Can You Trust A Video Game Site That Runs Video Game Ads?
by Chad Lakkis on November 30, 2007 at 2:41 am
Many readers have asked about why we run ads on the site that often have very little to do with gaming. I am going to answer that now publicly, as it seems fitting when you consider the event that has taken place between Jeff Gerstmann and his former long time employer Gamespot.
In case readers didn’t notice Gamespot ran a bunch of Kane & Lynch advertisements, and with that, though they can deny it, comes a certain level of unwritten respect that is expected. Think about it, why does Consumer Reports not run ads? Why is it you never hear networks bad mouth their sponsors? Why do we here at Ripten run ads that rarely have anything to do with gaming?
The answer to the last question is two fold. First, it is because our site is fairly new, and we have yet to establish a relationship with that type of vendor, but secondly, and most importantly, the longer we have been doing this, the more it started to dawn on us that maybe we don’t want to run game related advertising on our site.
Apparently, Jeff didn’t care that Kane & Lynch ads were plastered all over Gamespot (as he should not), and frankly, I never want my writers to have to think about that when they write a review.
If that is the state of this industry, then what is the point of a review? Who can be trusted? I will say this, if you ever come to Ripten, and see our site skinned with a Gears or War 2 skin and GoW2 banners plastered everywhere you look, remember this post — and run away.
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on November 30, 2007 6:22 am
Three cheers for your integrity and all that but how did my name and email automatically appear in the appropriate sections??
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on November 30, 2007 9:11 am
@theturk: That would be autofill on your web browser.
Great article!
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on November 30, 2007 1:52 pm
You speak as if you know 100% that is the only reason he got fired. Or are you basing this article on unconfirmed rumors and spinning them as fact? Whats worse, advertisers controlling your news, or news based on heresay. Atleast with advertising you can assume there will be some biased. News sites dont put “we dont report fact, just twist rumors to get ratings” to give signs of what you are about to read may be tainted.
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on November 30, 2007 2:30 pm
Dino,
Yes, it is my belief based on observing the situation, reading what has been written, seeing the changes that were made to the site after the fact in terms of promotions regarding the game, and my experience in similar environments as both a manager and a direct report dealing with organizations that rely on advertiser support.
No company is going to come out and say “yes we fired him because he wrote a review that we were not thrilled with”. So, if you are waiting for that day, it is highly likely that you will be waiting for a very long time.
Chad-
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on November 30, 2007 6:10 pm
So…i dont get it..does infact kane and lynch suck?? I had it on order, but read a 6.0 review on some gaming site so i canceled my purchase. Does it suck?… oh and yeah.. i rather come some place for relevant content..not be consumed by ads of suck ass gamnes that NEED ads to sell them!
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on November 30, 2007 11:40 pm
Mikhail,
I would say if you are unsure, your best bet would be to rent it first.
Chad-
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on December 1, 2007 1:08 am
I did game reviews for over 2 years in the early days of the web (95 - 96), and believe me, publishers (not game devs), took interest in knowing what angle your review was going to take. Now today, multiply my experience times 100 (10 years ago, times 10 in exposure), and believe me, I can see why this happened.
I will tell you this though, the negative review wasn’t the only thing here - he must have been a thorn in the side, for whatever reason, but ask youself this…. If this is true, and is the case, why would he want to work for such a company? Time to move and find somewhere with integrity.
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on December 1, 2007 1:29 am
I’m really curious: how many major gaming-related ads do you turn down? I’m not saying you don’t turn down game-related ads, but I really don’t believe anyone would shoot down a multi thousand dollar campaign from a game company in favor of a hundred dollar campaign from McDonalds.
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on December 1, 2007 1:46 am
Trevor,
I spent several years working for a well known manufacturer of consumer products (which I will not name) on the marketing side and I clearly remember a conference call we had with C|Net regarding placement of our advertisements.
Our decision process was in large part based on the scores they gave particular products we sold and the placements that would get us the most bang for our buck.
Corporations are not in the business of wasting advertising dollars. So if your question is would I send ten other advertisers packing for one giant advertiser that was game related, my answer to you would be no.
Chad-
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on December 1, 2007 2:10 am
While I despise gamespot, I’d love to see a different source of revenue for a game-based web site other than ads (which should appeal to the site’s target audience, hence videogame ads).
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on January 6, 2008 3:14 pm
I’m glad that there are no game ads here, actually. I’ve seen too many sites that host a crapload of ads and promotions, then review the game and say it sucks. Plus, I agree that they can skew an already subjective, market-driven field, which nulls the purpose of reading reviews in the first place.
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