So when does Polygon opening a EU office to get in on this sweet swag?
Kotaku just opened a UK site..
So when does Polygon opening a EU office to get in on this sweet swag?
Don't forget Polygon's Arthur Gies offering to disclose Sony NDA/Contract stuff to the lead of Xbox One planning. Tweet was deleted afterward.
...$200?
That doesn't matter, companies are apparently trying to cultivate an environment where gaming journalists that are kind to their games can expect to get invited to future company events where gifts are offered.
But giving a real smartphone?
Handing out mobile phones is bribery 101.
Did anyone not accept the phone though?
I can understand why someone thought it was a cool idea to give smartphones for Watch_Dogs as Aiden smartphone is the main weapon. But giving a real smartphone?
It's stupid and expensive.
Wow, I should become a journalist
It's not unethical.
It's unethical if they're handed out conditionally on a good review, or if the journo allows it to affect their judgement of the product concerned.
I used to get freebie shit all the time from media owners when I worked as a media planner/buyer - I had trips to grand prix, Ibiza, gadgets, lunches etc - and I'd still not place ads with them if it wasn't appropriate.
I'm guessing you're still in school as every career outside of games journalism and politics has a very specific ethics statement that would prevent you from partaking in these sorts of bribes. Good luck!
If giving gifts like this didn't work then they wouldn't be doing it.
I'm guessing you're still in school as every career outside of games journalism and politics has a very specific ethics statement that would prevent you from partaking in these sorts of bribes. Good luck!
I'm sorry but every job has its perks, or should. Good on them. No problem here.
is stuff like this OK to you..? or is this just plain bribery..?
Yeah. Didn't they receive free PS4's at some event too? How about free stuff, that uh, buy your games? If anything, DLC should be free up to a certain point in time.
My very real work place (in a different industry) has a conduct rule against accepting anything more than $50 and all gifts have to be reported. Termination can and will result for failure to comply.
Not sure where you work, but takinging obvious bribes are not perks and create huge conflict of interests. Both within the company and with your clients/customers.
A perk is employee parking, wellness benefits, or company discounts. Not accepting 3rd party gifts to drive some outside interest to your employer.
Like others have said, every job has a perk or two. The only people offended by this are the same high schoolers who think there's something fundamentally wrong with "games journalists," you'd have to be pretty young to think a cheap tablet is going to sway any adult with a paying job.
You could take the phone and still be honest, but the only scores we can basically trust now are the low ones...
Did anyone not accept the phone though?
This is super shady, for sure. But lol at the hate on game journos in this thread; I think a lot of you must hate your jobs :lol
Playing Devil's Advocate here -
Does Watch Dogs do a lot of second screen stuff? Like is there an Android companion app? Maybe UbiSoft is trying to show this off?
Just so you know, Europe is not a country
Well now your previous replies in this thread make much more sense now.Pfft sorry but ^ this is almost laughable. I have friends and family that receive much, much higher value "gifts" in their industries/fields and still need to remain fair and impartial. Most of the time so long as you declare the gifts you are fine.
Or maybe not, lolIt's pretty shady to give out such gifts, but I believe it's even worse to accept them.
"Hey here's a free phone"
"No thank you"
Not that hard.
They can do this but I guess they can't afford QA. So excited for Watch Dogs.
Can we start calling game journalists by what they really are please?
Bloggers.
Frankly it's you that seem really naive saying stuff like this. "Bribery" in the industry is a concrete thing, Gerstmann-gate wasn't for nothing. Also you give "journalists" too much credit, they aren't saints, besides there's an unconscious effect attached to the gift, they could alter their opinion without even realizing it.
In the future, Samsung has shifted to making 7 inch phones and this was the closest they could come to it.
1-It's not the same budget and 2-What's wrong with Watch_Dogs' QA coverage? The game is not out yet, how do you know it's gonna be buggy?
1. It's a tablet not a phone
2. It's a preview event. Reviews and scores will be a separate event
3. Yes:
OXM - https://twitter.com/dirigiblebill/status/456001819828051968
Eurogamer - https://twitter.com/tombramwell/status/456004899835498496
Videogamer - https://twitter.com/TheSteveBurnio/status/455999217744744448
They can do this but I guess they can't afford QA. So excited for Watch Dogs.