Comments on Hit Self-Destruct: Supermodel Is One Word

Hey, Dan!The press does acknowledge the likes of D...

2008-07-08T18:11:00.000+12:00

Hey, Dan!

The press does acknowledge the likes of Deus Ex, Chrono Trigger, FF7 as classics, but in the context of the Citizen Kane moment, the press is still focused on the idea of game quality progressing in parallel to advances in technology. No one today, at least in a mainstream outlet, is going to say "hey, System Shock, I think that was our Citizen Kane moment!" The Citizen Kane moment is perpetually around the corner, and that's not down to optimism but myopia. And because old games don't get page clicks.

Your last question is indeed interesting but I have to cop out on the answer. Neither the press or developers are united in their level of maturity: some journalists are mature, some developers are mature, some aren't, blah blah blah, and on it goes. I find it very hard to imagine a universally competent and mature gaming press though. We've lived with these problems for so long.

That's a great simile, and makes a nice change to ...

2008-07-08T02:03:00.000+12:00

That's a great simile, and makes a nice change to the movie industry one we're used to.

But there is room for cult classics too (Ico, System Shock 2, Beyond Good & Evil), lets not foget. Perhaps those are the games that will oneday feature in Games History Class.

When a big game hits, it does seem like there is a competition amongst gaming press as to who can give it the best review. Whose GOTY badge is going to adorn the box art? Who gets a soundbite in the blurb? Something is the wrong way round here.

An interesting question: which will mature first, the game development industry or the game press?

Thanks. I agree, I think Linda Evangelista's contr...

2008-07-03T20:29:00.000+12:00

Thanks. I agree, I think Linda Evangelista's contributions to the fashion industry have been generally undervalued.

(seriously though, thanks)

Thank you. This needed to be said.

2008-07-03T04:17:00.000+12:00

Thank you. This needed to be said.

I've been thinking a bit about this - I think the ...

2008-06-26T05:05:00.000+12:00

I've been thinking a bit about this - I think the problem is that a lot of reviewers review a game within its own little bubble, like MGS4, it's generally given great reviews because it ties up a lot of storylines within the MGS series and improves upon wonky bits in the earlier games. Which is a good thing to mention in any review, to be sure, but that's mostly where the reviewer will stop and not look beyond the series itself.

I'm not saying MGS4 should be compared to, say, Peggle, but it should be placed in the larger picture of gaming, how does it function, would it actually appeal to anyone who knows little or nothing of the earlier games.

"Is it a medium that increasingly produces instant...

2008-06-26T00:40:00.000+12:00

"Is it a medium that increasingly produces instant classics or a press, swept up in emotion, that has no care or concern for the larger picture?"

I think that's exactly it - reviewers seem to forget about a game before the URL of their review has even been allocated.

The review is as expendable as the games seem to be.