DIGITISER
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Video Games
  • Humour
  • Game Reviews
  • Videos
  • Games of my Years: The Digitiser Story

JIM STERLING'S BEING SUED FOR $10 MILLION AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT - by Mr Biffo

18/3/2016

52 Comments

 
Picture
Just before I returned to being Mr Biffo, I egosurfed for the first time since 2008. Don't judge me for one isolated search: I just wanted to know whether it was safe to crawl out of my cranny.

Fortunately, I got what I wanted, which was this: the world of gaming had all but forgotten me and moved on, barring a few who remembered me as having had some sort of mental breakdown.

However, one of the tiny handful of comments I read that even mentioned "Mr Biffo", described myself, Videogaiden's Rab Florence, and someone called Jim Sterling as the "the Avengers of video game journalism".

Firstly... having been away for nearly 7 years, I felt anything but part of the world of games journalism. Secondly, Rab I knew - we'd communicated intermittently for some years. I was a fan of Consolevania and Videogaiden, I liked his writing, and I was flattered by the association.

Jim Sterling, however... I'd never heard of him. I was curious, and so I went off to find out more. Interestingly, Sterling began his career shortly before I'd disappeared, and in those intervening years, he had cultivated a major following through a blunt and honest style in his reviews and opinion pieces - both written and on camera.

I've kind of kept an eye him ever since - as much out of sheer curiosity as the fact that he's a compelling figure, who sometimes makes good points - from his hugely successful Patreon campaign, to this week, when the indie games studio Digital Homicide hit Sterling with a $10 million lawsuit, for "libel and slander".

Picture
THE AGGRESSIVE STYLE COUNCIL
Digital Homicide - a small, two-brother outfit - feel that Sterling's videos mocking their games has damaged their business and reputation, and that his aggressive style led to further harassment from his fans.

​Probably on the advice of his legal team, Sterling hasn't commented publicly on the case, barring a few veiled comments on Twitter ("I have nothing yet to say about any legal situations. In unrelated news I am in a very confident mood today.").

I've not played any of Digital Homicide's games, but they don't have the best of reputations. In an excruciatingly awkward podcast from a year ago, between Sterling and Digital Homicide's Robert Romine, Sterling defends his actions, stating that if you have released a terrible game - and have asked people to pay for it - then you should accept when critics lay into it. Which is fair enough, of course.

​The podcast is worth listening to - though it's over 90 minutes long, and is a bit of a grind between two people with entrenched opinions failing to actually hear one another. I think it's an enlightening dialogue, that points clearly towards the lawsuit. Frankly, neither side comes out of it well.

It's interesting to me, given that indie developers feeling attacked by reviewers is a subject I've touched on a few times recently, specifically with regard to the PewDiePie/Bear Simulator issue.

Picture
SUPER-CRITS
We're living in an age of super-critics - where the Jim Sterlings and PewDiePies have a global audience.

By contrast, it's also an era where games released by individuals, or a tiny team, are more of a thing than ever. Both Sterling and Pie owe at least a degree of their success to playing Indie games, and mocking the especially crap ones. 

Listening to the podcast between Romine and Sterling, and trying to read between the lines, you've got someone who is clearly hurting, who feels attacked, ganged up upon. Romine's voice teeters on cracking at points. He states that he's married with three kids, and that his income is tiny next to Sterling's. That, to me, is telling; certainly, I've felt backed into a corner on occasions when I've felt that those I love were threatened. Or, at least, my ability to look after them was threatened.

By the same token, Sterling comes across as an arrogant, patronising, braggart. Of course, those sorts of qualities frequently stem from insecurity, and the fashion in which Sterling defends himself, and laughs quite literally in Romine's face, suggests as such. It's profoundly disrespectful, and bullying - from a man who has the strength of a following of thousands to back him up.

​More than that - it's devoid of any degree of empathy. And that, more than anything else, is why Jim Sterling is being sued for $10 million.

Picture
LEGS AND CO.
I can't imagine for a second that Digital Homicide's case has legs, not least because they're representing themselves.

There's no defamation, as far as I see; they released their games, and they should expect whatever criticism comes their way. Even if it's from a shameless showman like Jim Sterling.

​Who, lest we forget, only cares because getting angry about things, that he could otherwise completely ignore, is what gives him his income.

Nevertheless, for all his swagger, I'm sure it's a hassle that Sterling can do without. Unfortunately, it's hard not to feel that he has brought it upon himself. 

Sterling surely takes comfort in the fact that he has public opinion on his side; Digital Homicide's reputation is already toilet-level, their shovelled-out games are unloved, and they've now been marked out as a convenient target for abuse. But as always with any dynamic, you're dealing with human beings on both sides.

If there had been some degree of self-awareness or empathy from either Sterling or Digital Homicide, it wouldn't have reached a position where a games critic is now being sued for $10 million; something that should never have happened. If they had gone into that podcast without their backs already up, with a bit more openness, and prepared to listen, we wouldn't be in a position where reviewers might now question what they say, for fear of being sued. 

Instead you had two people defending themselves, occasionally launching an attack, and getting nowhere. Both made reasonable points, and both made terrible points. Both were utterly inflexible.

Yet coming out of it, it was hard for me not to come down on the side of Romine - simply because he's the little guy. And it's bizarre to me to think that we're now living in an age where the games critic is the big fish, and the developer the small fry.

I may think Digital Homicide's lawsuit is pointless, but it also feels like a last resort, like they've run out of options in the face of what they see as the playground thug. You might be able to tell them they're wrong, but you can't deny them their feelings.

Picture
 SEE HORSE
See, what worries me is that I see a lot of my younger self in Jim Sterling.

I don't want to sound like the old, wise, man talking down to the next generation - he's not that much younger than me, and I'm not that old - but I can remember a time when I wasn't able to entertain the possibility that I was wrong.

Even if I knew it on some level, it was easier to either deny my wrongness, or laugh in the face of others, or come out on the attack. Thing is, I know that a big part of Digitiser's popularity was built on that - Fat Sow calling people idiots, or being insulting to people who'd written us letters.

But let me tell you this... as entertaining as it might've been, it wasn't always necessary. Had I been more mature, more fully formed, a more comfortable in my own skin sort of an individual, I could've found another way. A better way. And I think it's that which bothers me - that sort of attack-y, playing-to-the-crowd, discourse has become the norm. It's point-scoring for cheap laughs, and I have come to hate it.

Of course, I'm not for a second saying that critics should soft-pedal on indie games - or any games. If something's crap then it's crap. Warn people to steer clear. Give your opinion. By all means do it in a way that's entertaining, but if the only way you can be entertaining is in a way that comes across as attack-y or insulting, then you've got about as much creativity as the people you're criticising.

I'm not saying that's Jim Sterling specifically - he knows what he's talking about, he can clearly write, he knows how to talk in front of a camera - but I just think we can all do better. We can all find a way to talk to one another, whether it's directly, online, or through a review, which isn't simply an expression of all our inner angst and anger, or because we want the likes and retweets.

MORE ON JIM STIRLING FROM MR BIFFO...

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
PLAYING TO THE CROWD: WHY CROWDFUNDING IS BOTH GREAT AND AWFUL - BY MR BIFFO
UNBEARABLE: WHEN INDIE DEVELOPERS CAN'T COPE - BY MR BIFFO
REVIEWING GAMES CAN HURT - BY MR BIFFO​
52 Comments
dab88
18/3/2016 12:29:55 pm

"point-scoring for cheap laughs, and I have come to hate it" yup, and that's why I come here :D

Reply
Virtual Hermit link
18/3/2016 01:14:13 pm

If Digital homicide had spent the same amount of time it took to release eighteen turds(games) on one game instead then they might have a game worth selling. I have very little sympathy for DH, they just keep feeding the troll and then get pissed off when the troll spits their shite back in their faces. Jim can be harsh admittedly but that's his schtick, he does offer constructive criticism... sometimes.

My advice for DH is to ignore Jim sterling, stop pumping turds out and spend some serious time making ONE game that is actually worth playing.

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 01:21:27 pm

I've no sympathy for DH either - but neither do I have any for Jim Sterling in facing a $10 million lawsuit (however dubious and flimsy it might). But I do try to have empathy for both of them, which is a difficult thing - and what the world is lacking.

I mean, yeah, that's Jim Sterling's schtick, it's a person, and it's what he's built his career on, but I don't care. If that's what you put out, that's what you attract. It's like Donald Trump. He might not specifically have put out a call for violent idiots and racists, but that seems to be who he's attracting.

If that's who Jim Sterling - or anyone - wants to be, or appear to be, then fair play to them. I just don't see it as something to aspire to. I just think we can all be a bit nicer.

Reply
Virtual Hermit
18/3/2016 01:44:07 pm

I agree with what you're saying, I would rather spend my time playing games that are good and help to promote them than give this whole drama more attention than it deserves.

There are some great games out there that have had much love and work put into them but they go under the radar, I guess because they don't make good 'entertainment' for a quick youtube slagging off.

Do not worry though sir, there are others like me who would rather help and promote more deserving games, games that should be played, games that should be the hot topic but alas as we all know, people love a good drama.

Anyway, I can offer up two games that deserve some love, one called INFRA and the other called THE GUEST, both are on Steam and are excellent.

Does Digi2000 frequent Steam much?

Neilo
18/3/2016 01:32:00 pm

I understand your position in all this Biffo, but using Digital homicide to make your point is a bad choice. The Bear Simulator guy might have really been trying in earnest, but Digital homicide are as close as you can get to straight up scam artists.

Take a look at their greenlight for instance: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198140609871/myworkshopfiles/?section=greenlight

The first 3 games are all literally the same basic format, with Wyatt Derp 1 and 2 being the same game with just a slightly different camera angle (do we really need a sequel when you haven't even finished the first game?) and Arcane War being the same game with just some fantasy stock assets pasted over that game again.

Nothing they do contains any effort and is a cheap attempt to cash in. Its like defending a dodgy builder who shingles your roof with ritz crackers and saying "ah bless, he's only trying to make a living".

If you're going to make this point, please do not make DigiHom seem like they are anything other than the hucksters they are

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 01:46:20 pm

Yeah, I read all that, and a ton of other stuff... and I'm not convinced that DH were intentionally doing anything wrong. They might've done something wrong, but - regardless - the tone of Sterling's rhetoric was such that it was attack-y... so DH took a defensive/attack-y position in return. If DH did wrong... then Romine doesn't know it: you can hear that in his voice and words in the podcast.

And that's my point really. I was trying to say that we can all look about how we communicate with one another. I wasn't necessarily criticising either side, or out-and-out taking a side either.

Because of the tone of the dialogue, whatever really did go on with DH wasn't expressed. Sterling comes across as bullying and hectoring - starting off by feigning surprise that Romine wasn't a child. That's not how you clear things up, make a point successfully yourself, or give someone the chance to explain. You don't laugh in someone's face when they're talking. It's just ugly.

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 01:47:57 pm

Virtual Hermit - Infra and The Guest. They're on the list. And yeah - I fell in love with Steam at the end of last year.

Reply
Virtual Hermit
18/3/2016 02:01:39 pm

Excellent, that is good to hear. I've already put 7hrs into Infra, only just started chapter 4 of 5. Even once I have completed the game the devs are working on part 2 at the mo and will release it free of charge at some point, I already feel I have got my monies worth out of the game.

Infra is 20% off at the moment.

I'll shut up now, sorry.

Reply
PanamaJoe
18/3/2016 02:42:15 pm

In Jim Sterling's "Jimquisition" video series he makes plenty of very good points about the gaming industry and he knows what he is talking about. I ultimately didn't enjoy them all that much because his constant patronising tone was off-putting for me.

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's video series is rather excellent and I would consider it a fine example of a reviewer who is very critical and entertaining but pulls it off without attacking the developers too much.

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 02:56:01 pm

I'll give him a look. Cheers, Joe.

Reply
PeskyFletch
18/3/2016 04:49:07 pm

While i love Zero Punctuation he does sometimes go after individuals. 50 Cent, to give one (hilarious) example.

Dr Kank
18/3/2016 09:32:23 pm

I think with Zero Punctuation there's an abstract element in the animation and the choice of words that stops the criticism getting too personal, and avoiding using actual footage probably helps too.

Random Reviewer
11/4/2016 09:04:09 pm

Yahtzee's 'Lets drown out' game playthroughs on Youtube are also worth a look if you get the time Mr B.

Alastair Ward
20/3/2016 05:45:11 pm

Zero Punctuation is a splendid example of brevity, but the opinions expressed match with my experience of the reviewed games.

Down to little things like the Mako being dropped from the latter two ME games taking from the away team feeling of the planetside exploration, shrinking the galaxy in doing so.

Reply
Superbeast 2097
18/3/2016 03:04:25 pm

Well critics could try to be more polite.............but I won't watch them so they can kiss goodbye to their income.

I don't really read/watch reviews to find out whether I should buy a game. That's the last place I'd go. Especially polite reviews. Who on earth wants to listen to Mavis from Coronation Street reviewing a game?

Nope, I watch reviews and such for entertainment. Sterling, Totalbiscuit and Angry Joe etc make a lot of money because they are entertaining and have strong opinions. It is perhaps no coincidence that their critique varies from snarky at its most polite (TB) to outright vulgar in Sterlings case.


None of them produce the type of material that would go down well in a typical university safe space.

Perhaps when the millennials with their "let's all be nice and not offend each other" culture grow up to become financially relevant then we will see a change in the nature of such content.

Until then, the market is driven by an older generation with larger disposable incomes who like reading/watching some real nasty s**t.

Guilty as charged Your Honour!

Don't think this means that I like Sterling though; quite the opposite. I don't like watching those videos of car crashes or beheading but I do it anyway.

I actually hate the little slime-ball but as I don't see any legit legal case, I just view this as people suing and trying to censor due to hurt fee-fees. I'd donate to his legal costs on principle.

After Sterlings initial coverage, DH shouldn't have responded the way they did but perhaps instead released a patch with some Sterling look-a-like NPC's or something.

I am sure Sterling would have taken it in good humour and the publicity from that move might have shifted a few copies. I am sure there were many ways of dealing with it that would have turned out better than their actual approach which has resulted in something resembling a Streisand effect.

If you suck that badly at business/PR then clearly you are better off working for someone else who does have those skills rather than being self employed in an industry where taking critique is part of the job. Then again are they even fit to work for a supermarket?

In my student days I faced terrible verbal abuse and physical threats. If I'd responded, my attackers would have run to the press, been labelled the "victim", the companies image damaged and I'd have been sacked.

I knew how to hold my tongue when it was the smart play. But hey....different generation I guess.

Reply
Cocksmith
19/3/2016 07:14:39 pm

On the flipside of all these angry youtubers though you have Mark Bussler of Classic Game Room who's popularity stems from the fact that he's incredibly laid back, chill and generally likes things. Because of that he never grates and is perfect for a cozy wee youtube night.

Reply
CaptainBinky
18/3/2016 03:34:19 pm

I've listened to the podcast for the first time today as a result of this post ;) It's pretty much awful arguments from both sides, in general. However, I think at the very least in instances such as these, these extremely successful youtubers who critque for entertainment could at least acknowledge that they're not punching up, as they would be if they were attacking (say) an E.A. game, they're punching down. And punching down is... well, knock yourself out, but it's lacking in a bit of taste and decency.

Reply
Col. Asdasd
18/3/2016 05:05:59 pm

I see this particular rhetorical thrust from a lot of social justice activists and it always confuses me. In what world do they want to live in which punching in any direction is acceptable?

Reply
Superbeast 37
18/3/2016 06:14:03 pm

Fair point there.

Now I personally have no issue with punching.

However those that do the punching can't bring in arbitrary rules about punching up and down (especially as they do always seem to punch down whilst pretending it is up) and if they get punched back they should learn to take the return-fire instead of rolling around on the floor, screaming "victim" and calling-in an artillery hit piece from the BBC/Guardian.

As I said in the comments of another topic, I've worked for large firms and in some ways it is worse when the press give you a kicking (often lying or misrepresenting the facts) because you had absolutely no control over anything that happened and those that did are riding off into the sunset with a big bonus.

Furthermore because it wasn't my own business, I wasn't allowed to respond and defend myself against the press lies. All contact with the press was banned and restricted to our PR team and they never seemed to defend us but would instead apologise even though the accusations were mostly untrue or exaggerated.

Don't do to an indie what you wouldn't do to Ubi/EA and visa versa.

Punch both or punch neither but if do punch then be prepared to get punched back. At least Sterling seems happy going toe-to-toe unlike some of his associates who shall remain nameless.

CaptainBinky
18/3/2016 06:24:22 pm

@Superbeast 37

I've also worked in larger studios where I've had a game I've worked on ripped to shreds and been unable to personally respond - and it's quite irritating :D. The difference is, in my mind, that as part of a larger team where there's been considerable influence from the publishers on development, none of us working on the game felt personally attacked. If the art is singled out, it might feel unfair, but it could be due to the lighting or engine or anything else I didn't personally do. It's not directed at me in particular.

The part Jim most failed to understand in terms of where the chap from DH was coming from, was when Jim said "I just attacked the product, you attacked me personally". But to the DH guy, attacking the product *was* attacking him personally in a very very real sense. The line between you and the game you create is much much narrower than when you're working at a larger studio, in my experience.

Wicked Eric
18/3/2016 04:29:33 pm

I think one thing that needs to be noted is that Jim Sterling is a persona. On his YouTube channel he presents himself as a vulgar and egotistical gaming fascist. The presentation style is so deliberate and over the top that it's impossible to miss the joke.

And regardless of the style he uses in his videos, the points that he makes are generally well thought out and considered and he *always* comes down on the side of the gamer/consumer. It's because of this that I will say that Jim Sterling is definitely a good thing.

As I understand it the Digital Homicide saga has been going on for a long time and one dimension to it that you haven't touched upon is that DH have repeatedly had Jim's videos removed from YouTube for spurious reasons. Given that people give him money specifically so he can produce those videos then it's understandable that there is a degree of anger present in his interactions with DH. They are, after all, directly messing with his work and removing his audience's access to that work. All he is doing in return is calling them names and telling people the truth about their products.

I'm sure Jim's confidence (arrogance?) with regards to the DH saga comes from his belief that he is 100% morally in the right here. And to be honest, regardless of whether he is the big guy or not (not a fat joke, honest), I'm inclined to agree with him.

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 04:41:19 pm

Hmm. Yeah, clearly there are no clear heroes and villains in this situation, but I wasn't really seeking to apportion blame. This piece was more a case of exploring the issue of why DH might've reacted the way they did, and for me to ask questions of my own style, and how it might've changed - speaking as a fellow games critic. I think JS having a hectoring style is no real defence either way!

Reply
CaptainBinky
18/3/2016 04:50:19 pm

I agree with you, but the distinction is that when you have someone on one side with a huge following and a healthy income, and on the other side you have a tiny little outfit selling games for barely anything (I acknowledge the original 'way too high' price point for... one of them, whichever it was) it's not a tit-for-tat exchange, "you attacked me, so I'm attacking you, fair's fair". It's punching down.

Why an (apparently poor) set of 80p games particularly merits this level of attention is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that small developers be immune from criticism - only that the disparity between the parties be acknowledged - internally accepting that to just rip it to shreds for laughs is punching down and to maybe consider either just ignoring it entirely, or being constructive in the criticism at the very least.

Whether or not Jim Sterling is generally good or bad is besides the point - in this case, and going purely by the podcast - he seemed almost stubborn in his refusal to acknowledge the gulf of difference between them in terms of scale and income security. Had he just accepted that one tiny point, I probably would have felt differently about the whole thing.

Reply
PeskyFletch
18/3/2016 04:47:25 pm

Far too balanced, none hyperbolic article. You are aware this is the internet biffo? Go on, call me a nazi and i'll let you off with it.

Reply
Col. Asdasd
18/3/2016 04:55:47 pm

Bless you for your sympathy, Biff. But I can't find any myself. Bringing spurious legal action is a serious waste of time, energy and money (some of it public).

Reply
Col. Asdasd
18/3/2016 04:58:36 pm

I do agree with you on the wider points, though. If there's one thing I can't stand about the internet it's all the snark.

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 05:04:33 pm

I totally agree! And I fear DH are going to come out of this extremely "humbled" by the experience...

Reply
J Griffin
18/3/2016 05:12:23 pm

While I'm a Sterling fan for the most part (I enjoy the larger-than-life persona and he can relaly nail some good points), one element that's never sat well with me is his beating on Indie games for giggles. There's a point where it goes from something that's in the comsumer interest to just punching the shit out of some poor little fucker you know hasn't got a chance of fighting back, and he passed it long ago. Especially so in this case.

At any point he could have chosen to stop this nonsense, but he chose not to. He just kept making video after video beating the shit out of the same target in increasingly aggressive terms, long after any semblance of a point could have been made and far into the realms of validating his own ego knowing his fans would keep cheering him for it. I don't care if DigiHom released a text adventure adaptation of Mein Kampf in 673 parts, the quality of their product honestly feels irrelevant in the wake of this shitshow. Whatever they're doing, the reaction just feels cruel and merciless and shitty beyond any reason. And I think you're entirely right in figuring their lawsuit is an act of desperation from someone with nowhere else to go.

Reply
J Griffin
18/3/2016 05:19:15 pm

I'm not sure what annoys me more about my post: misspelling "really" in the first sentence of referring to games as "product".

One point I forgot to expand on before I clicked post: Jim could always have chosen to move on and make another video on something else. The only option DH have is to fight back or quit making games altogether. It's been made pretty clear there's no way he's ever letting them be, when he could just made all this go away a long time ago.

Reply
J Griffin
18/3/2016 05:20:25 pm

Jesus I'm getting worse. My kingdom for an edit button.

Minglefingler
18/3/2016 05:34:20 pm

Well said Biffo. I like a good sneer as much as the next man or woman but there's far too much self-aggrandising chest thumping across the internet, it's not just critics, visit a lot of forums or comment sections and you're soon treading through the screaming turds of a thousand hellhounds. Coincidentally, I've just made a comment on another site that upon reading back I realised could be interpreted as a touch nasty so I felt compelled to clarify my original intent.

Reply
Kelvin Green link
18/3/2016 05:48:49 pm

What worries me is that if Digital Homicide wins, then that sets a precedent and then companies can sue anyone who gives them a bad review.

Reply
Euphemia
18/3/2016 06:32:32 pm

I think there's more chance of them flying to Mars than winning that lawsuit, the implications of a win would be too far reaching to consider.

Reply
Kelvin Green link
18/3/2016 07:07:07 pm

I hope so!

Serious gamer
18/3/2016 06:25:30 pm

How is any of this your fault? Have I been had?

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 06:49:10 pm

I think the word is "punk'd".

Reply
Panda
18/3/2016 07:30:26 pm

I'm a fan of Sterling. I know how he comes across but I ultimately regard it as a persona necessary as representative of consumers who constantly get shafted. Pretty much everything he does keeps in mind that people have to pay money - and quite a lot of money in many instances - for products and services that often don't deserve it as much as better products and services. No different from what critics are meant to be but Jimquisition is almost singularly focused on speaking for the easily-exploited hype-sensitive (more than any other medium) customer. People might disagree that that persona is necessary but it's popular for a reason.

I listened to that podcast tonight for the first time and it's clear the other guy absolutely regards himself as a victim trying to stand up to a bully but he actually says himself that he puts out low quality games, and yet he still expects people to pay for them. You don't see many traders openly advertising rotten products then crying that people are (partially) making a living exposing their tactics. He claims he's speaking for all downtrodden developers. I think Sterling is speaking for all shafted gamers.

Reply
Mr Biffo
18/3/2016 07:38:13 pm

That's a fair way of looking at it. How many shafted gamers are there out there in search of a voice, though?

Reply
Panda
18/3/2016 08:12:33 pm

Granted, not as many as those needing a good skelp on the bare bum.

CaptainBinky
18/3/2016 07:43:05 pm

Goddamnit, I'm addicted to replying here :D

I mostly agree with you - and were we talking about some horribly overpriced shovelware which takes advantage of the 2hr refund window to trick you into parting with cash, I would wholeheartedly agree with shining a beacon on it as a warning.

As it is, we're talking about a collection of games which (as of now, and speaking of only those with poor user-ratings) are priced between 79p and £1.99. This is hardly some sort of massive swindle. As the chap said in the podcast, the trading cards you'd pick up would have more value than the game you bought. Also if it's really, really, *really* not worth 79p, then you've got 2 hours to get a refund.

Perhaps when the price of one of them was a tenner or so, it merited a more aggressive stance - but the second the price was dropped, surely the show is over at that point? The point is made, the price is dropped, congratulations - job done. Now leave it be.

Reply
Panda
18/3/2016 08:09:19 pm

Yeah I had that price factor in the back of my mind while commenting but I can't shake the idea that it's all sour grapes and he would never succeed I the industry anyway of that's how he reacts to even
unreasonable criticisms.

Biffo makes a good point: I suppose the shafted consumer is shafted because he's too infected by hype to even consider disallowing said shafting. They do it to themselves and maybe Sterling would do as well to focus on the folk who ruin it for everyone else by preordering and buying season passes without question (although it's clear that's an area of strong disapproval as well).

Alex Rogan
18/3/2016 11:32:42 pm

If you, Florence, and Sterling are gaming's Avengers, which one is Gareth Hunt?

Reply
Spiney O'Sullivan
19/3/2016 12:16:44 pm

Biffo's definitely Captain America, returning after a long hiatus to fit into a changed world wracked by new and bizarre conflicts.

Sterling is more of a Hulk figure: big, loud, angry, and I don't know if I actually like him or simply pay attention because it's really hard to miss him.

I'm not sure who Rab is, but all I know is that Videogaiden was the single greatest gaming show ever. Above Bits, even.

Reply
Kelvin Green link
20/3/2016 07:56:07 pm

I'm sure you know, but VideoGaiden is back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecVDzKzLrhk

Dirty Barry
19/3/2016 01:35:04 am

So you can be sued for giving a scathing review of a game?

That sounds nuts, I might actually have to listen to this podcast.

Reply
MrDrinks
19/3/2016 01:35:09 am

Oh God, I started to listen to the podcast and realised he's the guy who does that stupid voice that I can't stand. I've tried watching a view of his videos to see why they're so popular but only ever last a couple of minutes before it just winds me up too much and I have to close it. I want to hear more about this story though so maybe I'll be able to pretend he isn't putting it on (I know it's part of his "thing" but it's just one of those irrational things that drive me up the wall).

Reply
PeskyFletch
19/3/2016 04:17:32 pm

My partner agrees wholeheartedly, if i wanted to listen to Jim Sterling i'd have to put headphones on.

Reply
Dan link
19/3/2016 10:37:19 am

Still waiting for Sterling to publicly bash 'Selfie: Sisters of the Amniotic Lens' so I can sue him for all the coffee in his kitchen cupboard. I'm thirsty and need that caffeine boost! :P

Reply
MrDrinks
19/3/2016 03:47:24 pm

Turns out I've somehow got this guy mixed up with Total Biscuit, I wondered why his voice wasn't quite as annoying as I remembered it being. I can only assume the developer either believes there is no such thing as bad publicity or they are seriously deluded. The guy seems to be coming from the position of his game being worthy of praise simply by virtue of existing and having been released (you haven't made a game so you can't say mine is bad etc. etc.). There are so many awful moments in the whole thing that it's hard to decide which bit is the most ludicrous.

Reply
penguinface
21/3/2016 03:34:07 pm

With fewer than 325,000 Youtube subscribers, I don't think Sterling is anywhere as famous, outside of a real niche bubble in the scheme of things, as us who have followed his career may think. This is supported by the "Never heard of him" comments on the Digi 2000 facebook post. Doesn't stop Digital Homicide thinking his coat-tails are big enough to ride on for publicity though, so who knows?

Reply
Frank
2/5/2016 08:19:49 am

I was one of the letter writers from decades back. I always expected my letters to be ripped to shreds which was why I went under the name "to embarrassed to say". I got the joke. And whenever I got one of my letters published it was always a delight to see my words up in lights... well up in little phosphorous dots.

Reply
Daniel
6/8/2016 02:33:51 pm

I don't feel that you were being particularly honest when you mentioned that Jim laughed at the Romine brothers. I mean, he DID, but when someone accuses you of asking your fans to harass them, and "prove" it by playing a skit of you pretending to play mad scientist with a carrot and a syringe, what the fuck else are you supposed to do?

I mean, look, I'll admit that I'm a JS fanboy, but even though I tried to look at the interview objectively and give DH a chance, I lost what little respect I had for them the moment they took what was CLEARLY Jim parodying science fiction tropes and said "this is evidence that you tell people to harass us".

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    EMAIL US:
    digitiser2000@gmail.com
    ++ ATTENTION! YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT DIGITISER 2000 ++
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    BUY STUFF IN THE OFFICIAL DIGI SHOP!
    Picture
    RSS Feed Widget

    Tweets by @mrbiffo
    Picture
    Follow us on The Facebook

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014


    RSS Feed

Picture
This site Copyright Paul Rose 2016 - All images Copyright respective copyright holders
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Video Games
  • Humour
  • Game Reviews
  • Videos
  • Games of my Years: The Digitiser Story