GamerNode's Eddie Inzauto writes:
"I respect video games and the work that goes into creating, marketing, and critiquing them. I respect the people who do these things – the developers, those who work in PR, and my peers in the gaming press. And I respect the gamers who will read my website’s reviews before (or after) playing a game.
So when I read an "honest" article about how a reviewer can’t write an honest review out of compassion for the people – his friends – on the creative rather than the critical side of the industry, I can’t help but feel a trespass upon something that I, and many others, hold so dear and work so hard to support and protect."
Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.
Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.
Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.
"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."
That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
INDIE Live Expo, Japan’s premiere online digital showcase series , will debut never-before-seen games & content updates across more than 100 titles on May 25th.
True but then again we'd be left with 96% less sites , and among he survivor , maybe only one big site (my pick would be eurogamer , the least cringeworthy and "sellout-ish" of the bunch ) , and that's a big IF :p .
That a review is just an Opinion? just because someone writes a review does not mean that somehow he or she is trying to pull the wool over some's eyes.
when reading a review, you have to take the review at it's face value and that it's just an opinion, nothing more nothing less.
saying that the people reviewing these games need to stick to Integrity as being "is the biggest part of this line of work."
that's just like anything your word is your bond.
saying a person did not give a honest review is based on the opinion of some one else that may have an opinion that may not jive with the person who wrote their own experience with the content.
Calling them out to say they need to be honest in their review is pretty moot, in of itself due to the fact they may not agree with your take on the content, but calling into question if they themselves are not being honest in of itself kinda like saying to someone else your lieing about your review or somehow it's not as trusting. Which is like i stated an Opinion about someone other's Opinion.
that's why Everyone has one, and that's why i play the game for my self to make that choice for myself, if i like a game or not.
What is an honest review?
TBH there is no such thing as one because we all have different taste and opinion on games.
I really into RPG's but not much into FPS but I have to review Black Ops 2...my review will be some what bias becuase I am a RPG fan.
Thats why when one person frog Ign ot Games Trailer reviews a game people should take it with a grain of salt because thats his opinion on the game and your could be different.
I would only read Gerstmann's reviews over at Giantbomb then. His honesty got him fired from Gamespot.
Very interesting read.
My only question or thought is what is honest as reviews are subjective and critiquing a game is hard.
There are no universal truths of reviews. The best review would be for games to come uut with competent demos so gamers can try them themselves after that reviews are incomplete tools used to judge games.