More bias on Retro Gamer...

[andycadley]

I suspect what he's trying to say is that no matter what gets published, they'll get letters saying "You're biased in favour of X", where X is something different each time. It's a no win game for any multiplatform magazine and particularly one which, by it's nature, covers an extremely wide variety of platforms.

[Gryzor]

Oh indeed, I know that. You can't keep everyone happy at all times.

However, this ABSOLUTELY does not give you the right to reply like that instead of answering to the criticism. If you think you're right, defend that with data. I'm sure he knows exactly how many inches or pages (and don't start me on those ridiculous Picachu covers...) they have devoted to each system. I've literally never seen such bad handling of criticism from a publication before. You don't have to work in marketing or PR to know that this is something to definitely avoid - being ironic with your paying customers.


[Edit] Btw, I wonder how many have complained about anti-Nintendo bias...

[TFM]

Exactly!!! And this lesson people should learn well! Any kind of critics is very valuable (83% of unsatisfied customer don't give critics, they just quit. So critics is a scarce good). Even if critics is not provided in a perfect diplomatic way it still can serve its purpose: To make things better.   

[Gryzor]

Yes, but there's an exception to that rule: hobbyist products you don't pay for.

[TFM]

Yes, but there's an exception to that rule: hobbyist products you don't pay for.

Out of curiosity: Why should that be an exception?

Obviously nobody cares about that exception anyway, just look at this forum.[nb]I can tell from own experiences. First hand of you like.[/nb]

But I don't get the connection to this thread. Back to topic.

[Gryzor]

Because when you get something for free you lose your right to make critique that's not elegant, plain and simple.

Darran went on...

Darran: Except no one's saying that. I'm simply highlighting the fact that it's not been mentioned for an age.
Me: Ohhh right. And because no one has said it in a while it gives you the right to be ironic. Gotcha.
Darran: You can think what you like, but that's the truth. You're clearly in a tizz about your Amstrad screenshots, so I'm heading off into the sunset and leaving you the thread.

What. The. Fuck. I explained to him that obviously the notion of Customer Service is beyond him and told him how 96% or so of dissatisfied customers do not complain, but he deleted it.

[TFM]

Ehm. Ah. Ok. Now I guess I got it. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Anonymous X]

Very mature of them...

[Carnivius]

Okaaaay... it's like they don't even want our money. 

[Gryzor]

Yuck. I bet my right arm there's not a chance on Earth they'd print that on the cover if that quote was about the Speccy... What assholes...

[Gryzor]

Okaaaay... it's like they don't even want our money.

Well, after the screenshot malarkey in the previous issue, as Darran assured me as if they're making me a personal favour, this issue was running late because they had to retrofit it with more CPC screens. I guess they had to make up for it somehow...

[dcdrac]

Hewson managed to publish some really good games for the CPC Cybernod series the Storm series, Nebulous come to mind, looked good and played well and yet Hewson says the Amstrad was souless, maybe I should ask Retrogame to have someone saying the Spectrum had god awful colour clash on the next front cover?

[Gryzor]

Yeah, probably. Imagine that, trying not to laugh, the RG cover saying "Shock! Horror! The Spectrum 'high resolution' was much worse than other machines! Colour clashing made so many games shite!".


Yeah, in my dreams.

[Puresox]

How Odd , I was just watching some walkthroughs of games, whilst watching Nebulus  I came across someone mentioning about a Hewson kickstarter project, Book about the old days of the business. I thought I'd come on here and ask if anyone had read it or had any info on it , and lo and behold , I instantly spot this . So obviously he's a persona non grata, round here. Wierd how things intertwine?

[Gryzor]

Dunno, holding out till I read the actual interview. At this point I'm pissed with RG rather than Hewson.

The book hasn't come out yet, I've backed it.

[Puresox]

On the issue of that comment ,on the front cover , it does appear to be childish goading, going on.There are plenty of positives the guy could have been quoted of saying with no relation to any particular machine. So It does appear that you have obviously got under the magazines skin. And have shown them to be quite pathetic in there professional vision. 

[Carnivius]

Yeah, that's what's annoyed me somewhat about this.  They specifically chose that quote out of the whole interview to put right there on the front cover.  Whether the guy feels that way isn't the issue.  RG slapping those words on the front of the magazine is.  Not sure if they're trying to be offensive or deliberatly trying to stir up some controversy but it's got me not wanting to bother even reading the magazine (even if I could find it in my little town).

There's plenty better things you can spend £4.99 on.

[chinnyhill10]

On the issue of that comment ,on the front cover , it does appear to be childish goading, going on.

It's pathetic isn't it? Just a staggering display of maturity from a magazine that has been stuck in a rut for the last 100 issues.


140 odd issues? Remind me of how many editors, staff and complete redesigns Amstrad Action got through in 117 issues......

[Gryzor]

@Puresox : it makes absolutely no sense to put a negative quote on a cover instead of the (I guess) multitude of lovely and interesting things Andrew hewson said. No sense other than trying to rile people.

@Carnivac : nailed it. I can respect everyone's opinion, and I'm grateful to Hewson for producing marvelous games for our machine - I bet every single producer had their fav machine after all. But even from purely an editorial point of view, placing that quote on the cover will only serve to alienate part of the readership...

@chinnyhill10 : been reading several C+VG issues these days; it's amazing how much it progressed year on year, every year.

[Gryzor]

Very mature of them...

Btw, mate, I used your photo in a tweet of mine, hope you don't mind

[seanb]

I tried to upload a photo from games master in 2011 about the cpc but it failed the checks
ah well. Basically it's a nice retrospective and there was a pithy comment from me about how it seems from what I've read that's more coverage that retro gamer had given the cpc for a while.

CVG is still going and mags cost £5?
They at least come with a dvd?

[EgoTrip]

Of course the Amstrad CPC was soulless. It's a machine. Machines don't have souls.

[chinnyhill10]

Of course the Amstrad CPC was soulless. It's a machine. Machines don't have souls.

Remember Soul Of A Robot? Giving a machine a soul is bad news. 

[seanb]

Remember Soul Of A Robot? Giving a machine a soul is bad news. 

Look at what giving souls to humans has done.
Personally anything that'll speed up the inevitable machine uprising to cleanse the world of us is fine by me and if it starts with a cpc 464 I'll be more the happier

[dcdrac]

Just sent this to the Editor

Dear Sir





Until recently I was a regular reader of your Retro Gamer magazine, I did enjoy it, it seemd to be quite nuetral in its coverage of all systems, until recently, I was going to buy the magazine as I usually do and then saw on the front cover the quote from Mr Hewson saying the Amstrad was a souless machine, he is certainly entitled to his view, what I do not understand is why it was placed on the front cover?




For the record I had and still do most of the major 8 bit and 16 bit devices,  why single out the Amstrad CPC for such treatment?