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Controversial GT5 Video Exposes A Bias At Kotaku?

First of all, we'll make this very clear: we are making no statements or comments concerning Kotaku's perceived bias. This is merely a report based on the recent blowup concerning a supposedly doctored Gran Turismo 5 video that has led to Sony fans questioning the major site's objectivity.

It all started with a GT5 video posted at Kotaku that put some extremely long load times on display. Immediately, however, some viewers noticed a few inconsistencies, which in turn raised the first questions concerning the possibility that Kotaku fiddled with the video in order to portray GT5 in a negative light. Then, gamers everywhere began to argue and discuss, which resulted in more articles, like the one at Game Newser that essentially calls out Kotaku for its perceived slant against Sony. The article mentions several recent articles on GT5, including "Europe's GT5 Collector's Edition Is Insanely Expensive" and "So Gran Turismo 5 Isn't Done Yet." We actually saw the latter but as the content of the article didn't appear to mean much of anything, we didn't consider it newsworthy. As for the other headline…well, one could argue for an obvious bias but we have to be fair; Kotaku is often unorthodox when assigning titles to their articles.

The problem is that many gamers around the web are starting to connect this new development with ongoing whispers that Kotaku has always held a bit of a grudge against Sony and the PlayStation 3. Many have posted up examples of this evident slant in forums all over the Internet and we do remember some of our readers making similar claims about Kotaku in the past. But again, we make no accusations and offer no commentary. We'll let you guys handle that.

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Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Avoid GTPlanet

Go to Gran Turismo's official site
Just google it

kraygen
kraygen
14 years ago

As far as I know, no us release date has been given, but the game just came out last month in japan, so probly not until spring at the earliest for us, which is sad.

sirbob6
sirbob6
14 years ago

@Karygen
They already said it'd be arriveing this fall, November I belive.

kraygen
kraygen
14 years ago

give us a link to that info, because I couldn't find it anywhere.

marcusfrommo
marcusfrommo
14 years ago

nighthawk, nighthawk, do you know where i can get the english subtitled version off gatchaman? i heard the uncensored version is or can be pretty intense. and is the subtitled version more like today's manga, like a soap opera? or is it like american's version of justice league? please if you have any info, please respond. thank you.

Nynja
Nynja
14 years ago

I'm not pointing any fingers, but check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isNbJJBxW0U&feature=player_embedded#!

It's the original video footage and normal speed. Take note the length of the video.

Now if you watch the Kotaku video, fast forward to 3:20 seconds. What time does the audio cut out?

Someone doctored the video. They slowed down the video playback but were not able to adjust the audio.


Last edited by Nynja on 8/10/2010 11:04:51 PM

Dealnightfire
Dealnightfire
14 years ago

Kotaku is showing really bad journalism. The video is slowed for sure but since the video itself is being question on if it has been tampered with a definitive statement can not be made either way.
The poor journalism comes with the fact that they can update the title to make the article to be more of a question but yet the title is still "Video Shows Gran Turismo 5 Has Painfully Slow Load Times [Update 2]". So even though the video is in question =, Kotaku still has made up their mind that the video is real and the load times are genuine. The headline is biased and shows the nature of that considering they have changed headlines before.
It makes me sad that wouldn't at least try to preserve some credibility.

NoSmokingBandit
NoSmokingBandit
14 years ago

Even during the races the vid is slowed down, you can tell from the timer on the right.

I've done a few youtube videos, including building a video from scratch in iMovie (i know… but i cant afford Final Cut). Not one of them has been slowed down by any interference. Nor has any other video on youtube. Often the audio and video will not sync up, but nobody in their right mind will believe a video spontaneously decides to slow itself down. Pretending it did is an insult to everyone's intelligence.

I actually used to read Kotaku to catch up on news that PSXE doesnt post (mostly wii and pc stuff), but it seems that all Gawker sites are going downhill fast. Lifehacker seems to be the only one worth reading these days.

NoSmokingBandit
NoSmokingBandit
14 years ago

*Timer at the top

Its been a long day.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

What is this imovie you speak of? I would like to make movies of some sort. I've only ever made one AMV in my life and I think I used some MS piece of trash to make it.

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

I should be surprised but I'm not. Unfortunantly this isn't beneath those fanboy Xbots over at Kotaku or any other Xbot website. I never liked Kotaku and this just adds to the reasons.

Sir Shak
Sir Shak
14 years ago

There's nothing supposed about it, Ben. The video is definitely doctored.

hellish_devil
hellish_devil
14 years ago

I mean, who cares??? This kotaku article is supposed to go to the xbots, who won't be able to buy the game anyway. And Sony fans know best than kotaku, so it really doesn't matter.

Anyway, I'll get this game eventually, next year maybe. Also I was thinking… how can trophies for a GT be?? I think getting a platinum would be really hard and/or time consuming


Last edited by hellish_devil on 8/10/2010 11:30:47 PM

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Who cares? Real game journalists do, as well as "serious" gamers.

This kind of BS should not be tolerated

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

OK, this smells of three day old kippers that have been left in the sun too long. Not only is the video that Kotaku obviously slower in general than it should be by about 40%, it slows even more during the loading screen. Seriously, it makes GT5 look utterly ponderous.

No offense to the guys and gals over at Kotaku, but there is no excuse for this. You could see just from the lap time as they run the lap that the lap clock runs too slowly. Did no one see this fundamental problem? Worse than that, the video slows further during the loading screen and damn if it doesn't sound like the sound was doctored with so it didn't sound like it had been slowed. The modification to the video is so obvious and clearly intended to cause a problem, I can't see how the folks at Kotaku can claim that this was an accident. Either they are crack addled robots who publish the first sensational crap that comes in to generate hits, or they are are biased as can be and are taking out their frustrations on the PS3.

Considering the recent piece on Ars Technica about PS3 firmware updates by Ben Kuchera, someone who I used to consider was a balanced 'journalist', it seems that the gaming and tech media is winding up into another round of Anti-Sony bias and Microsoft sycophancy so that Kinect can have a successful launch.

Whatever the reasons, Kotaku needs to just apologize for it, post a retraction and post an undoctored video.

Pathetic what passes for journalism these days.


Last edited by TheHighlander on 8/10/2010 11:56:07 PM

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

The Eye of the Moron…?

Maybe my article on game journalism mirroring internet stupidity was prophetic.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

The Eye of Moron.

Definitely.

Sad isn't it?

All hail the all seeing prophet Ben of Dukta…

😉

Seriously, I think you may well have called it with that editorial.


Last edited by TheHighlander on 8/11/2010 12:55:15 AM

telly
telly
14 years ago

I think you touch on exactly what the issue is here — Internet journalists react so quickly, are so hellbent on getting content out ASAP and scooping the competition that mistakes like this get made. No sensible person thinks Brian Ashcraft twirled his mustache, laughed, and said "now's my chance to undermine Sony!" and post a video he knew was tampered with. I know, as a former reporter myself, the insane pressure everyone is under to get stories, updates, content in general online ASAP. Waiting five minutes too long on something hot may well mean your competition posts it before you do. And then you're screwed.

I just hope all journalists, especially in the alarmingly reactive and subjective video game journalism realm, take note of this and realize they need to THINK before they post something like this. Journalism 101 — verify the truth of what someone is telling you. Some kid sends you a video that he claims shows GT5 running at subpar levels? You MUST verify the video is real before committing libel against Sony. Boom.

Man, I should be a reporter again 🙂

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

@Telly,

I'd agree with you except for the really, really, really poor way they have handled the fall out and obvious reveal that the video is at very least wrong. Instead of simply saying, yes folks we screwed up, they've posted that they asked Sony for comment and then left it open. That's not the way a responsible journalist reacts to posting obviously false information, is it?

telly
telly
14 years ago

It seems to me they're doing now what they should have done the first time — before making proclamations one way or the other about anything, confirm with Sony, directly, that the video is tampered with. Crazy as it sounds in this case, you shouldn't run a correction until you are 100 percent straight on the facts. Let's give them a little more time and see what happens. If this doesn't get resolved soon, then yes, we have a major journalism failure here. Potentially more concerned with saving face than getting the facts straight. It's interesting stuff, tosay the least.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

I have to disagree again simply because of their own words.

From Kotaku's updated article "Update 2: We asked Sony about the theories that the video has been doctored to show slower load times. A spokesperson told us that no one on the GT5 product team in the U.S. had witnessed load times as slow as the one depicted in the video posted here. "

Now, if that had been the end of it, great, we could have waited for more information, but no, they go on…

"Has the video been altered? Was there something up with that build of GT5 that day? Does the game load its tracks that slowly?"

The first question is a good one, and it's possible it was not. However why ask the second and third questions? All they do is add further confusion.

The last point I would make is that if they have watched the video through, when the player drives the track and the lap time counter is running, you can run your own stop watch and see the time differential clearly demonstrating that the video is too slow. There is no need to contact Sony and ask them about a video they didn't publish. There is no need to ask rhetorical questions about the game. all that's needed is to say, "Yep, we re-watched the viedo and it's clearly not playing at the right speed, the lap time display clearly demonstrates that. Sorry guys, we were wrong."

If they want to be 100% sure, 5 minutes with a watch and the video playing on a PC should be sufficient.

telly
telly
14 years ago

I see what you're saying. I think those final questions they posted onto the update were just to stirrup the comments section, but I do think they are fair questions — was this video actually altered by some d-bag out there? Or was this a real video from an earlier, much slower build of the game? I do agree with you that it seems clear Kotaku presented the video as an accurate reflection of the "true" build of the game (read: the current, near-final build that's dropping jaws) when there's no reason at all to think it is.

telly
telly
14 years ago

And to be clear, they should note that they were wrong here posting it in the first place. Honest mistake, I'm sure, but a mistake nonetheless and one that could have been easily avoided.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

You're right, it could have been an honest mistake. That's the saddest part though, they could have handled it so differently, and didn't.

BlackBriar
BlackBriar
14 years ago

The Kotaku article(s) were clearly Bad Journalism, Its that simple! and got called out on it, Bravo! Nevertheless GT5 will be amazing, And come this November the whole world will know about it.

johnld
johnld
14 years ago

kotaku biased? this was new? even their community is filled with 360 fanboys. i stated some facts about a picture on the site and i got bombarded with fanboys calling me an idiot…..for pointing out something that was very clear in the picture.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Kotaku is like many gaming site, it is largely populated by the eye of Moron's minions who will always react with hostility to any dissenting view, no matter how valid, accurate, factual or sensible it is.

Robochic
Robochic
14 years ago

Not suprised by this websites bad taste of fanboyish ways. If people want "REAL gaming journalism" I direct them right here and I have had tons of friends say how much they love this site, also direct them to the playstation mag as well if they don't have the access to internet (friends all work nights)

this kind of crap makes any form of gaming journalism look horrible i think this website needs to write an appology letter to everyone including sony for their stupid behavior. we all know that won't happen!

RebelJD
RebelJD
14 years ago

Racing fans, PS3 supporters, and everyone else who can't live without the best product, better make this game a MEGA hit. It's one thing for a product to be critically acclaimed, but it's another for it to be a mega hit. Either more people need to be able to get their hands on a PS3 or more need to convert over. Uncharted 2 and God of War 3 should have done double-triple the numbers they have. Will Gran Turismo 5 fall in the same line as those games? Or will people finally start crazing over the PS3? Let's hope they craze.

That Kotaku video is lame. I don't understand why a team would deliberately try to make a product look bad. The whole "I told you so" scheme is child's play. People need to grow up and act their age or get their ass kicked. Simple as that.

Xombito
Xombito
14 years ago

@Highlander. I read that article on Arse Tech. It was simply a rant that no jounalistic value. We all know updates aren't even as as bad as that "article" states. Heck, it even teaches the reader to be less patient and not manage his time.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

The writer of that piece used to be relatively fair and objective, but has become more and more blatantly biased over the last couple of years. It's a crying shame because Ars Technica used to be a great place to go for tech and gaming news.

As for the firmware thing, some of the problems people have with downloading from PSN seems to stem – at least in some cases – from ISP traffic shaping like what Comcast does to slow down or break peer to p2p and torrent sharing. Seems that some ISPs have a bad case of anti-PS3 bias too.

However since Sony is obviously trying to do incremental updates, worrying about them should be a thing of the past now.


Last edited by TheHighlander on 8/11/2010 3:00:12 AM

___________
___________
14 years ago

oh the irony!
let the conspiracy theories begin!

Underdog15
Underdog15
14 years ago

Let's hear your most recent. I'm up for your daily 11am or 11:15am theories if you like. Today I'll have to pass on your noon-hour conspiracy theories, however.

I think the issue is that you don't know what a conspiracy theory is. The problem going on here isn't about whether a particular site is out to get us. It's about how the video is clearly altered, and if a site claims to have journalistic integrity, they need to find an actual WORKING video.

Go watch the video, for crap's sake.

The next issue with Kotaku and this video is the fact that they are not being responsible about the update. They just simply aren't being 100% honest. Maybe the video's issue isn't their fault, fine. But they need to make the journalistic adjustments to set the story straight. That, they are not doing, which is why many of us are ticked at them. Any professional news site will come back with updated items stating that the previously reported facts were actually not accurate, and they would do all they can to get the real facts.

Kotaku just goes on record saying, "Oh, something might be wrong with it, but we can't tell. Anyways, it's not even our video, so…" So basically, their integrity is shot because they have a potentially shoddy video even they aren't sure of, but they aren't going through the steps to find one that is good. Similarly, they haven't adjusted their article title or information enough. They still claim without a doubt that the video is cheese, but then later have a disclaimer saying, oh by the way, it might be bad, but whatever…

Basically, they're telling us they don't care if it's true or false.

It's not a conspiracy theory… it's amateurish journalism.


Last edited by Underdog15 on 8/11/2010 10:16:51 AM

___________
___________
14 years ago

so?
why get your knickers in a knot over something so stupid!?
honestly, they could say GT5 has graphics like sonic 2 for all i care!
if people are stupid enough to believe that video is real time than they deserve everything they get.

Underdog15
Underdog15
14 years ago

Well then… I guess journalistic integrity is irrelevant then… /sarcasm/

There is so much wrong with everything you say… ever. and ever. eternally wrong! lol

First of all… of all people to make a snide comment about conspiracy theorists…

Secondly, you dismiss a lack of journalistic integrity with a statement that essentially translates to, "If people are dumb enough to believe it, they deserve to hear shoddy news stories." What's wrong with your hydrocarbon fried brain? What's funny, is that you are a victim of your own way of thinking. How many times have we all had to sift through the swamp that is your thoughts? How many inaccurate "truths" have you sputtered here now that are entirely unfactually based?

So basically, you would suggest that if people are relatively gullible, they deserve to be lied to by journalists? I just don't get your porous and tangled way of thinking, man… It's like a thought pops into your head, and you spew without thinking through the logistics of anything…

ARG!!!!

Kai200X
Kai200X
14 years ago

Kotaku is my 2nd most visited site after PSX and it's well known their main guy Brian whoever his last name is don't like Sony. I watched his segment on GT talking about God of War III and he said he's not very excited about the game… hmm okay whatever. Then again on GT talking about this year's E3 and he thought M$ did better than Sony? Wow! Talk about bias. So there you have it.

Underdog15
Underdog15
14 years ago

I don't think Microsoft did better than anyone… I'm not into water rafting on my carpet. Why couldn't they just show off this years XBOX rpg's or something interesting besides shooters?

RadioHeader
RadioHeader
14 years ago

Bullsh*ttery is the sincerest form of flattery.

Kiryu
Kiryu
14 years ago

Microsoft's scared.Gran Turismo 5 will sell millions!

Snaaaake
Snaaaake
14 years ago

Ok, as if something like that is gonna stop me from buying GT5, EVEN IF IT'S REAL! But hell no, think Yama is gonna make a half-assed product?

I'm sure PD have used the delay to add in new stuff as well as polishing it.

I'm sure more articles about this is coming.
I can already see the headline, "GT5 sufferring the same loading problem with Modnation Racer?"

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

The thing is, there is no "even if it is real", because it's not, it was faked.

Snaaaake
Snaaaake
14 years ago

Lol, true.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Sorry, I should correct, I shouldn't say it was faked, but the video is clearly wrong, and the article is false. That's a bit more accurate. Wouldn't want to cause any accusations of bias on my part… 😉

Mavfan321
Mavfan321
14 years ago

Kotaku, IGN, Gamespot, AMERICA, get in line, the bias against Sony and PS3 this gen is ridiculous. I will put it this way when PS1 and PS2 were around they were king of the castle (especially PS2 of course essentially as successful as a home console needs to be) PS3 comes and for some reason so did the hate due mostly to it being 600 bucks when people already owned 360's. There 360's all broke twice and yet they decided instead of investing in a quality machine (which at the start wasn't at full potential) with a failure rate not nearly as high, they decided to pledge allegiance, as did gaming companies (shitty ports, to ok ports even my favorite current game and maybe this gen SSF4 is a port of the 360 version) due to Sony's bad jump out of the gate. Now we can say we have all these exclusives etc… and Xbots which have also infiltrated gaming media have their argument of Live and Halo Gears of War etc… And so a bias is created when in fact there are merits to owning all systems of a generation, hell Dreamcast was an all out failure eventually but it's very much a system worth owning. I think the main problem with the Anti Sony (PS3) media bias isn't so much just that it's a bias, it's bad media, fair and balanced even in gaming media is the way to go, of course some specialty sites exist but even Ben always shows his love for Gears and such, no bias needed he enjoys the games, that's what it's all about games in spite of the system they are on. Kotaku is pretty much the most biased site out there however as their reporting is completely unprofessional and have gone as far as having blatant homosexual images posted along with minor PS3 news. It's a shame.

JackC8
JackC8
14 years ago

You can see from the comparison of the two videos that the text scrolling across the top of the screen is going at very different speeds. In the bottom video it takes about 7 seconds for the text to scroll all the way across, in the top video, well over 13. And that's just the portion of the screen you can see. And the people in the background are obviously moving in slow motion.

Pretty pathetic. But I guess that's just how pathetic some people's lives are – nothing better to do than doctor videos of games. And then "report" on it. Oh well, GT5 is pre-ordered and I've never been to that kotaku website.

dante_zero
dante_zero
14 years ago

having played gran turismo 5 i think i should chip my two cents in. Regardless of wether the video is a fake, GT5 does have some loading times depending on the track you play. I noticed that it took longer to load Nurenburg track that it did with the Rome circuit. However i will say that GT5 has the best graphics of any game to date period and the short wait for the track to load becomes irrelevant as soon as you start the race. Believe me when i say GT5 really is THAT GOOD. Haters will hate and spectors will speculate but regardless of fanboyism once GT5 the finished product is released it will stand up for itself against stupid flame wars and baised sites. (here's looking at you destructiod,eurogamer cough cough).

If anyones is interested when i attended the beta rooms event i was allowed to record footage of GT5 on my phone which wasent the greatest quality but the footage i posted on youtube is raw and unedited. i even tried filming through the 3D specs although it didnt seem to work too much. If you are interested in having a look at the footage i took unedited check out my youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/theordinaryukgamer and make out for yourself what you think of the footage i took of the game. I state my reputation as a ninja gamer that the stuff i recorded of GT5 is unedited and you will probably see that from the noise going on around me while recording.


Last edited by dante_zero on 8/11/2010 8:27:29 AM

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

LOL! The Nordschleife course is by far the longest track in the game at more than 12 miles long. It's not really a surprise it takes longer top load than others.

Arvis
Arvis
14 years ago

I friggin love that track. Most fun in the game, by far.

One of my favorite memories of GT4 was racing my girlfriend two laps around the Nurburgring, the race was so close, she beat me by 1.5 seconds. I let her have the Supra to take me on in a factory Volvo S4 sedan.

It was hilariously awesome fun, giving myself a handicap like that on an intense course where I could take advantage with my superior driving skills, but then she kept it close enough to always close the gap on that mile-long straightaway with the Supra's superior speeds.

Man… good times.

-Arvis


Last edited by Arvis on 8/11/2010 11:16:29 AM

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

I always thought that was one of the crowning achievements on the PS2. A complete implementation of that 12.9 mile stretch of awesome in 1080i on a console with 32MBB of RAM, and no HDD so the entire track was streamed from the DVD. A console that wasn't supposed to be able to do anything HD, or even do progressive scan (older models). Yet my original phat PS2 from eons ago ran it perfectly. Superb.

JackC8
JackC8
14 years ago

Nice video – thanks for posting that! I'm very glad they went back to having the car rotating while you choose what color you want, instead of Prologue where you were getting those tight shots of the roof and stuff. Didn't like that at all 🙂