Tsk tsk, IGN. Time to update that "internet use" policy! [update 1]

by Vladimir Cole { Sep 15th 2006 at 12:30AM }

It seems like just yesterday that we wrote this post warning readers to think twice about who they trust down in the wild and wooly Joystiq comments section. Well, how prophetic of us. We just caught an IGN staffer clumsily pimping IGN (without disclosing that affiliation) this very evening.

IGN staffer "GSI" has been trolling the comments here on Joystiq for quite some time now, leaving 699 comments as of this evening. (How do we know? All Joystiq comments are verified via an email sent to the address commenters enter into the comment form, and "GSI," aka "Jago" has been verifying all of his comments through his official IGN email address.) We were content to leave him be so long as he was serving up a daily dose of the usual fanboy diatribe (examples of which follow), but a post this evening crossed the line.

When one Joystiq commenter wrote about the "writers and editors at Joystiq," "GSI" responded, "CORRECTION: The bloggers of Joystiq. Don't give them too much credit. This isn't a real gaming media site such as 1Up, IGN, GameSpy, Gamespot, etc."

Hey, if these are the tactics of a "real gaming media" site, GSI's done us a favor by counting us out of that list. But to be fair, this is likely the work of some low-level employee and not a marketer with a mandate to sway opinion. At least, that's the charitable interpretation.

Advice to IGN: put a leash and a muzzle on him, he's doing you no favors. More comments, by our new favorite IGN staff member follow after the break.

[Update 1: At GSI's request, we've removed any mention of his name from both the post and the comments below.]

In response to another reader, who suggested anti-American sentiment retards the sale of the Xbox in Japan: "You are a complete moron. Ignorance must be bliss huh? Sorry but the Japanese DO buy American...go there for one day and you see it everywhere you go."
In response to readers who question whether the price of the Wii might be too high: "If you (and the other people complaining about a measly $250) think $250 is too much then sure as hell better not buy a 360 or PS3. IF you do then you are a god damn hypocrit and a 100% biased fanboy."
In response to a reader who shared his age: "Jeez...if you really are 31 then you are a pathetic human being b/c I would expect posts like yours to come from little snot nosed teenagers. Let me guess? You also live in your parents basement too right?"
There are many hundreds more comments not unlike these. We'll spare you.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

fawazr @ Sep 15th 2006 12:37AM

pot calling the kettle black? There are plenty enough dubious journalistic honors to pass around.

retro @ Sep 15th 2006 12:37AM

Gay intentions are a heinous offence in some countries.

No comment on this though. I love both Joystiq and IGN. But that guy seems like a bit of an ass.

Daniel @ Sep 15th 2006 12:39AM

PWNED!!!11ONE~~!!

all the shits and giggles aside..

i love you joystiq...
one of the best sites in the gameing news..
pshh ign sucks..

jayman16 @ Sep 15th 2006 12:40AM

Wow, what a lame ass. Do people still go to IGN? With half of the page being filled with ads while you're there, I wouldn't even think of going there without Firefox and my trusty plugin: adblock plus.

Ed @ Sep 15th 2006 12:41AM

Pwnage >:D

Borat @ Sep 15th 2006 12:42AM

Is this guy GSI_Jago? I highly think it is. This guy is trolling on all the editor blogs on IGN. I just mentioned that I was dissappointed about some aspects of the Wii and he went nuts.

vc @ Sep 15th 2006 12:44AM

Borat: one and the same. Jago / GSI_Jago, etc.

David @ Sep 15th 2006 12:44AM

Those comments don't seem too bad apart from the childinh insults (which are themselves not as bad as some fanboys). At least the Xbox in Japan thing is well informed (American iPods dominate Japan), unlike the counter argument.

jon @ Sep 15th 2006 12:45AM

IGN IZ TEH SUCK!

IGN sold out the real gamer for profit @ Sep 15th 2006 12:45AM

IGN is owned by Fox. "nuff said.

gavinrobinson @ Sep 15th 2006 12:51AM

ign is bitches.

Yaanu @ Sep 15th 2006 12:51AM

I bet he posts by comment 26 with at least three derogatory words and one mention of IGN. *casts his pearls before some swine* Be a figgy piggy!

vadermaggot @ Sep 15th 2006 12:52AM

Joystiq is my friend!! The only site about "games" that my jobs Proxy will let me go to. You should block this schmuck, that would be funny.

Seroth @ Sep 15th 2006 12:54AM

I don't think it's fair to single out one guy from IGN. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other non-IGN guys that leave just as bad comments or even worse.

ty belcher @ Sep 15th 2006 12:55AM

hmm, i must say that i follow your site much more relgiously than IGN's. Why would i go over there when i can hear about it first?

llcm @ Sep 15th 2006 12:56AM

wow. i did not know ign was affiliated with fox. now i will avoid them even HARDER.

really though this story is not that big. you are getting mad at the guy because he dissed you? is it a slow news day? wii'd out already? this just seems like the stuff that should be ignored for actual video gameology.

ck @ Sep 15th 2006 12:56AM

And you think you know someone...that's why I take most people's comments with a grain of salt now. I don't know who they are or where they're coming from, unless I've read more than 20 or so comments and they have some stars to back up their talk.

Although I got blasted by someone because they thought I was a guerilla marketer for Nintendo with a comment about how I got changed my opinion about the price after checking out the press release and wii.com. It hard to discern who's fake and who's real - but let the guys in charge call people out. Kudos to vc for calling out this sophomoric fanboy and what he's really trying to accomplish.

vc @ Sep 15th 2006 12:56AM

Yaanu: he's been banned from comments (again).

Seroth: sure there are, but at least those guys have hidden their affiliations better than GSI. We bust 'em where we can.

RDX @ Sep 15th 2006 12:57AM

Ha. That douchebag told me to shut up last night. Pff, go back to the kennel in Casamassina's office while justifying everything Nintendo does. Maybe he'll give you a treat.

RiemannMeetLebesgue @ Sep 15th 2006 12:57AM

It seems extremely silly and petty to deal with this in the manner you did. You could have easily contacted IGN and discussed this with them directly instead of doing it through a post in your blog. FYI, real news publications don't handle things in this manner.

Oh, and all the warnings telling people to "beware" the commenters are just ludicrous. It's a very obvious attempt to deflect any legitimate criticism that people have of Joystiq's writings by chalking it up to a conspiracy.

Well, you're just pushing your readers farther away by accusing us of being corporate shills. Nice work.

kris @ Sep 15th 2006 12:58AM

Yeah, hey IGN if you are reading this at all one word for you - REDESIGN. People should be hanged for webdesign that horrid. Seriously, I'm not even exaggerating.

karmaghost @ Sep 15th 2006 12:59AM

GSI, you fail. Please try again. ^_^

Sub @ Sep 15th 2006 1:00AM

Haha, ownage. Nice one Joystiq =D

Truth be told, I can't stand IGN. The way they have the news in the "Today on IGN" Box is annoying, half of the main page is covered in ads and the layout of the forum is horrible. I realize that this isn't about bashing IGN, but I just can't stand that site.

On the bright side, they are a pretty good place to check out gamevideos and their coverage of the Wii is probably better than Gamespot or 1up.

vc @ Sep 15th 2006 1:01AM

Riemann: we've banned the dude from the site like four times now. This is one pest that needed to be strung up. I'm not accusing you of being a corporate shill, relax.

Rod Oracheski @ Sep 15th 2006 1:02AM

IGN shouldn't really talk about people's journalistic skills when they're putting out crap like this - http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/732/732849p1.html

Pucks hit the pads "weekly" now? There are sentences that are incomplete, with words dropped out. Pretty obvious that they have both writers and editors - but neither do the job very well.

kris @ Sep 15th 2006 1:02AM

Oh, and be sure to catch the new season of House M.D. Tuesday nights on Fox!

RDX @ Sep 15th 2006 1:04AM

I love House M.D.!! Best show on TV. (How much is Fox paying us, kris?)

kris @ Sep 15th 2006 1:07AM

Ah not nearly enough. If they need a writer for IGN or some sort of consultant to tell them how not to suck - I'd apply.

RiemannMeetLebesgue @ Sep 15th 2006 1:08AM

Vlad,

OK, I'm breathing now. Anger has subsided. ;)

Fandel @ Sep 15th 2006 1:08AM

Well, it's not like the guy actually works at a video game site. Oh, wait, you mean that IGN really is a video game site? I wouldn't know, because everything I go to a site called IGN, I immediately get sent to a page telling me that smoking pot "just isn't cool". Apparently, judging from some of the posts by GSI, it's clearly obvious that those anti drug spots on IGN clearly do not work.

I should send in a application to work at IGN though. Since clearly, the #1 skill requirement that you need to to work there, is to make a total fool out of yourself on the Internet. Hell, I would almost certainly get the job!

Amos @ Sep 15th 2006 1:11AM

Good call out, though his other posts weren't half as "sensational" as his blatant insult against Joystiq. In response to said insult, I've honestly quit going to "real" game news outlets altogether. In a word, the suck. They suck hardcore. Why? I'll have to start a new paragraph for that -

Exhibit A. - Go to 1up.com. Right now. How long did it take for the front page to load. What's with all this bullshit everywhere I don't care about? Could I even COME here without 256mb ram and at least Pentium 3 (Lord perish attempting on dial-up...)? Probably not. Go to Gamespot...the hell, why do I have to log in every two fucking seconds to be able to read ANYTHING! Crap and a half, what's with all the full page ads in between every link (here's looking at you, IGN, as well).

Exhibit B. "Unbiased" news is an oxymoron. The news itself is biased and what you choose to report. What editors at IGN, 1up, Gamespot, etc. choose to say about games and what have you is completely filled with their opinion, but usually with a ton of corporate bullshit and arrogance on top of it. Ie. Dan "Shoe" Hsu's editorial on how shitty game journalism is to please corporate interest is a bunch of hypocrtical on bullshit IMO on how he seems to have his mind made up before he ever even tries to review or talka bout something IMO and ALWAYS spins things in that direction. I could start quoting EGM or 1up if you'd like proof, but who cares, it's garbage baby journalism anyway.

Exhibit C. - Joystiq. Completely respnsive to the community, quite literally covers EVERYTHING reported EVERYWHERE with opinion pieces quite blatantly so in the output rather than as "hard unbiased fact," and an easy to read/display layout that I can check on my PC (no matter the connection/specs...), cell phone, whatever quite easily and quickly. And, though I know it's personal opinion, the humour and wit displayed is of less of a 3rd grade attitude that the "other guys" seem to display while pretending to be "mature." Congrats, Joystiq, you're my favorite. My only complaint is the blog form itself (which isn't really a complaint since it's the nature of a blog itself...). Thumbnailed news items would be easier to browse than pages, but hey, at least I can browse it.

epobirs @ Sep 15th 2006 1:15AM

Maybe this guy can find a job as a professional sock puppet wherever Michael Hiltzik has ended up.

KBeat @ Sep 15th 2006 1:17AM

I don't care where GSI was from, annoying as he was, I'm simply glad he's been banned.

As for the corporate empire... IGN has made their disdain for bloggers well known, so this is not a surprise.

Xavier @ Sep 15th 2006 1:19AM

LOL

So in one breath you guys scream about how it's just a blog, and it's not a news site to counter people bitching about insipid blog entries... in another breath you scream "IGN EMPLOYEE SAYS WE'RE JUST BLOGGERS!"

This is the most schizophrenic site on the internet.

Hint: Stick to one of your stories. Either don't bitch when people potshot one of your shittier blog entries or don't complain when people discount you as "just bloggers."

The idea that he's "pimping IGN without disclosing his affiliation" is also ridiculous, he mentioned 1up.com prior to IGN and in the same breath of other actual gaming news sites (which you are not).

In short, an arrogant and utterly stupid blogging post that tells people that you'll release information on them without their consent. Smooth!

AirIntake @ Sep 15th 2006 1:19AM

I don't know. GSI was an ass, but I still like IGN. Not much of it, but I do trust their reviews. If I take the average of the Gamespot review and the IGN review, it usually comes out to what I would rate the game. But there are different editors for each section and I mostly read xbox, xbox360, and PC, as those are what I own, so maybe the reviews are crap for other systems, I can't compare.

Fanboys Rules The World @ Sep 15th 2006 1:22AM

Wow.. another proof gaming media and consomers are immature, superficial and... kids.

Rabish12 @ Sep 15th 2006 1:22AM

I'm not really surprised by this. I've always seen IGN as a sort of trashy site, with the constant ads filling tons of page space and coming up between pages, terrible reviews that are almost inexplicable without claiming that bribes are involved (there's absolutely no other way I could see someone giving Black & White a 9.7, especially given the flaws it had at release), and massive amounts of rumors.

Gotta love the "Sorry but the Japanese DO buy American...go there for one day and you see it everywhere you go" comment though. Almost makes it seem as though he's not only never been to Japan, but has also never seen a Japanese sales chart. Ever.

Fandel @ Sep 15th 2006 1:23AM

RE:33
Whoops, I messed up = "I wouldn't know, because (sic)everything(sic) I go to a site called IGN."

It should have been "everytime", not "everything".

Google spellcheck has failed me again:(

But, I should look on the bright side, I would make a great writer for IGN!

Amos @ Sep 15th 2006 1:26AM

"Hint: Stick to one of your stories. Either don't bitch when people potshot one of your shittier blog entries or don't complain when people discount you as "just bloggers.""

What in the bloody hell are you babbling about? They never even mentioned ONCE anything about the blog entry and anyone's points thereof. Though, for the record, that was one of the most useful and informative Joystiq entries I've read in a coupla days. It was all there to go through and chuckle at rather than read every word of the five other updates appearing first on each individual developement :P. Chill out troll.

Adam @ Sep 15th 2006 1:30AM

FYI, for those who haven't figured it out yet, GSI stands for "GameSpy Industries." Nobody really uses that acronym other than internal writers/employees (as I was once a writer for Halo Planet - pre-IGN). So I don't think he was really trying to hide his identity all that much.

Warren Rose @ Sep 15th 2006 1:34AM

^^ I'm full of typos tonight! Their/there, apples and bananas... it's all cool and the gang.

Solidus @ Sep 15th 2006 1:35AM

I think the call-out was well place. The guy got busted. Though, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Keep up the good work, Joystiq.

Amir Ali @ Sep 15th 2006 1:35AM

Let the Console Wars... Errr... The Video Game Website Wars begin!!! And as far as that Buying a 360 or PS3 and calling a Wii expensive, and being a hypocrite, I couldn't agree more. (My Money is on IGN.)

rockintom99 @ Sep 15th 2006 1:35AM

...And? Are editors not allowed to be stupid, as well?

Covarr @ Sep 15th 2006 1:36AM

Hmm... Joystiq has had REAL presences at numerous press events in the past. Put simply: If they were allowed at E3, and aren't in the industry, they are a real news site.

Nmaster @ Sep 15th 2006 1:46AM

It's kinda sad, I agree with some of his comments, it's just that he can't seem to be quiet after he makes a valid point, he takes it a bit too far.

I do wish people would understand just what Joystiq is though. It's indeed a BLOG, that means they have no obligation to post news, and they have every inch of room to make opinions. However, at the same time, that doesn't make them an invalid source. The right to speak your mind isn't the right to libel...

Matt @ Sep 15th 2006 2:09AM

GSI is a tard.

Bill @ Sep 15th 2006 2:13AM

>>8. Those comments don't seem too bad apart from the childinh insults (which are themselves not as bad as some fanboys). At least the Xbox in Japan thing is well informed (American iPods dominate Japan), unlike the counter argument.>>

American Ipods dominate Japan? Link? Sales numbers?

And you should have left GSI unbanned to at least defend himself, it would have been entertaining.