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Sony contacted Vice due to more critical review of The Last of Us Part II

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Minthara

Minthara

Freelance Market Director
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
8,121
Montreal
It's weird, because my job as part of Product Marketing is to reach out to happy and unhappy clients and reviewers alike and dive deeper into their thoughts to try and get some actionable data points from them. So that sounds perfectly normal to me and is part of my every day job.

But this case sounds like someone wanted more information and reached out in a weird, awkward way and I'm really curious what the hell the person reaching out to VICE was thinking, rather than giving someone experienced with this kind of reach out.
 
Reinhardt Schneider

Reinhardt Schneider

Banned
Jun 2, 2019
4,947
Eggman said:
They reached out on behalf of Naughty Dog. Way to be overdramatic. It is odd that you are way more upset about this than the actual reviewer who was happy to reply.
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Of course it upsets me and i hope you're not implying what you seem to be implying.

When you've had to respond to both small and large publishers, you have been blacklisted for not giving them the scores they wanted, and you have been lied about withholding reviews until an inexistent patch is released, the mere idea of a publisher or developer meddling with any media regarding reviews pisses you off inmensely.
 
Zalman

Zalman

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,896
I'm not sure what's more embarrassing, the problem in question or posters claiming people aren't reading the OP.
 

greenhadoken

Member
Oct 28, 2017
502
People who are posting "read the OP" are not understanding that the act of contacting Vice is the weird thing. It doesn't matter who contacted, whether it was PR for Sony or Naughty Dog, either way that PR team should be aware of how that is going to be interpreted; as a petty/bad look (after all, they are a fucking PR team, isn't that their entire job!?). If the exchange wasn't cordial this would be a real big story, but again the fact that they contacted at all (or that any company does this) is a bad look. I mean, are Sony/ND somehow completely unaware of the non-stop hostility this game has garnered online?
 

Deleted member 46804

User requested account closure
Banned
Aug 17, 2018
4,129
The only people in the wrong are Sony/ND and the people here defending this bullshit. And how the fuck are people supposed to trust reviews with stuff like this happening? If a site has to worry about voicing their actual opinion because it will bring down the wrath of the publisher, that invalidates the metacritic score of a game.
 
Plankton2

Plankton2

Member
Dec 12, 2017
2,670
I really want to know how many small time reviewers get pressured by big publishers. Blackballing a smaller website or removing them from press/pr events could very easily kill their business.

And of course you can't even talk about it or face backlash including from the loud minority of angry gamers who view these big corporations as their friends.
 
Jencks

Jencks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,477
I'm convinced a subset of this board don't actually know the difference between an opinion and a fact, or objectivity and subjectivity. Holy shit.
 
Iwao

Iwao

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,865
NarohDethan said:
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It's possible to do that.

It's also possible to have written commentary without making point blank objectively inaccurate statements. Not saying Sony should not have left it alone, but statements like these are definitely going to cause the raising of eyebrows from those who produced it.
Every facet of the original game has been expanded and enlarged in the sequel, but not actually improved.
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Practically nothing here we haven't seen and done repeatedly throughout previous Naughty Dog games.
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BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
43,197
inguef said:

I disagree with their take.
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Opposite for me, I agree whole hardheartedly.

Iwao said:
It's possible to do that.

It's also possible to have written commentary without making point blank objectively innaccurate statements. Not saying Sony should not have left it alone, but statements like these are definitely going to cause the raising of eyebrows from those who produced it.
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I don't think you know what "objectively innaccurate statements" means.
 
ItIsOkBro

ItIsOkBro

Happy New Year!!
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,563
this is basically 'i want to talk to the manager.' neil druckmann is such a karen.
 
EricTheGamerman

EricTheGamerman

Banned
Aug 12, 2019
5,159
When people say that we're making a mountain over a molehill with this sort of stuff, remember the likely power dynamics at play here. Gaming outlets are largely dependent on their relationships with big name publishers at this point and those publishers often have a lot of pull in the industry at large when you get to the level of Sony and Naughty Dog. Even if it was "completely cordial" and the reviewer in question didn't have specifically a problem with the contact on a personal level, it's still an issue in the same way any other power imbalance would be. And beyond that it absolutely reveals an insecurity that a company can't take a negative review of an entertainment product that its main developers constantly went out of their way to highlight as intended to be divisive.
 
Eggman

Eggman

Banned
Apr 16, 2018
557
Reinhardt Schneider said:
Of course it upsets me and i hope you're not implying what you seem to be implying.

When you've had to respond to both small and large publishers, you have been blacklisted for not giving them the scores they wanted, and you have been lied about withholding reviews until an inexistent patch is released, the mere idea of a publisher or developer meddling with any media regarding reviews pisses me off inmensely.
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Stop making this about you. This reviewer had no issues with answering the questions and did not mention anything about being intimidated or blacklisted. There's nothing wrong with what happened here. Your thing is your personal problem.
 

Deleted member 15360

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,477
Some Quotes from the review which I feel are wrong and incorrect https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wxqnxy/last-of-us-part-2-review

Seattle feels much the same as Boston did in the first game, which was not too dissimilar to Pittsburgh, and so-on.

all you actually do as a player is follow an obvious path to a clearly-marked crack in the wall leading to the next area.

The Last of Us 2 suggests post-apocalyptic scarcity but in truth the whole world is a great big ammo magazine
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Reinhardt Schneider

Reinhardt Schneider

Banned
Jun 2, 2019
4,947
Eggman said:
Stop making this about you. This reviewer had no issues with answering the questions and did not mention anything about being intimidated or blacklisted. There's nothing wrong with what happened here. Your thing is your personal problem.
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You're either not understanding the problem at hand or just deflecting

The problem is a pub or dev sticking their noses in the press

That
Should
Never
Happen
 
Sems4arsenal

Sems4arsenal

Member
Apr 7, 2019
3,631
Not sure what's to gain from reaching out to someone who wrote that nothing was improved over the original game.

I'm all for opinions, but this is straight up clickbait and it's working.
 
Tiago Rodrigues

Tiago Rodrigues

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 15, 2018
5,244
Jeffram said:
After having played the Last of Us Part 2 and reading the vice article, I also have a problem with some of the conclusions drawn or at least the statements made.

"it's shocking how little has changed. Seattle feels much the same as Boston did in the first game, which was not too dissimilar to Pittsburgh, and so-on."

"all you actually do as a player is follow an obvious path to a clearly-marked crack in the wall leading to the next area."

"Nor is the world particularly dangerous, despite its devastation and horrors: every surprise attack is telegraphed. Enemies always announce themselves, giving you ample time to come up with a plan of attack. It has all the aesthetics of motifs of a survival horror game, yet none of their pushback."

"The Last of Us 2 suggests post-apocalyptic scarcity but in truth the whole world is a great big ammo magazine"

"this might be the least challenging of any of Naughty Dog's action-adventures"

"Nobody ever reconsiders their quest for vengeance. Everyone acts under a kind of vindictive compulsion that goes little remarked and unexamined."

He can hate the the gameplay, the themes, etc. But I think the above are things I would disagree with.
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Half of this is factually wrong. The other half suggests he played on easy.

Still Sony shouldn't bother.

Has anyone from Polygon posted anything related to reviewing Ghost of Tsushima?
 

Deleted member 42055

User requested account closure
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Apr 12, 2018
11,215
The absolute fervor with which some people need to defend TLOU2 .. sheesh. How about all the Sony avatars take their gripes to the review thread? You taking issue with a reviewers content who didn't adore your game is not what's important here
 
Stellar

Stellar

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
758
Iwao said:
It's possible to do that.

It's also possible to have written commentary without making point blank objectively inaccurate statements. Not saying Sony should not have left it alone, but statements like these are definitely going to cause the raising of eyebrows from those who produced it.
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Nothing you quoted is wrong.
 
Alexandros

Alexandros

Member
Oct 26, 2017
17,876
Eggman said:
Stop making this about you. This reviewer had no issues with answering the questions and did not mention anything about being intimidated or blacklisted. There's nothing wrong with what happened here. Your thing is your personal problem.
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There is definitely something wrong with what happened and the poster's experience is not a personal problem. It is an industry problem.
 
PeskyToaster

PeskyToaster

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,318
Empyrean Cocytus said:
I see what you're saying here, but the problem is that criticism is criticism and potentially impeding it (since funding from corporations is what keeps them alive) either passively or aggressively isn't cool.

Also expect people to call you a Sony fanboy.
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Yeah there could be issues with the power dynamic but the criticism is out there and the person who was contacted seemed to have no issue with it so if that person doesn't then why should other people take issue for them? I'm fine with it if Naughty Dog is genuinely interested in the critical discussion. Is there any evidence they are trying to get the review pulled or get a better review from VICE?
 
Damn Silly

Damn Silly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,228
Yes, I'm sure Rob Zacny, easily one of the better video game critics out there, reviewed the game wrong.
 
ToddBonzalez

ToddBonzalez

The Pyramids? That's nothing compared to RDR2
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
15,530
Serene said:
Sony/ND is so stuffy about this dumb shit that they go after outlets even after receiving overwhelming praise just because it's not unanimous

embarassing
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Yeah what's up with ND and people who worked on the game like Troy Baker nitpicking every piece of criticism that comes their way? I love the game, but it shouldn't be immune to criticism (I thought the Vice review and discussion on their podcast was quite thoughtful). Honestly a bad look for ND and Sony.
 
Messofanego

Messofanego

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,405
UK
"It's not enough that the game is selling well, and that most reviews are positive; you can't fall out of line with that general consensus, even as a joke, without having to worry about whether or not a publisher will be looking over your shoulder, or if hundreds of fans will blow up your social media. It is not an environment that is conducive to encouraging honest reviews or critical discussion, which is ultimately a disservice to the game itself."​

Well said, Patricia. Discussing a game shouldn't be like walking on eggshells, afraid that developers can't take criticism well.

I'll say it again, Cory Barlog should regret ever saying that journalists and critics are tearing down developers and are bullies.
aabp450_d.webp
 
cantbebothered

cantbebothered

Banned
May 7, 2020
2,819
DukeNukum said:
The only people in the wrong are Sony/ND and the people here defending this bullshit. And how the fuck are people supposed to trust reviews with stuff like this happening? If a site has to worry about voicing their actual opinion because it will bring down the wrath of the publisher, that invalidates the metacritic score of a game.
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To be fair its good anyway. Once revierwers lose their reputation maybe people actually buy the games they actually like instead of listen from someone else
 
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