Controversies

Alleged ControversIES:

Website ZeldaInformer ran an article headlined "Former IGN Employee Admits Review Scores are Skewed Due to Public Relations and the Almighty Dollar. "

The site quoted the following comment from what it described as a "former IGN employee, who will remain anonymous for obvious reasons:" 

"The truth is that marketing and PR and readers have a major influence on reviews. I can tell you that just about every preview and review you read spouts out a lot of marketing’s message. Journalists don’t get it, see it, realize it, or accept it. But that is the truth"
-Source

The site then editorializes: "IGN, among several other publications, alter review scores, alter editorial pieces, based on who is paying the bills."

IGN reached out to the site and VP of editorial posted a comment on the article (which has since been deleted by ZeldaInformer) and asked for a retraction. Co-founder Peer Schneider also posted a follow-up on his blog that clarified the source of the quote as well as the fact that it wasn't talking about IGN specifically or alleging paid scores:

"It took only a few minutes to find out that the former employee quoted in the piece is not a source that wanted to remain anonymous or had an axe to grind with IGN. As a matter of fact, this source never even spoke to ZeldaInformer nor requested to remain anonymous. The quote is directly lifted from Hilary Goldstein’s online class for budding games journalists – and Hil is talking about challenges with game previews and reviews as a whole that are pretty commonly discussed. While Hil may be a bit more cynical about the content of previews and reviews than I am, it's not an outrageous statement when put in its proper context. That marketing and PR can have an influence on content written about their products is something many of us talk about (and have said many times when talking to those wanting to become game reviewers or gain insight into how publications are run). It's their job to try to get you to tell the stories they want to tell, and it's just one of the pressures placed on journalists -- whether in the gaming industry or elsewhere. Sources and relationships, the audience, marketing messaging (“hype”)… These are all factors that constantly put pressure on reporters. It’s the very core of what it means to be a journalist to be able to balance these influences and tell an honest and grounded story."

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