Why Partnernet Is A PR Nightmare For Microsoft
Prompted by the recent reports about Ikaruga coming to Xbox Live Arcade - formally written up by both Eurogamer and by Computer & Video Games, I thought I'd write a brief post on Partnernet and why it's just a bit of a horror for, well, anyone releasing games for XBLA and hoping to keep them under wraps.
The way it works is this - all Xbox 360 debug kits have a Dashboard executable on them, and on that, you can set yourself up with a Xbox Live account under a name of your choice (the 'Partnernet' version of Xbox Live runs completely separately to the release version), and then go online to check out and test games and add-ons. We have a debug Xbox 360 in the Game Developer/Gamasutra office, and many other members of the press have them, but the contents of the Partnernet download area is NDA-ed - you're not allowed to discuss it. So we're not.
One of the problems for Xbox 360 developers is that, if they want to test downloading for something (say, add-on map packs for retail games, or XBLA games themselves), then they need to put it on Partnernet using their game name. At which point, because Microsoft currently has no screening across this debug network, all the other developers and press people in the world can also download that file - even if they allegedly can't discuss it.
And most of the time, they don't, but after a recent podcast cited on NeoGAF mentioned that Ikaruga was playable on Partnernet, apparently both Tom Bramwell at Eurogamer and Andy Robinson at C&VG booted up their debugs to check, and then ran stories about it. I sorta thought that... wasn't allowed? They seem to have got away with it, but C&VG had a story about JetPac Refuelled removed, also citing Partnernet - presumably taken down because Rare reads C&VG and Treasure doesn't.
Anyhow, there are even shadowier figures who I'm guessing got X360 debugs as part of Microsoft's community outreach, but see no need to honor NDAs - DaKing240 from Xbox360Achievements.org has recently been posting lists of new games as they arrive on Partnernet, which I'm sure is not what Microsoft would want when some are unfinished and many are unconfirmed.
What I'd like to see is a press-facing part of Partnernet where preview builds of games can be uploaded with full knowledge of developers, thus enabling announced games to get officially previewed and appreciated - while cutting out this nonsense about developers not knowing that 'confused' press will leak info on their Xbox 360 game. I strongly suspect it's stopping some developers from uploading and perhaps even testing stuff over Partnernet, esp. for unannounced games, and that's a shame. [Obviously, the reason no change has been made yet is that Partnernet is not architected that way. Still...]
Comments
I find the whole NDA-for-every-damn-thing aspect of the game industry distasteful, but it's probably important anyhow.
However, it is the job of the press, ANY press, to break news, not keep it quiet. The fact that the gaming press often gets access to news long before they're supposed to print it smacks a bit of collusion.
Maybe this is just the obnoxious libertarian in me speaking, but I find it difficult to see how one can justify being in the gaming press AND signing an NDA.
Maybe there is something intrinsic about game development that requires the people who write about it, supposedly keeping their readers best interests in mind, to keep information from those readers, but somehow I don't think so. Correct me if I'm wrong someone.
That said, if Microsoft gives debug X-boxes to game press members then they are basically asking for leaks, NDAs or not. Remember: three can keep a secret if two are dead.
Posted by: John H. | February 15, 2007 7:04 PM
So, uh, wait, what's stopping developers and publishers from logging on to see what everyone else is up to? I mean, sure, they can't discuss it in public, but surely the NDA doesn't prevent them from taking the information into account when they're planning marketing strategies and so on... does it? I mean, how could it?
Posted by: Shih Tzu | February 15, 2007 7:38 PM
John H - I agree with you, actually. This weirdness with Partnernet is more or less the only situation I can think of where I know something but can't talk about.
On the rare other occasions we have embargoed information, it tends to be because it's for a print article that's going live soon, or it's info that we get immediately before a dated embargo date, and get it a little early so we can write up a story on it or do an interview. I don't consider either of those things too terrible.
As for Shih Tzu's point - that's correct, other developers and publishers can see your games too if you put them on PartnerNet. That's why only XBLA games that are close to release tend to appear on there too, I'm guessing.
Posted by: simonc | February 15, 2007 7:44 PM
Hey, I am not that shadowy once you get to know me. Either way, I was under the impression that strictly posting PartnerNet games was allowed so long as I did not reveal any aspects of the game. However, Microsoft tends to disagree and asked me to remove the post. Either way, my goal with the PartnerNet updates was to give some insight to the one area that Microsoft seems to be lacking, which in my opinion is Xbox Live Arcade and communication.
Posted by: DaKing240 | February 15, 2007 8:13 PM
Ah, wasn't trying to attack you there SimonC, just airing a beef about the game press that's bothered me for a while now.
Lots of people complain about game magazines and the big game news sites, about how they're basically hype machines up until the very moment of review.
0But no one's trying to figure out how it's turned out this way, or how to fix it other than to suggest things like "New Games Journalism." Well, it seems obvious to me that this is part of it.
Posted by: John H. | February 16, 2007 2:52 AM
I freelance with a magazine that aren't afraid of publishing the latest Preminet games. It is a fact I am proud of.
We are media. We are (trying to become) journalists.
As John H. mentioned, it is our job to break the news. Microsoft doesn't like that? Then they need to filter Preminet. But as long as it is open-ended, it is the medias job to report about it.
We don't belong to the game industry, we cover them. Wether they like it or not.
Posted by: Naseer | February 16, 2007 8:11 AM
are you kidding? the game press has a responsibility to break news?
this isn't important stuff. it's entertainment news. and games will get announced one way or another. a non-working version of ikaruga has been on partnernet for months...
naseer's post just makes me laugh. sorry naseer, but you're not a corageous journalist bravely charging into the killing fields to bring back vital news to the rest of the world. it's fucking lists of video games.
the way the games press works and has worked is always in cooperation with PR. this is because the games press needs access. does it overreach sometimes? of course. this is veering off topic and i could write a huge amount of stuff on this one, but whenever i see people getting self-righteous about the fact that games writers aren't journalists and collude too much with PR, at this point in my career, i mostly shake my head and laugh.
Posted by: ferricide | October 19, 2007 1:04 PM