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Shenmue 3 release date is November 19th and review embargo is launch day for US and November 21st for UK (and possibly EU)
- Thread starter dex3108
- Start date
Yes because reviews are only for fans of a game
This game will be lucky to break a 70 on Metacritic and I think they know this.
That said, Shenmue fans will be happy so I don't understand what they are trying to accomplish.
That said, Shenmue fans will be happy so I don't understand what they are trying to accomplish.
Double Fine tried to pull the same thing, and the backlash caused them to backtrack their obviously nonsensical policy.
"We will give you a copy early but you can't print your review until the 21st."
I wonder how long reviewers who agrees to this have had the game.
I wonder how long reviewers who agrees to this have had the game.
Not surprising. It's more Shenmue so they know it's unlikely to review well. It's a niche game and the people who hate it really fucking hate it. My copy arrives Monday, can't wait.
Is this even legal? I am not allowed to review a product that is officially available for the public?
They can enforce it towards any outlet that receives a review copy at no cost.
Not if you accepted a review copy.
You can review it regardless of any embargo if you got the game yourself.
But if you got a review copy from the publisher, well yes, it is. Why wouldn't it ?
i'm sure no one will livestream this game.
definetely can trust the internet. bunch of good boys and girls on there.
definetely can trust the internet. bunch of good boys and girls on there.
Although terms of an embargo have to be agreed, they're not unilaterally set by a publisher. A publication would be able to accept or reject embargo terms, but obviously if they reject them they'll likely not receive an early copy (or indeed any copy) of the game.
Or you can break an embargo, which is what I imagine will happen here. Someone will post a review based on a copy they secured for themselves, and once one review is posted other publications will insist that the embargo has been broken and so will publish their reviews too.
My copy arrives this Monday! Oddly enough, I am not worried. Shenmue 3 could be just a forklift sim, and I'll still support it.
So you would buy Shenmue 3, the third installment of a very niche franchise, having either not played the previous two or disliking them?
I want to say this is a new low for this specific game and its associated crowdfunding campaign, but that would be a lie.
Still bananas, though.
Still bananas, though.
It's extremely rare for review copies to be contingent on signing an NDA (legal document), standard practice would be a written embargo (handshake agreement).
And I am fairly sure that for at least some publications, they'd decide that the handshake agreement is voided if other reviews are being published.
Which is why I suspect that this embargo will be broken.
I have no doubt about Shenmue fans. I mean everyone else. In general this is just a scummy move.
Eh, depends on the publisher indeed. I can say for sure that I had written NDAs for some games from some publishers.