in OPM confirms Metal Gear Solid 5”, November 17th, 2011
Kotaku: “Snake? Snaaaake?!: Is Hideo Kojima Helming Metal Gear Solid 5?”, November 17th, 2011
GameInformer: “Metal Gear Solid 5 Confirmed”, November 17th, 2011
GiantBomb: “Metal Gear Solid 5 Is Apparently Happening”, November 17th, 2011
NowGamer: “Kojima Confirms Plans For Metal Gear Solid 5”, November 18th, 2011
VG247: “Hideo Kojima to discuss plans for MGS5, Project Ogre in next issue of OPM”, November 17th, 2011
CVG: “Kojima talks MGS 5, Rising in new OPM”, November 17th, 2011
IGN: “Kojima ready to talk Metal Gear Solid 5”, November 18th, 2011
Shacknews: “Hideo Kojima to discuss plans for MGS5, Project Ogre in next issue of OPM”, November 17th, 2011
Joystiq: “Tactical Espionage Announcement: Kojima working on Metal Gear Solid 5”, November 17th, 2011
You seriously have NO idea how hard I am laughing at this. Sure, a large part of the blame can and should be placed on OPM UK’s doorstep for how this played out, as print gaming magazines — especially European ones, and especially those under Future Publishing — are mostly reliant upon speculatory/conjecture laden/hypothetical/sensationalist features to sell their out-of-date wares to the public anymore, who are vastly ahead of them thanks to the web.
But you’d think after the countless, borderline embarrassing examples in recent memory, enthusiast press would have figured that out by now.
At least the folks at Giant Bomb have seemingly acknowledged this, and vow to “refrain from publishing anything from OPM UK again anytime soon,” so as to not “encourage what was purely link bait.”
Too bad that’s not an industry-wide accepted practice.
Websites form erroneous assumptions, imply Rockstar involvement with Take-Two-owned domain [Update: It’s XCOM]
CVG: “Rockstar’s mysterious ‘Citizen Skywatch’ site suggests reveal”, August 15th, 2011
However, the whois log for CitizenSkywatch.com also drags Rockstar into the mix with the GTA developer cropping up in a server name … Of course, just because Rockstar’s name pops up on a server title doesn’t mean that Citizen Skywatch is anything to do with, oh we don’t know, GTA V but we’ve certainly got our fingers crossed for a gob-smacking Rockstar surprise this week.
Joystiq: “What is Citizen Skywatch?”, August 15th, 2011
A whois search reveals that the domain is registered to Take-Two Interactive, and that its listed physical address is the same address listed for Rockstar’s official site, so we can safely infer that it will at least be tangentially related to games.
G4TV: “Citizen Skywatch’ Placeholder Has Connections To Take-Two, Rockstar”, AUgust 15th, 2011
There’s no way of knowing what game this might relate to, though the timing of the website’s discovery in relation to the start of Gamescom this week suggests we’ll be hearing more very soon. The Rockstar connection means it probably has nothing to do with BioShock: Infinite or XCOM, two games in which the term “Skywatch” would seem to be relevant. Maybe GTA V…?
VG247: “Citizen Skywatch placeholder linked to Rockstar” / “Take-Two teasing “Citizen Skywatch” [Now removed], August 15th, 2011
The website’s address information matches that of Rockstar. Now, what well known series is Rockstar very strongly believed to be working on right now, which is notorious for its AR marketing including websites for fictitious organisations?
NowGamer: “GTA Studio Launches Citizen Skywatch, But What Is It?”, August 15th, 2011
The domain was registered by Take-Two Games, and is reportedly hosted on the same servers as existing Rockstar websites - while not proof of Rockstar’s involvement, the project could be some sort of ARG for another game title, or something else altogether. … We can’t see any direct link to any existing GTA 5 rumours, but could it tie-up with other Rockstar properties such as Max Payne 3? Or is it something entirely different altogether? A Gamescom reveal perhaps?
Back in April, Take-Two Interactive scooped up the domain for a mysterious new something, called “Citizen Skywatch”. Is it an unannounced new IP? A viral campaign for the XCOM reboot? No one knows for certain, so we must speculate!
Curiously, blogs covering the domain’s story — which just surfaced over the weekend, along with accompanying Twitter/YouTube profile — have taken it upon themselves to somehow gather that this is definitely-maybe-possibly a new thing from Rockstar Games, of all studios. Why’s that? Because Rockstar are noted in the filing, listed amongst the various servers:
Registrant:
Administrator, System ContactMiddleName
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
622 Broadway
4th Floor
New York, NY 10012
USDomain Name: CITIZENSKYWATCH.COM
Record expires on 26-Apr-2016.
Record created on 26-Apr-2011.
Domain servers in listed order:Name Server: NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
Name Server: NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
Name Server: NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COMClearly this means that the GTA creator is keeping secrets. But wait! As it so happens, the company is also listed in the domain servers of other, not-related-to-Rockstar titles from Take-Two, such as:
Gearbox’s Borderlands
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM2K’s XCOM
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COMIrrational’s BioShock Infinite
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COMFiraxis’ Civilization
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COMDigital Extreme’s The Darkness II
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COMEven Yager’s Spec Ops: The Line
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM
NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM…And I could keep going, because this happens to be the case for a great number, if not most of the sites for Take-Two-published/owned games. [Edit: As Wardrox points out below, it’s more than likely that Rockstar’s server is the next reliable option to T2’s own, and it serves as a backup]
To throw you for an even crazier loop, the domain for 2K Sports? It’s registered to, not Take-Two, but Rockstar Games. ZOMGbwah.
I’m not stating that Citizen Skywatch isn’t a product from Rockstar Games — I have no idea, it very well could be, even if the signs do not point in that direction; seems to fit XCOM themes nicely. But to automatically infer and imply they’re linked to something new from Take-Two because of this is really sloppy journalism. Especially when the assumptions can be so easily debunked with a few quick checks to WhoIs.
[Update]: Just as I said, it’s an ARG for next March’s XCOM reboot. T2’s rolling it out at PAX where you “will be able to step into Citizen One’s Seattle bunker as he recruits new agents into Citizen SkyWatch to expose the government’s attempts to cover up the unknown threat invading our skies.”
It’s a sad day indeed when large sites like this are simply unable to do basic research rather than just vomiting up a story for public digestion. Only joking! It’s the status fucking quo.
NowGamer: “Half-Life 3, Portal 3 Won’t Be Revealed At E3”, May 18th, 2011
That’s….not what Valve said at all. NowGamer is one of the only sites I’ve seen totally misreport this news. What Valve said, verbatim, was:
Lots of folks have mailed asking about appointment times, etc., with Valve. Well, we are not showing any titles at this year’s show. So no appointment is needed.
There aren’t showing any titles. As in, there’s no Valve showfloor booth/private demo room at E3, so no need to schedule appointments.
They don’t explicitly say anywhere “We’re not planning to tap shoulders during someone else’s press conference and announce something, which we then won’t show until later on”, or something like that.
I’m certainly not implying that will happen — I honestly don’t know — but that’s not what was ‘confirmed’ today.
Wow, Tom. You’se stuppid.
Let’s have a look at some quotes from Simon miller’s review of Homefront:
Homefront has been a long time coming. Pinned as THQ’s triumphant first-person shooter, the buzz and hype around the game has been ample to prompt the publisher to admit that it already has plans for a sequel, even as this version is hitting shelves. Unfortunately, Kaos’s story of a united Korea taking over the United States doesn’t follow the path you might be expecting it to.
[…]
It’s certainly intriguing, and it should have been Homefront’s finest hour, stepping out from those crowds of FPSs that fail to boast a story you care about. To be blunt, it’s unlikely you’ll feel any different about this.
[…]
Despite the excellent premise, the narrative at its heart lacks any real kick apart from the overall arc you already know about.
[…]
Admittedly the setting is very interesting, showing small-town America completely ravaged, and the final stages of the game do a fine job of ramping up both the environments and the action, but it never truly grabs you in the way it initially threatens to or, ultimately, should have done.
[…]
As the powerhouse that is Activision’s baby continues to rule the roost in this genre, it seems all its competitors must incorporate at least a handful of its techniques. Why we need yet another ‘kick down door to activate slow-motion’ section is anyone’s guess, and you’ll lose count of the number of times you fall out of a lookout post.
[…]
It’s a shame because Kaos clearly has the talent to expand on such ideas rather than just imitate them but too often its set pieces are retreads of those that came before it.
[…]
Homefront does have its high points, but the majority feels so dated, so much like an odd cross between Call Of Duty, Half-Life and THQ’s other shooter, Metro 2033, that you never get the impression that you’re doing anything new.
It’s also questionably short, clocking in at around five hours, and while length is certainly not a representation of quality, it never has a chance to win you back over.
[…]
Alas, what you’re firing at just doesn’t hold the same authority. Easily a multiplayer-skewed game, the single-player exists as a distraction, a solid yet underwhelming attempt to breathe life into a stagnant field.
If you want a distraction from the Call Of Duty template this will just about suffice, but it’s hard to believe that it will make a significant dent or last long in your memory.
Final Score: 7.0 out of 10
In fairness Miller does have a couple of nice things to say about the game, but they are outweighed by his assessment of the game as mediocre. Then he gives it a 7.0 out of 10.
It’s also worth noting that THQ are currently advertising the game on NowGamer, which might explain Simon’s hesitance to give the game a lower score. Or maybe he genuinely believes that 7 out of 10 is an acceptable score for an average game, in which case he should be taken out the back and forced to listen to the “Beadle’s About” theme on perpetual loop until he learns the error of his ways.
Reader-submitted content follows:
Now Gamer decides to start reviewing games before they’ve even played them. Because, you know, trailers and hype are a good indication of how good they’ll actually end up being.
![NowGamer/360 Magazine, “TheMouth”: Massive Tits Discovered in Faery: Legend Of Avalon [December 2nd, 2010]
“Cynical traffic exercise” indeed.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lctmcrjQZR1qaim7mo1_500.png)
NowGamer/360 Magazine, “TheMouth”: Massive Tits Discovered in Faery: Legend Of Avalon [December 2nd, 2010]
“Cynical traffic exercise” indeed.
Debunking the GT5 “tiered damage” theories
A number of people have been in touch with me to let me know that, actually, Gran Turismo 5 doesn’t have a tiered car-damage system and nobody pulled the wool over anybody’s eyes. In fact GT5 director Kazunori Yamauchi recently tweeted that improved car damage will be patched into the game at a later date, something confirmed by a rep from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
As well as undoing the “tiered damage” rumours of last week this also raises a couple of important questions. Namely: Why the fuck did Sony and Polyphony allow an unfinished, unpolished, fundamentally broken experience to be released? I’m talking specifically about the fudged online features as well as the dodgy car damage. It took Polyphony DIgital five years to make GT5 - you’d think they’d have spent some of that time refining the experience rather than using their customers as beta testers.
Thanks to the people who sent this information in to me.
Play: Top 5 main characters Darksiders 2 could use [November 9th, 2010]
“But Ben!” I imagine I’m able to hear you say. “This is a perfectly harmless subject for an article!”
Well, no. This is absolute bollocks. The writer has picked a bunch of primary/secondary characters from other games that he thinks would make Darksiders 2 a good game. Bit of a waste of time, really, but then no one’s going to any of the sites on the NowGamer network for anything worthwhile.
Anonymous asked: Everywhere from Gamasutra to Joystiq are touting that god damned PSP Phone mock up like they held it in their hands. The fucking thing says A and B on its enter and back buttons for fuck’s sake. (Photo 8 of 10 in the Playstation Phone section) And don’t get me started on the specs. Even if it turns out to be true, the fact they all tripped over each other trying to post about it without doing any more fact checking than leaving a message for Sony is a fucking disgrace.
NowGamer are reporting that a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe spokesperson has told them that the thing’s a fake, and it wouldn’t surprise me. This whole story has had a bit of a whiff about it since I first saw it popping up.
A conversation from the comments page on that Play/NowGamer article...
- Beer Baron: Good article. Now I would like Top 10 immodestly covered boobs in gaming :D
- Gavin Mackenzie: Done that at least twice already Beer Baron. Have a browse.
Not a question, but you really should mention Now Gamer and their affiliates as being some of the shittiest web sites on the Internet. I swear to God, this is all they publish [link removed, replaced with Google Cache link in body]
(Here’s the Google Cache link for the article included in the question)
Now Gamer pops up every now and then - Play’s last boob-related article found itself being mentioned here not long ago.
They really are an absolute shitfest. I don’t know why anyone would go to any Now Gamer sites for their news. Gavin Mackenzie is an embarrassment.
