Konami blacklisted IGN over Castlevania

[NegaScott128]

When Konami Blacklisted IGN Over Castlevania -- CLS Side Quest - YouTube

Former IGN editor Colin Moriarty has revealed a series of events that occurred between 2010 and 2013 in which Konami blacklisted IGN US over what Castlevania: Lords of Shadow developer MercurySteam called "unfair treatment."

In 2010, IGN reviewer Daemon Hatfield gave the original Lords of Shadow a 7.5, which then-Konami producer Dave Cox and MercurySteam considered, in Moriarty's words, "a sign of systemic bias." In a series of since-deleted tweets, Cox alleged that Hatfield didn't even play the game, and that people should disregard it as a result.

Konami also cancelled a scheduled appointment with IGN US at E3 2012, in which IGN would have covered Lords of Shadow 2. However, in early 2013, IGN was given access to MercurySteam's 3DS spin-off of the Lords of Shadow games, Mirror of Fate. Moriarty later gave the game a 4.7, which reheated the tensions between IGN and Konami, and ultimately led to Konami blocking IGN US from interviewing developers at E3 2013 and blocking Moriarty from covering Lords of Shadow at Gamescom 2013.

Ultimately, once IGN threatened to tell its readers about what Konami was doing, they relented and allowed Moriarty to view a demo of Lords of Shadow 2. He ended up reviewing it when it launched in 2014, and gave it a 6.5. Konami also granted IGN the usual access to their other big games of the past few years, indicating that the problem lied with Dave Cox and not Konami itself.

[voltz]

It's scummy on both ends, but having a review where the game hasn't been played even once is telling of the site in general.

I used to like ign back in the N64.com days, but they've evolved into something that I can't label a trustworthy source for gamers to take their word from.

I'm a Gamefan era type of gamer, so I know these types, plus Ziff Davis media being what it is.

[car2nst]

I blacklisted Konami when they scrapped the P.T. game & took the demo off of the PS store (to which they lied & said it could still be downloaded after deleting it off your PS4)..

[redxrebellion]

Originally Posted by car2nst

I blacklisted Konami when they scrapped the P.T. game & took the demo off of the PS store (to which they lied & said it could still be downloaded after deleting it off your PS4)..

Here here. I never even got to try it

[Talal86]

that's a shame, you really missed out on an unforgettable demo

[Verisimilitude1984]

Originally Posted by redxrebellion

Here here. I never even got to try it

Same here. Purchased the demo online, waited until I bought a PS4 and then it could no longer be downloaded.

In terms of video games, if you create anything for the public to consume you should expect fair criticism - good and bad. Trying to censor who can see it because you didn't like a review just seems undignified.

[GohanX]

Having played those games, i can't say I disagree with those scores. Lords of Shadow was a decent enough game, but it was more atmosphere than game and the bad framerate always bugged me. The 3DS game was pretty boring.

[MovieHermit]

I enjoyed Castlevania Lords of Shadow, even tho at the time years ago, I felt like I was playing a God of War spinoff game.

[x7q3]

I have never liked IGN. They aren't just a video game website, so it's not like they are probably gonna care much about the quality of their video game reviews. GameSpot is what you want if you want a video game review. GameSpot reviews are well written. To me, something about GameSpot's reviews have always seemed accurate, as if they are simply reporting facts. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for IGN. Like I said, IGN isn't focused solely on video games. Their reviews aren't as well written.

I've been visiting GameSpot for many years, maybe almost 20 years or more, and their reviews are still the best. Basically, GameSpot reviews are as close to the truth about a video game as you can get.