What Sort Of Reviews Will The Pandora Get?

[Phawx]

Ah the Good Doktor toying with us all. What DreamCast game is it again... oh that's right. I remember what you said it was.

 

[Zeno Arrow]

As a member of the press I would support the Pandora's being sent to users, some of whom will potentially be developers, before the press.

With all due respect, I doubt the team would be considering sending press/review Pandoras to media sources that wouldn't be drawing in a big enough crowd. Engadget, Gizmodo, popular Linux magazines, popular tech/gadget magazines, etc... Not referring to you gadgetoid but if anyone who wants a free Pandora just because they have their own blog is going to be disappointed.

Press coverage at this early stage makes sense (even if it just mildly increases the size of the second batch). If someone wanted to getting a first batch Pandora they should have ordered when they had the chance or think themselves extremely lucky if the get one of the 200-300 available from the first batch.

 

[TheGoodDoktor]

Ah the Good Doktor toying with us all. What DreamCast game is it again... oh that's right. I remember what you said it was.

Sorry my post was misleading. I wasn't implying anything.
I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

 

[Zeno Arrow]

I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

Linux stuff on the go (Firefox, etc...), PS1 emu, Pandora Panic to show off the enthusiasm of the community. The rest of the impressive stuff might have to have a 'Coming Soon' status. These sorts of comparisons may turn a few heads too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HhIt8A-d34

 

[Phawx]

Ah the Good Doktor toying with us all. What DreamCast game is it again... oh that's right. I remember what you said it was.

Sorry my post was misleading. I wasn't implying anything.
I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

 

[audovoice]

Worst console ever.

Klingon was not included as a supported language option.
The cardboard box that the Pandora comes in I found to be poor presentation next to my unopened mint condition Super Nintendo, and Sega PDA; a system so rare that it only sold three units.
And lastly I ask you, when will the gaming industry make a key pad for those in need of a roomier grip?

 

[gadgetoid]

anyone who wants a free Pandora just because they have their own blog is going to be disappointed.

Engadget are out, then, ha ha!

And I'm inclined to agree with you there, also. Bunk review sample requests from inexperienced nobodies fill up PR-bod inboxes like spam mail. Of course, I don't "just have my own blog" so it's not that which worries me.

With a project like Pandora, where a massive marketing budget simply does not exist, they will, of course, favor those sites that are categorically more popular... and most probably the ones they've heard of. It's a shame, really, because most magazine journalists and large sites are unlikely to avidly follow the Pandora and act like a community site.

I would actually like to find a couple of reliable guys from the community to run a Pandora section on Gadgetoid, even if I can't personally be a part of it. Communities are a nice thing to support/follow and a good source of return readership.

 

[Svartalf]

I reckon the folk at Engadget will be all like :wub:

Heh... They'll have trouble using it because of them needing to wipe the drool off of it constantly...

QUOTE

On the whole though, I think the common thread between reviews will be "huge potential, niche market." That'll be early on though. If the device starts to draw the interest of biggish software development teams, the tech press will realise that it's so much more than a GP2X-like oddity.


It might be very early on, but if you have titles that'd just crush the other near-term competition and pulverize the current crop of handhelds, it's going to be a bit different indeed. I'm hopeful to hand off a few useful things and sweet-talk a few indies out of port projects, some that just need an ARM build, some that need a bit of work (though not all that much...).

In one a sentence: A really great gaming device , which is sadly to hard to use for beginners in Linux.

Considering that you won't know it's running Linux unless you're doing a power-user type action on it or you're developing against it as a target, I think not.

SCREW THAT!
I am one of those people hoping to get my hands on one of the extra 200-300 hundred.

That's the magazines getting units already pre-ordained for them that're not in the alloted first run counts. It makes quite a bit of sense, really, if you think of it that way.

Sorry my post was misleading. I wasn't implying anything.
I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

I don't think it's going to be any one app. If you get the permission to push your port out the door, I've a suspicion since it's a top-rated DC title, it's going to be one of them, yes. I'm hopeful the few I'm working on right now will be in that same set, but I'm a bit nervous going up against such stiff competition...

 

[taltoris]

Isn't kind of pointless to be speculating how the machine will be reviewed before it exists?

If it works well when it comes out, then it will most likely get good reviews. Otherwise, it won't. Isn't that how this thing works?

 

[Capn_Fish]

If it works well when it comes out, then it will most likely get good reviews. Otherwise, it won't. Isn't that how this thing works?

Yes, unless there's bribery, conflicting interests, etc. involved. :lol:

 

[gadgetoid]

If it works well when it comes out, then it will most likely get good reviews. Otherwise, it won't. Isn't that how this thing works?

Yes, unless there's bribery, conflicting interests, etc. involved. :lol:


Depends if the review leans towards the strengths and potential of the device itself, which may lose some instant-gratification readers, or towards what it can already do. I think it's pretty much a given that the Pandora will have a HUGE potential and would most certainly review better if, at launch, its level of software is what I would expect it to be in 1-2 years time. Alas, that isn't possible.

I look at the GP2X now compared to what it was during the relatively brief period that I owned one and wish I had stuck with it.

Still, the people who would be interested in the Pandora are already amassing a zombie horde ready to overwhelm anywhere they think might contain functioning Pandora consoles, fueled by caffeine and nostalgia. I can't really see the point of reviews, despite the fact that such a sentiment amounts to shooting myself in the foot.

 

[RajTakhar]

I think the magazines should be sent Pandoras for review AFTER the first batch has been sent out

SCREW THAT!
I am one of those people hoping to get my hands on one of the extra 200-300 hundred.


I'm confused, sending the review Pandoras after or before the paying customers makes no difference to you, there will still be the same amount to fight over (first batch = pre-orders + review items + a few more). Or are you suggesting no review Pandoras should be sent out from the first batch? That would be silly.


Mate silly would be sending a device barely off the hot production line which has not been used by the community first and apps shown to be developed to show different sides of Pandora not just games is much better for the Pandora than sending a unit which is fresh off the production line

What we want to show is that software for Pandora is not all just about games (as cool as they are) but show a breadth of Games (Homebrew/Emulators/Doom-Quake Ports) as well as different browsers, Window Managers, Music Players, etc.

I'm not saying send no units out just let the community at it - show users making different apps to show it is more than just a games machine, build momentum with everyone posting like crazy - then let the press get their grubby little hands on the Pandoras - that way they can see its a multi-faceted device which has a long shelf life not just another DS type retro console clone

Sod it DOCTOR what the heck is the game you are working on so many replies to the original post it seems to have gone cock-a-hoop with off-topic comments - is it MSR or just something like a puzzler/platformer ... Stop keeping us guessing

 

[mazza558]

Of course, if the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, the poor devs are going to be inundated with requests, emails and all sorts. If such a story reaches Digg's front page, that's going to make things 10x worse.

I'd never underestimate the amount of people who would buy the Pandora in an instant if they actually saw it in the flesh.

 

[Chip]

I've been contacted by several of the biggest tech review sites and even one TV program requesting Pandoras for review. On the one hand we'd love to get units out to everybody as soon as possible, but on the other hand it looks like the software will not be 100% retail ready when the Pandora ships. Some sites are more understanding of that than others, and those are the ones we'll probably hook up first. Engadget has been pretty supportive of the project so far, and since I hear they have a NY office, they're one of the first sites that I'd personally like to hand a hot-off-the-line Pandora. Ultimately it is up to Craig to decide who gets a review unit and when.

Just so that we're clear, any legitimate review blog that wants to retain some semblance of journalistic integrity does not accept free gadget handouts. They either return the hardware when they have finished reviewing it, or they give it away to their readers as a promotional stunt. As we have so few extra Pandoras from the first batch and lots of requests for reviews, we will be requesting that any reviewer return the units when they are done so that another reviewer can have a go at it.

 

[Phawx]

I plan on reviewing the hell out of it. Though I only have a small blog that needs cosmetic work.

But I will probably be one of the few that will take SUPER SLOW MO Video of the Pandora with my EX-FH 20!

I am going to be doing an unboxening at 240-1000 FPS. It should be a 5 min unboxening

 

[gadgetoid]

Just so that we're clear, any legitimate review blog that wants to retain some semblance of journalistic integrity does not accept free gadget handouts.

Wrong. Any legitimate review blog that wants to retain some semblance of journalistic integrity doesn't REFUSE loan products.

Claiming that the ability to keep samples affects the integrity of any article produced about it is pure nonsense. I've utterly and totally slated products that I've not had to return and accept loan products because there's no other way to provide complete coverage and cover the things I believe people will be interested in.

I'll accept all the free gadget handouts I can get my hands on, it's a huge bonus when you're a gadget obsessed geek working in a fiercely completive industry as a hobby and making only a pittance in ad revenue.

 

[TaG]

Just so that we're clear, any legitimate review blog that wants to retain some semblance of journalistic integrity does not accept free gadget handouts.

Wrong. Any legitimate review blog that wants to retain some semblance of journalistic integrity doesn't REFUSE loan products.

Claiming that the ability to keep samples affects the integrity of any article produced about it is pure nonsense. I've utterly and totally slated products that I've not had to return and accept loan products because there's no other way to provide complete coverage and cover the things I believe people will be interested in.

I'll accept all the free gadget handouts I can get my hands on, it's a huge bonus when you're a gadget obsessed geek working in a fiercely completive industry as a hobby and making only a pittance in ad revenue.
Chip said free, not loan. Loan you return. Whilst keep 'samples' (?) might not be wrong in your eyes, it does help to convince your readership of integrity if they know you don't keep the product, otherwise it can look like you have been cheaply bought. Which is why many sites and magazines have giveaways and competitions once they have finished with the 'samples' .

 

[gadgetoid]

And I said that they wouldn't "refuse loan products"

As in, they wouldn't simply cover products they get for free (blagging) simply so they can get hold of them, they would also accept and cover loan products to broaden coverage and maintain integrity.

I didn't say "refuse to return loan products," that, in most cases, will make the supplier in question just go "mmmkay" and send you an invoice.

Most readers would be none the wiser to the circumstances under which I, or any other publication, obtain products, so I don't know how that's relevant!

Any competitions that I do run normally involve brand-new stuff straight from the supplier/PRs who are obviously getting publicity from those competitions. I wouldn't want to give year old, second rate, post-review junk away as a competition prize... most of it I either use for all eternity if it's good, or stuff in storage until someone wants to dig through it and lay claim.

I think you'll find that they have giveaways and competitions with the free samples:

a) To attract more readership through word of mouth
and
B) To clear their offices of the mountains upon mountains of ex. review junk that mounts up... seriously, it's ridiculous. See "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep" for references to "Kibble." Or is it "Kipple"?


If it works the way you think it works, then how on earth is any semblance of integrity established in the games journalism world? Simple: if a game sucks, we say so. Readers are not stupid, they don't know what we do or do not get free, but they do know if we gave a steaming pile of fetid turd a good review. We maintain integrity by giving poor products the reviews they deserve.



Anyway, this is all horrendously off topic now!


If I get my hands upon a review sample Pandora, great, from a bunch of guys with, I guess, very little funding in the marketing department I'm not expecting free handouts. I'll probably buy a Pandora when the fuss dies down and provide news/review coverage of the free titles as I did with the GP2X way back when and the Nokia N810 more recently.. albeit not to the scale I wanted to. A one off review of the Pandora facilitated through a loan would be good, but is nothing compared to continuous coverage.

 

[Zeno Arrow]

anyone who wants a free Pandora just because they have their own blog is going to be disappointed.

Engadget are out, then, ha ha!


Got me there! Should have made it clearer that I meant a single person with their own small blog. If Engadget was only updated by a single person they'd burn out within a few months!

I'm confused, sending the review Pandoras after or before the paying customers makes no difference to you, there will still be the same amount to fight over (first batch = pre-orders + review items + a few more). Or are you suggesting no review Pandoras should be sent out from the first batch? That would be silly.

Mate silly would be sending a device barely off the hot production line which has not been used by the community first and apps shown to be developed to show different sides of Pandora not just games is much better for the Pandora than sending a unit which is fresh off the production line

As Chip mentioned on this thread, depends on the target audience. It's like buying a house, some people see the potential a house has even if it needs some work, others won't look twice unless its fully furnished and ready to move in. Linux fans have experience at dealing with WIP software, Engadget have shown strong interest in the Pandora for a while now and as a UMPC it's likely to be ready at launch, so a website like UMPC Portal might be interested straight away. I agree that other mainstream news sources may need extra polish applied to the user experience before taking notice.

Sod it DOCTOR what the heck is the game you are working on so many replies to the original post it seems to have gone cock-a-hoop with off-topic comments - is it MSR or just something like a puzzler/platformer ... Stop keeping us guessing

TheGoodDoktor has already made it fairly clear that the game is not MSR (even if it was I imagine Microsoft have some sort of rights to the series, maybe just in terms of textures, seeing as PGR1 was essentially MSR + one extra city, Gotham (a.k.a. New York)).

Still no real idea what the game is, but Vanishing Point seems like a strong possibility.