The Jimquisition 01: The Reviewbisoft Problem

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So this was the spectacular trick you could only pull once? I don't know if it was worth it, or if this is actually better, but it's what we have now. Best of luck to you, and I'm happy to support my favorite game inquisitor.

Nice review! Reminds me of zero punctuation but at a slower pace. Videogame fans, you might like my patreon campaign. I just launched it. <a href="http://www.patreon.com/nobel">http://www.patreon.com/nobel</a>

Excellent as always! Looking forward to seeing how this new patronage thing turns out. Thank god for you!

Aw, you got spambots now. You made it, son! ^^

Panquake

How exactly do returns work in the States? I mean, I don't agree with post launch review embargos but here in Australia Ebgames (Gamestop) will let you return any game no questions asked within 7 days of purchase.

Lance Heyen

So it begins with Ubisoft, I couldn't imagine a more fitting start.

Now that I'm directly financially supporting you, I am your boss. As you boss, I demand to know what the fuck is up with you and shrimp / prawns! I'm being silly calling myself your boss, but I would really like to know why you show pictures of shrimp / prawns so often. It's fucking driving me nuts and I must know.

For me, it boils down to one thing: INSANE ad-budget. Ubisoft, Activison, EA and others spend INSANE amounts of advertising. It not only blows the game's budget out of proportion (even more than it is anyway in a few cases), it also creates release-time issues. They cannot afford to delay a game anymore because it would invalidate a lot of the advertising.

Capybellie

good luck striking it out on your own!

Kirk Schneider

Solid episode but I felt like it was playing it a bit too safe. I look forward to the inevitable controversial videos that give me my monthly dose of salt.

Thank God for you Jim and thank God for you being on Patreon!

Michael Snyder

And this ladies and gentlemen, is why we continue to thank god for Jim Fucking Sterling Son.

Dallen Steinke Jr

One of my favourite anecdotes! I had an acquaintance who was a games journalist, and we were publicly debating review embargoes. I was talking from the consumer perspective - specifically, I was talking about how I find it difficult to trust games with review embargoes too close to release. I was quite burned by Total War: Rome II. In THAT form, I find them to be quite anti-consumer practices and they're a significant reason I don't buy games at launch. His defence of embargoes was something along the lines of criticising me for not having money to throw on bad games (a AAA release will cost ~40%+ of my total weekly income), "embargoes are fine because everyone does it" and "embargoes are fine because otherwise we wouldn't be given games". He then described me as 'everything wrong with gaming' and I lol'd all the way to the block button.

Wonderful episode Jim :)

A jab at Ubisoft and SEGA? A most appropriate start for the independent Jimquisition.

I was kind of hoping Jim would appear wearing scarf and fedora in a cafe of some sort before moving back to his familiar settings. Good first episode. Somewhat tame, but it was the elephant in the room, so best to just get it out of the way early on in the transition.

Ryukage

Jim Fucking Sterling Son, you nailed it again.

Didn't even miss a week. Jim is a content-creating machine, churning out profanity-laced honesty week after week. Good job, Jim. Glad I have a few bucks to help support your efforts.

Great start, looking forward to seeing where you go with this.

Keith Jarrett

What better way to get a clean start than with a slap to Ubisoft? Thanks for being fucking awesome, Mr. Sterling.

Fitting that it is Ubisoft providing the ammo for your first episode, don't you think? Add this reason onto the many other reasons why I'm a wait-and-buy consumer. Granted, I am more than willing to buy day one after companies have earned my trust. However, that list becomes shorter and shorter every year. Anyway, great show as always. Thanks for taking the risk, I am more than happy to support your endeavours.

Can watch the Jimquisition on my phone now, so it's already paying dividends.

Mark Patten

Nothing like a good excoriating to get the ball rolling.

The boy looks good on an indie platform, I gotta admit.

Great first episode, keep being open minded and awesome and I'll gladly keep supporting you! :)

As I said in the pro-bargo video, it CAN be abused. A good portion of the video was dedicated to abuses that can happen. For the most part, the industry plays fair, and I trust the vast majority of reasons for using embargoes are honest ones. But things like this can happen, for sure, and it's good when they get called out.

Jim Sterling

The hole in my life has been filled! Balance has been restored!

Great start, Jim. I hope you'll be doing this for a very, very long time! Cheers!

icezolation

Especially the Dragon Age: Inquisition embargo handling contrasted very nicely with Ubisofts behaviour. The one has big balls and bursts from well earned pride, the other cowardly tries to hide the mess he has in his hands for as long as possible.

Wasn't this exact problem with review embargoes part of the backlash from your episode back on the escapist? That gamers simply didn't trust that embargoes would be used for anything other than keeping bad press down? Jim says embargoes can be used to keep the rush to be the first review out down, so reviewers can spend a little more time playing the game. Good. Great. But my question is this: Is that the rule, or the exception? On average, what are embargoes for? To keep bad press down or keep reviews on equal footings? I'm of the mind they censor bad reviews, and that whole 'no rush take time' stuff is a completely unintended consequence.

Is there a place I can donate directly to Jim?

I am also here, spreading dirty nepotism as if it was a venereal disease. Speaking of which, that can also be arranged.

Looks like the video isn't actually 1080p. Looks 720p to me. The Escapist doesn't have high quality videos (not even for the members of the Publisher's Club).

Happy to see ubisoft getting the nad smashing it deserves. Long live the jimquisition!!

GM

At this point I think we can just safely assume that any game that has a post-release embargo date is probably a steaming pile of dung and pass on it.

Chris Crowther

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I'm glad you covered this. I was a little worried with this massive change-up you're in the middle of that we wouldn't get any Jimquisitions for a week or two and you'd miss the chance to verbally beat Ubi to a pulp over all this. Also I massively appreciate not having to sit through that obnoxiously long Fifa ad to watch this. Thank God for Jim!

I hope this works out for you, Jim. There's a lot of bile on YouTube but hardly any clever, heartfelt and funny bile.

Dave Law

I can't shake the feeling that all of it is pre-planned, orchestrated. They damn well knew their game wasn't properly QA'd and they damn well decided not only to release a buggy game, but also to employ some shady techniques to make sure that the honest opinion about this game won't reach the public ear, at least not before enough people swallow the hook, line and sinker. And you know what's the absolute worst? The game isn't good. I had tons of fun with AC3, even with all the bad stuff. I loved the writing of AC games, there was always some element of the story that was interesting and worth discussing. Even though gameplay-wise AC's are sliding backwards since AC2, the narrative was something worth exploring.

Awesome episode. Quick turn around. I believe you will do fine at your quarterly review... say in 4 weeks? Also, look for that memo I sent, yes you know the one, the one from HR about dental. We need signatures on it. You are our employee after all. ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEE... because Paetron is not welfare, we're paying you to do a effing job. Sorry, sorry, just had to get that in. Good episode as always.

Thank God for Jim! Keep it up Man! I have to say, Paying alil bit of money towards the giant pot for a creative man as yourself, feels a lot better and watching is a lot more comfortable then disabling ads in Escapist.

Feels like I'm part of some revolution.

Jimquisition in 60 frames per second is glorious.

Ross

I was so dearly hoping for an episode on Unity and Sonic Boom. Well said as always. Proud to be a sponsor, Jim! Keep up the good work!

Chip Self

Awesome episode as always Jim!

Good "first" show, and an important point regarding review embargoes. Like anything in this industry it seems, a good idea is often abused and exploited by those publishers with stuff to hide or for some other type of gain. Why do so many in the industry seem to have contempt for their customers?

Paul Dennett

No, he's going to do them ad free. Unfortunately, when he first put it up on Youtube today, he'd left the ads on. But he said on Twitter he's removing them.

Paul Dennett

Hi Jim I have complete admiration and respect for your integrity, as well the courage it must have taken to move to a self funding model. Congratulations on your success which you have certainly earned. I'm proud to support you and look forward to seeing where this journey takes you.

While I am happy to support you like this, do you still get ad revenue from UTUBE? I know it's not enough to live off, just wondering.

James

Booyah! You've made it homie!

Volume 3 Episode 1

Brilliant first episode. Here's to a successful future! :D

Thanks Jim!

So happy for you, Jim. And such a quick turnaround! Keep up the good work, fella.

So happy you're doing this, The Escapists ads on the side of the page that auto played pissed me off to no end.