Support NeoGAF

[chespace]

don't you guys think you're being a little too harsh on driv3r and babel media? personally, i think the game is definitely GOTM material for me. you gotta love diving outta your car real fast lol...

----

http://chespace.1up.com

 

[WasabiKing]

Well, for one, as a marketer and a person who actually plays games cause he wants to, not because he has to, it's pretty damn lame to send shills to message boards. That's right PR monkeys, what you're doing is inappropiate. Video games have maybe become mainstream, but not mainstream enough for your efforts to affect the industry, unlike every other consumer product.

 

[The Shadow]

Anyone that liked, owned, rented, played, or even spoke the title DRIV3R is one of them...

Didn't Mike rent Driv3r over Riddick and created a thread about it?

Someone get a rope.

 

[jedimike]

Didn't Mike rent Driv3r over Riddick and created a thread about it?

Someone get a rope.

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=3078

Just to clarify... he's talking about Works not me.

 

[AirBrian]

Oh, good times.

 

[Ar_]

I don't think any of their strategies are ipso facto bad ideas. They just went about this one in a particularly stupid and transparent way.

You mean is a good idea to lie to people to sell them something?

If thats so, I have a perfect working used car to sell you. It never had a crash that left the chassis slighty deformed - looking perfect, but losing stability at high speeds.
Ask my mechanic. Im not paying him to help the sale! Really!

Seriously, np with marketing people promoting their stuff, as long as THEY MAKE CLEAR THEY ARE PAID TO DO SO.

It may also be illegal. I think here there is - or was - a law forcing all promotional messages to be identifiable as such.
You cant have, for example, in midst of a health care tv program, a paid promotional message suggesting the use of a certain drug, mixed among doctors interviews to fool the audience in thinking it is an unbiased medical recomendation.
There usually was at least a (admittedly too small) "promotional message" line on the screen corner.

In this case the worst that may happen is a waste of 50$, but this kind of behaviour may in other cases lead to more serious damages.

To make clear what I think of this pratice, in general:
What if I paid people to infiltrate hospitals and all kind of places and commuities with terminally ill people - or just with any kind of lighter phisical problem, like poor eyesigh - and fake themselves as having greatly benefitted from my Newly Discovered Medication?
Id become rich, fast, cause many peple want to believe to whatever gives them hope.
And would be a worm well deserving to be jailed for it.

Different degrees of damage, but the principle is the same.

 

[Deg]

You mean is a good idea to lie to people to sell them something?

If thats so, I have a perfect working used car to sell you. It never had a crash that left the chassis slighty deformed - looking perfect, but losing stability at high speeds.
Ask my mechanic. Im not paying him to help the sale! Really!

Seriously, np with marketing people promoting their stuff, as long as THEY MAKE CLEAR THEY ARE PAID TO DO SO.

It may also be illegal. I think here there is - or was - a law forcing all promotional messages to be identifiable as such.
You cant have, for example, in midst of a health care tv program, a paid promotional message suggesting the use of a certain drug, mixed among doctors interviews to fool the audience in thinking it is an unbiased medical recomendation.
There usually was at least a (admittedly too small) "promotional message" line on the screen corner.

In this case the worst that may happen is a waste of 50$, but this kind of behaviour may in other cases lead to more serious damages.

To make clear what I think of this pratice, in general:
What if I paid people to infiltrate hospitals and all kind of places and commuities with terminally ill people - or just with any kind of lighter phisical problem, like poor eyesigh - and fake themselves as having greatly benefitted from my Newly Discovered Medication?
Id become rich, fast, cause many peple want to believe to whatever gives them hope.
And would be a worm well deserving to be jailed for it.

Different degrees of damage, but the principle is the same.

If you're syaing only Atari do the above then you are wrong.

 

[The Faceless Master]

We also encourage users to promote a product in return for fan merchandise. The more users they sign up for the project and the more 'missions' they accomplish, the more prizes they win.

i want some of that!

 

[Ar_]

Im just saying why I dont like it, and why it should be illegal, or at least frowned upon. The extreme examples serving to better picture the idea.

Edit: But hey, I also believe to the romantic idea that products should be made to fit the needs of the users, not the users convinced that they need to give you money for whatever you are selling.
The latter being the standard mentality in marketing and salesman training, AFAIK.
The training manual for the dealers for a certain big scooter manufacters fell once into my hands. IIRC, there was written somewhere on it that it was "confidential" material. You can guess why.
Meh, Im saying obvious things...

 

[Tellaerin]

You mean is a good idea to lie to people to sell them something?

If thats so, I have a perfect working used car to sell you. It never had a crash that left the chassis slighty deformed - looking perfect, but losing stability at high speeds.
Ask my mechanic. Im not paying him to help the sale! Really!

Seriously, np with marketing people promoting their stuff, as long as THEY MAKE CLEAR THEY ARE PAID TO DO SO.

It may also be illegal. I think here there is - or was - a law forcing all promotional messages to be identifiable as such.
You cant have, for example, in midst of a health care tv program, a paid promotional message suggesting the use of a certain drug, mixed among doctors interviews to fool the audience in thinking it is an unbiased medical recomendation.
There usually was at least a (admittedly too small) "promotional message" line on the screen corner.

In this case the worst that may happen is a waste of 50$, but this kind of behaviour may in other cases lead to more serious damages.

To make clear what I think of this pratice, in general:
What if I paid people to infiltrate hospitals and all kind of places and commuities with terminally ill people - or just with any kind of lighter phisical problem, like poor eyesigh - and fake themselves as having greatly benefitted from my Newly Discovered Medication?
Id become rich, fast, cause many peple want to believe to whatever gives them hope.
And would be a worm well deserving to be jailed for it.

Different degrees of damage, but the principle is the same.

IAWTP.

Though we live in an age where hucksterism is a sad fact of life, nowhere is it written that I have to like it. I'm all for companies (especially the smaller ones) telling people, 'if you like our game, spread the word!' However, there's a world of difference between that kind of grass-roots marketing and hiring/bribing people to lie about a product in order to sell it to unsuspecting consumers. It's just unethical, plain and simple.

 

[bishoptl]

If you're syaing only Atari do the above then you are wrong.

The fuck does that have to with the price of pussy in Tibet? If it's wrong, it's wrong period - no matter how many companies are doing it.

 

[Cubsfan23]

So that's why there's so many Nintendo fans on here........

 

[Saint Cornelius]

The fuck does that have to with the price of pussy in Tibet? If it's wrong, it's wrong period - no matter how many companies are doing it.

Is the price of pussy cheap in Tibet, or something? *checks priceline*

I love how someone was able to sneak a dig about Kirby's Air Ride in this thread, too. *golfclap*

 

[Hellraizah]

So that's why there's so many Nintendo fans on here........

I swear I never got paid.

 

[Tellaerin]

I love how someone was able to sneak a dig about Kirby's Air Ride in this thread, too. *golfclap*

More like a dig at Olimario and his deluded babbling.

 

[etiolate]

I remember the Microsoft viral marketers that came here.

I find it disgusting, because it seems to be somehow affective. I don't know if I dislike the people who sell themselves out to do it more or the people who fall for it when its so obvious.

 

[jedimike]

I remember the Microsoft viral marketers that came here.

I find it disgusting, because it seems to be somehow affective. I don't know if I dislike the people who sell themselves out to do it more or the people who fall for it when its so obvious.

What??? There's a couple people that work at Microsoft who happen to post here, but they aren't marketers. AFAIK, no one on GAF has ever been known to be a marketer.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Have any of you guys played Driv3r? Its one of the greatest driving/crime action games i've ever played. The graphics and physics are mind blowing. Its good to see the "originator of the genre" come back strong and show those other games how its really done. I am the wheelman (tm). Its so good, that from now on, im gonna replace all my 'e''s with 3's when i type. Y3ah boy3333!!

 

[Fallopian Tube]

What??? There's a couple people that work at Microsoft who happen to post here, but they aren't marketers. AFAIK, no one on GAF has ever been known to be a marketer.

Don't know about gaf but there was a story on slashdot around when Xbox launched, about MS hiring "viral marketers" to invade game forums.

 

[AirBrian]

Don't know about gaf but there was a story on slashdot around when Xbox launched, about MS hiring "viral marketers" to invade game forums.

I was actually thinking of this and trying to find the story. In the Slashdot forum they had links to several forums with the posts. MS hit the forums hard -- I was surprised at the number of viral marketers. It was something like 10-15 forums.

 

[etiolate]

What??? There's a couple people that work at Microsoft who happen to post here, but they aren't marketers. AFAIK, no one on GAF has ever been known to be a marketer.

No, I distinctly remember the viralness of the marketing. One guy kept getting banned and coming back under a different name spewing the same stuff.

 

[bishoptl]

Lazy8s?

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

We also encourage users to promote a product in return for fan merchandise. The more users they sign up for the project and the more 'missions' they accomplish, the more prizes they win.

Wheeee! A Driv3r t-shirt! Just what I always wanted!

 

[fart]

blaster?

 

[jedimike]

No, I distinctly remember the viralness of the marketing. One guy kept getting banned and coming back under a different name spewing the same stuff.

You're thinking of m0rphix... I think he tried to get people to believe he was at one time, but he's not.

 

[CrimsonSkies]

There's some awfully passionate fans on all sides that make me wonder if they get paid to type their tripe.

 

[cvxfreak]

What a bunch of losers.

 

[Firest0rm]

MSGS is doing this too eh? That explains all those people that hyped up Azurik, Brute Force, Bloodwake, and the numerous crap games that come out of that studio.

 

[Deleted member 284]

MSGS is doing this too eh? That explains all those people that hyped up Azurik, Brute Force, Bloodwake, and the numerous crap games that come out of that studio.

You do realize Nintendo had viral marketers too?

 

[TheGreenGiant]

You do realize Nintendo had viral marketers too?

I doubt that they care enough to do so. Its Nintendo vs the world. That's like saying SONY and SEGA have viral marketers when we get so many ICO and REZ rocks threads.

 

[Hitokage]

All I can say is that I'm expecting a rather large check if I'm to knowingly allow company representatives to market incognito.

 

[Firest0rm]

You do realize Nintendo had viral marketers too?

What does what I said have to do with Nintendo? The games I mentioned were infact crap, and they kept getting major praise until they were released to the public and all hell broke lose.

 

[wipeout364]

I can't believe that people are going online and misrepresenting themselves. Next thing you'll be telling me is that all those female characters in MMORPG's are actually men, as if.

 

[Dram]

Has anyone found the xbox story at slashdot?

 

[Soul4ger]

I don't see what's the big deal, really... I don't think it's right, but it's not like companies don't pay editors at magazines, or give other things, to control what the writers say. In fact, I'd say that's worse, and it's probably more common.

 

[Rhindle]

Personally, if someone is going to spend their life on forums spinning and damage-controlling their hearts out -- I would rather they be motivated by money, rather than a delusional devotion to some corporation that doesn't give a shit about them.

 

[Tellaerin]

I don't see what's the big deal, really... I don't think it's right, but it's not like companies don't pay editors at magazines, or give other things, to control what the writers say. In fact, I'd say that's worse, and it's probably more common.

Even though you have to take what's printed in mags with a grain of salt nowadays, at least you used to be able to rely on people in forums to give you the heads-up on what's good and what's just overhyped. Sure, you'd have irrational fanboy biases to deal with, but at least nobody was deliberately trying to steer you wrong. If a title was really bad, word would spread fast via forum, in spite of any magazines or websites that had been paid off to praise it.

Viral marketing changes all that.

Thanks to viral marketing, it's that much harder to trust what people post on forums. Whenever you see posts praising a game, you have to stop and ask yourself, 'Are these guys sincere, or are they just corporate tools who post to earn cash and prizes?' If reviewers are paid off to score something highly, it becomes that much harder to discover the truth 'through the grapevine', since ad firms are paying off people to lie there too. That's the big deal.

 

[boutrosinit]

BURN HIM!

Actually, I don't know. But I tend to trust the couple of reviews that I've read, and will steer clear.

I've played it. Cars handle okay, streets are completey barren, controlling Tanner on foot is horrible - like a mech-robot with rickets - the shooting is awkward and you can't un-invert the Y-axis control which is pretty dumb. The levels are also rather poorly designed and broken.

If you liked Enter The Matrix, maybe you'll enjoy this. Or if you have no fingers and are blind.

 

[evilromero]

Wow. No place is safe. I hope we can keep the GAF free of these evil forces. Anyways, back to my viral Nintendo promoting. Buy Stafi 2.

 

[Deg]

The fuck does that have to with the price of pussy in Tibet? If it's wrong, it's wrong period - no matter how many companies are doing it.

Im just saying why I dont like it, and why it should be illegal, or at least frowned upon. The extreme examples serving to better picture the idea.

When i first heard of it i was annoyed by it too. But it doesnt surprise me nowdays as many companies have made mistakes and get found out although mostly outside the games industry so far. There is nothing illegal about this from what i know. I do think there should be some regulation in this area.

I'm pretty sure all game companies do it if they can. Even the ones with many fans and gather plenty of interest do it or i would be surprised if they didnt. I think people are going to have to adjust to it.

The good thing about all this is that i hope people are just better informed around here and about how certain things work.

 

[signet]

you can't un-invert the Y-axis control which is pretty dumb. The levels are also rather poorly designed and broken.

ummm yes you can. Go to the option menu on the title screen.

Got to love it when gamers unite and go on a holy crusade against a game. I wonder how many in this thread have actually played it?

If you guys want to unite over a really terrible game go after that Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain that game is really awful.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

You guys should really give Driv3r a chance. I bet 99% of you haven't even played it, and are just jumping on the hate bandwagon. One of the better games I've played this year.

 

[Alf_Life]

Even though you have to take what's printed in mags with a grain of salt nowadays, at least you used to be able to rely on people in forums to give you the heads-up on what's good and what's just overhyped. Sure, you'd have irrational fanboy biases to deal with, but at least nobody was deliberately trying to steer you wrong. If a title was really bad, word would spread fast via forum, in spite of any magazines or websites that had been paid off to praise it.

Viral marketing changes all that.

Thanks to viral marketing, it's that much harder to trust what people post on forums. Whenever you see posts praising a game, you have to stop and ask yourself, 'Are these guys sincere, or are they just corporate tools who post to earn cash and prizes?' If reviewers are paid off to score something highly, it becomes that much harder to discover the truth 'through the grapevine', since ad firms are paying off people to lie there too. That's the big deal.

IAWTP/Amen.

 

[Ferrio]

I still haven't received shit from SNK or Sammy/Arc Systems.

 

[bishoptl]

You guys should really give Driv3r a chance. I bet 99% of you haven't even played it, and are just jumping on the hate bandwagon. One of the better games I've played this year.

I've been playing it for three days straight. If Atari had squeezed out a corn-filled coiler and carefully placed it into my Xbox, I could have not had a worse gaming experience.

 

[Hellraizah]

I've been playing it for three days straight. If Atari had squeezed out a corn-filled coiler and carefully placed it into my Xbox, I could have not had a worse gaming experience.

Hmmmmm, who can tell us that you're not an EA viral marketer PAID to make Atari games look bad ???

*enters the Twilight Zone.....*

 

[robochimp]

ummm yes you can. Go to the option menu on the title screen.

Got to love it when gamers unite and go on a holy crusade against a game. I wonder how many in this thread have actually played it?

QUOTE]


He seeme to know too much, get him!!

 

[evil ways]

If you guys want to unite over a really terrible game go after that Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain that game is really awful.

Syphon Filter 3 already got it's well deserved bomb in sales due to it's crimes, know it's Atari's turn for releasing a piece of buggy gaming shit like DRIV3R.

 

[spangler]

I rented the game and played it for a few hours. It's been said many times before but let me reiterate: the "Undercover" portion of the game is just fucking atrocious. The on-foot controls, framerate drops, level design, and pop-up are just incredibly bad.

That said, there is some fun to be had in the "Take a Ride" and "Driving Games" sections. The lousy on-foot controls remain, but the out-of-car segment can be ignored entirely here. I like Reflections physics/driving model and the actual crashes are pretty keen when everything works properly. The cities are enormous with some interesting touches sprinkled throughout. The problem here, though, is the technical snafus. If you want to go on a glitch hunt in the cities, you could conceivably keep yourself entertained forever. If you want to have fun car chases, however, you might be entertained for an hour or so. Perhaps the problems with the engine this game uses were so severe that no amount of polishing would have made a difference? Maybe they would have had to scrap the whole thing? I don't know and I don't really care, but when the game froze up entirely for the third time in an hour of play I was done with the thing.

It really is a shame, though. If everything actually worked, the game would be fun.

 

[etiolate]

You're thinking of m0rphix... I think he tried to get people to believe he was at one time, but he's not.

Haha, not morphix. He had Dr or Doctor in his handle.