Lunchtime Discussion: Spoilers
How long should we wait to discuss plot?
Published: 12:00, 27/07/2010 by Kris [Halbpro].
44Yesterday Nofi caused a brief eruption amongst some TSAians that care to spend their time on Twitter. It seems that GamesRadar had posted a story (WARNING: Spoilers) talking about games that should be considered more controversial than the poster child of controversy, Grand Theft Auto. Sadly this story included spoilers about Heavy Rain, with no indication that a fairly major plot point would be revealed. A spoiler warning has now been added but the text above the warning also flirts with spoiling Quantic Dream’s masterwork.
Part of what makes a great story great is the discussion it can spark. Everyone will have a slightly different interpretation of how events played out. In the old days you’d have these discussions with your mates; talking about how brilliant the explosions in Die Hard were over a pint, or discussing the nuances of Casablanca over a few glasses of wine. As with all things the internet has changed this dynamic and now your opinion can be made available for all to see.
Like the whole of the internet this sounds like a brilliant thing but it does have a big downside. When you were discussing things with your friends they could just tell you to shut up if you were straying too deeply into the storyline. Unfortunately there isn’t a ‘shut up’ function with the internet and it’s much easier for someone to sneak a spoiler into the middle of text than it is with a conversation. Even if your friends did manage to spoil things despite your protests you could hit them for it, sadly the internet really is lacking in that area.
Of course you can always talk around the storyline, you can comment on the direction or the acting or how it made you laugh so hard you nearly choked on your popcorn. Sometimes though the story does need to be touched on, and if you desperately feel the need to talk about a major plot point all that’s needed is a simple warning. By all means reveal the whole film’s plot if you really must but warning someone of the impending spoilers is just common courtesy.
The problem is how long do you extend this courtesy? There are always going to be people who are fresh to the story, at the very least you’re going to have people who weren’t alive when the story originally came out. By that logic you should never discuss any culture in public, for fear of offending someone who just hasn’t got around to it yet. However if you followed that logic there’d be no pop-culture.
What people forget, myself included, is that spoilers are the birth of all pop-culture. Without spoilers no-one would joke about people being Luke’s father, no-one would ever respond with ‘Dumbledore dies’ when being asked not to spoil something. These are all basically spoilers, just the original stories are old enough that no-one really cares any more.
So how old is old enough? Well that’s pretty much where I throw things over to you. When is it acceptable to spoil things? When can you stop posting the warnings when you discuss Heavy Rain or Metal Gear Solid 4?
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27/07/2010 at 12:03
Member since: Forever
Dumbledore dies did the rounds at the time when it was an actual spoiler not a joke, its only recently become the running joke.
I would say that anybody with an interest in something like the Sixth Sense or Heavy Rain would access it during the first few months, after that if you overhear a spoiler or read something, I’d suggest that you couldn’t have been overly interested in it anyway.
27/07/2010 at 12:19
Member since: Aug 2009
I was too young to watch the sixth sense when it came out, and I obviously know the twist. Still interested in seeing it though. You can’t be whiny about these sorts of things that happened so long ago :)
27/07/2010 at 12:04
Member since: Forever
As I said yesterday on Twitter, Games Radar shouldn’t have posted Heavy Rain spoilers, and especially not on their home page where it wasn’t obviously spoiler protected.
I know the game’s been out for months, but that’s not the point – it’s still for sale and people still haven’t played it, and knowing who the serial killer is spoils the whole game.
Silly. IMO, of course.
27/07/2010 at 12:09
Member since: Oct 2008
I can’t agree more. Incidently, I purchased Heavy Rain at the weekend and will be starting it shortly. Do some people really think that because I have waited a few months to play a game I don’t deserve to have the same spoiler-free experience?
27/07/2010 at 12:13
Member since: Forever
Of course you deserve to be spoiler free, but when do you expect other people deserve to stop walking on egg shells around you, just in case you happened to be late getting onboard with something.
In a conversation with friends, people wouldn’t just blurt spoilers out without saying “that bit at the end of…” but in the days of the internet and social networking where there’s a chance something spoiled could be spolied on day 1 nevermind 6 months later, is it a bit much to expect never to catch wind of a spoiler
27/07/2010 at 12:49
Member since: Forever
This isn’t just a spoiler, though, is it? It’s the entire crux of the game. Once you know the end, why play?
27/07/2010 at 12:18
Member since: May 2009
Exactly my sentiment. It takes 2 seconds to add a spoiler warning, and it takes an ounce of common sense to not put the spoilers in the foreword to an article.
Whether that’s 2 months or 3 years, I’d put a spoiler warning. If it’s a plot twist, don’t ruin it. Even if people don’t really have an interest in watching or playing it within the 1st 6 months, they may want to watch or play it at a later date.
If you’re having a conversation with someone, you’ll at least sign post a discussion about a plot point by saying “Have you seen the end of…” Doesn’t matter how old what you’re talking about is.
So, spoiler warnings until the plot twist is parodied by The Simpsons is my rule of thumb.
27/07/2010 at 12:10
Member since: Sep 2009
I guess there could be plenty of people holding out till Move is available and it would make a very good game present – so shame that it was spoiled so easily. Then again, the Guardian review at the time of release detailed a lot of the plot & I would have been spoiled except I jumped down to the comments first & was warned there. Anyway, much better reviews here than on the Guardian (I mean I liked Bioshock 2 but 5/5 – for shame Guardian).
27/07/2010 at 12:18
Member since: Aug 2008
It’s a very tricky one. It always annoyed me that Radio One would report the outcome of the previous night’s Apprentice but say ‘turn the radio down if you don’t want to know’! If it was on the night before and you didn’t watch it, I think it’s down to you to avoid spoilers, not others to nanny you.
The same is true of films and games but the fact that they have no set broadcast time makes it harder. Personally, I think people should make a bit of effort not to spoil it in an unavoidable way like splashing it on their games website homepage or across the newspaper headline for a film review but discussing it further in is ok as people can avoid that if they want.
As for the ‘embargo’ time on general discussion? I would say films need a couple of weeks after DVD release and games, 5 or 6 months.
.
After that, anyone that was interested enough to get offended by spoilers really ought to have seen/played it anyway
27/07/2010 at 12:34
Member since: Forever
Spoilers are bad. End of.
It takes the smallest amount of common courtesy just to say SPOILER, or to ask someone if they’ve seen/played it.
27/07/2010 at 12:40
Member since: Forever
Completely agree it just common courtesy to tag it whether that’s on a page or in a conversation, however in the days of the internet and social networking where there’s a chance something could be spolied on day 1 nevermind 6 months later, is it a bit much to expect never to catch wind of a spoiler
27/07/2010 at 12:44
Member since: Forever
I don’t expect it, doesn’t mean I won’t avoid having a go at someone if they spoil something important.
27/07/2010 at 14:21
Member since: Jul 2009
Common courtesy on articles is fine with me. A thread started about Heavy Rain (or Sherlock Holmes), etc, with a warning that it might contain spoilers is perfect. Especially when the forum (here) supports “spoiler hiding”.
Sure, you’ll get the odd nob-jockey who wants to spoil it for everyone but if most people operate with a modicum of decency then most spoilers are avoidable. Possibly most wars too!
27/07/2010 at 13:03
Member since: Forever
It is no big deal to add a warning to anything but the notion that we should do that indefinitely is absurd.
My current go-to examples are:
1)I have two young nephews who are really into Star Wars right now thanks to that spin-off cartoon. They’re probably a little too young for the original trilogy so they don’t know the Vader/Luke relationship. Is it morally reprehensible to make that cliched joke in case they catch wind and the greatest twist in the history of cinema is spoiled for them thirty years after it became pop-culture? Of course not.
2)I watch the Premier League football every week on Match of the Day and yet every Saturday the results, goalscorers and major discussion points are “spoiled” for me via Twitter before I get a chance to watch highlights myself. On the same day. Why is that less offensive than mentioning a plot-point from a 5-hour video game three months after its release? Nobody can dictate whether my football result-spoiling is less of a crime because, to me, it matters more. You’d be discriminating against my priorities to suit your own agenda.
So the issue is one of time (how long to wait) and subject (which is relative to how much you care for it). Both are very difficult to put a definitive scale on.
Ultimately, if you’re that offended by spoilers (which are the very basis for pop-culture and can’t be avoided without living in a culturally sterile world) then you need to remove yourself from the environments where pop-culture breeds.
But, yeah, adding spoiler tags wouldn’t have hurt ;)
27/07/2010 at 13:07
Member since: Forever
Re: Football results.
Because live events are different. They are much more instant and it’s ‘ruined’ by the next day in the papers so they have a day long shelf life as it is. Games and films have a much longer life.
27/07/2010 at 13:27
Member since: Forever
That’s your entirely subjective interpretation.
Mine is that the football “event” has an event window which lasts from Saturday morning build up to Monday morning papers and discussing it in work. That shouldn’t be compromised.
A movie’s event window spans from a couple of weeks before release week to a couple of weeks after the DVD release. A game’s event window probably from a few weeks before release until a few months after.
These are the points when the wider media, generally, stops taking notice of it. I think that if you’re going to require some sort of DMZ for spoilers it should be within those parameters.
Ultimately though, if I don’t want the football results spoiled, I can switch Twitter off. The same rule applies for anyone who wants to avoid other pop-culture references – it’s your responsibility to insulate yourself, not other’s to pander to you.
27/07/2010 at 13:57
Member since: Forever
Yeah, but if you don’t want to hear the results, you don’t go on Twitter for the day until the evening. It’s a designated time when scores and match events will be discussed.
Spoilers for games and films are like that. Someone may just raise it at any random moment. If people were going to discuss Heavy Rain on twitter between 7 and 8 this evening, then people would know to steer clear.
That is why events are different.
27/07/2010 at 14:03
Member since: Forever
“Someone may just raise it at any random moment.”
Exactly!
I care about things being spoiled so I make an effort to see things within an acceptable period of a couple of months.
After that, if I happen to come across a tweet, comment or article then it’s my fault, not the article’s
An indefinite period isn’t practical within the connected world we live in
27/07/2010 at 14:04
Member since: Forever
That doesn’t make events different, it only makes the timescale different.
So we’re agreed that “indefinitely” is unreasonable? If so then the only remaining question is “how long?”
27/07/2010 at 14:09
Member since: Forever
Oh yeah, indefinitely is unreasonable. For me (and obviously other people think otherwise):
Music: Nothing to spoil really.
Film: Either until a sequel is released or a year.
Games: A year.
I always avoid spoilers just in case, and would always state spoiler if it needed to be said, but if I’ve yet to play Mass Effect 2 (which I have yet to play) and I’d be annoyed if it was spoiled for me. Mass Effect 1 was spoiled for me, but only after 2 was released.
27/07/2010 at 14:11
Member since: Forever
Oops, should have been:
Film: Either until a sequel is released or a year.
Games: Either until a sequel is released or a year.
27/07/2010 at 13:19
Member since: Aug 2008
This is my point though. You know that Football results will be discussed/listed on twitter and the sports news so until you have seen MotD, you could easily avoid those.
27/07/2010 at 13:31
Member since: Forever
yep, and if it bothers me then that’s what I’d do. My point is that the same option is available to anyone who doesn’t want a movie or game (or book) spoiled.
Why should we delay public discussion and the advancement of human culture just to save the sensibilities of a few people who haven’t bothered experiencing the event they’re so protective of?
It’s no hassle to warn people but I think the people who get over-defensive about spoilers for something that’s been in public for a reasonable amount (I generally think 3 months) of time are ridiculous. If they cared that much they’d have experienced it already, otherwise it’s just a casual interest and the pausing of global pop-culture is too high a price to pay for someone’s casual interest.
27/07/2010 at 13:59
Member since: Forever
I completely disagree with the “If they cared, they have experienced it by now” arguement.
Say I was only holiday while Inception came out and couldn’t see it, or I couldn’t afford a PS3 but really really wanted to play Heavy Rain. It’s not as simple as saying, if they wanted to they would have done it by now.
30/07/2010 at 18:06
Member since: Dec 2009
1. Well to be honest, I think most people know of the Luke/Vader thing by now, even if they haven’t seen it. It’s been parodied and discussed so much I think knowing about it is almost a genetic thing at this point. So your nephews more than likely already know.
27/07/2010 at 13:50
Member since: May 2009
while adding a warning may be polite, it’s your own responsibility to avoid spoilers. If people don’t want to know what happens they need to take the first step in preventing themselves from finding out. If you don’t want to know anything about Bio Shock, don’t read an article about Bio Shock 2. And for newer releases, you get 1 day to 1 month depending on the quality of the game and how big the surprise. “Would you kindly” took alot of time to spread because everyone that experienced it felt that it was important for others to discover on their own. While I try not to spoil anything for as long as possible, nobody that hasn’t bought the game yet has the right to tell people who have bought it to “wait” until they buy it too, especially after 6 months like HR. Besides everybody wants a little bit of spoiler, otherwise most of the non-porn internet wouldn’t exist… It’s like the paparazzi… everybody thinks their scum, but we all love looking at their work.
27/07/2010 at 13:53
Member since: Forever
You’re missing the point in question – the spoilers were on the site’s home page. Without a warning. They changed the excerpt now, mind, but it was there.
27/07/2010 at 14:39
Member since: May 2009
if it was on Qdreams website then I could understand, after all it’s in their best interest for sales. But if it originated from gamesradar then I still feel that 6 months for HR is a very fair time for an independent website to hold back a story spoiler. IMO as soon as you beat the game you get bragging rights, but from a journalism point of view, I say anything before the first price break should be labeled, after that time period the average person really has an excuse for not experiencing it first hand. After all if they’re so concerned about spoiling something they should have an increased sense of urgency to play it. So if you sell games be as quite as possible for as long as possible, but if you report on them, after the first price break it’s open spoiler season.
27/07/2010 at 14:43
Member since: May 2009
the average person really *has no excuse*
27/07/2010 at 14:59
Member since: Forever
@xdarkmagician: Bollocks! There was no excuse for posting it on the front page without a warning.
And Raen is the perfect example. He wants to play Heavy Rain without it being spoiled but doesn’t have a PS3 yet. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but can’t afford to get it yet.
27/07/2010 at 15:24
Member since: May 2009
after 6 months there is. While I agree not everybody has the luxury of doing everything right away, 6 months is a long time. It gives people alot of time to devise a plan, save, rent, borrow. I don’t support crime, but drug addicts really want to get high, and while not all are criminals, they all find a way to support their habit. Point is I feel sorry for anybody that has a game spoiled, but if they wanted the game enough they’d find a way. They know everyday they wait the chances of a spoiler increases, but they decide something else is more important. And as much as it sucks to accidentally read an unmarked spoiler, they still need to assume some of the blame, especially 1/2 a year after release.
27/07/2010 at 15:41
Member since: Forever
@xdarkmagician: That’s a truly atrocious analogy. Really, one of the worst I’ve heard.
You say “if they wanted the game enough they’d find a way”. What on earth does that mean? Some people either just don’t have to time or money to get it straight away, but maybe six months down the line when the price has dropped, maybe a holiday has come round, they finally have time.
If something comes without a spoiler warning, then the reader holds no blame if they read something that spoils a game. The writer holds 100% without question. If it mentions that there will be a spoiler and then it’s spoiled, then it’s there fault but that’s a rare occurrence.
27/07/2010 at 15:49
Member since: Jul 2009
I’m with djh all the way on this one.
I haven’t played Heavy Rain, yet. I’m still ploughing through titles that I need to catch up on and my PS3 died last week.
TSA staff know better than to ruin a title with a spoiler (even months after release). Why? Because they’re considerate and it takes very little effort to do so.
The website supports articles that are open to everyone and if the article itself was bound to have spoilers mentioned then the replies section could be disabled and a link to the forum thread to discuss it properly, posted.
There is only so much avoidance someone can take and the rest comes from people who think before they type.
Obviously, there’ll be in increasing inevitability that one day you’ll accidentally stumble across a major spoiler but certain measures (from both parties) can be taken to help minimise risk.
Accidents will, of course, happen…but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t all be careful regardless. Especially at a place like TSA where we have responsible grown-ups posting 99% of the time.
27/07/2010 at 15:58
Member since: May 2009
I know it’s not great, but it’s true. If you really want something, you find a way, just ask Spain. And I don’t know how long HR has been out for your country, but in mine it’s been out for 6 months. I’m not saying a warning wouldn’t been polite, but I’m sure there was a point in the article where they mentioned HR before the spoiler, and at that point somebody needs to stop reading as they have to assume there’s a spoiler coming next.
27/07/2010 at 16:06
Member since: Jul 2009
“Assumption is the mother of all f***-ups”. Terrible film, great quote.
If I read an article about Heavy Rain I don’t expect a spoiler. I take a small risk but on TSA I know it’s not a risk at all or the article will be suitably informative about a spoiler that’s about to happen.
27/07/2010 at 16:10
Member since: May 2009
@bunimomike, you just made my point, you choice is to catch up on other titles first. And you make an excellent point. You know what to expect from your gaming sites. Sites that don’t care about posting warnings should have members who don’t care about warnings , and vise versa. Which again put responsibility on the reader to be extra cautions when there at a stranger site.
27/07/2010 at 16:13
Member since: May 2009
Broken Arrow?
I always loved “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” :)
27/07/2010 at 16:14
Member since: May 2009
no wait, under siege 2
27/07/2010 at 16:14
Member since: Forever
I agree 100% with djh apart from his timings, a handful of months is all you can reasonably expect to remain spoiler free, after that the onus is on the reader to choose where to read etc to remain spoiler free
27/07/2010 at 16:44
Member since: May 2009
how long has HR been out in the UK? @CC, are you saying that after 3 months the responsibility sit mainly on the readers shoulder? Because maybe we have different release dates, Here HR is 6 months old, and no longer full price. It could just be a release thing like Demon Souls, and then the publisher should be blamed. If you think 3 months is reasonable, then 6 months has to reasonable too. And that’s what I’m saying, it’s been 6 months, it’s time for the individual to take responsibility. if thats how long it’s been out for you
27/07/2010 at 16:49
Member since: Forever
@xdarkmagician: It’s been out five months. However, you must remember that it will be receiving a Move compatibility patch so there will be a surge in sales then no doubt.
27/07/2010 at 16:50
Member since: Forever
It was released worldwide(ish) in the same week, its about 6 months old.
Yes, I’m saying that after a few months (2-3, lets say 3 for the naysayers) the responsibility falls to the reader to avoid spoilers and article writers should be free to talk about stuff within articles (never on a front page or in a headline though)
27/07/2010 at 16:50
Member since: Forever
It is NEVER the readers fault if something is spoiled unless there is a warning of spoilers. How anyone can think otherwise is beyond me.
27/07/2010 at 17:14
Member since: Forever
Easily,
After a period of time it becomes pop culture as mentioned by Cb
It’s completely inconsiderate to expect everyone to walk on egg shells around you, forever – just as inconsiderate as untagged spoilers in the first few months after release.
27/07/2010 at 17:16
Member since: Jul 2009
With you again on that one, DJH. CC makes a good point too (not implying you disagree or anything). If articles go into discussing plot points from the off then make it abundantly clear in the title that spoilers are contained herein. The page can be avoided altogether as the link will hopefully be descriptive enough. Conscientious readers can usually take care of the rest.
27/07/2010 at 17:21
Member since: May 2009
@CC, I’m not exactly sure what you’re disagreeing with me on the warnings and responsibility, or if you just against the “if you want it badly enough” idea. I think warnings should be the norm until the first price break(1-2-3 months) then the responsibility rest soley with the reader. And in this world I believe that if you want something bad enough you shouldn’t give up until you get it, if you decide that you don’t want it now, it’s because you want something else more. It boils down to priorities. I’m not saying that there aren’t things more important then HR, but when you decide that, you have to been prepared to let something slide, and it’s always going to be the advantages of buying day one, mostly wich is a fresh un-spoiled story.@djhsecondnature, I admit trickery isn’t cool, but everybody has the choice to stop reading at any time. If you have unprotected sex and catch a STD, is it you’re partners fault for not having a spoiler tag on their head, or is the blamed shared for being reckless?
27/07/2010 at 17:27
Member since: Jul 2009
Thing is, XD, the way we read (eyes/brain/scanning/page) it’s so easy to pick up on a spoiler if it hasn’t been highlighted. The simple **** SPOILER **** usually does the trick. Has done for me in IMDB.com each and everytime I read a review. The only time a film has been spoilt was when someone didn’t use any of the usual spoiler etiquettes. Inconsiderate bastard.
For me, responsibility does shift over time but that doesn’t prevent either party thinking ahead or considering people other than themselves.
27/07/2010 at 17:31
Member since: Jun 2009
@xdarkmagician – Depends whether you were warned before you entered into unprotected sex with said afllicted partner…If you weren’t warned in the first place, how could you have known that you were about to stumble onto something unwanted?? Which i guess essentially comes back to the whole spoilers debate i guess (in a roundabout way)!
27/07/2010 at 18:31
Member since: May 2009
I think we all mostly agree that sooner or later it becomes the individuals responsibility, but gaming sites also have alot of initial responsibility to keep things quite for as long as their members expect them to. And I think it’s safe to say if those members change their mind they’re going to let that site know. I going to go out with the thought that it’s still the consumer who needs to let their media outlet know what they want from their favorite game site in the terms of spoilers and procedures. If you don’t like how one site operates find a site that you do. In the end nobody cares more about preserving your game plot than you, so it’s only natural you take extra precaution, because someone else might not. It’s been a really good discussion guys, but it’s time to go :)
27/07/2010 at 19:06
Member since: Forever
We don’t all agree. It’s not about treading on eggshells. If cc were to say on twitter what happens at the end of Mass Effect 2, how is that my fault it’s been spoilt? It’s not. It’s always the spoilers fault. If they don’t think it’s should be hush hush, then that’s their right but it means they’ve spoilt something for someone else.
Like I said, it’s not about treading on eggshells. It’s about being considerate. I for one do not want to ruin the twist in Star Wars for any young kid and thus will just not talk about it around them if I know they haven’t seen it.
27/07/2010 at 20:14
Member since: Forever
The time scales are academic, GR should have put warnings on the article first and, IMO, shouldn’t have used the excerpt they did. Which is why, today, it’s been edited.
It’s a piece of piss to pre-warn with a spoiler notice, be that 1 day after release or a year. Doesn’t matter. Naff article, too, IMO again of course, which makes it even more of a pity.
27/07/2010 at 20:15
Member since: Forever
For the record, I’ve never spoiled anything, ever!
I just fundamentally disagree with your lifelong silence over discussing issues of pop culture, I just believe after ample time these things should be discussed. My view of ample time is a few months.
@nofi
The GR piece was just the starting point for the discussion, I think we can all agree an untagged spoiler on a homepage or in a headline is wrong.
27/07/2010 at 20:24
Member since: Jan 2010
@xdarkmagician
Never ever heeeyyyeeever, should spoilers just be put on a main page for everyone to instantly see.
All there need to be is: ‘Spoiler Warning’. Done. No need to debate. Its easy enough, and saves loads of people Unwittingly finding out MAJOR plot twists or endings. How would you like it if you were reading a review and mid-way through the whole game was spoiled just like that? no warning, just right there, the main part of the story. Exactly. Ruins everything. You have nothing to back yourself up about your views either.
Spoilers should be warned about, no matter what. END OF.
27/07/2010 at 22:02
Member since: May 2009
daywalker_ why’d you’d pull me back in. My point is just as valid as yours,You have nothing to back yourself up about your views either. I knew the ending to alot of games I played and loved them all, because most games are more than a story. If you don’t set a sensible timeline for eliminating spoiler tags then almost every article is going to be labeled “spoiler” and nothing will get read for months, or years later. It isn’t practical, it’s not like you grab a newspaper and on the top of some articles it says “spoiler below” or you turn on your Tv news and there’s a spoiler tag. Does the weather man says here’s the 7 day forcast, but it contains spoilers so if you’re trying not to notice the weather, please turn away? Look at Shakespeare, everybody knows how romeo and juliet ends but they still go to the plays. Everybody knew how ep III was going to end… da-da-dada… but we all watched it. I wish nofi would do a pole to see what more people think, and to see how many people actually know the HR secret.
28/07/2010 at 00:03
Member since: Forever
@xdarkmagician: If you insist on continuing to use analogies, use actual, relevant analogies.
27/07/2010 at 15:01
Member since: Mar 2009
I don’t really agree with the “If you care you would have played/seen it by now”. That’s ignoring a lot of different things like cash and time. There are games I’ve missed out on since I could not afford them and films I haven’t got round to for several reasons. I still care, I just haven’t been able to play/watch them.
I think for most games spoilers should always be tagged, it isn’t difficult to add. To discuss a game like Heavy Rain publicly it ideally needs to be around 6-12 months with the latter fairer but still should be tagged.
27/07/2010 at 15:36
Member since: May 2009
But alot of people that wait 6 months to buy a game probably bought something else that wasn’t a necessity for life. Beer, dining out, music. There’s usually something else people put first that they think they need right away and rationalise it by saying “I’ve waited 4 months what’s another month going to hurt”
27/07/2010 at 15:47
Member since: Mar 2009
I may have chosen to spend my money to go out with friends rather than on a game but that doesn’t make me care less if that game is spoiled. If I can’t afford a game and I’ve had to wait a few months until I had the money to spare then I deserve the game not to be spoiled as much as the person who bought it on release day. A simple spoiler tag is all that’s needed.
27/07/2010 at 16:24
Member since: Jun 2009
I have to say that i agree with Colin. I am currently playing through Heavy Rain with my fiancee (who insists on my not playing it when she is not around) – As situations where we both have free time to invest in it are pretty few & far between, i have unfortunately not gotten very far through the story. I would not expect it to be spoiled for either me or her purely because someone was not thinking about what they were writing/saying or was inconsiderate enough not to care.
I am pretty savvy about where to go & where not to, but i would like to think that someone would at least warn of a potential spoiler.
27/07/2010 at 16:29
Member since: May 2009
I’m not saying you don’t care, or that you shouldn’t be allowed an un-spoiled game, just that after the first price drop you’re on your own, so be cautious.
28/07/2010 at 00:19
Member since: Apr 2010
How are you meant to be cautious if you have no idea it is going to happen? Without a spoiler tag you have no idea what you are about to read is going to ruin it for you. That’s like saying be cautious of your plane crashing, how are you meant to know it is going to happen until it has happened? I think that until something has crossed into widespread common knowledge, it is polite to check. Unless it is truly something EVERYONE knows, I still check with people if they have seen something if I want to discuss plot twists, even old films!
27/07/2010 at 15:55
Member since: Nov 2008
Ive had tonnes of stuff spoiled for me. For me personally it is the most infuriating thing the internet has to offer.
Saying steer clear in some cases is impossible, particularly in the world of Twitter. You read your feed and then BAM! Spoiled.
Lucky for me Heavy Rain hasnt been spoiled yet and i wasnt willing to spend £40 on a game that really is only worth a single playthrough (which tonnes of people did in one day). How old is Heavy Rain now?
The good thing is that round here (TSA) most people have a bit of sense to put “**SPOILER**” in the topic title or at the start.
Kudos to those people and keep it up.
I will always be careful to not spoil things for up to about 6 or 7 months for games, half that for movies, and with sports being live i will talk about them as they happen… conversations about sports while they are happening are the best conversations.
I dont expect people to agree with my general ruling but I do feel that is quite generous really. Dont you?
27/07/2010 at 15:59
Member since: Jun 2009
I feel once the spoiler/twist is out in the general air of things its ok to mention it. I have never got round to watching the sixth sense but i know the twist, so i guess the longer the its been out the more you can reveal
27/07/2010 at 16:20
Member since: May 2009
Don’t they get a shot of tequila and faint?
27/07/2010 at 16:29
Member since: Jun 2009
Now you may have ruined it for everyone else now
27/07/2010 at 16:38
Member since: May 2009
Shit. Should have put *SPOILER*
27/07/2010 at 16:53
Member since: Jun 2009
Maybe re-read the article
27/07/2010 at 17:17
Member since: Jul 2009
Please tell me we’re not in spoiler territory here. :-\