Forum - View topicAnswerman - Does Getting Free Copies Of Stuff Sway Opinions Of Critics?
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rizuchan
 Posts: 974 Location: Kansas |
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Every time someone suggests that ANN reviewers are biased because they receive screeners, I think... have you read ANN reviews? There are no shortage of reviews here with terrible scores where the reviewer mentions having received a screener disc.
If anything, I'd say having to pay for copies would be more biased. It'd be more profitable to only purchase popular titles, and if you're a small time reviewer, you might convince yourself you liked a show a little better than you really did if you paid for it from your own pocket. |
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Just Passing Through
Posts: 276 |
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Having a mountain of silvers and white-label discs is no incentive for a favourable review. I don't know about ANN or other sites, but the site I write for also has a non-disposal clause in the contract, so that no check discs wind up in non-reviewer hands... I suppose I could incinerate them, not exactly environmentally friendly...
And if it's a show that you wind up falling in love with, odds are that you'll shell out for the final retail version anyway. |
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mgosdin
 Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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I've seen where Advertising influenced Reviews, money does talk quite loudly, but Sample or Review copies alone I don't see them having any big bias impact.
Now as far as Firehoses are concerned, well you need to keep a good tight grip on the hose and the handle on the nozzle is what I've been told. That advice seems to apply here as well. Mark Gosdin |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5421 Location: Iscandar |
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I mostly read reviews from ANN, and I have never thought that the reviewers give positive score because they get screeners. I identify with Justin's comments about having an undesirable pile of crap. I am a regular fan, but I am selective about the anime I buy on disc. I wouldn't want to have anime I don't want to watch, even if I got it for free.
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Aquamine-Amarine
Posts: 276 |
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Hater. It's a cute show. |
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Shiratori-san
 Posts: 59 |
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Ahaha
 I love the Answerman corner. Keep up the good work.
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Yeah, getting screeners has never really been an issue. Unlike the video game industry, where being the first to get a review out can be very important in terms of audience reach, in localized anime there isn't nearly as much pull since most people who really really care have already seen it in some form or another. As such being put on a "blacklist" for preview copies/screeners wouldn't be very damaging at all for a site like ANN.
It's the advertisement that is far more important to ANN. |
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#861208
Posts: 423 |
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Yeah, like, you couldn't think of an actually bad show? This show may be boring, but it has an important message, at least respect that. |
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Haha, you’re right, I was trying to think of something recent and universally deriled, but clearly couldn’t come up with anything. Any suggestions? |
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1113 Location: Puget Sound |
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The obvious candidate would be Hand Shakers... |
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CatSword
 Posts: 1489 |
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Receiving free product is common in any industry for top/trusted reviewers, and isn't supposed to influence the reviewer. I've seen one-star Amazon reviews with the disclaimer "I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review."
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Chester McCool
 Posts: 322 |
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It doesn't help the western video game industry is based entirely around reviews, where people flip out and use Metacritic scores as some kind of absolute proof a game is good or bad. Anime reviews obviously don't relate because most people don't care about anime reviews. |
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Angel Investor
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I hate when people use "the reviewer was bribed" as an argument for any review they disagree with. I was a video game journalist for a while and got some free download codes for games from time to time. Although it was nice to get free games, I never let it affect my opinion of the game. I never handed out 10/10 scores or neglected to point out the flaws. The lowest score I gave to a game was 6/10. I felt a little bad giving it such a mediocre score, since I had gotten the game for free, and the devs had asked for a link to the review when it was published. But any journalist who cares about integrity cannot sugarcoat their opinion or outright lie about it.
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otagirl
Posts: 111 |
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Aren't most review scores on ANN crap anyway?
I doubt they're biased. Although I understand if a particular media outlet consistently churns out mediocre to scathing reviews, publishers may think twice about directing material there. At least I doubt this industry is anywhere near as corrupt as the gaming industry. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Back when we had the Angry DC Comics Fans floating the "Disney Bribe" theory about why the Star Wars movies (even Last Jedi) and Marvels were getting good reviews and Batman and Suicide Squad weren't, there was the joke floating around, "Evidently Disney didn't have enough money left to bribe the Solo and A Wrinkle in Time critics." 
The headline immediately made me think of that scene from Mel Brooks' "The Producers", where our heroes, risking their get-rich scheme on producing the worst musical ever made, hope for terrible reviews-- Outside the theater on opening night, they greet one critic on the way in, and making a big show of offering him "secret" bribes. The critic storms fuming into the theater without another word, and our heroes high-five each other on their now guaranteed reviews.
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