Topic: Sony Executive Wants To Work With Nintendo, Why The Hate

What is it specifically about Nintendo Life that suggests anything other than a blog writing format? It seems that your issues arise from the assumption that we are something other than what we try to be. Our goal is to present Nintendo-related news in a truthful, entertaining and informative manner. We're not trying to emulate Gamasutra (we're far too silly), so we approach news differently.

I understand the sensationalism concern, believe it or not it's something I've rallied hard against since I joined as news editor a year ago (you win some, you lose some). In this case I didn't find the article to be written in a more sensationalistic way than acceptable, and the instances of writer commentary I thought were as obvious as they tend to be here.

Out of curiosity, where do you write?

The format of the site itself is reminiscent of a professional games website- such as IGN or Gamespot. That's a compliment - you guys really do present yourselves very professionally on the surface.

The second part of your paragraph concerns me. "Truthfully" is exactly my problem with NintendoLife's reporting. It's not truthful, it's opinion. There's a difference. Truthful reporting is the opinions of others, and factual events. It's Journalism 101 stuff that a straight news piece has no explicit writer's voice in it whatsoever - and whether you are Gamasutra, or the least professionally run blog in the Internet, the rules don't change - your quality and professionalism as a news source is judged on whether you follow the basic rules or not.

I understand the sensationalism concern, believe it or not it's something I've rallied hard against since I joined as news editor a year ago (you win some, you lose some). In this case I didn't find the article to be written in a more sensationalistic way than acceptable, and the instances of writer commentary I thought were as obvious as they tend to be here.

Back in my days at University (all of 8 years ago) there was no such thing as acceptable sensationalism - from a personal ethics point of view, as well as for a publication's image. I struggle to believe the rules of journalism have changed that much.

Out of curiosity, where do you write?

Haha - trying to get me to slip up so you can ban me? Blackdragon's already told me linking to where I write is unacceptable

Without giving links - I work for ARNnet and Gamepro Australia in a professional capacity - Print editor of one, freelancer on the other, and I have my own blog that's only a couple weeks old that I'm building up.

Please don't take any of this as a criticism of the effort you all put in, and the overall value of the site - there's a reason I spend a good deal of the little spare time I have here - but I would really like to see an improvement in the way you guys report on news. I rarely have complaints about your reviews and features - I love them, but the news is a sore point to me.

I offered a while back to help with the editing of the news here behind the scenes - I'm not interested in being a "staff member" (or replace you, Panda) - not because I think this is a poor quality site, but because I think there's some guidance I can provide to make you guys even better. That offer was ignored at the time, but is still open. Otherwise, I'll keep providing my feedback on the forums (assuming that's not against any rules), and just hope my pointers are taken on board

That's all Ant, he does a fantastic job of keeping this shack standing. Pretty good for a one-man show, eh?

The second part of your paragraph concerns me. "Truthfully" is exactly my problem with NintendoLife's reporting. It's not truthful, it's opinion. There's a difference. Truthful reporting is the opinions of others, and factual events. It's Journalism 101 stuff that a straight news piece has no explicit writer's voice in it whatsoever - and whether you are Gamasutra, or the least professionally run blog in the Internet, the rules don't change - your quality and professionalism as a news source is judged on whether you follow the basic rules or not.

After having them pounded into my brain for four years of college, I'm aware of the fundamentals of journalism. I used "truthful" in the sense that facts and quotes are neither fabricated nor taken out of context and can be sourced back provided the writer in question has done their job properly. The quotes and the context they were used in were truthful for the piece. Yes, clearly the commentary was writer voice, but that fits our MO of being an entertaining source.

Back in my days at University (all of 8 years ago) there was no such thing as acceptable sensationalism - from a personal ethics point of view, as well as for a publication's image. I struggle to believe the rules of journalism have changed that much.

I suppose I should clarify "acceptable" sensationalism. What I mean by it is basically writer's voice vs. amount of relevant story content. I believe that, for our news style, it was an appropriate balance of what the story needed to inform and our own brand of easy-to-spot commentary.

Please don't take any of this as a criticism of the effort you all put in, and the overall value of the site - there's a reason I spend a good deal of the little spare time I have here - but I would really like to see an improvement in the way you guys report on news. I rarely have complaints about your reviews and features - I love them, but the news is a sore point to me.

I offered a while back to help with the editing of the news here behind the scenes - I'm not interested in being a "staff member" (or replace you, Panda) - not because I think this is a poor quality site, but because I think there's some guidance I can provide to make you guys even better. That offer was ignored at the time, but is still open. Otherwise, I'll keep providing my feedback on the forums (assuming that's not against any rules), and just hope my pointers are taken on board

No rules being broken, nor do I feel threatened for replacement. As I mentioned before (or at least think I did, if not then I'm saying it now!), all constructive criticism is welcome. News is something that we've been working hard at for a while in trying to hammer out style guides, ensuring factual reporting and cutting down on empty snark. To my knowledge I'm the first editor that was brought on with the intent of focusing solely on news, and considering the way our staff inherently functions I think we've come a long way with news since last year. We're well aware that we have more to do in this regard, and I'm confident that further improvement will show over time.

EDIT: And I'm off to bed! Be sure to look for our news piece tomorrow about how Jack Tretton is in fact a mole person.

We're well aware that we have more to do in this regard, and I'm confident that further improvement will show over time.

Good to hear. The better NintendoLife gets, the more enjoyable it's going to be Sounds like an obvious statement, but it's rare to find a genuine desire to improve on the Internet.

@ panda.... just wanted to throw it out there that your articles in particular always seem to be the most informative when it comes to news. I did find this recent article to be one of less opinionated. This past one was one of the more entertaining antisony articles I've seen around here.

@ waltz... crossed23@ aim.com you can send me a link to where you write as i would enjoy the read.

Yes, we do.

As for my opinion, Sony needs a consistency executive. You can't say you hate 3D without the glasses and then say you want to work with the company that made glasses-less 3D in order to enhance 3D technology. Oh, and I mean "Enhance 3D Technology" as in "Steal Technology To Profit From It".

But they aren't working for a publication that has a formally-trained editor (I think?), which is why they can do stuff like that. And that's one of the reasons I like NintendoLife, their news articles are fun to read both because of the humour and because the articles seem a bit more personal. I find it pretty obvious when they're just trying to be funny, and I still get the core of the news, which was that a Sony guy said he hoped they could give 3D to the masses together as an industry. And then I can decide whether that makes Sony a jerk or a cool guy, based on the quotes.
I am perfectly able to form my own opinions, thank you very much. Though I must admit, after reading this thread I'm not sure whether I love or hate Sony anymore.

Also, this thread has so many big words and big opinions; it's giving me a headache.

@ panda.... my point exactly!

Maybe not on this Nintendo-centric site, but you can bet that everyone else would be howling with well-deserved laughter.

Personally, I prefer to laugh at Nintendo for their "online presence" and ridiculous E3 presentations (this year excluded) than their PR statements... but they do have some ridiculous PR too.

Why don't we just all laugh at Microsoft instead?

Hahaha, seriously, Kinect? Oh man.

I agree with your intent, but "journalism" has changed quite a bit. Compared to a decade ago, it's much tougher today to find news that hasn't been sensationalized or filtered through the opinions of the writer. Makes any sites or news outlets that do offer true reporting that much more valuable....

Don't worry - Microsoft gets their fair share. "Stop Skittles, it tickles... hahahaha".

Kinectimals are meant to be feared, not laughed at!

I honestly feel bad for hardcore Microsoft fans i really do.

On the motion control subject. I saw a expert study that showed Sony and Microsoft having very low expectations in the way of hardware sales. I do agree. I don't see either of the two doing anything amazing. Sony has said that move is just a side project for ps3. Microsoft on the other hand seems two think kinect will beat everything.

Glasses-less 3D has been around for a long time, Nintendo didn't create it. 3D monitors not needing glasses have been around for years, just in their infancy technology-wise.

Nintendogs > Kinectimals

Eh, I wouldn't go that far. Microsoft has made lofty claims for the Kinect, but that's just marketing hype for you. Not like they're going to stick all of their eggs in that one basket.

I envision the Kinect and the Move to both get an aggressive push for about six months after release before lackluster profits (and interest) force both peripherals to slowly be phased out.

@Fox.... I dont think you will see either of the two phased out. One thing I do see a bit better for the Move (big reason Im buying it) is that it already has released games that will be patched to work with Move, namely Heavy Rain. I actually stopped playing the games as soon as I found out Move was going to be patched in.

Overall I see both being big dissapointments for both companies with some great software eventualy releasing on both platforms. Kinects Dance Central and Moves Sourcery both look like great games well worth buying. If I owned a 360 still I would buy Kinect as well as Move, but I dont have the 360 anymore so Ill just be investing in Move.

@Slapshot
I actually agree that the Move looks better at the moment, I just think they will be one of those things that the companies slowly stop supporting. Ah well, I hope I'm wrong. Both could lead to some interesting games.

I think sony is worried that if nintendo keeps bad mouthing the use of glasses in 3D that people will wait for the next gen in 3D tvs. Im sure a lot of people on this forum and other forums are already thinking why buy a new 3D tv and spend thousands of dollars when in the next year or two we will have glass less 3D tvs. Sony is looking out for thier profits like any company would. Instead of bashing the compatition in this case it would help to credit the use of a handheld that uses naked eye 3D. At this time in tech though its sony trying to sell people on the use of these glasses. Im sure sony is well on its way to upgrading its tech in a few years to no glasses. The profit is there now so when sony gets hit below the belt on the naked eye 3D they will naturally have to say something to help its own cause.

I have a ps3. I love the system as there has been a lot of good games released already this year! Needless to say ive been a fan boy of nintendos for about 25 years so thats not going to change. Most of my money does go to nintendo as for me they make the best games!