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[eznark]

After yesterday's big Kinect step back from Microsoft and some of gaming journalists aghast response to consumers being given more choices, I got to thinking about Ben Kuchera's response to angry gamers at the Microsoft E3 debacle. I re-read the article and my God, this guy is clueless.

“Used games, Twitter complaints, and Sony: Why the Xbox One “backlash” doesn’t matter”
- Ben Kuchera

It’s important to remember that the things we don’t know about how the Xbox One will handle things like used games and accounts outnumber the things we do know. Many are outraged, and some are taking to social networks to let Sony know that they want support for used games, and they don’t want any form of DRM on the PlayStation 4.

They’re fighting a losing battle

Yeah, this battle is doomed! No use fighting. Obey your corporate overlords.

Let’s get a few things out in the open before we start. Sony is sure to offer a similar system to whatever Microsoft will ultimately announce.

Clearly Ben Kuchera flexed those “inside sources muscles” as all good reporters do and came up whiffing so incredibly badly as to render future prognostications and industry insights completely impotent.

Sony executives danced around this issue during their own reveal, and their strategy of letting Microsoft take the heat on this issue has proved effective. Microsoft is taking a massive PR hit right now, and Sony is comfortable sitting back and letting that happen. Right now, they look like the good guys. But the restrictions that Microsoft is talking about placing on how we will buy and sell games aren’t a bright idea that Microsoft thought up in a vacuum. These are concessions made to publishers, the companies that will benefit the most from these moves, which many see as anti-consumer.
This is why EA was comfortable removing the online pass for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 games moving forward; the publisher knows that both companies have their back. If Sony doesn’t give publishers the same protections as Microsoft, publishers like EA can just put their focus on Microsoft’s systems.

Or, you know, Sony can read the tea leaves and tell publishers to pound sand in the hopes that Microsoft will be forced to back down. Kooch isn’t an outside the box thinker though so once the dim bulb shines once, he tends to grasp that spec of light and cling to it like grim death.

Sony may be gaining a reputation for being friendly to small developers, but if they don’t make sure to make themselves just as hospitable to large publishers the game is lost.

SONY AM DOOOOOMED...oh wait, guess Microsoft capitulated.

EA has already all but pulled support for the Wii U, and Microsoft has locked down the timed exclusive for Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC. Everyone is playing favorites and striking deals. Support is not a sure thing.

Yet The Kooch assumes support from the public at large is. Interesting mind set.

The PlayStation 4 could be over before it begins if Sony loses the support of the mega-publishers, and right now those publishers have Sony over a barrel. Whatever Microsoft is doing with used games, expect at least an analogous solution from Sony. This could be bad, it could be good, it could be somewhere in the middle. We simply don’t know yet, and it’s unlikely either company is going to detail these strategies at E3; that event will be focused on selling us on how good the software will be for both systems.

The game was over for Microsoft had they not 180’d. Why The Kooch never bothered to allow that possibility to enter his brain remains a mystery to this day.

This isn’t a backlash
The second thing we have to remember is that a hashtag and a few blog posts isn’t a backlash. No one at Microsoft or Sony cares about what you post on the forums of your favorite gaming website. I hate to be the bearer of bad news in this regard, but right now the reaction to the possible used game restrictions amounts to a fart in the wind.

Hilarious myopic, cynical, ass-holish and foolish response. I assume this paragraph was squirted around Microsoft from Zune to Zune allowing the executives who shat out these ideas to sleep soundly at night. Major Nelson probably whispered it to himself before each public bull shit session. IN KOOCH WE TRUST.
Fuck, guess that didn’t work out.

What matters is consumer behavior, and we don’t have any data points to show us how things have changed. Well, we know that outlets are reporting Blockbuster pre-orders of the Xbox One are “record-breaking,” but we don’t have a good idea of what that means, nor if that behavior will translate to other regions and other retailers.
Companies don’t care about what you say, they care about what you do, and right now no one has had the chance to do anything. From Sony and Microsoft’s point of view, you haven’t reacted to this news at all. Twitter is noise, they care about what you do with your wallet.

Again Reporter Extraordinaire Ben Kuchera flexing his reporter muscles and inside sources to let you know that xbox preorder sales are “blockbuster”!! Guess not so much.

If you really want to scare Microsoft and Sony, you’d buy a Nintendo Wii U, the only “next-generation” console on the market that is letting you buy and sell games with no restrictions, and is backwards compatible. Rewarding that behavior with a boost in sales would be ridiculously effective, and send a much louder message than you ever could on Twitter, but that requires a change of behavior. In other words, no one should expect this to happen. We won’t see the true will of the players, for good or ill, until pre-orders begin.

I did, and so should you!

Hell, the price for both systems could simply be too high, and sales will flag for that reason. There are so many variables at play that it’s hard to make any guesses about what will happen.
Will there be a backlash? It’s hard to say, and there is usually a gulf between what we say we’re going to do and our real-world behavior. Will players really not buy another console if both platforms place some restriction on used games? It’s doubtful, and Sony and Microsoft are aware of this fact.
You can move to the PC if you have a problem with the new way games will likely be sold, but the dominant PC platform is Steam, which is another closed platform that doesn’t allow games to be sold or borrowed. The walled gardens tend to win when it comes to actual customer behavior, even if the noise that surrounds them grows to deafening levels.

Of course he ends on the Steam comparison canard. Why wouldn’t he? He is an uncreative mouthpiece regurgitating what PR people tell him. This article represents the worst of gaming journalism. It’s a cynical call to accept that you simply cannot change anything. Face down, ass up, here comes Big Games. Pretty gross that it’s the approach of Penny Arcade Report and Kuchera.

Add it to the long list of embarrassing efforts by the public voices of gaming. We probably don't deserve any better but man it'd be nice if we got it anyway.

full article

I'm not annoyed that he was wrong, I'm annoyed (and driven to post this nonsense) because he is so ridiculously antagonistic, condescending and belittling of the consumer.

I guess the point of this post is to use Kuchera to illustrate what seems to be a growing trend of "fuck you peasant, obey your masters" coming from the press. Where does an article and an attitude like this come from or (does it even exist...maybe I'm just smelling nonexistent wind farts)? I also wanted to highlight how fantastic it is that consumers were able to vote with their voice as well as their wallets and actually affect change, despite cynically lazy naysayers like Kuchera shitting on them at every turn.

So congrats to us! Because we farted long enough, loud enough and sulfiric enough Microsoft now has a more consumer friendly console that I'm looking forward to owning.

 

[airmangataosenai]

Looking back on that whole saga is fascinating.

 

[Jb]

Yup, guys like him, the GB dudes and I'm sure dozens more at IGN/GT/Gamespot sure were quick to ridicule that whole movement. Shows just how much a bunch of tourists of the industry they actually are.

 

[njean777]

I liked that Jim Sterling stood up for the consumers. He was one of the only people who told MS to fuck off.

Yup, guys like him, the GB dudes and I'm sure dozens more at IGN/GT/Gamespot sure were quick to ridicule that whole movement. Shows just how much a bunch of tourists of the industry they actually are.

TBH Patrick did say he did not like the DRM in the Xbox One, Brad was the only one I heard spouting BS about how Sony is surely gonna do the same thing. Then even after the announcement at E3 he said he still didn't trust Sony, I was like WTF. Of course he hasn't said anything since because he knows he was wrong.

 

[Guevara]

Turns out most of these folks have no idea what they're talking about. They are enthusiasts basically. They get into trouble when they pretend they know something (especially about the business side) and/or antagonize their readers.

 

[RionaaM]

Well, something is true. Sony's practices ended up being the same as the ones MS ultimately announced: no always online and freedom to gift or resell used games.

 

[Nihilistic Monk]

Thanks for posting this. It's fab.
I called Kuchera out on twitter when he was bullying the GJAIF blogger, after he said he was glad the guy lost his job & he couldn't afford his girlfriends meds. Got blocked for that.

The guy is lauded in some circles, I called him out on a PA post again and got bothered by a loyal follower of his. Since his Ars days the dude has wrote awful link bait articles and treated his readership like shit. (The PS3 sends your credit card info in plain text debacle anyone)

Glad to see someone calling out the "Don't comment, shut the fuck up and Obay my opinion" culture that's popping up as well. Had a run in with C418 (minecraft music guy) about that recently. It's amazing when their fans/consumers/readership don't exactly fall in-line with their opinion how quickly they get aggressive and defensive. It certainly does exist. You have tech consumer sites turning off comments, Boing Boing removing comments and placing people into a forum instead and in games journalism you just have a horrifically "Us Vs Them" attitude in some corners from them against us as their readership. My simple rule nowadays is we're always arseholes until they have a kickstarter on.

 

[RE_Player]

Looking at the whole saga now is interesting. Really shows you how some reviewers, journalists or just video game personalities value the publisher and developers over the consumers.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

The idea that publishers would make games X1 exclusives, when they financially struggled on multiple platforms this gen, if Sony didn't give into their demands was pretty bad analysis. I don't get that thought process.

 

[alr1ght]

Amazing to see who has all the power, eh? We do.

Tools will be tools. It's nice to know now whose opinions are not worth entertaining.

TBH Patrick did say he did not like the DRM in the Xbox One, Brad was the only one I heard spouting BS about how Sony is surely gonna do the same thing. Then even after the announcement at E3 he said he still didn't trust Sony, I was like WTF. Of course he hasn't said anything since because he knows he was wrong.

I love the GB guys, but most of them were terrible. Either using false equivalencies or just being apathetic and writing everything else off.

 

[metalslimer]

Why i will never trust anything out of the mouths of the people that even slightly defended it

 

[Codeblue]

I'm not annoyed that he was wrong, I'm annoyed (and driven to post this nonsense) because he is so ridiculously antagonistic, condescending and belittling of the consumer.

Antagonistic, condescending, and belittling are the three words I'd use to sum Kuchera up. He's one of the most consistently clueless people and he's incredibly defensive about it.

 

[I speel my dreenk]

TBH Patrick did say he did not like the DRM in the Xbox One, Brad was the only one I heard spouting BS about how Sony is surely gonna do the same thing. Then even after the announcement at E3 he said he still didn't trust Sony, I was like WTF. Of course he hasn't said anything since because he knows he was wrong.

Nah, there were numerous occasions that all of the guys maintained that they saw Sony following suit, but it never sounded dismissive or vindictive, just reasonable. Actually, yeah, alr1ght has it right with 'apathetic'.

 

[not_so_special]

ben kuchera its the worst game journalist out there..and thats its a feat

he is working on penny arcade..so a match made in heaven

 

[fatgamecat]

I see a lot similar in that article to articles (or posts) insulting and belittling consumers who don't like Win 8. The market will have the last laugh, though, as nobody is forced to buy MS' products.

 

[Zemm]

Him and Gies are probably the biggest mouthpieces in the industry and they are constantly wrong about everything, it's funny.

 

[Adam Blue]

Antagonistic, condescending, and belittling are the three words I'd use to sum Kuchera up. He's one of the most consistently clueless people and he's incredibly defensive about it.

Unfortunately, this. If he were to admit to missteps, it would be a different matter. He is part of the problem in regards to online negativity, bullying, etc.

 

[Crawl]

Love the thread title

 

[not_so_special]

the whole xbox 180 thing had show me how little a lot of people of the gaming press care about the users,even down to earth podcast like CAG were defending microsoft and making fun of the people to react to this drm thing

time has passed public was proved right..the ended looking like clowns..and bad ones

and jim sterling..a guy i dont like some time ago ended being one of the finest journos out there..so kudos to jim

 

[WanderingWind]

Turns out most of these folks have no idea what they're talking about. They are enthusiasts basically. They get into trouble when they pretend they know something (especially about the business side) and/or antagonize their readers.

Worse. They're enthusiasts who are always auditioning for a position in the same industry they're "reporting" on.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

 

[Cels]

ben kuchera and arthur gies have been especially bad about this attitude.

how did kuchera get hired by penny arcade anyway? he was with ars technica before. did they poach him away or did he come to them? (lol i guess poach isn't the right word since generally things that are poached have value)

 

[Visualante2]

Guy's the biggest fucking nimrod I know of that is paid to write about video games.

 

[BRocknRolla]

I love the GB guys, but most of them were terrible. Either using false equivalencies or just being apathetic and writing everything else off.

It's the only thing I don't like about GB. They seem like great guys and I love their laid back but high quality style, but they seem to largely view videogames as "dumb" and fun. Jeff can at times wax philosophic on his Jar Times, but when push comes to shove, you'll see a lot more shoulder shrugs about serious issues than actual opinions. Don't know if it's because they don't take things very seriously or if they don't want to alienate anyone in the audience, but I definitely felt like I was missing their informed voices during the whole debacle.

 

[Artorias]

The guy is such a fucking tool.

I know PA doesn't care if a few people stop going to their site, but I hope they understand that they've gone from one end of the spectrum to the other in just a few years. They really used to seem like regular gamers like us that made fun of how ridiculous the industry was and how it treated its most loyal customers.

The other thing is Gabe. I understand that he is extremely emotionally immature, but some of the stuff he says is so cringe worthy that I find it hard to say I'm a fan of his in any capacity. They haven't really written a funny comic in a few years either, so I guess I'm not missing much.

 

[No Love]

There are very, very few journalists in the gaming industry who are little more than a fart in the wind, and Kuchera is not one of them.

I miss Jeff Green. He was like a cool old uncle who lived and breathed games, and you could tell he was really in love and in touch with the industry.

I also miss the EGM of old (late 90's/early 00's.) Those guys really had it together.

 

[rain elbows]

TBH Patrick did say he did not like the DRM in the Xbox One, Brad was the only one I heard spouting BS about how Sony is surely gonna do the same thing. Then even after the announcement at E3 he said he still didn't trust Sony, I was like WTF. Of course he hasn't said anything since because he knows he was wrong.

Klepek was actually the one who said Sony's DRM system was very similar to Microsoft's heading into E3. After Sony revealed there was no change and even went on the record with GB to say there were no real DRM plans and this wasn't a change of plans (not to includeit) Patrick specifically said Sony wasn't telling the truth. He seemed real defensive in light of how wrong he was about their plans

 

[Malvolio]

I stopped visiting Ars because of his absurdities. Luckily I had already ditched PA before he came aboard. A complete and total shill and exactly what's wrong with game "journalism". Glad to see I'm not alone in this belief.

 

[Adam Blue]

I guess the point of this post is to use Kuchera to illustrate what seems to be a growing trend of "fuck you peasant, obey your masters" coming from the press. Where does an article and an attitude like this come from or (does it even exist...maybe I'm just smelling nonexistent wind farts)? I also wanted to highlight how fantastic it is that consumers were able to vote with their voice as well as their wallets and actually affect change, despite cynically lazy naysayers like Kuchera shitting on them at every turn.

This is what also breeds all the horrible comments we see. Journos tend to act a bit entitled (it's a given since this is a younger industry that most grew up with, without having older adult peers to learn from previous generations).

And on Twitter I notice journos and developers continue to focus on these negative comments when all that does is feed the need for it. Jim Sterling went on about it for a few days on Twitter - not once bringing up a well thought-out critical view of any of his pieces. Only derogatory ones.

Do you guys keep up with Stephen Totilo? He's an example of a great video game journalist. He would be great for the PAR.

 

[Booshka]

Well put together OP and a great thread title. Couldn't believe this shit when I initially read it. Fascinating point of view.

 

[Opiate]

I suspect most of these people are not explicitly paid or bribed. They're just captured by the industry, in a way not unlike common fans of a brand who can't say anything bad about their favored company and who don't even realize how silly they look when viewed by someone outside their bubble.

It's also telling because so many of them are so sure they aren't doing this. It's a testament to how easy it is to subconscious persuade and trick the human mind. Never think you're above it, as I am certainly not.

 

[Fushichou187]

I love the GB guys, but most of them were terrible. Either using false equivalencies or just being apathetic and writing everything else off.

I think apathy is probably the right word here. I mean, after all the shit they've seen in the industry-- Gerstmann's been on the reporting end of it for nearly two decades-- I can understand their default reasoning of "Anything that a company can do to restrict the consumer's choice while enriching themselves, they'll do. Always bet on greed.".

 

[not_so_special]

Klepek was actually the one who said Sony's DRM system was very similar to Microsoft's heading into E3. After Sony revealed there was no change and even went on the record with GB to say there were no real DRM plans and this wasn't a change of plans (not to includeit) Patrick specifically said Sony wasn't telling the truth. He seemed real defensive in light of how wrong he was about their plans

keplek its not a big sony fan...so....same happened with cheapy D his podcast has become a xbox one defense force,even if he was wrong about the whole drm fiasco he still proclame he was right on the whole thing

 

[jschreier]

Do you guys keep up with Stephen Totilo? He's an example of a great video game journalist. He would be great for the PAR.

Don't you dare try to take Totilo away.

 

[Crawl]

Say what you will about marcus beer, but I really enjoyed his video response to the Xbox one reveal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtA2KdH0DAA

 

[kirblar]

I guess the point of this post is to use Kuchera to illustrate what seems to be a growing trend of "fuck you peasant, obey your masters" coming from the press.

They merely want the gaming populace at large to embrace the same relationship and behavior they've come to accept as normal! Stockholm Syndrome: Doritos edition.

 

[Goldmund]

Again, I don't think Ben Kuchera is "antagonistic, condescending and belittling", although I can understand somebody getting that impression. He's simply insane, positively insane, Tom Cruise preaching to us from a cardboard pulpit level insane. He takes a dump in front of his peers again and again and all they do is nod and say "interesting opinion, Ben".

 

[alr1ght]

I think apathy is probably the right word here. I mean, after all the shit they've seen in the industry-- Gerstmann's been on the reporting end of it for nearly two decades-- I can understand their default reasoning of "Anything that a company can do to restrict the consumer's choice while enriching themselves, they'll do. Always bet on greed.".

The worst was just the "Sony will do the same thing" type of thought. They never brought up how shit the DRM was, just that Sony would follow the same path, so don't worry about it. Shit DRM is shit DRM, no matter the source.

From memory,
Jeff and Ryan were apathetic.
Patrick and Brad were "Sony will do it too" so be quiet.
Vinny was level headed saying how the DRM was pretty bad.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I liked that Jim Sterling stood up for the consumers. He was one of the only people who told MS to fuck off.

Jim Sterling is amazing man. I don't keep up with him as much as I should, but he one of the few journalists that was dead on.

It was also one of the few times when I just shook my head and rolled my eyes over the GB staff's indifference to customer concerns. It was when I cancelled my subscription with their site, and they still haven't really given me a reason to want to pay again once my year is up.

 

[WanderingWind]

I suspect most of these people are not explicitly paid or bribed. They're just captured by the industry, in a way not unlike common fans of a brand who can't say anything bad about their favored company and who don't even realize how silly they look when viewed by someone outside their bubble.

It's also telling because so many of them are so sure they aren't doing this. It's a testament to how easy it is to subconscious persuade and trick the human mind. Never think you're above it, as I am certainly not.

I...I actually agree. I don't think most of them are malicious and I certainly don't blame them for adhering to the practices that keep them employed, but it's certainly not a group - as a whole - whose opinions I respect as being formed with me, the consumer, in mind.

 

[BRocknRolla]

From memory,
Jeff and Ryan were apathetic.
Patrick and Brad were "Sony will do it too" so be quiet.
Vinny was level headed saying how the DRM was pretty bad.

Always bet on Vinny.

 

[fallagin]

I suspect most of these people are not explicitly paid or bribed. They're just captured by the industry, in a way not unlike common fans of a brand who can't say anything bad about their favored company and who don't even realize how silly they look when viewed by someone outside their bubble.

It's also telling because so many of them are so sure they aren't doing this. It's a testament to how easy it is to subconscious persuade and trick the human mind. Never think you're above it, as I am certainly not.

Agreed. It probably has something to do with the natural human affinity for tribalism or something.

 

[Nokterian]

Ben Kuchera also known as...

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Kuchera is a complete tool, and he deserves to be laughed out of the industry for that piece. A lot of folks came across poorly in this debacle, but none were nearly as antagonistic towards consumers and their rights as Kuchera was, complete with his insistence that there was nothing anyone could do, and that people should just accept the situation.

 

[Haunted]

Kuchera is so hit and miss.

Mostly miss in recent memory, though. :/ Really apologetic about corporate bullshit, to a depressing extent.

Don't you dare try to take Totilo away.

If it's any consolation, I think you and Totilo both are too good for the shit show that is Kotaku.

 

[FStop7]

ben kuchera its the worst game journalist out there..and thats its a feat

he is working on penny arcade..so a match made in heaven

I wish I understood what happened to PA. One day they were pretty cutting in their distribution of the truth, the next day they became the Howard Stern Show of video games: impressively disconnected and ten miles up their own asses.

 

[RoboPlato]

I've still never heard mention of Kuchera outside of this piece and his rants related to it.

 

[RionaaM]

Don't you dare try to take Totilo away.

You're also another journalist whose articles I enjoy reading, by the way. Nice writing style and well thought stuff, instead of click bait bullshit.

I don't actively visit any gaming sites apart from GAF, but it's always good to see a new thread poping up here about your latest opinion piece

 

[Krusenstern]

One thing I learned from this whole debacle is that this industry seems to forget who is actually buying their stuff and makes them successful: consumers.
Kuchera, alongside Bleszinski, Gies, and totaldouchebag, I have lost all respect for these clowns.

 

[JDSN]

I had no idea he wrote a second piece blaming gamers for refusing the gifts of Microsoft, I figured he would realize his opinion was unpopular, absurd and myopic. I guess the difference between journalists like him (Gies, totalbiscuit, etc) and Mayor Nelson is the paygrade.