Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has continued to publicly discuss the Borderlands 2 leak by Eurogamer, over the social networking site Twitter.
He started by referring to Ars Technica writer Ben Kuchera, before directly addressing him and his comments overnight about the remarks made by Pitchford.
“Hey Ben Kuchera,” he said, “you missed my point and twisted my meaning. Breaking a story is fine! But do it legitimately!”
He also referenced the current ongoing hacking scandal at various UK press newspapers. “But, well… News of the World,” he continued, “that’s where uncouth journalistic practices lead us. You are better than that!”
But here’s where it gets interesting.
It appears, from a couple of later tweets from Pitchford, that an NDA was broken. “The point: Where’s the line? If it’s broken NDA’s or cell phone hacking, the intent and cost to integrity is real,” he said.
When Ben asked Randy what was illegitimate about Eurogamer’s story, he replied that “the only thing illegitimate that I know of was the manner through which information was passed to unauthorized parties.”
“The only thing I am disappointed in is that a journalist we trusted betrayed that trust. Everything else is legit and fair game. Game on!”
So what’s going on?
Whichever, we still think Borderlands 2 will be great…
Gamoc
Ah, gaming’s very own journalistic scandal. Isn’t this just validating? You know you’re big when you get proper scandals.
Anyway, if Eurogamer intentionally broke an NDA they deserve all the abuse that’s thrown at them, as far as I’m concerned.
Kovacs
*IF* they broke an NDA (and this can be unequivocally proven), that’s bad news for EG.
nofi
It’s all just a big marketing PR spin, right?
Kovacs
Honestly wouldn’t surprise me.
Porcupine_I
the question is who does he refer to with the broken NDA?
EG or the mysterious “source”
nofi
I presume it’s the source. EG wouldn’t break an NDA like this without having more of a bang to the article.
Kovacs
Technically any source who speaks to a journalist about an unannounced game is automatically breaking an NDA. Games industry employment contracts are THICK with NDAs.
I read it that EG broke the NDA. It is all very murky, however. If Yin-Poole mysteriously vanishes, you know which one it was.
MayContainEvil
Who is in the wrong here we can’t know, though I really find it hard to sympathise with Randy Pitchfork, he comes across as such an obtuse twat.
embryo69
It’s all publicity for Gearbox. Their name and Borderlands2 has been banded around shit loads in the last few days.
MrSpeedyGonzales
Ummm what’s a NDA?
Kovacs
Non-Disclosure Agreement. A legally binding document you sign that states you WILL NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB*!.
*Something you are being shown under the context that you can’t talk about it.
MrSpeedyGonzales
Ok, thank you! :)
moshi
My exact thoughts.
Rocket_345
I was wondering what it stood for. I knew that it was something legal.
Hoopiness
So, someone broke an NDA? Why should EG care as long as it wasn’t them?
TheChaosGamer
Oops, somebodies in trouble…
colmshan1990
IF, and it’s a big IF, Eurogamer broke an NDA, then fuck them, because that is shoddy journalism.
On the other hand, if it was just one loose-lipped Gearbox employee who spoke to the wrong publication, it’s not Eurogamer’s fault.
Of course, if an NDA applied to Eurogamer, then that means they knew the game was real, not a rumour, and then they really shouldn’t have run the story as it did break a NDA. If they didn’t sign the NDA, well, maybe Gearbox should have approached one of the biggest gaming sites on the internet and made them sign one months ago…
Hoopiness
This makes it sound, to me, like someone else broke an NDA and leaked to EG (the unauthorised party):
“When Ben asked Randy what was illegitimate about Eurogamer’s story, he replied that ‘the only thing illegitimate that I know of was the manner through which information was passed to unauthorized parties.'”
I suppose you could read it as the public being the unauthorised parties. I don’t though.