Gamepro plaigarizes IGN's review

Steroid

Banned

2,327

1471 posts since 23/12/08

Recent Badges:

Trust Me, It'll Have Legs 100 replies made to user's most popular thread.
Making Friends 10 friends on gamrConnect.
Leaving Limbo 100 posts on the gamrConnect forums.
Watch Your Back! Received 10,000 profile views.
The Nuts & Bolts Add a total of 25 games to your collection.
Mirror Image Awarded for uploading an avatar.

Steroid on 09 July 2009

How do you fuck up such an easy and great job. Lol there's a lot of doods on VGchatz who white this stuff for free.

FreeTalkLive

Currently Offline

9,815

2595 posts since 13/02/08

Recent Badges:

12 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 12 years.
11 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 11 years.
One Piece at a Time Add your first game to your collection.
15 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 15 years.
50 in One Add a total of 50 games to your collection.
8 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 8 years.

FreeTalkLive on 09 July 2009

twesterm said:

blaydcor said:
It seems that all of you people screaming "Coincidence!1" didn't actually read the article, which highlighted blatant similarities alongside the several WORD FOR WORD quotes (this does not happen by coincidence) AND the fact the the guy ADMITTED TO THE PLAGIARISM. Seriously, read more than the title before you post and defend the guy.

I admit I didn't read the last quote saying he admitted to it, but I don't see the big deal to the part he copied. Both of those pieces could have been copied straight from a manual they are so generic (I know there isn't a manual, just saying it's incredibly straightforward explanation).

If the actual creative parts of the review had been copied, yes, there is a reason to be angry, but the he copied the most straightforward part that even if he had written himself it probably would have ended up sounding almost exactly the same. It's not a big deal.

If it hadn't been for this "fiasco" maybe 20 people would have read both of those reviews anyways. Would you really want to spend all your time on a review that isn't going to get read by many people or get that review finished and move on to the bigger ones that make the site more money?

Again, if he had actually copied the creative parts of the review, yes, that would be inexcusable, but those parts that are the same, who cares? There are only so many ways you can say those things. I bet if you asked 100 people to play most any simple game to the point they could review it and then ask them to explain the mechanics you would see results pretty close to the one above.

The guy stole money from Gamepro. What do you think should have happened? Should he have been promoted?

Tired of big government?
Want liberty in your lifetime?
Join us @
http://www.freestateproject.org

Words Of Wisdom

Currently Offline

82,607

15716 posts since 05/09/07

Recent Badges:

Leaving Limbo 100 posts on the gamrConnect forums.
God Of VGC 10,000 posts on the gamrConnect forums.
The High Flyer Earned 40 badges.
Some Here, Some There Bank a Total of 5,000 VG$.
A Badge Within A Badge Earned 20 badges.
One Small 'Splosion Author of 100 forum threads.

Words Of Wisdom on 09 July 2009

twesterm said:

Saki said:
He admitted to plagiarizing......

Well then I'm an ass.

It's the new avatar. It's just not helping you. You're forgetting your core philosophies.

valen200

Currently Offline

4,190

616 posts since 06/08/07

Recent Badges:

15 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 15 years.
13 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 13 years.
9 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 9 years.
Escape Artist Managed to avoid being banned for 1 month.
Spreading the Disease Score a total of 50 games in your collection.
10 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 10 years.

Currently Playing:

GoldenEye 007 (DS)
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (DS)
WordJong Party (Wii)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (Wii)

valen200 on 09 July 2009

dsister44 said:

Saki said:

dsister44 said:
Wow!

he got fired over one line. I hope they can sleep soundly at night

Wow you think he is not at fault?

Its a Wiiware game. If you cant give your own opinion over a fucking Wiiware game then you shoulnt be reviewing games.

No! there should have been some kind of punishment, but i do not think he should have been fired.

The real question is journalistic ethics and how well trusted the writer is. when a journalist breaches ethics it is as serious as a cop who shop lifts or a lawyer who abuses the law. Our society needs people in a variety of professions to uphold strictest standards so that we can trust them. If we cannot trust them, they are effectively unable to do their job. If he was not fired he would have caused everyone connected with his work to become suspect undoing not just his work- but he work of his co-workers as well. A swift firing and public apology is the only course of action in a case like this.

"But as always, technology refused to be dignity's bitch."--Vance DeGeneres

http://cheezburger.com/danatblair/lolz/View/4772264960

TruckOSaurus

Currently Offline

159,651

21539 posts since 21/06/07

Recent Badges:

I Don't Seek Attention, It Seeks Me Received 100,000 profile views.
One Of A Kind 1,000 replies made to user's most popular thread.
You're Popular... Author of at least 5 gamrConnect threads that has received over 1,000 replies.
God Of VGC 10,000 posts on the gamrConnect forums.
18 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 18 years.
Star of the Show Won an annual Greatest User Tournament.

Currently Playing:

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)
Overwatch (PC)

TruckOSaurus on 09 July 2009

Final-Fan said:

twesterm said:

blaydcor said:
It seems that all of you people screaming "Coincidence!1" didn't actually read the article, which highlighted blatant similarities alongside the several WORD FOR WORD quotes (this does not happen by coincidence) AND the fact the the guy ADMITTED TO THE PLAGIARISM. Seriously, read more than the title before you post and defend the guy.

I admit I didn't read the last quote saying he admitted to it, but I don't see the big deal to the part he copied. Both of those pieces could have been copied straight from a manual they are so generic (I know there isn't a manual, just saying it's incredibly straightforward explanation).

If the actual creative parts of the review had been copied, yes, there is a reason to be angry, but the he copied the most straightforward part that even if he had written himself it probably would have ended up sounding almost exactly the same. It's not a big deal.

If it hadn't been for this "fiasco" maybe 20 people would have read both of those reviews anyways. Would you really want to spend all your time on a review that isn't going to get read by many people or get that review finished and move on to the bigger ones that make the site more money?

Again, if he had actually copied the creative parts of the review, yes, that would be inexcusable, but those parts that are the same, who cares? There are only so many ways you can say those things. I bet if you asked 100 people to play most any simple game to the point they could review it and then ask them to explain the mechanics you would see results pretty close to the one above.

This just in, twesterm only cares about intellectual property if it's games, not words, being stolen.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who sees a great contradiction with twesterm's positions.

Also, they had no choice but to fire him. Every following review he would have written would have been dismissed by comments like "Did he really play the game this time?"

Signature goes here!

Aion

Currently Offline

19,794

6008 posts since 29/06/09

Recent Badges:

6 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 6 years.
Leaving Limbo 100 posts on the gamrConnect forums.
13 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 13 years.
Littlest Genocide 1,000 posts on the gamrConnect forums.
Pata 100 wall post comments made on gamrConnect.
3 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 3 years.

Currently Playing:

Final Fantasy XIII (X360)

Aion on 09 July 2009

Too bad for him, his career is all over.

PROUD MEMBER OF THE PLAYSTATION 3 : RPG FAN CLUB

Yakuzaice

Currently Offline

12,205

3430 posts since 25/01/08

Recent Badges:

Site Veteran Has been a VGChartz member for over 5 years.
4 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 4 years.
Hit And Run 15 comments posted on VGChartz news articles.
Quite a Comeback Enter your first Prediction League event.
11 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 11 years.
1st Birthday Has been a VGChartz member for over 1 year.

Currently Playing:

Battlefield 3 (PC)
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC)
Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
God of War III (PS3)

Yakuzaice on 09 July 2009

"I would also like to point out that Andrew was not a paid employee of GamePro or GamePro Arcade; he was an unpaid contributor who worked mainly for the experience"

Just since a lot of people seem to have missed that. Anyways, GamePro pretty much took the best action possible in this situation. I bet the guy is kicking himself for ruining his future journalism career over a wiiware game review.

noname2200

Currently Offline

105,348

18110 posts since 14/04/08

Recent Badges:

16 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 16 years.
13 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 13 years.
It's a Start Bank a Total of 2,000 VG$.
A Free Man Managed to avoid being banned for 2 years.
Spreading the Disease Score a total of 50 games in your collection.
Pon Received 100 wall post comments on gamrConnect.

noname2200 on 09 July 2009

exindguy said:

noname2200 said:

dsister44 said:
Wow!

he got fired over one line. I hope they can sleep soundly at night

It was actually several lines, but only three (I missed one the first time, will bold now) were copy-pasted directly from IGN's review. Remember, plagiarism is more than simply copy-pasting. Moreover, the fact that a supposed professional is plagiarizing even one line is a huge ethical no-no. Remember the Stephen Ambrose bru-haha a few years back over a single paragraph in a 300 page+ book?

Actually, in the case of Ambrose, it turned out he was a serial plagiarizer with at least a half-dozen of his books cited as containing material from works not his own (even dating back to his bloody doctoral thesis!).

Huh, never knew: I thought that paragraph was the full extent of it.

silentmac

Currently Offline

1,949

527 posts since 25/06/09

Recent Badges:

Site Veteran Has been a VGChartz member for over 5 years.
3 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 3 years.
14 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 14 years.
16 Years Has been a VGChartz member for over 16 years.
1st Birthday Has been a VGChartz member for over 1 year.
'Ello Princess! Awarded for signing up.

Currently Playing:

Mighty Flip Champs! (DSiW)
The Conduit (Wii)
Killzone 2 (PS3)
inFAMOUS (PS3)

silentmac on 09 July 2009

I'm glad he was fired. Plagiarism is serious business. It will get you kicked out of most Universities if your professor/dean decide to take it that far, and at the very least will get you a double F. I see no reason why ethics shouldn't be upheld in the real world too. There are many people out there who would write better quality and more accurate reviews for free than what has been produced of some professionals over the last few years.

Gamepro did the right thing but it still makes you wonder about the quality of their writing staff. How hard is it to play a Wiiware game for a few hours and write a descriptive and accurate synopsis without copying or paraphrasing? Its not like he was writing a 10 page review of a JRPG that took him 100 hours to beat.

Now Playing!