Review Embargoes: Good and Bad

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efkelley

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gavcvi19q1g

A solid dissertation on the good and bad sides to review embargoes.

The TLDR ... TLDW?

Essentially an embargo makes certain that all outlets cannot release their reviews early. They all want to scramble to get their review out first, so that they're the first to get the clicks and views for their advertising. No worries when an embargo is in place that gives consumers an opportunity to hear what their favorite sites think of a game prior to launch. Mind you, this is usually FAR after they're taking pre-orders, but whatever. Pre-orders are an industry evil that won't go away. That topic is only briefly touched on.

Embargoes are very, very bad when they're set AFTER the official release. The example given (but not the only one by any means) is Assassin's Creed: Unity. It happens when the publisher knows their game is a bit shit, and want the hype and marketing to have its intended effect on an uninformed populace. And while Unity isn't completely horrible (as the reviews have said), it's by no means as good as was expected. It is certainly not the only example of this tactic used by nearly every major publisher in the market today.

For my part, I have almost never, ever understood the hype. Maybe it's because I work in the games industry (albeit boardgames and not video games, though I was in that industry a thousand years ago). I know that the game will come out. I'll be able to play it. There's absolutely no ego boost from being FIRST to do anything in these games. Therefore, I am not the target for these embargoes.

It's the Gotta Have Its. The folks that love posting 'FIRST!'. The folks that can feel their money burning in their wallets. These are their prey. As is stated in the last minute of the video: 'they're convincing you to pay for something you haven't seen.'

Would you buy a car without a test drive? A house without an appraisal? Hell, a tablet without at least some feedback? I'll grant that these are much higher ticket items than a video game, but the principle still applies.
 
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