Update: With a furious last push, Republique was successfully funded. Congratulations to Camouflaj and Logan Games. Now, make us a game worthy of all the attention the project has been receiving.

Republique is a game being developed by Camouflaj and Logan Games for iOS, PC, and Mac. It aims to be a higher quality gaming experience on the mobile scene. I’m a backer, but I have to admit that I’m not terribly excited by the project as it looks a bit hokey to me. I’m just supporting the project because I like to see developers try something a little different, and for me, $10 is a pretty small price to pay to support new ideas. I am getting a little bothered, however, by the constant evangelizing of the project from the gaming press.

Ryan Payton is the founder of Camouflaj studios. For those unfamiliar with Ryan’s background, he’s gone from games journalist to working in the game industry as a developer. After his time with 1up and Famitsu, Ryan had the chance to work on some high profile projects, including Metal Gear Solid 3 & 4 and Halo 4. Last year Ryan left 343 Industries to found Camouflaj, where he could start up mobile game development on iOS. Due to his roots as a journalist, Ryan has a lot of friends spread around the games journalism scene, and the overwhelming support from the press for his Kickstarter is a direct result of those relationships.

I don’t have a problem with anybody giving a quick shout out to a friend’s project or even a little encouragement to check out what a colleague is doing. But this whole Republique banner waving is getting a little gross. I feel as if we, the readers of these video game sites and blogs, are being held captive to their evangelizing. We don’t even know if the game is going to be any good, and every time you turn around, another major media outlet is reiterating how you should be donating or increasing your current donation to the Republique Kickstarter fund. Shacknews, Giant Bomb, Joystiq, etc. are all over this pitch, and barely a day goes by without a mention hitting the podcast or news feeds.

I don’t think that reporters are totally conscious of how heavy handed they’re being. I don’t think they realize how biased they appear. Many of the people constantly reminding us about Camouflaj through their stories, Twitter updates, Facebook statuses, and podcast mentions are some of my favorite journalists and editors in the industry. I just think that the nepotism that we show for fellow games journalist brothers (or former members of the media) is getting to the point where lines are being crossed.

I think an editor, podcast host, or reporter should be able to give a mention to the stuff that they love, but I don’t think they should act as bannermen, pledging loyalty to a product. If Camouflaj wants the exposure, they should buy it through marketing efforts. Not everybody with a good idea is lucky enough to have come from the ranks of games journalism, and it’s unfair to them (and to readers of the site) that certain projects get constant attention ahead of their own for no significant reason.

There are only three days left on the Republique Kickstarter, and it’s pretty obvious that the project won’t be funded. Everybody who pitched in will get their money back, but the profile on the project has been raised so much that when the game eventually makes its way to release via alternative funding, most of its marketing push will already have been established and “paid for” through free mentions and articles on many of gaming’s largest news and opinion outlets.

I hope Camouflaj puts out a good game. I hope that they find themselves successful as a studio, but I don’t think it’s our burden to ensure that they are.

I’ve been an outspoken critic of Kotaku over the years. I’ve refused to give the site clicks, and I’ve heard countless complaints from other gamers about how poor the coverage is at Kotaku. Normally I wouldn’t rail so hard against a publication, but Kotaku was seriously one of the shining of examples of everything that holds games journalism back from being taken seriously.

Always willing to sacrifice quality for the sake of a few extra clicks, Kotaku was notorious for putting out articles that were extremely low quality, rushed, off topic, not properly sourced when they were reporting on another site’s exclusive news, and for having a poor attitude when answering to criticism and negative feedback.

But everything is changing now. Kotaku is not the same as it was even three months ago.

Stephen Totilo has taken over at Kotaku as top dog now that Brian Crecente has left to be part of the Vox Games team and former editor-in-chief Joel Johnson is writing for Jalopnik. New faces at the site are headlined by the highly respected and likable Jason Schreirer. These changes have brought about an immediate change in the attitude at the site, and the writing has noticeably improved. The design is still a mess, but we’ll worry about that later.

In recent weeks, Stephen Totilo has shown that he’s a responsible editor-in-chief that cares about the content produced under his watch. There’s still a disposable story that slips through here and there, but the blatantly offensive or truly awful posts have been put to a stop, and when one has slipped by, Stephen has apologized via Twitter for it. It’s radical change in attitude coming from the top at Kotaku then we’re used to, and I hope people are paying attention.

For years Kotaku’s stance has always been, “we’re Kotaku, so deal with it.” Seeing Stephen opening up increased dialog is what is going to be the biggest difference for the blog. For the first time in years I’ve been willing to read articles at Kotaku, and if I don’t like what I see, I have patience because I am seeing a sincere effort by the staff to improve.

I’m curious what others think. I’ve rarely heard a good word about the site said when I’ve been sitting down with other journalists or talking to gamers who are well read in the world of gaming.

For Kotaku to turn their image around, they’re going to have to stay pushing into this new direction. It may cause their overall click count to go down, an I’m not sure how the upper management at Gawker will feel about that, but I just hope that they stay patient and allow Stephen Totilo to continue to have free reign.

Personally I’d love to see Kotaku become a respectable website in our community. The more great outlets we have, the better we are as an industry. It’s a long road back, but it looks like the driving forces at Kotaku are willing to stay in for the long haul.

Dang. Now, David Jaffe has made a fool of himself many times in the past in drunken tirades, emotional outbursts, and poorly thought out forum posts, but here he didn’t deserve the noise that Olivia Munn was tossing his direction. I’m guessing that G4 will have this video pulled soon, so enjoy it while you can.

Note: I’ve had some emails wondering why I haven’t reviewed games or dropped editorials onto the blog lately. Part of that is due to me saving up material for Gamer Theory, part of it is just me being a little lazy. I’ll do something soon other than the podcast or a YouTube video dump…I promise.

This is certainly good news for Garnett, but it’s horrible news for fans of 1up and the 1up podcast, Listen Up. Garnett Lee has accepted a new position with Gamefly, Inc. where he’ll act as editorial director for their gaming sites, including Shacknews. David Ellis announced on Twitter that the Listen Up crew will do one more show together and then Garnett will make his move over to the new job.

With John Davison’s What They Play being sold to IGN recently, his status with the podcast is also up in the air. The show has survived key members leaving before, but Garnett was the man that ran the show and made it what it was. Maybe 1up can woo John back now that he’s become a free man again, huh? Most likely the show will continue on, but it’s certainly not going to be the same.

Good luck Garnett.

Yesterday Giant Bomb celebrated their first anniversary since the full site was launched. It’s pretty remarkable how much the guys over at Giant Bomb have built up their site in a year’s time. I remember when Brad, Vinny, and the rest of the guys were bailing on Gamespot to join Jeff’s Giant Bomb venture that the general opinion was that the network was bigger than the personalities and that their leaving would be a short-lived consequence. Well, Gamespot remains the larger media outlet as far as traffic goes, but Giant Bomb is steadily increasing over time as Gamespot has slowly but steadily declined. I know Alexa numbers are suspect, but it’s something to go off of at least. Check the chart below from a comparison I ran between the two sites.

I doubt that the Giant Bomb guys are too worried about competing with Gamespot, but it’s nice to see that good journalism is winning out over a brand name. If you haven’t been listening, I suggest you check out the Giant Bomb podcast. New episodes come out every Tuesday.

In just a couple of short weeks, the 1up Show staff has managed to do a pretty impressive job at pooling together their resources and re-establish themselves on their new permanent home: Area 5 (http://area5.tv). The team has already uploaded their first episode, and it’s jam-packed with ex-1up staff as they go over their favorite games from 2008. The name of the show is Co-Op, and we can only expect good things as the guys get the gear they need together and find more solid footing in their newfound situation. Here are some helpful links to get rolling with the show:

Episode 1: http://area5.tv/2009/01/21/the-producers-of-the-1up-show-form-area-5-launch-new-show-co-op/

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/area5media

Right now you can’t subscribe via iTunes, but the YouTube subscription is free. The reasons for this direction are detailed on the Area 5 site. It’s important that the team gets a lot of YouTube subscribers, so if you’re interested in what they’re doing, make sure to support them with the subscription.

While it’s a major bummer to see such a great personality and such a deeply opinionated journalist leave the gaming journalism industry, it’s encouraging to see one of the most popular former 1up staffers land such a big job. Shane’s official job title at Ignition is Director of Business Development; which means that Shane is going to be making the decisions on what games the publisher should publish and which games they should pass on. If you want to hear Shane talking about his new job, give Rebel FM a listen. Shane makes the announcement on episode 2, right around the 20-21 minute mark.

Download the Rebel FM episode #2 podcast, right here: Click to download.

Ugh, I feel like the last remnants of my childhood have been dragged out into the street and had a bullet put right between the eyes. With the acquisition of 1up by UGO, many notable and talented people have been layed off and EGM is no more. What is undisputably the best gaming magazine ever published in the United States is finished, as the January issue (currently on sale) will be the final issue. GAF users have managed to compile a list of the journalists and staff members that have been layed off so far. Below is the list (bolding indicates the ones that I was particularly fond of):

Adrian Frieg
Amy Mishra
Amy Moran
Andrea Garcia
Andrew Fitch
Andrew “Skip” Pfister
Anthony Gallegos
Cesar Quintero
Christina Rosa
CoyLou Steel
Derek Chinn
Doug Parsons
Eric Ellis
Giancarlo Varanini
Greg Ford
James “Milkman” Mielke
Jason Bertrand
Jason Wilson
Jervilyn Jaramillo
Justin Frechette
Leslie Gelfand
Marci Yamaguchi
Matt Chandronait
May Tong
Meredith Stowe
Michael Donahoe
Monique Convertito
Ndubuisi Madu
Nick Suttner
Norris Boothe
Philip Kollar
Rey Serrano
Robert Bowen
Rosemary Pinkham
Ryan O’Donnell
Ryan Scott
Shane Bettenhausen
Simon Cox
Tammy Ross
Tipler Ubbelohde

I’m sure as the dust settles the list of casualties will expand, but some of those names up there are really quite shocking. Game coverage isn’t going to be the same without many of these guys being a part of the EGM/1up team, that’s for sure. Also, and this is where gamers are most going to feel the gut punch, is that the 1up podcasts are going to be done away with, at least for the time being. Right now, it’s been confirmed that 1up Yours (Best. Gaming. Podcast. Ever.) and the 1up Show (Best. Gaming. Video. Podcast. Ever.) are dead for good.

If you feel like it, you can hit up GAF and Twitter and read all sorts of farewells, comments, and musings from current and ex-1up staff about the situation. I’m still a little in shock that all we have left in the print publication market here in the US is Gamepro, which is terrible, and Game Informer, which has no journalistic integrity.

Good luck to everybody who is personally affected, and good luck to gamers trying to find a publication/network to fill the void left behind in their gaming news coverage and editorial needs.

Is there anybody in the entire Sony company that is as stupid is David Reeves? I mean, I know it’s disrespectful to say that about someone, but this is the one guy that even the hardcore Sony fanboys actively work to shout down. I also hate being the near constant critic of Sony and their ways, but I think their approach to this generation of gaming warrants some backlash. In recent weeks Sony has endured some PR pain as they’ve had to announce big layoffs, bad financial losses, and terrible NPD sales performances. Now, not all of this can be attributed to their games division, but the PS3 and its money losing ways are definitely a big part of the blame. In an interview with MVC, David Reeves (president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) had a few choice things to say that reek of excuses, deflection, envy, and desperation.

Here is the interview in its entirety, but below I have a list of notable achievements by Reeves in the piece: http://www.mcvuk.com/interviews/394/Action-Station

• He compares Sony’s $3 billion losses in the past two years to Citibank to show why it’s not so bad. Citibank compared to Sony? Really? How is that remotely relevant?
• He states that they’re not dropping the price, but rather focusing on a “value added” strategy. WHAT?! How is the PS3 added value at this point? You can buy both a 360 and a Wii for the price of a PS3 now. If he’s talking Blu-ray, you can get a 360 and a Blu-ray player cheaper.
• He states that their objective is to “grow the market”. How are you going to do that with an overpriced console? DROP THE PRICE!
• “You don’t grow the market by putting out shoddy machines.” Obviously this is a slight at the 360, but the PS2 and PS1 were terribly shoddy. Many people went through several of each. It’s a pot/kettle black deal there…
• “…as soon as we got the manufacturing price down on PSOne we lowered the price. Same with PS2. But we’re not doing that on PS3 – that’s not the model, but people are expecting it.” Ok…so the PS1 and PS2 owned the market, so you’re just going to go with a different strategy? Makes sense.

There are a few more things in there that are just fine examples of crazy talk, but I think I’ve gone far beyond what I should have on this topic. To be clear, I LIKE MY PS3, but I think the industry needs a healthy Sony. With all the poor decisions Sony makes I keep expecting that they’re going to wake up and get things rolling, but these sort of interviews have me questioning whether or not they’ve actually lost touch with the reality of the situation they’re in and the industry as a whole. Sony got punched in the face big time, but rather than coming back with their own punches, they’ve just been content to take blow after blow while making excuses why this is a better strategy. Sure, it worked for Rocky, but even Adrian new that at SOME POINT the Italian Stallion had to hit back. Do it, Sony.

Greetings everyone, I bet you’re all so used to only Jeff posting to this blog. Well that has just changed. My name is Brad Mosbacher, former Features Editor for Nintendo World Report.  I have been brought aboard to provide all of you with interesting and well written updates when Jeff himself is unable to post.

I am also here to provide posts that slightly differentiate in taste compared to the standard variety of posts that Jeff makes. However, this alone is not the cause of my appearance. Jeff and I have big things planned in the future. What these plans are I cannot say just yet, but it is the culmination of his and my combined resources. Needless to say, I hope you will enjoy what we have in store for all of you.