Ubisoft got themselves in a little bit of hot water this week when they handed out Asus Nexus 7 tablets to media members at a Watch Dogs press event in Paris.
Now, game journalism does have its perks. You get to see and play cool games early, and you get to cover a lot of interesting stuff. But game journalism is still journalism, and one of the pillars of the trade is being unbiased. Meaning, not accepting gifts that could impact your opinion on a subject of one of your articles.
All it would take is for an organization that received one of the tablets to give Watch Dogs a 10/10, and all of the sudden that publication's credibility would be called into doubt because it received a lucrative gift and then gave a perfect score.
Ubisoft didn't really think that through before the event, but now they're backtracking a little. Dual Shockers obtained this statement from Ubisoft's Communication Manager Alberto Ziello on the matter:
"During a recent Watch Dogs preview event, a number of UK journalists were given gift bags containing a tablet that was preloaded with Watch Dogs videos, screenshots and relevant links. This isn't in line with our policies for working with journalists who cover our games, as we understand that gifts of this kind might be misconstrued. We apologize for the error and are sorry for any confusion."
I guess good on them for realizing their mistake, but whoever made that call to include the tablets in the first place should probably be thoroughly scolded.
Would you think less of a publication's review of a game if you knew they received a gift from the publishers, or is this all being blown out of proportion? Let us know in the comments.
