Call of Duty: Black Ops Reviewers Get Pampered By Activision

Ars Technica wrote a piece on how Activision sponsored journalists that were going to review Black Ops on this resort for three freaking days. And you’d think they would have made it clear in their reviews. It’s a great article that questions this very common press event practise that publishers hold all the time(well mostly it’s the really big publishers, like Actisivion). Props to Gamepro for spilling out the details. But what about the rest? Details below…

 
"Two weeks before the game's launch, I was flown from San Francisco to LAX; from there, I was driven to Santa Monica airport where I was given a flight helmet customized with my gamertag," Tae Kim wrote abouthis experience reviewing the game. "I was then put into a helicopter and flown to Ojai, California, a small town about two hours north of Los Angeles. After landing in a field, I was driven to the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, where I was given a posh suite to stay in for three days." The suite had a 360, a copy of the game, and a nice 3D television hooked up to a surround-sound system.

There was a separate area with 30 stations set up so reviewers could try the multiplayer portion of the game. "I was also given a Mad Catz Call of Duty Black Ops branded headset," Kim wrote. "At the end of the trip, I was allowed to keep the flight helmet and the Mad Catz headset. All travel and accommodations, including food, were covered by Activision."

While it’s nice to see these people treated this way(I think that’s great) but reviewers certainly have to be transparent about this. Even if that is the case, the question remains, are these reviewers already sold(by sold I mean they are impressed even before they play the game) to the game because of these events?
This is not an easy question to answer as Ars Technica rightly points out that Call of Duty review is a big deal for any major site(it’s a traffic magnet when you have such a hugely anticipated mainstream title such as CoD).

Activision doesn't send out early code for these games, and it only invites certain publications on junkets. The desire for Black Ops coverage is insane, so decent coverage gets good traffic. An early review is worth a ton of readers, which are of course valuable to the sites, and if they can't afford the trip, Activision is happy to pick up the tab for them. It's a tough choice: stick by your ethics policy, or accept a free vacation, some gifts, and boost your site's traffic.

The article is eye opening. Should reviews in such controlled environments(when it comes to online play) even be given merit when online play experience for many on launch day is so different?

Go here read this article.