Game Stooge

Kotaku Made a Choice

• Scribbled on March 2nd, 2007 by S Holmes
• Filed in Editorial Content, GDC, Off Topic, PlayStation Network, Rumor Mill, Shows and Events, Sony PlayStation 3

Let me first say that I love Kotaku. I have been a daily visitor of the site for over six months and have truly enjoyed the personalities of the writers and the content they post.

I particularly enjoy the ability of the readers to avoid turning every single comment section into a middle school argument completely devoid of logic and maturity (which is very difficult to find on video game sites).

Kotaku Editor Brian Crecente’s very public spat with Sony last night has led to an important argument over the relationship between those who report the news and those who make the news.

I’m not going to make distinctions between internet bloggers and so-called “real” journalists, as I think the internet has forever blurred that line. I’m also not going to argue that the subject of video games is not worthy of the effort both Sony and Kotaku made to protect their interests (frankly, I’m glad they did).

Let me be the first to say that this is not a free speech issue - both in a technical legal sense and also in a figurative sense. I respectfully disagree with Crecente that his decision was over whether to allow Sony to tell him “what to write and when to write it.” Sony’s request had absolutely nothing to do with censorship or controlling content. It had everything to do simply with timing.

There is no constitutional reason why Sony can’t try to delay the posting of information (as long as they don’t violate any laws to do so). Sony is not the United States government and is not subject to the same freedom of speech and freedom of the press requirements.

On the flip side, Kotaku has no obligation to bend to Sony’s threats. From the limited information Mr. Crecente has provided about the communications leading up to the controversial post, it appears that Sony never threatened them with a lawsuit or issued any sort of cease and desist request.

In short, Sony never suggested that Kotaku would be subject to legal action for posting the information. I would be surprised to find out that no negotiation or proposed compromise was discussed (and encourage Kotaku to post the entire communication Crecente had with Sony).

Instead, Sony flexed the only muscle it had by threatening to take away the privileges it had previously given to Kotaku as a gaming news site. Companies give this sort of preferential treatment to news agencies and websites for various reasons and no sort of compensation is given in return (as should be the case). Kotaku certainly didn’t pay for exclusive access to the GDC or one-on-one interviews with key Sony personnel and, as a respected news site, never would.

But for reasons only Sony knows, the information Crecente wanted to report to the Kotaku readers (myself included) was information they simply did not want released. They are perfectly within their rights to ask Crecente not to post it. And Crecente is perfectly within his rights to decline their request. This is not an unheard of situation.

Referred to as an “embargo,” news agencies encounter this dilemma regularly with governments, businesses, and even private citizens. History is strewn with instances where news agencies “sat on” exclusive information at the request of an interested party (examples here, here, and here).

The outcome is decided by both parties involved, not one. Sony laid its cards on the table, saying that the secrecy of this information was highly valued and they wanted Crecente to respect their wishes in recognition of the relationship Kotaku and Sony have.

Crecente, aware of exactly what Sony wanted and the potential cost of posting the information, made the difficult journalistic decision that his duty to the Kotaku readers and the benefit to the website in general outweighed the potential loss of the privileges Sony had given them. To be clear, I have absolutely no gripe with Crecente’s decision and, as a Kotaku reader and game enthusiast, am pleased he posted it.

Despite what Crecente says, I simply don’t believe he was drawn into a senseless standoff. Sony’s request essentially amounts to a, “Hey, Kotaku, you know all that advance information and exclusive access to Sony products and personnel we give you? Well, some idiot violated an NDA or company-imposed gag order just a week before our biggest announcement since the launch of the PS3. Will you work with us so that one employee doesn’t ruin months of hard work by hundreds of people?”

There is nothing unreasonable about this request and it certainly doesn’t amount to Sony attempting to control Kotaku’s content. And again, in turn, there is nothing unreasonable about Crecente respectfully choosing not to abide by Sony’s request. He has his own obligations to Kotaku’s readers and ultimately I think Sony would have gotten the shorter end of the stick if all of this played out without the reconciliation.

Of course, without reading the entire email chain, I’m certainly not excluding the possibility that Sony may have been anything but reasonable in their request (and given their apparent PR philosophy over the last year it wouldn’t surprise me).

Sony and Kotaku each drew a line in the sand and neither crossed. Companies have a legitimate business interest in controlling the release of information to the public. They work for months and even years while spending countless money and resources to maximize the benefit they receive from their projects.

News agencies, in turn, have a legitimate journalistic interest in providing their readers with newsworthy information in a timely fashion. They work for months and even years while spending countless money and resources to provide the best news stories to their readers. These two sides certainly don’t have to agree always (or ever). But the vilification of either side for choosing their interests over the other’s is simply biased and unreasonable.

Readers need to understand that this is not the first or last time a video game website will be asked not to post information by a console manufacturer (yes, even Nintendo and Microsoft). Kotaku is well aware of how this game is played and to say Sony tried to “bully” or censor them only undermines their work as a respected gaming news site.