I'm Surprised That Anyone Is Suprised
Jeff Pinard sent me a link to an Ars Technica story about The Redner Group, the PR firm that was repping Duke Nukem.It seems that they didn't take kindly to reviews of Duke Nukem Forever. Jim Redner even went on their Twitter account to voice his displeasure:
too many went too far with their reviews...we r reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn't based on today's venom.
Instant outrage.
2K Games quickly responded with this:
2K Games does not endorse the comments made by Jim Redner and we can confirm that The Redner Group no longer represents our products. We have always maintained a mutually-respectful working relationship with the press and do not condone his actions in any way.
At least not in public.
Yes, Redner was being a douchebag, but all he did wrong was publicly acknowledge what everyone has already been doing. Remember what I wrote about two months ago? Hardballing access and advertising dollars based on review scores is already widespread.
2K will just replace them with another PR group that does the exact same thing, but privately.
I do think it's very funny that they were somehow expecting high review scores for a game that started development in the pre-automobile era. It's like the Abbot Downing Company releasing a new Concord Stagecoach in 2011 and then bitching about the critical reception.
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