Kotaku Say Mean Things About Famitsu And Konami, They Stop Being Friends

Famitsu, the popular Japanese gaming mag, gave Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker full marks in a review. This score is reserved for only the very best games (understandably) and apparently is seen as quite an achievement in some circles. Where this gets a bit iffy is in the fact that Famitsu magazine is actually in the game (along with Doritos and Mountain Dew) and the mag’s former editor-in-chief, who’s currently the president of the company that owns Famitsu, appears in a bunch of the game’s adverts.

These facts weren’t included in Famtisu‘s review, which is quarter of a page long. No gaming magazine to my knowledge (and most sites) disclose simple facts like where they got or played their games, let alone if they are in the ads, but apparently this is a big deal. Big enough to warrant an article on Kotaku titled “Do Not Trust This Magazine’s Review Scores”.

In the article Brian Ashcraft wastes no time is painting Famitsu as a shady bunch. “Some would say that Famitsu has sold its soul long, long ago. The publication always has exclusives and game reveals before anyone else, arousing the suspicions of some.” He continues by bringing up damning “rumors” about how the publishers write Famitsu‘s game announcements. Apparently the lack of disclosure on the part of the mag “destroys any illusion of impartial reviews. Forever.”

Side note: Gizmodo, fellow Gawker site, bought a stolen prototype iPhone for several thousand dollars a few weeks ago, published all the juicy details netting them millions of page views, then went on to publish the name and details of the poor guy who lost the phone. Gawker founder Nick Denton recently said that “Any decent journalist ought to be willing to sell their mother for a story like [the prototype iPhone].” I only mention this as the discussion here is based around ethics, and full disclosure is important.

Unsurprisingly, when the news was translated and published on Kotaku Japan (which is owned by Mediagene INC who translate most of the big Gawker sites into Japanese, not that Kotaku‘s announcement post disclosed that) those tarnished weren’t happy. Famitsu sent Kotaku Japan a letter sounding rather pissed, and Konami uninvited Kotaku Japan from the Peace Walker launch event.

To help make sure the drama is amplified as much as possible, in the write up of the snub Kotaku said that Famitsu “does not appear trustworthy”. Adding that the fact both of the companies they pissed off contacted them on the same day “seems coordinated, insidious, even.”

We were unable to find out if Kotaku was beaten with a copy of Famitsu as a child, or if this means they’ll be covering all the “insidious” behaviour currently going on in the US and UK gaming media in more detail.