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Public Relations (PR) - a term in our vocabulary paired with snakes and politicians. When we hear the word 'PR', we think of men in black suits trying to cover up alien app--wait, wrong PR! Bottom line: when PR speaks, cover your ears because it is either a cover-up or hype. The irony is that no organization, industrious or otherwise, in the world today can survive without their own public relations department. Luke Smith, an editor for 1UP.com, decided last week that Square Enix (SE) of America's PR was anything but necessary.
Last week, Smith not only riled up the gaming public by blasting an e-mail that he and most of the major gaming press received, but also posting up the e-mail on his blog. The e-mail was in regards to the Japanese release of Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, and requested said outlets not to release plot-related information, post CGs, or music, until dates that corresponded to each of the above. Note that the e-mail did not forbid any discussion of the game, posting of trailers, or any characters revealed up to this point.
Smith, however, found this e-mail to be absurd on the grounds that the game was readily released overseas. He argues in his blog that: "It's blind, more than it is short-sighted, to attempt to embargo or conceal information that is already available on message boards, YouTube, or other websites." Smith goes one step further by saying it is a concern for the gaming public that PR firms try to direct information down certain channels. And as if to emphasize his point, later that same week, SE responded by supposedly asking Smith to bring down his blog to preserve their privacy.
Did Smith take the journalistic high-road or did he take the opportunity to be a self-styled drama king?
Many of Smith's supporters that come from the 1UP community, forums, and various other gaming blogs, believe that Smith made the right decision. Sites such as the WarCry Network, Ars Technica, and Kotaku all hailed Smith's move as a victory for journalism while bashing SE as 'arrogant' and 'Sony-like'. Their argument more or less revolves around Smith's "you cannot embargo something that is readily available." Additionally, many supporters seem to have rallied behind Smith's theme of "you cannot embargo public knowledge."
Now, wait one second here, did they just say... 'public knowledge'?
If the header on Smith's blog was any indication, and other sites where this issue was discussed, 'public knowledge' along with 'embargo' is the most exaggerated word pair of the week. This is where Smith's critics, and the few balanced and reasonable commentators, come in: SE has every right to make this request, and the request is not uncommon nor unreasonable in the industry. Critics noted how the request was aimed primarily at plot details, CGs found in-game and not on trailers, and music -- all of which are well within SE's rights as owner of copyrighted material.
Among the critics, 4thereunion.com, a website that reports on SE activities, hits the real questions worth debating: "Is it unreasonable for Square-Enix to ask the sites where their fans go to not spoil the game that 98% will not import? Is it unreasonable for Square-Enix to want to build their own hype and give out information in the teasing fashion everyone is accustomed to these days?" GamesFirst!, one of the few balanced commentators on this issue, also observed that: "It is, after all, good to remember that, fundamentally, press embargoes are a courtesy offered to the press by the publisher, not the other way around. Press embargoes give media outlets a chance to prepare coverage without having to rush production; publishers give us a head-start on sensitive information in order to give us measured coverage." In other words, information about games is not a right -- it is a privilege, and one that Smith and his supporters ignored. Yes, you can argue about advertising all you want, but there is more than enough media outlets out there that one or two websites or publications missing out will not stop it from making it to the public.
Is the game readily available? Yes, in a way... for the few that can afford the equivalent of about $80+ (USD) to get it imported from overseas. Public knowledge? Debatable, and only if you decide to scour the Internet for it or decide to read Smith's blog. Smith as drama king or SE as corporate tyrant? You decide.
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