What is a Paid Preview?

Well as Oliver has already defined what a preview is (an early look at something) and we all know what a review is (a critical analysis of something) I'm failing to see how a paid preview can be mistaken as a review if it is called a preview and reviews are called reviews. I'm quite happy to watch (and appreciate) a paid preview to show me something new that I may like, and then once it's out to check reviews to fine tune if it will suit me.
Maybe I'm just a bit smarter than the average boardgamer and can work those things out ... or aren't into, or just don't get, internet melodrama.

I’ve no doubt that you’re very intelligent.

I’m positive you have already realized that supposed previews offer opinion, which makes them reviews, or that the phrase “preview” itself was used in reaction to people questioning why reviews were being paid for in the first place.

Being as smart as you are, you will have also considered that people who are paid to promote a game and then review it later have a conflict of interest.

Your thoughtful analysis may have lead you to conclude that people that “preview” games from a company are going to ponder on how a negative review of a different game from that company may impact their monetary relationship. Most especially after stories of previously ruined relationships surface.

Your extensive grey matter will most likely have been used to read the previous posts on the practice of paying people for their opinions to sway the decisions of buyers.

I’m grateful that you aren’t the type of person that would show up to a serious topic and engage in drama; calling strangers who disagree with you or have experience that conflicts with your point of view things such as indignant, lacking integrity or musing on your intelligence compared to the average gamer… Thank goodness for that.

n815e wrote:
Being as smart as you are . . .

Your extensive grey matter . . .

Yeah, a little too much ad hominem in the soup there. Weakens your rebuttal.

I think Southern Man mentions something in passing that indicates wisdom more than intelligence. He said “. . . and then once it's out to check reviews to fine tune if it will suit me” which is an indication he’s not purchasing before the product is on the shelf. He’s old like me, and us old men like to see it first and like to get a box when we purchase, not a promise.

With that buying habit a “preview” is just a promo, and you can take it for what it’s worth. It’s an advertisement. Advertisements can be fun. Just don’t take them at face value whether the host is paid or not.

Thanks for the feedback. I was trying to have some fun with it, but got carried away.

I think that knowing how to navigate the existing media ecosystem to make smart purchasing decisions sidesteps the core complaint. My understanding is that the folks who are upset about this are worried about the insidious effect this has on game criticism and not about the utility of paid previews and reviews to end consumers. This then leads us to the frequently discussed topic of the role of criticism in entertainment media so your opinion on boardgames as art with cultural relevance or as consumerist pieces of entertainment starts to determine your feelings about previews, reviews and paid promotion.

I came across two videos today that seem to touch upon the edges of this conversation from broadly opposite positions:



I think BoardgameCo intentionally putting the issue of bias aside kind of defeats the purpose of the video and feels like he's fighting a strawman but it's good to hear his thoughts.

Edit:


This is a follow up conversation to the first video which discusses the state of previews explicitly.