Activision versus small French gaming site over Black Ops 2

Ugh.

I wonder if Activision thinks that people don't know Black Ops 2 is coming this year...

inb4 Mindless Activision bashing.

Is it not possible to just say "Activision gets into a scuffle over Black Ops 2"? Does giving this thread a name that will clearly lead it into Activision bashing really help at all? It won't change the information included but will at least not encourage "lol activision sucks".

^ Gotta agree with Paladin here; the title is certainly a bit loaded.

How else would you characterize it?

Had Game Spot or IGN reported it, Activision sure ain't gonna pull the same lame crap.

If I wanted "journalistic integrity" I'd go to...

I'd go to...

Damnit, I'm actually starting to wonder whether that's a thing that exists anymore.

Damn you internet. Damn you for making me so cynical.

edited 17th Feb '12 8:01:47 PM by unnown

Destructoid agrees.

I was just saying, maybe a more neutral thread name would have been a bit better.

Nonetheless, yeah this was a bit of an asshole move on Activision's part.

The thread title doesn't exactly show a lot of "journalistic integrity" on your part JAF.

Also, apparently saying the words "journalistic integrity" with a straight face is my Berserk Button now.

How dare they do the duties of a journalistic website and actually find information!

They should be shilling companies and be glorified advertisements like real video game websites!

The activision hate is completely justified.

While Gameblog isn't obviously on the same level of mainstrean as those two, it's headed by several big-name magazine journos of the France gaming press and it is funded by a fairly big (local) multimedia company, it's not small at all*

that's exactly what they do.

edited 17th Feb '12 8:13:15 PM by Glowsquid

Dont know what you mean but Activision has zero right to tell the website what to do.

Does it really matter? Everyone already knows that all the moms will buy this for their brats and it'll be huge, whatever it's called and whatever it's a sequel to.

It could be Call Of Duty: Cleaning Up Infant Vomit and it would sell.

So why do people care?

Not saying it isn't. This is a real dick move on the part of Activision.

At least, that is my OPINION.

But the thread title, by a so-called "journalist" should probably be a little more objective and neutral than this, going by the standards of "journalistic integrity".

Which as far as I know has not, does not, and probably will never exist.

edited 17th Feb '12 8:17:25 PM by unnown

Doesn't change the fact Activision bullied a website for something like this.

No, it doesn't.

Nor does it change the fact that as a "journalist" JAF should be better than this.

How the hell do you be fair over this?

Note to unown: I'm doing here what is called "editorializing". That means, it's my opinion. And I don't even need to call it that because this isn't a news site. It's not even a news blog like Joystiq. It's a message board.

Note that when I reported the item on SI, the title was "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 outed by Amazon France".

Not "Activision is a huge asshole for this shit". lol

As far as I know journalism doesn't have a code of ethics like lawyers or doctors, so there isn't any requirement for JAF to not spin the news.

Lawyers have ethics?

^^ Yes there is, at least in principle...although not sure about formalized code...

edited 17th Feb '12 10:38:35 PM by onyhow

Yeah, but they can't be disbarred or anything, can they?

Oh you're talking about formal organization that represents all the people within that career...that's different matter...

Mindless Activision bashing? Hmm. From where I sit on my yellow leather comfy couch, most of the kicking Activision gets on the internet and elsewhere is well-deserved, is usually well-reasoned and is often well-written as well. Their business practices are uniformly awful, so much so that they have replaced Electronic Arts as the most-hated games publisher, with good reason. Ever since Bobby Kotick got to be boss.

If there were an award for grinding games franchises into the dirt by constantly releasing updates and charging full price for things that any decent games company would release as dlc, then Kotick would get it every single year.

Oh no doubt; Kotick is a complete bell-end.

Well-written and intelligent complaints? On the Internet? Surely you jest good sir.

Oh, don't get me wrong; I have no love for Activision myself. I'm just tired of what is essentially the same thread pop up over and over again just with a different title. I don't see why we can't just make a single topic entitled "Reasons to Hate Activision" or something and post any developping stupidity into there, rather than make a new thread any time they do some ridiculous.