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Giant Bomb claims they were denied a Borderlands 3 review copy due to 'dubious E3 coverage'.
- Thread starter Meg Cherry
- Start date
There is a very strong feeling in the PC gaming community that every news site and outlet was being paid off by Epic if they did not raise the alarm over the exclusivity deals. Therefore, they love to see things like this happen to those same sites.
In reality, many of the people at these sites are just not as hardcore about PC gaming as some in the community are. It's really that simple. Jeff, for example, plays Apex Legends on his PS4 instead of his PC these days because he just prefers it that way.
Quick look and being able to talk about it on the podcast pre/soon after release.
I mean reviews are already out there. It's not a conspiracy. Just more borderlands
It's straight out of Wayne's World. It always elicits a disappointed, cynical chuckle out of me.
As something of an aside to this point...with people bringing up Kane and Lynch/GB's origin and this video above me being posted about that weirdo Fallout 4 nonsense...in both of those cases, Jeff's opinions weren't even *that* far off the popular consensus, if really at all. That dude gave the PC version of Fallout 4 a 4/5 star score, for christ's sake...he didn't rake it over the coals, just simply mentioned on consoles it was buggy as shit. Hey, guess what, it was. Like, what the hell did GB even say about BL3 so far? From the E3 coverage and bomb/beastcasts I've listened to, nothing even remotely coming close to being overly critical was said. Oh, it looks like more Borderlands, for better or worse. What is the *exact* same shit fans who are being defensive of this saying? Hey man, it's more Borderlands, and that's exactly what I wanted! Well...okay? That's...what they've said, what was so scorching that this would be the outcome?
p sure its not that one, 'cause I'd imagine Randy to be fairly good at writing and/or english, but yeah, I'm certain he's here somewhere. Guy can't do it without reading about himself, re: his constant talk about Jim Sterling whenever he's saying mean things about him.
Pretty much, Man this is some bullshit. Giant Bomb is one of the few outlets I trust and really what this tells me is that Gearbox is not confident in their game.
Of course there's no obligation. But what does this accomplish?
You buy yourself a couple days of better than average coverage because you've "managed" people who you think will criticize you. Great.
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I feel like you're not actually reading the posts you're responding to.
As a consumer, Borderlands 3 being EGS exclusive tells me nothing about the quality of the game itself. As a consumer, Borderlands 3 only getting 'selective' coverage from outlets based on how positive previous impressions were - makes me skeptical about the game itself.
The funniest thing is that clip of Randy desperately trying to bring up Jim Sterling in a random interview, whilst doing everything he can to not give the satisfaction of saying his name
I think the game is gonna be fine & this is just a big corporation being petty and trying to flex their muscle.
I don't think the story here is really about GB's review, it's about 2K trying to control their review scores for the launch window.
Not referencing the quoted specifically, but it's crazy there are people here defending 2k on this. They can be a business-ass-business if they want, but that doesn't mean you should thank them for it.
Imagine being so completely unable to understand simple hyperbole to make a statement about a thing, you have to counter it by insulting.
right and giant bomb understand this. what they're saying in the clip in question is that the "security concerns" line 2K are feeding people is bullshit
Sure. And your decision to undermine reviews would be criticized. Like this thread.
If you care so much about "dubious coverage" then maybe tell Randy Pitchford to stfu for five minutes and stop making an ass out of himself and dragging down all the people who worked on this game for him.
There are few things I care about less than "they're running a business" lol. idgaf about 2K's bottom line.
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And as a consumer, I'm free to assume that they're doing this because they know the game is sub-par and is going to buckle once under wider scrutiny.
Sure, but then I would immediately be skeptical of your actual product/service and be way less likely to actually buy it. Or anything from your company in the future.
It might sell fine but when there are almost no console reviews and very little coverage on it, that shows a lack of confidence and more so them trying to keep the metacritic score higher for launch. The game probably will be good but this doesn't show confidence.
That's how I look at it, I've been on the fuck randy pitchford train the whole time but had decided to buy the game because I liked what I see now I am probably going to wait till a big sale.
I'm pretty sure they weren't expecting such a blow. If it wasn't for them, it would be around 90+
This doesn't surprise me one bit because it happens more often than you think. Take 2 pulls this crap regularly and not just with games like BL3. Even with RDR 2, Evolve, and every WWE title lots of outlets that weren't going to guarantee a great review got screwed out of access. I remember with RDR 2 I was explicitly told to buy a copy early off the grey market if I wanted to hit review embargo. With BL3 we were following up with the publisher for months only for us tell our contact what was going on because they were clueless of what was happening. Be it the September 12 date for codes or the fact that it was PC only or even the BS 'security issues' excuse, Take 2 appears to take pride in keeping its partners in markets that aren't the US or UK in the dark. It's a shady scene, but for some of us, it's nothing out of the ordinary.
You also have to remember the internet came for Jeff's head when he gave Twilight Princess an 8.8.
Reviews drive everyone in this industry crazy.
Lmao who has even said anything to the sound of "it's their obligation to provide a code!"?? thank you for bringing up the fact they're a business though, I don't think anyone here had taken that into account
It's actually incredible how many times 2K and Gearbox have managed to unnecessarily shoot themselves in the foot for a game that, really, should be the safest slam dunk this year.
This makes reviews meaningless then?
In my ideal world all reviews for both games and movies would be embargoed for like 1-2 weeks after release. Then they would actually return to being about criticism and less about Metacritic/Rotten Tomatoes manipulation.
It's been awhile since I watched the footage but I thought in the unfinished Dan and Abby seemed to like it even if they weren't blown away by it.
I think Jeff hit the nail on the head when he said they're trying to manage their metacritic score. Bet they wish they hadn't given pcgamer a review copy right about now.
I think Jeff hit the nail on the head when he said they're trying to manage their metacritic score. Bet they wish they hadn't given pcgamer a review copy right about now.
I'm with you. I think we as "consumers" should come first and that is my overall argument in that both GiantBomb and Kotaku have strong support stances when it comes to Epic store exclusives in that they see nothing wrong with it as it makes financial sense for studios though it hurts consumer choice. I think this is a similar tactic in that Gearbox thinks it makes financial sense to make reviews exclusive to outlets they they think will review it favorable and again it hurts consumers. In either case they could give one fuck about "consumers", it is about the money.
Your post clearly doesn't read as hyperbole. Don't expect strangers to read into what you're saying. Doing so results in you looking like a joke.