While looking around the web, the following blog by 1UP's Andrew Pfister caught my attention. It seems as if Midway was less than amused over the recent "lack of attention" that they've been getting from the guys at 1UP. See for yourself:
You may have noticed that we're running a bit late on our Mortal Kombat Wii review...apologies for that. Why is it late?
Because Midway didn't send the game to us for review. Apparently there were some bruised egos over there. Or a singular bruised ego. We're not exactly sure. Someone felt left out when Milky talked about top-tier fighting games in some preview a while back and neglected to mention MK, and EGM didn't score previous Mortal Kombat games as high as some of our competitors did. So Midway has decided to not send us review code at all as some sort of punishment. The message? "Give us better scores, or we won't support you."
Whatever.
We're heading down to the store this afternoon to pick up a copy of the game to review, and we'll give it a fair shake based on its merits. We just wanted to let you know what's up.
My opinion on this whole fiasco, after the jump.
Now as you might expect, this got me thinking about the whole review thing, and the fine line that needs to be walked when dealing with such. If this news is indeed real, what does it say about the video game industry, and the reviews gaming journalists write?
Reviewers have a very real duty to provide unbiased coverage of up and coming video games. You the consumer, have a desire to get the professional opinion on whether or not a game is worth spending your time and money on. So what gives?
If this is indeed based on fact (and I'm certain this happens in the industry), then we have a bit of a problem here. In the case of Midway and Mortal Kombat (which by the way, I'm a big fan of), this sends out a negative message that some of the companies we look up to are not standing behind their products.
Worse than that, it tells me that there is a bit of moral decay and a degrading of the relationship between game developers and the gaming media. Now I'm not oblivious to the idea that developers are more likely to gravitate towards those that are going to say positive things about their games. After all, it's human nature to do such.
However, this sort of practice of withholding the review code out of spite is just a bit petty (and counterproductive) in my opinion. Video game journalists are here to provide a service to the millions of potential gamers who want very much to hear about an upcoming product. Developers are in turn, eager to cultivate interest in the product they have been working diligently on for so long. As you see, we all have an interest in this.
Here's to hoping that this sort of practice is just an aberration of the norm, and that this really isn't what went down between Midway and 1up. Nobody wins in this kind of situation.
[Via 1UP]
Contest:
12:59 PM on 05.31.2007
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An exclusive character! you say? I thought they were already all in there? Ohhh, of course, Kameleon! The character that no one cared about until he wasn't included in the other versions of the game and Gamefaqs boards went apeshit with angry 12 year olds. GAWD, Mortal Kombat hasn't been good since UMK3. Thanks, Gameboi! You've rekindled my hatred for what Midway has become! A money-making, money-spewing shit-machine!
<3
Awesome synapsis though.
I think the lower case font is kinda cool. Kinda.
Now that we have the power to blog against all other posters on dtoid, I'm going to write one about spelling mistakes and their general intolerance by major assholes who troll sites looking for that shit. You're just lucky I'm not a douche who does such things. Oh no, I stay above that level. I'm better than that.
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synopsis
:)
As for 1up, um... are they important? Who the f*ck is 1up, Jim Sterling? They kinda sound like a big baby.
I don't disagree with the article and you all, I'm just looking at the other side. I'm just saying...
That being said, I don't go to 1up for wii reviews. They are almost always low.
Even the "hardcore" (bullshit term) games get low reviews. Medal of Honor vangard just came from gameznflix. While im not really a fan of wwii fps, it is an ok, functional game. 1up gave it a 4. 4 to me sounds broken. The game isn't broken.
Do the controls work? Its Midway, so... not so much.
Does it make it easier to pull of special moves? (Closes eyes, shakes wrist around, 'Fireball') Yes.
Midway shows us the darkside of the industry. Why don't they make a game worth mentioning before acting so immaturely.
PS: I'll bet somebody Midway makes an announcement about the game being lost in shipping and that they would never keep a game from the press. Give it a couple days.
What I DID do, was respond to Mandle's comment about how 1UP scores Wii games so low. I didn't offer the ultimate answer, I just simply suggested "I think the Wii reviews are low because none of the reviewers are "casual gamers".
I was just talking about the Wii as a whole, not MK alone. MK is not a causal game, just a shitty one.
Unfortunately Nintendos own goal with the Wii was to bring ‘gaming’ to the masses. So now your stuck with games ‘dumbed down’ so somebody’s mom can play too. Accept it.
Fanboyism is tired. How bout a useful comment?
& This is hilarious
The David Jaffe of Video Game Publishers
I haven't spent enough time with it to really give a verdict. You can check my older hands-on with the game I did a few months back.
Everyone I've spoken to has said awful things about Vanguard for the Wii ... maybe you're too forgiving? I don't know. I will say that I don't feel like the Wii motion control is accurate enough to pull of anything you'd imagine would be "awesome" with it.
Even with Mortal Kombat for the Wii, you have to be very specific with your "flicks" or you're going to pull off a special move you didn't intend. I find it hard to blame on the game itself, although I suppose things like sensitivity could be tweaked on the software end. Still, it's very frustrating ...but I could also just suck.
Midway to 1UP- "Give us better scores or we won't support you"
Gamers to Midway- "Give us better games or WE won't support you"
Personally I can't believe MK:DA ever got a few Fighter of the Year awards when VF4 and SC were out the same time. Give me a break. No matter how you slice it, it's still cheese.
I believe people are too harsh as opposed to me being too forgiving. If the game is enjoyable, it doesn't deserve a "bad" moniker. I guess thats why Ive yet to experience a wii game drought. Im willing to play any game until I am no longer having fun with it.
triple post, Im doing too many things at once.
It's really too early to tell whether it's a software or a hardware issue, as far as motion is concerned. But even with first-party titles, like Wario Ware, I found I had a lot of issues pulling off certain motions; this led to a lot of frustration.
With many of the motions, it seems you have to be incredibly accurate, versus simply flailing your arms around. This is even evident in Wii bowling -- how many people do you know who, the first few times playing, had issues simply rolling the ball down the lane?
Kororinpa is pretty accurate, but you're also not moving the remote around as much as in a game like MoH: Vanguard or Mortal Kombat Wii. I <3 Kororinpa, though.
Either way, why wouldn't 1UP include MK in their list of the top fighting games? MK pretty much invented the genre or at least brought it main stream. The franchise consistently sells millions of copies so really, how could you leave it out? It would be like leaving Gran Turismo out of a list of top racing games. Which, like MK, has gotten stale over the years.
Struck a nerve did I?
@dv8withn8
"consistently sells millions of copies" And Pirates 3 made a lot of money too, does that make it a good movie? no. and MK was never considered a top fighting game.
Again, the same could be said about Gran Turismo. It sells millions but I don't consider it a good game. But even still I would include it on my list of top racing games because of the contributions it's made to the genre.
All in all, 1UP is showing very little tact here. Even if there is bad blood between the two companies, why air their dirty laundry in the public? It might make Midway look like a jerk but it makes 1UP look like a whiny 2 year old.
Agreed about GT, But MK, apart from its shock value (at the time), contributed nothing to the fighting genre.
"And Pirates 3 made a lot of money too, does that make it a good movie? no. and MK was never considered a top fighting game."
Stop and hush up for now. Commonly, people aren't as able to preview a good chunk of movies before watching them in theaters unless they pirate it. In which case, the risk of computer damage exists and the file is in terrible quality.
With games, people are able to try demos, play at a friend's house or find some other way to play it. You can try it before you buy it.
My main point is that you are making terrible points without backing yourself up. Admit it. You're acting as a fanboy. Now be quiet.
BAD COMPARISON!