Honestly, as a fellow CMON fanboy, I take your opinion as a first impression, then I check out the game and decide if I like the game I’m seeing. In this case I felt it wasn’t a fit for me. You make your opinion and biases clear. One reason I subscribe to your channel is that you give your opinion about the game. If you don’t like it you say so, if you like it you also say why. I really appreciate that. Ultimately, I’m the steward of my money. While I may let your opinion influence me, I’m the one to click the pledge button.
Please don’t hold back with your excitement and opinion! You are doing such a great job and compared with other creators you are very transparent and you point it out every video. Honestly in our hobby we are all biased in different ways and only because of that there is this great variety we have.
In the corporate world, they warn us not only of conflicts of interest, but also the "appearance" of a conflict of interest. It's not fair, it's just practical.
The way that you're addressing your audience with things that you have mixed feelings about is admirable. You are a human being and you can have a favorite (or few) publishers. Why the fluff not?? Alex, you're doing good! Keep going and follow your instincts. We don't want to see robots with no feelings or soul. We want to see what YOU think and feel when you play a certain game.
As a fan of Boardgames and as a person who loves our hobby. I watch your videos because you are the same. Your opinion, biases, and life experiences are not a conflict of interest. Thats just you. Hopefully thats the reason people watch your videos.
I have watched your content for years. You arent a salesman. You are one of the few voices in this space i trust and respect. You tell people you work for gamefound, you are honest about how you feel about games and rarely do you make any game sound like its a must buy. Keep up the good work
Hey Alex, good for you for venting on this subject. As a viewer I can see that you are a fan of CMON and being a reviewer it's difficult to separate that part and more because of all the games you gave played of them. For me, I have enjoyed your content, and I take your opinions as yours I still do my homework on any campaign and purchase because that is MY job because that is MY money. I hope you still do content for CMON the same way you do it, because part of the cham is the passion when you talk about something you like. For me it's about Thundergryph games, so I understand the behind bias.
I think it’s good that you’re being transparent about your personal bias. Like, I follow your channel because I appreciate your perspective and opinions. As consumers, we’re responsible to listen to various opinions before deciding how to spend our own money.
As a government employee who is responsible for safeguarding public trust, we talk often about the perception of a conflict of interest being as important as (more important than?) an actual conflict of interest. Sounds like you’re trying to be cognizant of this too. It can be challenging to get a pulse on the perception
I believe you are biased when you cover any Gamefound game. You, however, are very vocal about your potential bias and personal interest in Gamefound projects' success. That's really all you can do. The burden then shifts to me to determine how that information impacts my decisions. People need to take ownership of their responsibilities as a viewer rather than just push everything back on "Alex needs to do xyz".
I have commented with issues with your ratings and reviews of games but you are still one of my top people that I go to for board game news and information. I like your content, value your opinion, I like how much content you create, the people you are involved with and your overall enthusiasm and attitude. You are a good person but no one is without some flaws or faults but yours are nothing to worry about or apologize for.
I appreciate your content very much. You're allowed to be fanboy AND have a job and you always tell the disclaimer. Your honesty and open discussion is always there. Please keep being Alex
My only objection to CMON is that way they dole out information about what is going to be available as part of a campaign. So if I am excited about a product and want to back it, I have to wait until the campaign is almost over to know exactly what I want to pay for. As complaints go, this is pretty minor.
Same. Sadly it's far from a CMON thing only. There are many projects where I looked earlier, felt it wasn't worth it, and never came back. There's a handful where I did come back for some reason and changed my mind after seeing the stretch goals and "daily unlocks". And there's a couple where the content is so spread out in unlocks and stretch goals that I couldn't get a good big picture and they essentially all felt meaningless.
Alex, you don't need to change. If you love a CMON game, or any game, show your enthusiasm for it. That's part of why people watch your channel. You can't please everyone. If you change something to please those 10%, then that change will probably upset a new 10% that was in the 90%. It's your channel. Do what makes you happy. The views will come naturally after that.
My rule is I will always give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong. No issue with any of your bias's. Your downfall will be when you heavily endorse a game that ends up being a sub-par product. If I get a game that you endorsed and ends up being a dumpster fire, then I will start to question your objectivity. (Note that this doesn't mean preference, I can objectively understand a good game that I don't prefer).
100% everyone has biases. But if you wore a green shirt to a trial and the judge opened the proceedings by declaring an existing bias against green shirts... you wouldn't be like "yeah this is cool, no problem here!" You'd want a new judge, you'd want to change your shirt (okay not a perfect example :p ) .. I don't know the specifics of Alex's situation - as a CMO what are your obligations to use or not use a channel like this to potentially impact his company where he's a CMO...? I think one possible option here is that Alex flat out embraces that, rolls up his channel into an official Gamefound channel, and then we all move on with our lives haha. even with paid content, I've seen games get thrashed. So GF would need to be clear to publishers seeking time on such a channel would need to be clear: paying for time guarantees you only that you'll get a review, or whatnot.. not that it'll be positive. I dunno, it feels like a complicated situation to me, but ultimately whatever Alex decides on this one is totally fine with me. I imagine he's having a lot of consternation over it though so hopefully finds a permanent ish solution to it.
@@Duaneski comparing a biased trial judge to backing a crowdfunding campaign is a bit of a stretch. This isn't complicated at all. Listen to what Alex says. Compare it to what you think. Watch a gameplay video. Check your bank account. Back it if you want to. Very simple. Before You Play does sponsored content all the time. I don't think their crowdfunding sponsored plays have opinions attached but they do have videos where they give their opinions and I've never stopped to think "I wonder if Monique is saying that because she did a sponsored playthrough." It just doesn't cross my mind. Every channel that has access/relationships to developers and publishers is extra suspicious when it comes to their opinions. But that skepticism should be applied to any channel. This can all be avoided: just watch the gameplay videos and it is impossible to fall for the verbal hype. Many times, games that I was excited for fizzled after watching gameplay while other others that I may have dismissed were elevated after watching gameplay. If Alex said that GoW was amazing and you need to buy it without checking into it (which I'm positive he wouldn't) and you do that, well, that is your fault. I don't even fully understand this entire issue. They are complaining about Alex's take on a CMON game? Do they have to check with some authority to know whether or not the new Burger from BurgerCo is, in fact, delicious like a youtuber claimed? Maybe you just go and try that burger yourself and see if you like it.
Well stated, let’s remember we are talking about board games here, talk about rich people problems haha. Don’t dilute your content for the 10% of people who put a thumbs down.
The thing about declaring a potential bias isn't to get people to trust you. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a "I have potential bias, so take what I say with a grain of salt."
I honestly think that you have been doing great so far. You try to make sure to state your biases at the beginning of many of your videos. Then I can see a honest approach to the rest of the video. I can totally see honesty.
Every review of a game needs to be taken with a grain of salt anyway, regardless of whether the reviewer actually loves the game or not. That's because it's so subjective - no matter how amazing a game may be to one person, it may completely miss the mark for another. Watching playthrough's is definitely more helpful to gauge whether a game might be a good fit and although not a substitute for actually playing it in person, is better than hearing someone's opinion and taking that as gospel.
Regarding CMON, I like their games but I hate their exclusives. There have been many times that I’ve considered buying their games in retail but ultimately decide against it because I know that there’s a significant amount of miniatures or addons that aren’t available outside of their crowdfunding campaigns (without paying significantly more money). I have no issue if they would charge more at retail (a reasonable amount) than their campaign and/or sell it exclusively from their own website. At least make it available. At least they listened in the CDMD campaign and offered the previous promo box available again. I wish I could buy Marvel United or Marvel Zombies from retail and know that if I liked it that I could buy the previous promo boxes in the next campaign like they did for CDMD.
Yeah I totally agree with you, I just Pre Ordered Deep Rock Galactic board game with all of the expansions, the campaign was over long time ago, but they have a preorder site and you won’t be missing anything only a decorative figure and a metal coin. That how campaigns should be made as some times you get introduced to a game that you didn’t think you will enjoy it, and for CMON you lost your chance to get more. This happened to be with Massive Darkness 2 it’s one of my favorite games, but I didn’t know about during the kickstarter, now I cant get the expansions because they are super expensive on eBay and not worth it anymore.
This is a sincere video, you can tell. So many 'apology' vieos are scripts that hit numbers. You can see you mulling it over in realtime. That shows you mean what you are saying.
Maybe you should do a video detailing your day to day (and overall) duties as Gamefound CMO. I think many people believe your main duty is pumping out preview/reviews on your RUclips channel for Gamefound.
Unfortunately this is one topic where there is no answer. People will always complain and I guarantee the 10% or whoever that are complaining near zero of them actually subscribe to your channel or regularly watch your content and have an appreciation for your stance
I mostly agree with that, in general. I try to cater more towards my regular viewers than the occasional person who pops in, but I still try to take it all into account
As always, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Not sure how to fix the problem of perceived bias (per the Supreme Court we need not even think about it). As someone who has watched and been a member for years, I can say I sometimes disagree with you, but I NEVER feel misled. I hope the doubters stick around long enough to see for themselves
I have always enjoyed your content, and trust your opinions as for the most part I mirror them. You are never going to please everyone all of the time.Good on you for addressing this subject. Keep doing what you do dude, it's all good.
What you should talk about as far as CMON is concerned, is them having Comic Con Exclusives for games we spend hundreds of dollars backing but will never be able to get. See White Deaths latest update.
@@BoardGameCo if you aren't a fan of it why not make a video about it and call them out on it? It seems like all the examples you gave about CMON doing certain things only happened when there was negative backlash, which means they would've kept doing it if they didn't get caught.
@@Theskinfam CMON was only "clear" about this after the backlash. The original post was edited to include "Note: Although the promo is currently being offered in these events, please note that it’s not a convention exclusive promo and there will be more opportunities to acquire it in the future." Even with that update, it is still unclear if people will be able to purchase this from their online store or if they are only providing it at future conventions.
Easy fix: just always provide any biases & potential or perceived conflicts of interest at the start of each video. That would make it feel authentic. I love your content! No complaints here.
It’s both an actual and perceived conflict of interest on both ends. You’re part of the marketing for the campaign on both ends - what bucket of money do you think Gamefound and CMON pay you out of. It’s one step removed from CMON’s own livestreams and coverage. To be fair to you, most influencers are in the same sort of position and people should just take it all with a grain of salt.
I got from you more honesty than from any other content creator. Plus you start the video now with a disclaimer of possible bias. And I think you are allowed as any other person to be hyped about games and game companies
Always respect your opinion and your honesty. I know you’re a CMoN fanboy (as am I tbh!) but know not everything will be for me or my gaming group. I have found no issue, personally, with your role within GameFound and any video you have put out. I trust you and your content, and continue to do so.
I watch your videos, not for your opinions, but just to see what is out there. You have good coverage of a lot of games that are upcoming and I appreciate that. I always like gameplay videos because I get to see the game in action for myself. That is the main factor for me. I've come to the conclusion a long time ago that you are a shill. Not that being a shill is even bad, but a shill nonetheless (chip theory was my eye opener - trips and swords would make me friendly too. Also, when you talked with James Hudson a few years back about shipping etc, that interview irked me something awful). You enjoy the access you get from being friendly. Nothing wrong with that, but it's something for us to keep in mind. A reviewers opinion is sometimes enough to get me to look at a game but rarely, if ever, enough to sell me on a game sight unseen. I need to see the rules or a gameplay session. Having said all that, I think you pointing out that you are CMO of GameFound is enough. We are adults. If somebody buys a CMON game just because you gave it a favorable review, it's on them if they don't like it. I don't understand people thumbing down a video because they think you are shilling. Watch discerningly. To show I'm not a 100% detractor - I really disliked TF Mars for the longest time (having only watched gameplay vids) and seeing your opinion on it made me dig my heels in even more. Well, TLDR, I've come to really enjoy the game and now I understand all the love for it. Keep up the good work Alex. We don't have to agree with you to like your coverage of this hobby of ours.
@@eliadakeeling2528 Even when they make something available, they try to scalp it themselves. Look at the last DMD campaign and how they sold Season 1 stretch goals at insane prices.
@@eliadakeeling2528 I in general like how they have handled Marvel United for cons. They haven't really cared if people upload the cards for people to print them at home. But the newest Zombicide one with Beebop and Rocksteady is really frustrating
@@eliadakeeling2528 Ironically, they released all the old promos in a box, and then released a new exclusive promo (Symbiote). 2 steps forward, 1 step back.
Meh, you worry too much! You started the channel with massive content for Ankh and it was awesome. I was fully on that hype train 🚂... And been an avid follower since! Keep it up. You are doing great.
I am wonder what your opinion on Con exclusives is. I am very frustrated with the Zombiecide white death SDCC promos. I am curious why companies do con exclusives is general. It seems bad for the overall community and I know they could make much more money as a company if the offered all promos online after the cons they premier at. I know some promos are offed after the fact,like CMONS new Witching Hour United box, I am just curious why companies don’t do that for all promos.
They just don’t act in the best interests of their community, look at the shenanigans of what’s going on with White Death and the TMNT promo. It’s just poor form.
@@TheCamBeard SDCC exclusive promo (bebop and rocksteady abominations) unavailable to backers or online, and the game isnt even close to delivery. The announcement has over 100 exclusively negative comments.
@@guitarpalooz Oof. Thanks for the info! Yeah that's a major bummer. I didn't back the campaign, but I paid my buddy who did to snag an extra TMNT expansion. It's too bad we can't get the others without going to a convention. Out of the question when I'm several states away.
Alex, read the comments on the White Death KS under the Bebop and Rock Steady update. I think CMON has shot a huuuge hole in their foot with that one.....
@@BoardGameCo I've just seen the Godzilla vs Cthulhu extra and the Marvel United Multiverse exclusives from the SDCC being sold for hundreds of dollars on ebay. CMON better tell the factories to fire up again or they will lose not just the fair weather backers, but those who have been on the fence for a little while now.
I love to see the introspection. I wish more people would evaluate if they are doing the right thing. As a BoardGameCo fanboy I can say it is fine to be passionate about a publisher. In fact, I prefer it. The passion a creator has around a subject makes that subject worth watching and listening to. Nothing garners more respect than someone who is a fan of a product and is still willing to point out the flaws. That shows a level of genuine authenticity. God of War showed how ill prepared CMON was with the campaign which magnified the issue. You are correct, being the only creator with content for the campaign when that is highly unusual, creates the perception of professional or vested interest bias. In a normal campaign creating content is perfectly fine, in fact it is preferred. CMON is not the only publisher you have done it for. O'Neb also saw heightened attention on Spirit Fire because no one seemed to understand what the hell it was. I think many still don't. The content was valuable. I do think there is a conflict of interest in trying to be passionate about the hobby and trying to have a more journalistic neutral approach. You can't be both, they are contradictory. Therin creates the conflict. I think that is part of what you are trying to reconcile. As a viewer, I feel you can do whatever you want. I think you have to answer to yourself how you want to be perceived and take actions accordingly. As others here have stated, sometimes Perception is more important than Intent. As always, I appreciate your content. Keep being you. Cheers.
I find all of your videos very informative. Everyone is bias in life - there are things you like that I don't, and things I like that you are not a fan of. It's ok to be bias; it means you have a passion for something and that is cool. You work for a great company and so it is expected you would be excited about campaigns coming from CMON. I have never thought you were 'lying to promote Gamefound/CMON'. You give equal play for Kickstarter and other companies. You're opinion is valuable and I have my own. It's constructive to hear other opinions. No apology needed. You will NEVER please everyone. People gunna complain, always. Thanks for the efforts you put into these videos.
I love that you do these videos to engage with the feedback you’re seeing, whether it is deserved or not. But I hate that you keep feeling like you have to make them. I don’t get the mentality that causes people to expect content creators to be unbiased. Bias is human nature. Likes and dislikes are literally biases. You are doing what you should be doing. In fact I’d say you’re doing more than you should to address it. You could put a 5 minute disclaimer at the beginning of every video and people would still complain about it. Especially when it involves something like CMON, where the people that complain about other bias the loudest are often only doing so because of their own bias. I appreciate that you acknowledged and apologized for being dismissive of the complaints and think it was the right decision, especially knowing you and the care you take with these situations. It’s one of the things i admire the most about you. But at a certain point there’s only so much you can do and it inevitably gets tiresome. Sticking with CMON, you got a lot of grief whenever you covered their games in the past, too. In short, (and I know you know this) the noise won’t go away, regardless of anything you do. There is no right answer when this many people are involved. So do what you want to do and if some people don’t like it there is a vast array of options available to them instead. Be true to yourself.
Good video on your current thoughts. Have you thought about a video explaining crowdfunding FOMO or other marketing strategies/tactics and your thoughts on those?
I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. One of the things that I love about your videos is that you are always up front about working for Gamefound and, for CMON games, that you are a CMON fan. However, perception is reality for the customer, so I applaud you for doing this video.
I don't actually thing a bias is necessarily a bad thing. You like CMON, and because I KNOW you a bit of a CMON fanboy I will often seek out your opinions on CMON games. Like you've said: their games can be small adjustments and reskins of a system. So, for me as a consumer, I can usually trust your opinion about how this version of, say, Zombicide stacks up to another.
I am not a vocal critic of CMON but I feel they are of a size that doesn’t warrant crowdfunding. I generally feel at crowdfunding should be for companies that aren’t established and established companies should just do preorders. I know it’s counter nerd culture, but most campaigns just feel predatory to me.
CMON stuck a dagger in my chest with shipping gouging during the Marvel Zombicide campaign. Then continued to charge elevated shipping rates while other companies reduced theirs when global freight costs plummeted. I'm only JUST NOW coming back to CMON, because of "Pre-Order" on gamefound, where I can see all of those costs upfront, and maybe because of that upfront display of those costs, they are reasonable. So, CMON adjusted, and I can only now start being a fan again. But there were so many campaigns of theirs I skipped during that time. What a shame.
CMON is a A+ company and is very well run. I love most of their campaigns. I don’t buy all their games but I buy many and I love how many stretch goals and value they do. Yes I own 4 zombicides and all marvel United. I really want dragon ball z United.
Honestly, getting rid or preventing biases isn't important in my eyes. What is important is being informed. If you have a bias because of a commercial relationship and a bias because of your preferences, just saying "this is an editor that I love and I was paid for that video" is more than enough in my opinion. I mean, first of all, we are all biased about everything, so if it was a reason to not do things, we would do nothing. Second, we all have preferences, and we usually have good reasons for those. It might not be shared by others, but we don't have preferences out of nowhere, so it's perfectly fine to express them and explain them. I would love to know why you like CMON or other producers so much. And maybe it would give me a reason to be a fanboy too, a new perspective on the games they produce. It's an opportunity to enjoy more by understanding other people perspectives, and nothing forces me to agree... Third, I think you are overthinking things. People that want a perfectly objective review will always be disappointed. Fourth, conflict of interest isn't a big deal in itself. In science, when you produce a paper, you have to declare the conflicts of interests you can have in order to let other scientists be mindful of those when they read your paper, but you can still write the said paper and it can still be of high quality. Because being at risk of a conflict of interest doesn't mean falling for it necessarily... What makes most people react (IMO), is the fact that, often, youtube channels give us a lot of very enthusiastic videos about every game they cover. And that is normal, they want to talk about things they like. It takes efforts to make a video, so if it's to talk about things you dislike... But from the outside, it gives the impression that they like everything as long as they are paid (some are probably). Besides, if you get paid to cover a game and you just say it's crap, you go against the point of the commercial and against your interests. How about, making videos to talk about games you already presented in the past (even paid ones), and tell us if you still hold the same opinion, and why. Did you have your hopes too high at the time or did the game exceeded them in the end? Was the prototype more promising than the final product or was it a blast? Where you naïve or on point? Do you think you where being honest with yourself or did you try to please someone? If the campaign was a disaster or encountered problems, do you think you could have seen it coming or not? The reasons you had to like the game and be enthusiast, where they valid at the time and are they still valid in your opinion? All those questions can be very interesting to cover. And it would show the people that have complains that you are not a prophet that can know everything and see the futur with what's going to go wrong, but someone that likes games and has reasons to be hyped, to make mistakes, to have hopes, etc.
Thanks for your consistent content and more importantly perspective. I have always appreciated your frequent introspection. That is a more difficult thing to manage. Maybe have a slightly longer disclaimer or make a video and also mention and link to it for when it applies with the disclaimer. To be clear I have been a long-time viewer and subscriber, so I haven't had this issue- this is just a possible solution for better transparency for less frequent viewers.
“… anyone watching a single video on this channel, it’s not their job to do their homework to make sure I’m not bias” I appreciate what you’re saying but everyone has a bias and it’s naive for anyone to assume otherwise. Whether it’s BGG, Facebook, TikTok, Amazon reviews, Reddit posts, etc. everyone is biased. People should do their research on knowing more about the source of their information versus blindly trusting what they’re being presented.
Congrats on being part of Gamefound! I dropped out of the scene for a couple of years so that’s new for me. I think CMON is some of the worse parts of consumerism in this hobby and think their games are generally pretty meh, but hey, you have loved them vocally for years so I wouldn’t expect different. And have never held that against you
You give a lot of warning to let the viewer know there could be a potential bias. Some people live in fairy tale land where they think having a bias is wrong. I find consumers are getting so lazy that they want to be told what to buy rather than find a content creator / reviewer that have similar taste or due their due diligence by watching a lot of channel. These people will likely always be negative because of a misguided sense of righteousness. That being said, I think you can be critical even if you are hype about a new game. comparing to previous title more harshly (especially that most of their previous title are readily available) or pointing out CMON predatory practice (overpriced shipping outside of the US and FOMO to the point of sabotaging their own retail games are the most obvious ones) can help show that you are critical even if you enjoy the game.
Hmm, a lot to dissect here. I think that some viewers can feel like a critical look at things isn't possible, and that nuance doesn't exist in viewpoints. Here I am, backing DC Super Heroes United, giving CMON multiple GOTY awards over the years and also have some of my most negative talking point videos on some of their older business practices. Not everyone is able to think in terms like this and they feel you can't either. How can you review a game bad, but like a company, or review a game good, but dislike a company? etc. They just don't get it, to them it's black or white, all or nothing and you'll never win them over. I don't think it's a large bias for you. Everyone has different levels and sensitivities to it. Some people will lie on a video for a $30 video game code. Others will simp just for the chance of some preferred treatment. Others won't even for thousands. Others still will have the bias, but still choose to do the hard thing (I often think of the movie The Post here, if you've not seen it, you should, it applies well to those of us in this space). TBH, I have always felt you'd make the right call if push came to shove. If it comes down to it you'd do right by your viewers, even if it really, truly hurt someone in your professional life. But that's not happening here. It's just speaking on a board game for a company you like, on a platform you work for. There *is* at least some small level of bias for GF (not even just because you work there, but because of your specific role as well), but is that bias towards GF enough to "undo" what you say about the game? I highly doubt that, and anyone thinking it'd somehow fundamentally change your viewpoint belongs in that first part of this long comment, thinking with no nuance, black or white. There's certainly bias to some level, in many things, GF and you included. But that doesn't mean it's enough to highly change your opinion here, or what you say on a game/campaign at all. Heck, you can't EVER avoid all perceived or real bias. The moment you review a prototype you have. the moment you start speaking to devs on anything other that "work" you have. Just by touching this industry, working with it to bring content, you've introduced bias. The focus on it is rather silly for some people. Know your high impact ones (like liking CMON), state its there if needed then proceed as normal. I'm going to be a bit blunt here, but stop caring. What I mean is, you are right, you can't inform everyone of everything, you can't force people to trust you and you can't pre-screen your views to see which ones won't be popular and then change them to match for all the likes in the world. Just make the videos you want to make, say the things you want to say, and then be happy you stayed true to yourself. The moment I got it in my head to finally focus on just me, and fret less about viewers who disagree, or other creators, or any other number of things besides just making the content I wanted to make and enjoying the company of anyone that happened to like it was th moment I was finally at ease and not conflicted and worried. Play fun games, state your opinions, and anyone who likes that you did can sub up. Simple as that :) Take care Alex, and don't fret too much :)
You're right about nearly all of it....but I will always fret too much...for better or for worse :) I never mind disagreement...but when there's enough pushback, I have to look at the situation and wonder where I might be wrong....or maybe just go play another game.
From my p.o.v., just continue to do fair reviews considering all pros and cons that you find, with all your experience. Give us arguments to consider, don't hesitate to also tess us about your personal experience and fun with a game, and leave it to us to decide what we do with that information. Doing this kind of introspection liie here clearly shows me why I do trust your judgement (usually).
And to comment on the video itself, as usual I love your introspective videos, I think it's an important discussion and perceived bias many times is more important than actual bias. Also I think that being a fanboy and not having blindpsots can co-exist (but then how would I know if it's blind :) ). I am a fanboy of several companies (Stonemaier is one example) but I think and I hope I am able to think critically when they do or publish something I don't like. My point is that it's ok and possible to be a fanboy and acknowledge and criticize a company on some aspects.
So sad you have to apologize, but it's like you said, I've been following you almost since the beginning and I know, but the rest doesn't. And at the EOD it's all about image projection. Sad you had to apologize but admirable. I'm really glad you're still the same guy.
No trying to sound offensive, but all you have to do is click the sponsored button or say #ad or #gotitfree on any post using product that you've received for free or a brand that you have a relationship. I haven't seen the video in question, was it marked properly? If not, that's a potential $40,000+ FTC fine
Any opinions just need to be well explained/justified. Also, finding no negative aspects of anything is a bit suspicious. I think you do a pretty good job - although any money changing hands engenders some level of suspicion.
I have exactly one beef with CMON: they never finished Bloodborne. I went all-in on it, fully expecting that they would eventually make an expansion that added in the DLC enemies and weapons. Sadly, CMON is always unpredictable in what they do after their initial campaigns, and Bloodborne got kicked to the curb despite being a very successful seller. The fact that, after all these years, I still can't play the game with a Whirligig Saw is nearly unforgivable.
Everyone has an opinion, I watch people like you and other creators for their opinions. I can’t play every board game possible, and I rely on people like you to give me a gist of if it is good or not. So, thank you for your opinions, I’m a big boy and discern whether I like your opinions on certain games or not.
Create a linkable bias video. A summary "homework" with stats such as here are number of videos per campaign before/after GF. People can't be expected to do five year crawl, but one concise video proving points made today would capture the reasonable person easily and probably soothe the more negative somewhat.
Very infrequent viewer (I intend to increase my views of your videos) and this is the first time I have added a comment to a RUclips video, but I want to thank you for being such a breath of fresh air, at least in my opinion. What prompted this comment was the complete shock at hearing an extraordinarily lucid, objective and rational presentation on a board game channel. You could use this video as a teaching example of what rational discourse should look like. With the net so full of other commentators whose personal biases really distract me so much from the content of their review that they are of little value, thank you for being a model of how board game reviewers should approach their work.
Alex, you will never address all issues that people have. You should do what you do - you are doing a great job and there always be people that can attack you. That’s how the internet works.
I watch your videos from a long time, but to be honest for the latest Videos I couldn’t know your real opinion about the Games presented specially Dceased and the dead keep. I tried to read between the lines but I couldn’t, I backed Dceased as I am a big fan of DC and I enjoy zombicide, but i still don’t know how much do you like this game, and I stayed away from the dead keep as I felt there is some issues and some swingy rules. I know you’re trying your best but the issue with working with a company in a way it is hard to be completely honest about their work, the only solution I have is to give 5 things you like the most about the game and 5 things you don’t like them as much and you wished that they implemented them better. Finally, it’s oki to be biased because you are a fan of the company and enjoy many of their games, you don’t need to hide it and we appreciate your passion, keep it up.
You're giving consideration to those who criticize you based on patterns (that you have made an X number of videos for a particular CMON campaign), and yet you don't seem to allow yourself the benefit of a defence based on patterns (that you also frequently give multiple-video treatment to other high profile games, whether GF, KS or otherwise). If people want to criticize you for being impartial based on what you have done in other videos, then they should also take into consideration what you do across all of your other videos. In other words, I think some people are jumping to unfair negative conclusions, and there's no way to reasonably appease the unreasonable. I enjoy your videos very much and find you to be an honest person. I don't think what you're doing requires "correction", though I appreciate that you're always trying to improve the quality and honesty of your content. But in this case, I think you should just give yourself a break :) [edited for typos]
I also have a CMON bias, even though I do not own any CMON games (backed my first a while ago - Mordred). I gave Mythic USD$970 for Anastyr which they took and spent on other things. CMON is now going to give me (and the rest of the backers) a copy of the base game when they make it. For free. Just because Mythic screwed us. Sure, there are almost certainly considerations in play around how this will benefit their future Anastyr campaign when it runs, as well as possibly perceptions of their company which shares a lot of similarity with Mythic in terms of level of production of their games, but it benefits me too, takes away some of the sting, and they didn't have to do that. That level of care for the community left a lasting impression on me. Hence: CMON bias. Legends.
Just looking at the wall behind you, how many of these games were crowd-funded? How many are CMON games? And almost all of them are games I know nothing about because I don't back crowd-funded games. Sadly, it's the reason I don't watch your review videos.
@@BoardGameCo Not cool is quite the understatement. They spit in their backers and supporters face. So much for Cmon is the largest company that still cares. They don't give a flying f... about backers.
I enjoy your videos! I don’t mind the bias bc we all have them and that goes for every content creator…. My only complaint with your content which is unfair to pin it all on you was your coverage of Six Siege… you really sold me on the game and I wish you hadn’t. I hate that I ended up backing a game that I will never get!
There is no such thing as an unbiased review. Even if you don't have familiarity with a publisher, or a game style, or anything else to do with a game, a review, or a "should I buy it or not", or any of those things are all biases, they're all opinions. And yes, working for a company within the same space as the subject of another source of revenue will present an appearance of constant bias to some people, because for some folks they can't believe that an employee can detach themselves from the place they work, and are always on the lookout for "shills" (a word that gets tossed about so much that I don't know if people even know what a shill is; it's the plant that enthusiastically says yes, this snake oil worked for me so others will buy the snake oil too). For those people, no amount of presentation of propriety or tempered enthusiasm will be enough to remove that appearance of bias. Nothing less than quitting Gamefound and denouncing the company would get SOME of those people to consider you unbiased ever again. But that's fine, because of course you're biased. You're a fan, we're all biased towards SOMETHING, and the obsession with unbiased content ruins otherwise good content. Instead, anyone watching or reading a review for a product should ALWAYS consider what the reviewer's bias at least appears to be, and does it align with their own bias? When I lived in Portland, I would read film reviews of one particular film critic because without fail everything I liked they hated, and everything they liked I hated. That is bias worth its weight in gold, to me at least. It tells me exactly what I need to know. He said it was pedestrian and formulaic? Excellent, let's get tickets. He said it was sublime cinema? Pass, I don't need to fall asleep in the theater. My point of this whole long comment? Embrace that bias. It's yours. People come here for your opinion, and though the audience isn't responsible for knowing all your biases before they get here, you're also not responsible for how they FEEL about that information. They are responsible for their own feelings and judgement and their . . . bias. Because that's the other thing. No one, not the audience, nor the reviewer, nor the content creator nor anyone along the corporate chain is unbiased. And they never will be. There should ALWAYS be an expectation of bias. Expecting anything else is simply unrealistic.
I’ve definitely disagreed with you on an awful lot, but I don’t think you have to worry about this too much. Most of your audience knows and understands your tastes/preferences/bias, and takes that into account. It’s not as if the video blew up and a bunch of people outside your audience watched it. They’re the ones that are most vulnerable to the unawareness of bias, but even so, it’s not necessarily your responsibility to do that sort of research for them. It’s still pretty admirable that you are taking some responsibility, though.
You have two jobs, and those interests don't always align. Here, your priority is your audience . There your priority is what makes people like us buy games (obviously, this statement is speculative). You have to pay your bills, just do your best. Don't temper yourself. On any side, being less genuine impacts credibility.
If you want to get wild, make a statement giving us full visibility into what exactly your deliverables are based on your role with gamefound. Full transparency. Then, you can link to that video every time you give a disclaimer. Don't hurt yourself for us. You are an asset to most of us.
I really dislike CMON as a company because of some of their business practices, but I can't deny that they make really great games. I am all-in on Cthulhu Death May Die and Marvel/DC United, but I hate how they run their crowdfunding campaigns and how much they rely on FOMO in the campaigns and with promos and exclusives. This is just my personal experience, but I have also found them to not be very responsive to questions and feedback unless they already know who you are, or their is a majority of voices out crying in the comment sections of their crowdfunding campaigns all saying the same thing. Still, they make fantastic games and I will likely continue to buy their United games for as long as they keep making them.
Dude who cares even if you are biased???? WE ALL HAVE FREE WILL and make our own decisions. Bias all you want man. Love your stuff. Don’t stop what you’re doing or change for the haters! You’ll never please everyone. You have a good loyal following. Keep on keepin on
What do you think about them selling CDMD at GenCon while the backers are still waiting for their copies to ship? This is on a campaign that is already 8 months late so it will probably be close to a full year late before we get the game. Pretty scummy behavior if you ask me!
I'm not sure that bias can, or even should, necessarily be avoided. I mean, one of the whole points of watching your reviews is because I want to hear what your opinions are about a game, and those opinions necessarily imply a bias. I agree that your position as the CMO at Gamefound and doing paid promotions for some publishers does provide an incentive for you to promote products that may not be the best investment for your content consumers; however, I don't think you've kept it a secret that you work for Gamefound or about your paid promotions. Further, while I do agree that it wouldn't be fair for you to expect the consumers of your content to have all the knowledge about your previous reviews and such, I do feel that I, as the consumer of your content, am responsible for doing my own homework about a product. I feel like your reviews and content should be only part of a broader investigation into whether or not the product I'm considering is worth it for me. I feel like you're doing your part; you are acknowledging that you are a potential stakeholder in the success or failure of the products you review. It's up to me to decide what to do with that information. I feel like it's unfair to expect you to defend your opinion as unaffected by your stake in the outcomes of these campaigns, because it may not even be possible to separate these two. Thanks for the solid consistent content.
I have a side-note question that I'm curious about. Why do you find it so important (to you) that games hold their value? And I know you do because I've been watching you for years but it's interesting to me how highly you regards this. Isn't one of the main purposes of crowdfunding to expose and help small publishers without means? And if so, those games will usually not hold their value long term unless they are a breakout success and rare. Would love to hear you ramble about this topic. To answer myself partially, I assume you want people to make good investments which I understand and I think you should continue highlighting that. But why is it important to you personally so far as saying that it's one of the two reasons to be fan of CMON? Reselling without losing a lot of money is certainly a good reason to support a game but personally I wouldn't fanboy a company because of that.
Of course you’re allowed to have your preferences and favorite games and companies! And please please please don’t try to hide them too much, that would be hiding your personality and that’s what keeps me invested in you and your channel. As you said yourself before, you can’t please everyone, so there will always be viewers questioning your integrity and biases, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t your longtime followers. I think most of your viewers would miss the plentiful CMON coverage and your enthousiast for their games. If you’re a fanboy, show it! Doing these things despite the perceived conflict of interest (with honest disclaimers) shows your integrity, hiding part of your true enthusiasm for appearances would actually make you less genuine.
Id disagree. It is our job to determine if a creator is bias. If buyers are only watching the same couple people for their opinions, that's on them. I have several creators I watch and even if they all seem to to have the same positive or negative opinions, I will specifically seek out opposing views. All of that is my job if IM looking for a game I want to play
I think there is a distinction between misleading vs an editorial line. Also, for example, in the news hardly there will be a source without some editorial line that can be take as a bias. Maybe the weather. So, in something as subjective as board games, the people with channels will be passionate about them. From that start point, is people with weight on the matter. I don't believe in the existence of a super-boardgamer that have an equal appreciation of all forms of games that can talk about different games without adding any different weight on them based on what he enjoys or at least knows. That kind of neutrality doesn't exist in someone that knows what is talking about and has developed an opinion on the matter. Maybe some formal analysis of the things with specs and comparison will be completely neutral as talking about the weather data is neutral. But even there I doubt so because just choosing what to talk about and what to ignore is a kind of editorial choice.
Cmon just makes good stuff. My favorite games in my collection are all from them. Cthulhu, bloodborne, heman, marvel zombies, marvel united. All great games. And when they always hit, it makes me always want to back them.
You give the disclaimer of your employment. You cover Kickstarter and Backerkit and do not speak badly of them. Any sour grapes is the problem of the viewer in my opinion. Do I honestly believe you are consciously trying to be unbiased? Yes. Do I believe you are still going to sub-consciously protect your employer when you can? Of course. But you have responsibly disclosed the information. Love your stuff. Don't let it bother you.
I didn't back god of war because I simply didn't like it, I appreciate your reviews and they give me an idea of what I should take a closer look at but ultimately the decision to spend my money is on me not you. I all-in on Ankh and I ended up really not liking it, and was able to sell it for maybe a 10-20 dollar loss on 400+ dollar pledge. Not bad imo.
Alex you put out great content that has value to me both as entertainment and as information about board games that I can't get elsewhere. It sucks, but I think you are correct that the onus is on you to get ahead of those *perceived* biases and produce content that SEEMS fair and consistent. I think the downside of this is clear for everyone involved: less content around some of the biggest campaigns. On the plus side, hopefully this frees up time for other content... that opportunity could be a great thing. Maybe you end up making videos you otherwise wouldn't. (Maybe not just trying to glass half full this thing). Either way, when that criticism comes (and it will no matter what you do), use the kid gloves in those responses if you can. Hope this is helpful, and appreciate that you worry about these things. Not everyone would, and that's part of what makes Alex, Alex - for better or worse. Take care!
Whilst I appreciate the apparent sincerity, I'm highly sceptical that content creators such as yourself are genuinely surprised that you are experiencing credibility issues since taking employment and paid content from publishers. It is impossible to serve 2 masters, particularly when their objectives clash. Credibility being a critic essentially boils down to the question of who do you serve? On whose behalf are you advocating. If the answer is anything more than "the audience/ consumer" then you cease to be a critic in the genuine sense of the term. I appreciate that there is a vacuum of genuine professional criticism in the board game space because there seemingly isn't enough money in it (which the presenter acknowledges). But we need to be honest with ourselves as audiences; there is a dearth of real criticism in our hobby. We need to support it when we see it, think of innovative ways to create it, and call it out when it's a promoter dressing themselves up as a critic.
The surprise isn't at the thought that there might be skepticism, the surprise is at the fact that despite my actions being consistent around cmon as a publisher, regardless of what platform they're on, when they were on Kickstarter I got no accusations, and when they switched to game found, there was suddenly a lot of finger pointing around how I'm giving them special treatment despite my behavior not changing. I understand anyone being concerned around potential bias, my hope was that consistent actions on my part would show that those concerns were unfounded.
I believe that it's perfectly fine to have favorite games and companies as a person, even though you are a reviewer ! Please DO NOT temper anything, if you are excited then please act and say so. As long as you give a disclaimer at the start (like you mentioned in the vid) such as "Keep in mind that I work for Gamefound" or "this stream is sponsored" then everything is a-ok. Also, I believe you are seeing this from the wrong perspective. Some amount of responsibility falls to the viewer, it's not all on you. As long as you give a couple of disclaimers, then it's up to the viewer to decide, even if they decide that you are a shill, that is their responsibility. You prefaced this, you made your biases known and after you proceed to share your opinion. Your opinion WILL NOT and CANNOT be acceptable or even liked by everyone ! This just isn't possible. So instead of trying to please everyone and failing, my opinion is that you try to stay true to your values and whoever wants to stay stays, whoever doesn't like that leaves. Simple as.
It’s unfortunate you feel that you have to justify yourself in a topic that revolves around your opinion. I know I don’t understand this new generational feeling nonsense, but your opinion is what we are viewing. There will always be more people in the future interested as there are currently straying away for whatever reason. Stay true to yourself and know that whatever you decide, the direction you choose will dictate the lane you stick to in order to maintain follower-ship. Make it a good one. (No conciliation) I know I’ll be watching. Thank you for the content.
Let me be honest. I have watched this channel for a while and backed CMON for years. I am confused as to what you are referring to and find this as though the specific (not generic) issue is being talked around but not stated directly. Is this just an overall "CMON has some weird, FOMO marketing" approaches or did something happen? This is confusing. It feels like something occurred, but no one is talking about it. I stopped backing there campaigns years ago as it became apparent they were creating "store fronts" to sell more 'expansions' or 'DLC' in the future. I am done with their ploy and only looking for complete experiences. Please let me know.
Honestly, as a fellow CMON fanboy, I take your opinion as a first impression, then I check out the game and decide if I like the game I’m seeing. In this case I felt it wasn’t a fit for me. You make your opinion and biases clear. One reason I subscribe to your channel is that you give your opinion about the game. If you don’t like it you say so, if you like it you also say why. I really appreciate that. Ultimately, I’m the steward of my money. While I may let your opinion influence me, I’m the one to click the pledge button.
I agree 100%. Well said
Well said sir!
Please don’t hold back with your excitement and opinion! You are doing such a great job and compared with other creators you are very transparent and you point it out every video. Honestly in our hobby we are all biased in different ways and only because of that there is this great variety we have.
In the corporate world, they warn us not only of conflicts of interest, but also the "appearance" of a conflict of interest. It's not fair, it's just practical.
Yep, I was so focused on the former I didn't give enough care to the latter.
I'll say that I appreciated how you referenced Shelfside Review for a more critical look at Grimcoven.
Thanks! I generally try to present counter voices when I can.
Can confirm Alex has been a big CMON FAN since the beginning.
The way that you're addressing your audience with things that you have mixed feelings about is admirable.
You are a human being and you can have a favorite (or few) publishers. Why the fluff not??
Alex, you're doing good! Keep going and follow your instincts. We don't want to see robots with no feelings or soul. We want to see what YOU think and feel when you play a certain game.
As a fan of Boardgames and as a person who loves our hobby. I watch your videos because you are the same.
Your opinion, biases, and life experiences are not a conflict of interest. Thats just you. Hopefully thats the reason people watch your videos.
I have watched your content for years. You arent a salesman. You are one of the few voices in this space i trust and respect.
You tell people you work for gamefound, you are honest about how you feel about games and rarely do you make any game sound like its a must buy. Keep up the good work
Thank you!
I love how thoughtful you are; it's one of the things that keeps me watching. Keep thinking deeply & talking honestly about uncomfortable topics.
Hey Alex, good for you for venting on this subject. As a viewer I can see that you are a fan of CMON and being a reviewer it's difficult to separate that part and more because of all the games you gave played of them.
For me, I have enjoyed your content, and I take your opinions as yours I still do my homework on any campaign and purchase because that is MY job because that is MY money.
I hope you still do content for CMON the same way you do it, because part of the cham is the passion when you talk about something you like. For me it's about Thundergryph games, so I understand the behind bias.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
I think it’s good that you’re being transparent about your personal bias. Like, I follow your channel because I appreciate your perspective and opinions. As consumers, we’re responsible to listen to various opinions before deciding how to spend our own money.
As a government employee who is responsible for safeguarding public trust, we talk often about the perception of a conflict of interest being as important as (more important than?) an actual conflict of interest. Sounds like you’re trying to be cognizant of this too. It can be challenging to get a pulse on the perception
Yes, I've been so focused on the actual bias that I didn't focus enough on the appearance.
I believe you are biased when you cover any Gamefound game. You, however, are very vocal about your potential bias and personal interest in Gamefound projects' success. That's really all you can do. The burden then shifts to me to determine how that information impacts my decisions. People need to take ownership of their responsibilities as a viewer rather than just push everything back on "Alex needs to do xyz".
I have commented with issues with your ratings and reviews of games but you are still one of my top people that I go to for board game news and information. I like your content, value your opinion, I like how much content you create, the people you are involved with and your overall enthusiasm and attitude. You are a good person but no one is without some flaws or faults but yours are nothing to worry about or apologize for.
I appreciate your content very much. You're allowed to be fanboy AND have a job and you always tell the disclaimer. Your honesty and open discussion is always there. Please keep being Alex
My only objection to CMON is that way they dole out information about what is going to be available as part of a campaign. So if I am excited about a product and want to back it, I have to wait until the campaign is almost over to know exactly what I want to pay for. As complaints go, this is pretty minor.
Same. Sadly it's far from a CMON thing only. There are many projects where I looked earlier, felt it wasn't worth it, and never came back. There's a handful where I did come back for some reason and changed my mind after seeing the stretch goals and "daily unlocks". And there's a couple where the content is so spread out in unlocks and stretch goals that I couldn't get a good big picture and they essentially all felt meaningless.
Alex, you don't need to change. If you love a CMON game, or any game, show your enthusiasm for it. That's part of why people watch your channel. You can't please everyone. If you change something to please those 10%, then that change will probably upset a new 10% that was in the 90%. It's your channel. Do what makes you happy. The views will come naturally after that.
My rule is I will always give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong. No issue with any of your bias's. Your downfall will be when you heavily endorse a game that ends up being a sub-par product. If I get a game that you endorsed and ends up being a dumpster fire, then I will start to question your objectivity. (Note that this doesn't mean preference, I can objectively understand a good game that I don't prefer).
Still hard to discern though.
All people have biases and blind spots.
100% everyone has biases. But if you wore a green shirt to a trial and the judge opened the proceedings by declaring an existing bias against green shirts... you wouldn't be like "yeah this is cool, no problem here!" You'd want a new judge, you'd want to change your shirt (okay not a perfect example :p ) .. I don't know the specifics of Alex's situation - as a CMO what are your obligations to use or not use a channel like this to potentially impact his company where he's a CMO...? I think one possible option here is that Alex flat out embraces that, rolls up his channel into an official Gamefound channel, and then we all move on with our lives haha. even with paid content, I've seen games get thrashed. So GF would need to be clear to publishers seeking time on such a channel would need to be clear: paying for time guarantees you only that you'll get a review, or whatnot.. not that it'll be positive.
I dunno, it feels like a complicated situation to me, but ultimately whatever Alex decides on this one is totally fine with me. I imagine he's having a lot of consternation over it though so hopefully finds a permanent ish solution to it.
@@Duaneski comparing a biased trial judge to backing a crowdfunding campaign is a bit of a stretch.
This isn't complicated at all. Listen to what Alex says. Compare it to what you think. Watch a gameplay video. Check your bank account. Back it if you want to. Very simple.
Before You Play does sponsored content all the time. I don't think their crowdfunding sponsored plays have opinions attached but they do have videos where they give their opinions and I've never stopped to think "I wonder if Monique is saying that because she did a sponsored playthrough." It just doesn't cross my mind.
Every channel that has access/relationships to developers and publishers is extra suspicious when it comes to their opinions. But that skepticism should be applied to any channel. This can all be avoided: just watch the gameplay videos and it is impossible to fall for the verbal hype. Many times, games that I was excited for fizzled after watching gameplay while other others that I may have dismissed were elevated after watching gameplay.
If Alex said that GoW was amazing and you need to buy it without checking into it (which I'm positive he wouldn't) and you do that, well, that is your fault. I don't even fully understand this entire issue. They are complaining about Alex's take on a CMON game? Do they have to check with some authority to know whether or not the new Burger from BurgerCo is, in fact, delicious like a youtuber claimed? Maybe you just go and try that burger yourself and see if you like it.
Well stated, let’s remember we are talking about board games here, talk about rich people problems haha. Don’t dilute your content for the 10% of people who put a thumbs down.
The thing about declaring a potential bias isn't to get people to trust you. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a "I have potential bias, so take what I say with a grain of salt."
I honestly think that you have been doing great so far. You try to make sure to state your biases at the beginning of many of your videos. Then I can see a honest approach to the rest of the video. I can totally see honesty.
I love your chanel the most when you talk about CMON games❤😅😊
lol thanks :)
Every review of a game needs to be taken with a grain of salt anyway, regardless of whether the reviewer actually loves the game or not. That's because it's so subjective - no matter how amazing a game may be to one person, it may completely miss the mark for another.
Watching playthrough's is definitely more helpful to gauge whether a game might be a good fit and although not a substitute for actually playing it in person, is better than hearing someone's opinion and taking that as gospel.
Regarding CMON, I like their games but I hate their exclusives. There have been many times that I’ve considered buying their games in retail but ultimately decide against it because I know that there’s a significant amount of miniatures or addons that aren’t available outside of their crowdfunding campaigns (without paying significantly more money). I have no issue if they would charge more at retail (a reasonable amount) than their campaign and/or sell it exclusively from their own website. At least make it available. At least they listened in the CDMD campaign and offered the previous promo box available again. I wish I could buy Marvel United or Marvel Zombies from retail and know that if I liked it that I could buy the previous promo boxes in the next campaign like they did for CDMD.
Yeah I totally agree with you, I just Pre Ordered Deep Rock Galactic board game with all of the expansions, the campaign was over long time ago, but they have a preorder site and you won’t be missing anything only a decorative figure and a metal coin. That how campaigns should be made as some times you get introduced to a game that you didn’t think you will enjoy it, and for CMON you lost your chance to get more. This happened to be with Massive Darkness 2 it’s one of my favorite games, but I didn’t know about during the kickstarter, now I cant get the expansions because they are super expensive on eBay and not worth it anymore.
This is a sincere video, you can tell. So many 'apology' vieos are scripts that hit numbers. You can see you mulling it over in realtime. That shows you mean what you are saying.
Maybe you should do a video detailing your day to day (and overall) duties as Gamefound CMO. I think many people believe your main duty is pumping out preview/reviews on your RUclips channel for Gamefound.
Unfortunately this is one topic where there is no answer. People will always complain and I guarantee the 10% or whoever that are complaining near zero of them actually subscribe to your channel or regularly watch your content and have an appreciation for your stance
I mostly agree with that, in general. I try to cater more towards my regular viewers than the occasional person who pops in, but I still try to take it all into account
As always, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Not sure how to fix the problem of perceived bias (per the Supreme Court we need not even think about it).
As someone who has watched and been a member for years, I can say I sometimes disagree with you, but I NEVER feel misled.
I hope the doubters stick around long enough to see for themselves
I have always enjoyed your content, and trust your opinions as for the most part I mirror them. You are never going to please everyone all of the time.Good on you for addressing this subject. Keep doing what you do dude, it's all good.
What you should talk about as far as CMON is concerned, is them having Comic Con Exclusives for games we spend hundreds of dollars backing but will never be able to get. See White Deaths latest update.
Oh trust me, I'm not a fan of this at all.
@@BoardGameCo if you aren't a fan of it why not make a video about it and call them out on it? It seems like all the examples you gave about CMON doing certain things only happened when there was negative backlash, which means they would've kept doing it if they didn't get caught.
It’s not an exclusive, CMON has been clear about this.
@@Theskinfam CMON was only "clear" about this after the backlash. The original post was edited to include "Note: Although the promo is currently being offered in these events, please note that it’s not a convention exclusive promo and there will be more opportunities to acquire it in the future." Even with that update, it is still unclear if people will be able to purchase this from their online store or if they are only providing it at future conventions.
@@penguyen25 I am sure we will see an official CMON Promos pre-order where you will be able to snag all the CMON con promos.
I've enjoyed your channel for some time. Thanks for making content that I enjoy.
Easy fix: just always provide any biases & potential or perceived conflicts of interest at the start of each video. That would make it feel authentic. I love your content! No complaints here.
It’s both an actual and perceived conflict of interest on both ends.
You’re part of the marketing for the campaign on both ends - what bucket of money do you think Gamefound and CMON pay you out of.
It’s one step removed from CMON’s own livestreams and coverage.
To be fair to you, most influencers are in the same sort of position and people should just take it all with a grain of salt.
I got from you more honesty than from any other content creator. Plus you start the video now with a disclaimer of possible bias. And I think you are allowed as any other person to be hyped about games and game companies
Always respect your opinion and your honesty. I know you’re a CMoN fanboy (as am I tbh!) but know not everything will be for me or my gaming group.
I have found no issue, personally, with your role within GameFound and any video you have put out.
I trust you and your content, and continue to do so.
I watch your videos, not for your opinions, but just to see what is out there. You have good coverage of a lot of games that are upcoming and I appreciate that. I always like gameplay videos because I get to see the game in action for myself. That is the main factor for me.
I've come to the conclusion a long time ago that you are a shill. Not that being a shill is even bad, but a shill nonetheless (chip theory was my eye opener - trips and swords would make me friendly too. Also, when you talked with James Hudson a few years back about shipping etc, that interview irked me something awful). You enjoy the access you get from being friendly. Nothing wrong with that, but it's something for us to keep in mind.
A reviewers opinion is sometimes enough to get me to look at a game but rarely, if ever, enough to sell me on a game sight unseen. I need to see the rules or a gameplay session. Having said all that, I think you pointing out that you are CMO of GameFound is enough. We are adults. If somebody buys a CMON game just because you gave it a favorable review, it's on them if they don't like it. I don't understand people thumbing down a video because they think you are shilling. Watch discerningly.
To show I'm not a 100% detractor - I really disliked TF Mars for the longest time (having only watched gameplay vids) and seeing your opinion on it made me dig my heels in even more. Well, TLDR, I've come to really enjoy the game and now I understand all the love for it.
Keep up the good work Alex. We don't have to agree with you to like your coverage of this hobby of ours.
My main issue with CMON is how they seem to help the Scalping culture, especially with their convention exclusives. Those are the worsts.
Check the most recent update on Marvel United Multiverse. Promos are being made available. At least it’s something!
@@eliadakeeling2528 Even when they make something available, they try to scalp it themselves. Look at the last DMD campaign and how they sold Season 1 stretch goals at insane prices.
@@eliadakeeling2528 I in general like how they have handled Marvel United for cons. They haven't really cared if people upload the cards for people to print them at home. But the newest Zombicide one with Beebop and Rocksteady is really frustrating
@@eliadakeeling2528 Ironically, they released all the old promos in a box, and then released a new exclusive promo (Symbiote). 2 steps forward, 1 step back.
Meh, you worry too much!
You started the channel with massive content for Ankh and it was awesome.
I was fully on that hype train 🚂... And been an avid follower since!
Keep it up.
You are doing great.
I am wonder what your opinion on Con exclusives is. I am very frustrated with the Zombiecide white death SDCC promos. I am curious why companies do con exclusives is general. It seems bad for the overall community and I know they could make much more money as a company if the offered all promos online after the cons they premier at. I know some promos are offed after the fact,like CMONS new Witching Hour United box, I am just curious why companies don’t do that for all promos.
They just don’t act in the best interests of their community, look at the shenanigans of what’s going on with White Death and the TMNT promo. It’s just poor form.
What happened with the TMNT promo? I haven’t heard yet.
@@TheCamBeard SDCC exclusive promo (bebop and rocksteady abominations) unavailable to backers or online, and the game isnt even close to delivery. The announcement has over 100 exclusively negative comments.
@@guitarpalooz Oof. Thanks for the info!
Yeah that's a major bummer. I didn't back the campaign, but I paid my buddy who did to snag an extra TMNT expansion. It's too bad we can't get the others without going to a convention. Out of the question when I'm several states away.
Alex, read the comments on the White Death KS under the Bebop and Rock Steady update. I think CMON has shot a huuuge hole in their foot with that one.....
Oh I'm sadly aware of this situation
@@BoardGameCo I've just seen the Godzilla vs Cthulhu extra and the Marvel United Multiverse exclusives from the SDCC being sold for hundreds of dollars on ebay. CMON better tell the factories to fire up again or they will lose not just the fair weather backers, but those who have been on the fence for a little while now.
I love to see the introspection. I wish more people would evaluate if they are doing the right thing. As a BoardGameCo fanboy I can say it is fine to be passionate about a publisher. In fact, I prefer it. The passion a creator has around a subject makes that subject worth watching and listening to. Nothing garners more respect than someone who is a fan of a product and is still willing to point out the flaws. That shows a level of genuine authenticity.
God of War showed how ill prepared CMON was with the campaign which magnified the issue. You are correct, being the only creator with content for the campaign when that is highly unusual, creates the perception of professional or vested interest bias. In a normal campaign creating content is perfectly fine, in fact it is preferred. CMON is not the only publisher you have done it for. O'Neb also saw heightened attention on Spirit Fire because no one seemed to understand what the hell it was. I think many still don't. The content was valuable.
I do think there is a conflict of interest in trying to be passionate about the hobby and trying to have a more journalistic neutral approach. You can't be both, they are contradictory. Therin creates the conflict. I think that is part of what you are trying to reconcile. As a viewer, I feel you can do whatever you want. I think you have to answer to yourself how you want to be perceived and take actions accordingly. As others here have stated, sometimes Perception is more important than Intent.
As always, I appreciate your content. Keep being you. Cheers.
I find all of your videos very informative. Everyone is bias in life - there are things you like that I don't, and things I like that you are not a fan of. It's ok to be bias; it means you have a passion for something and that is cool. You work for a great company and so it is expected you would be excited about campaigns coming from CMON. I have never thought you were 'lying to promote Gamefound/CMON'. You give equal play for Kickstarter and other companies. You're opinion is valuable and I have my own. It's constructive to hear other opinions. No apology needed. You will NEVER please everyone. People gunna complain, always. Thanks for the efforts you put into these videos.
I love that you do these videos to engage with the feedback you’re seeing, whether it is deserved or not. But I hate that you keep feeling like you have to make them.
I don’t get the mentality that causes people to expect content creators to be unbiased. Bias is human nature. Likes and dislikes are literally biases. You are doing what you should be doing. In fact I’d say you’re doing more than you should to address it. You could put a 5 minute disclaimer at the beginning of every video and people would still complain about it. Especially when it involves something like CMON, where the people that complain about other bias the loudest are often only doing so because of their own bias.
I appreciate that you acknowledged and apologized for being dismissive of the complaints and think it was the right decision, especially knowing you and the care you take with these situations. It’s one of the things i admire the most about you. But at a certain point there’s only so much you can do and it inevitably gets tiresome. Sticking with CMON, you got a lot of grief whenever you covered their games in the past, too. In short, (and I know you know this) the noise won’t go away, regardless of anything you do. There is no right answer when this many people are involved. So do what you want to do and if some people don’t like it there is a vast array of options available to them instead. Be true to yourself.
Good video on your current thoughts. Have you thought about a video explaining crowdfunding FOMO or other marketing strategies/tactics and your thoughts on those?
He has done several of those.
@@ulrichhergl4630 You're right
I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. One of the things that I love about your videos is that you are always up front about working for Gamefound and, for CMON games, that you are a CMON fan. However, perception is reality for the customer, so I applaud you for doing this video.
I don't actually thing a bias is necessarily a bad thing. You like CMON, and because I KNOW you a bit of a CMON fanboy I will often seek out your opinions on CMON games. Like you've said: their games can be small adjustments and reskins of a system. So, for me as a consumer, I can usually trust your opinion about how this version of, say, Zombicide stacks up to another.
I am not a vocal critic of CMON but I feel they are of a size that doesn’t warrant crowdfunding. I generally feel at crowdfunding should be for companies that aren’t established and established companies should just do preorders. I know it’s counter nerd culture, but most campaigns just feel predatory to me.
CMON stuck a dagger in my chest with shipping gouging during the Marvel Zombicide campaign. Then continued to charge elevated shipping rates while other companies reduced theirs when global freight costs plummeted. I'm only JUST NOW coming back to CMON, because of "Pre-Order" on gamefound, where I can see all of those costs upfront, and maybe because of that upfront display of those costs, they are reasonable. So, CMON adjusted, and I can only now start being a fan again. But there were so many campaigns of theirs I skipped during that time. What a shame.
CMON is a A+ company and is very well run.
I love most of their campaigns. I don’t buy all their games but I buy many and I love how many stretch goals and value they do.
Yes I own 4 zombicides and all marvel United.
I really want dragon ball z United.
Honestly, getting rid or preventing biases isn't important in my eyes. What is important is being informed. If you have a bias because of a commercial relationship and a bias because of your preferences, just saying "this is an editor that I love and I was paid for that video" is more than enough in my opinion.
I mean, first of all, we are all biased about everything, so if it was a reason to not do things, we would do nothing.
Second, we all have preferences, and we usually have good reasons for those. It might not be shared by others, but we don't have preferences out of nowhere, so it's perfectly fine to express them and explain them. I would love to know why you like CMON or other producers so much. And maybe it would give me a reason to be a fanboy too, a new perspective on the games they produce. It's an opportunity to enjoy more by understanding other people perspectives, and nothing forces me to agree...
Third, I think you are overthinking things. People that want a perfectly objective review will always be disappointed.
Fourth, conflict of interest isn't a big deal in itself. In science, when you produce a paper, you have to declare the conflicts of interests you can have in order to let other scientists be mindful of those when they read your paper, but you can still write the said paper and it can still be of high quality. Because being at risk of a conflict of interest doesn't mean falling for it necessarily...
What makes most people react (IMO), is the fact that, often, youtube channels give us a lot of very enthusiastic videos about every game they cover. And that is normal, they want to talk about things they like. It takes efforts to make a video, so if it's to talk about things you dislike... But from the outside, it gives the impression that they like everything as long as they are paid (some are probably). Besides, if you get paid to cover a game and you just say it's crap, you go against the point of the commercial and against your interests.
How about, making videos to talk about games you already presented in the past (even paid ones), and tell us if you still hold the same opinion, and why. Did you have your hopes too high at the time or did the game exceeded them in the end? Was the prototype more promising than the final product or was it a blast? Where you naïve or on point? Do you think you where being honest with yourself or did you try to please someone? If the campaign was a disaster or encountered problems, do you think you could have seen it coming or not? The reasons you had to like the game and be enthusiast, where they valid at the time and are they still valid in your opinion? All those questions can be very interesting to cover. And it would show the people that have complains that you are not a prophet that can know everything and see the futur with what's going to go wrong, but someone that likes games and has reasons to be hyped, to make mistakes, to have hopes, etc.
Thanks for your consistent content and more importantly perspective. I have always appreciated your frequent introspection. That is a more difficult thing to manage. Maybe have a slightly longer disclaimer or make a video and also mention and link to it for when it applies with the disclaimer. To be clear I have been a long-time viewer and subscriber, so I haven't had this issue- this is just a possible solution for better transparency for less frequent viewers.
“… anyone watching a single video on this channel, it’s not their job to do their homework to make sure I’m not bias”
I appreciate what you’re saying but everyone has a bias and it’s naive for anyone to assume otherwise. Whether it’s BGG, Facebook, TikTok, Amazon reviews, Reddit posts, etc. everyone is biased. People should do their research on knowing more about the source of their information versus blindly trusting what they’re being presented.
Thank you
Congrats on being part of Gamefound! I dropped out of the scene for a couple of years so that’s new for me. I think CMON is some of the worse parts of consumerism in this hobby and think their games are generally pretty meh, but hey, you have loved them vocally for years so I wouldn’t expect different. And have never held that against you
You give a lot of warning to let the viewer know there could be a potential bias. Some people live in fairy tale land where they think having a bias is wrong. I find consumers are getting so lazy that they want to be told what to buy rather than find a content creator / reviewer that have similar taste or due their due diligence by watching a lot of channel. These people will likely always be negative because of a misguided sense of righteousness.
That being said, I think you can be critical even if you are hype about a new game. comparing to previous title more harshly (especially that most of their previous title are readily available) or pointing out CMON predatory practice (overpriced shipping outside of the US and FOMO to the point of sabotaging their own retail games are the most obvious ones) can help show that you are critical even if you enjoy the game.
Hmm, a lot to dissect here.
I think that some viewers can feel like a critical look at things isn't possible, and that nuance doesn't exist in viewpoints. Here I am, backing DC Super Heroes United, giving CMON multiple GOTY awards over the years and also have some of my most negative talking point videos on some of their older business practices. Not everyone is able to think in terms like this and they feel you can't either. How can you review a game bad, but like a company, or review a game good, but dislike a company? etc. They just don't get it, to them it's black or white, all or nothing and you'll never win them over.
I don't think it's a large bias for you. Everyone has different levels and sensitivities to it. Some people will lie on a video for a $30 video game code. Others will simp just for the chance of some preferred treatment. Others won't even for thousands. Others still will have the bias, but still choose to do the hard thing (I often think of the movie The Post here, if you've not seen it, you should, it applies well to those of us in this space).
TBH, I have always felt you'd make the right call if push came to shove. If it comes down to it you'd do right by your viewers, even if it really, truly hurt someone in your professional life.
But that's not happening here. It's just speaking on a board game for a company you like, on a platform you work for. There *is* at least some small level of bias for GF (not even just because you work there, but because of your specific role as well), but is that bias towards GF enough to "undo" what you say about the game? I highly doubt that, and anyone thinking it'd somehow fundamentally change your viewpoint belongs in that first part of this long comment, thinking with no nuance, black or white.
There's certainly bias to some level, in many things, GF and you included. But that doesn't mean it's enough to highly change your opinion here, or what you say on a game/campaign at all.
Heck, you can't EVER avoid all perceived or real bias. The moment you review a prototype you have. the moment you start speaking to devs on anything other that "work" you have. Just by touching this industry, working with it to bring content, you've introduced bias. The focus on it is rather silly for some people. Know your high impact ones (like liking CMON), state its there if needed then proceed as normal.
I'm going to be a bit blunt here, but stop caring. What I mean is, you are right, you can't inform everyone of everything, you can't force people to trust you and you can't pre-screen your views to see which ones won't be popular and then change them to match for all the likes in the world.
Just make the videos you want to make, say the things you want to say, and then be happy you stayed true to yourself. The moment I got it in my head to finally focus on just me, and fret less about viewers who disagree, or other creators, or any other number of things besides just making the content I wanted to make and enjoying the company of anyone that happened to like it was th moment I was finally at ease and not conflicted and worried.
Play fun games, state your opinions, and anyone who likes that you did can sub up. Simple as that :)
Take care Alex, and don't fret too much :)
You're right about nearly all of it....but I will always fret too much...for better or for worse :)
I never mind disagreement...but when there's enough pushback, I have to look at the situation and wonder where I might be wrong....or maybe just go play another game.
@@BoardGameCo there are worse problems to have than caring too much I suppose :D
From my p.o.v., just continue to do fair reviews considering all pros and cons that you find, with all your experience. Give us arguments to consider, don't hesitate to also tess us about your personal experience and fun with a game, and leave it to us to decide what we do with that information.
Doing this kind of introspection liie here clearly shows me why I do trust your judgement (usually).
And to comment on the video itself, as usual I love your introspective videos, I think it's an important discussion and perceived bias many times is more important than actual bias. Also I think that being a fanboy and not having blindpsots can co-exist (but then how would I know if it's blind :) ). I am a fanboy of several companies (Stonemaier is one example) but I think and I hope I am able to think critically when they do or publish something I don't like. My point is that it's ok and possible to be a fanboy and acknowledge and criticize a company on some aspects.
So sad you have to apologize, but it's like you said, I've been following you almost since the beginning and I know, but the rest doesn't. And at the EOD it's all about image projection. Sad you had to apologize but admirable. I'm really glad you're still the same guy.
No trying to sound offensive, but all you have to do is click the sponsored button or say #ad or #gotitfree on any post using product that you've received for free or a brand that you have a relationship. I haven't seen the video in question, was it marked properly? If not, that's a potential $40,000+ FTC fine
You're usually upfront with the relationship when talking but there may be an issue with tagging the posts properly
Continue being you! Love your content!
I used to be a CMON fan until they started releasing 50 rethemed versions of the same games with 5000 expansions.
Any opinions just need to be well explained/justified. Also, finding no negative aspects of anything is a bit suspicious. I think you do a pretty good job - although any money changing hands engenders some level of suspicion.
I have exactly one beef with CMON: they never finished Bloodborne. I went all-in on it, fully expecting that they would eventually make an expansion that added in the DLC enemies and weapons. Sadly, CMON is always unpredictable in what they do after their initial campaigns, and Bloodborne got kicked to the curb despite being a very successful seller. The fact that, after all these years, I still can't play the game with a Whirligig Saw is nearly unforgivable.
Everyone has an opinion, I watch people like you and other creators for their opinions.
I can’t play every board game possible, and I rely on people like you to give me a gist of if it is good or not.
So, thank you for your opinions, I’m a big boy and discern whether I like your opinions on certain games or not.
Create a linkable bias video. A summary "homework" with stats such as here are number of videos per campaign before/after GF. People can't be expected to do five year crawl, but one concise video proving points made today would capture the reasonable person easily and probably soothe the more negative somewhat.
Very infrequent viewer (I intend to increase my views of your videos) and this is the first time I have added a comment to a RUclips video, but I want to thank you for being such a breath of fresh air, at least in my opinion. What prompted this comment was the complete shock at hearing an extraordinarily lucid, objective and rational presentation on a board game channel. You could use this video as a teaching example of what rational discourse should look like. With the net so full of other commentators whose personal biases really distract me so much from the content of their review that they are of little value, thank you for being a model of how board game reviewers should approach their work.
Alex, you will never address all issues that people have. You should do what you do - you are doing a great job and there always be people that can attack you. That’s how the internet works.
Now it will break the bank being a CMON fanboy if you pay for them yourself with the flood of CMON games.
I watch your videos from a long time, but to be honest for the latest Videos I couldn’t know your real opinion about the Games presented specially Dceased and the dead keep. I tried to read between the lines but I couldn’t, I backed Dceased as I am a big fan of DC and I enjoy zombicide, but i still don’t know how much do you like this game, and I stayed away from the dead keep as I felt there is some issues and some swingy rules. I know you’re trying your best but the issue with working with a company in a way it is hard to be completely honest about their work, the only solution I have is to give 5 things you like the most about the game and 5 things you don’t like them as much and you wished that they implemented them better. Finally, it’s oki to be biased because you are a fan of the company and enjoy many of their games, you don’t need to hide it and we appreciate your passion, keep it up.
You're giving consideration to those who criticize you based on patterns (that you have made an X number of videos for a particular CMON campaign), and yet you don't seem to allow yourself the benefit of a defence based on patterns (that you also frequently give multiple-video treatment to other high profile games, whether GF, KS or otherwise). If people want to criticize you for being impartial based on what you have done in other videos, then they should also take into consideration what you do across all of your other videos. In other words, I think some people are jumping to unfair negative conclusions, and there's no way to reasonably appease the unreasonable. I enjoy your videos very much and find you to be an honest person. I don't think what you're doing requires "correction", though I appreciate that you're always trying to improve the quality and honesty of your content. But in this case, I think you should just give yourself a break :) [edited for typos]
I also have a CMON bias, even though I do not own any CMON games (backed my first a while ago - Mordred).
I gave Mythic USD$970 for Anastyr which they took and spent on other things. CMON is now going to give me (and the rest of the backers) a copy of the base game when they make it. For free. Just because Mythic screwed us.
Sure, there are almost certainly considerations in play around how this will benefit their future Anastyr campaign when it runs, as well as possibly perceptions of their company which shares a lot of similarity with Mythic in terms of level of production of their games, but it benefits me too, takes away some of the sting, and they didn't have to do that.
That level of care for the community left a lasting impression on me.
Hence: CMON bias.
Legends.
That's awesome
Just looking at the wall behind you, how many of these games were crowd-funded? How many are CMON games? And almost all of them are games I know nothing about because I don't back crowd-funded games. Sadly, it's the reason I don't watch your review videos.
After CMONs recent f... up with the promos for Zombicide WD and Cthulhu DmD I'm again reminded why I loathe the company...Love the product though.
Ya, their Convention promo thing is not cool
@@BoardGameCo Not cool is quite the understatement. They spit in their backers and supporters face. So much for Cmon is the largest company that still cares. They don't give a flying f... about backers.
I enjoy your videos! I don’t mind the bias bc we all have them and that goes for every content creator…. My only complaint with your content which is unfair to pin it all on you was your coverage of Six Siege… you really sold me on the game and I wish you hadn’t. I hate that I ended up backing a game that I will never get!
We got your back Alex!
We know who you are. 👍
You can’t disprove the feeling your actions give.
There is no such thing as an unbiased review. Even if you don't have familiarity with a publisher, or a game style, or anything else to do with a game, a review, or a "should I buy it or not", or any of those things are all biases, they're all opinions.
And yes, working for a company within the same space as the subject of another source of revenue will present an appearance of constant bias to some people, because for some folks they can't believe that an employee can detach themselves from the place they work, and are always on the lookout for "shills" (a word that gets tossed about so much that I don't know if people even know what a shill is; it's the plant that enthusiastically says yes, this snake oil worked for me so others will buy the snake oil too). For those people, no amount of presentation of propriety or tempered enthusiasm will be enough to remove that appearance of bias. Nothing less than quitting Gamefound and denouncing the company would get SOME of those people to consider you unbiased ever again.
But that's fine, because of course you're biased. You're a fan, we're all biased towards SOMETHING, and the obsession with unbiased content ruins otherwise good content. Instead, anyone watching or reading a review for a product should ALWAYS consider what the reviewer's bias at least appears to be, and does it align with their own bias? When I lived in Portland, I would read film reviews of one particular film critic because without fail everything I liked they hated, and everything they liked I hated. That is bias worth its weight in gold, to me at least. It tells me exactly what I need to know. He said it was pedestrian and formulaic? Excellent, let's get tickets. He said it was sublime cinema? Pass, I don't need to fall asleep in the theater.
My point of this whole long comment? Embrace that bias. It's yours. People come here for your opinion, and though the audience isn't responsible for knowing all your biases before they get here, you're also not responsible for how they FEEL about that information. They are responsible for their own feelings and judgement and their . . . bias. Because that's the other thing. No one, not the audience, nor the reviewer, nor the content creator nor anyone along the corporate chain is unbiased. And they never will be. There should ALWAYS be an expectation of bias. Expecting anything else is simply unrealistic.
I’ve definitely disagreed with you on an awful lot, but I don’t think you have to worry about this too much. Most of your audience knows and understands your tastes/preferences/bias, and takes that into account. It’s not as if the video blew up and a bunch of people outside your audience watched it. They’re the ones that are most vulnerable to the unawareness of bias, but even so, it’s not necessarily your responsibility to do that sort of research for them. It’s still pretty admirable that you are taking some responsibility, though.
You have two jobs, and those interests don't always align. Here, your priority is your audience . There your priority is what makes people like us buy games (obviously, this statement is speculative). You have to pay your bills, just do your best. Don't temper yourself. On any side, being less genuine impacts credibility.
If you want to get wild, make a statement giving us full visibility into what exactly your deliverables are based on your role with gamefound. Full transparency. Then, you can link to that video every time you give a disclaimer. Don't hurt yourself for us. You are an asset to most of us.
I really dislike CMON as a company because of some of their business practices, but I can't deny that they make really great games. I am all-in on Cthulhu Death May Die and Marvel/DC United, but I hate how they run their crowdfunding campaigns and how much they rely on FOMO in the campaigns and with promos and exclusives. This is just my personal experience, but I have also found them to not be very responsive to questions and feedback unless they already know who you are, or their is a majority of voices out crying in the comment sections of their crowdfunding campaigns all saying the same thing. Still, they make fantastic games and I will likely continue to buy their United games for as long as they keep making them.
Dude who cares even if you are biased???? WE ALL HAVE FREE WILL and make our own decisions. Bias all you want man. Love your stuff. Don’t stop what you’re doing or change for the haters! You’ll never please everyone. You have a good loyal following. Keep on keepin on
What do you think about them selling CDMD at GenCon while the backers are still waiting for their copies to ship? This is on a campaign that is already 8 months late so it will probably be close to a full year late before we get the game. Pretty scummy behavior if you ask me!
I'm not sure that bias can, or even should, necessarily be avoided. I mean, one of the whole points of watching your reviews is because I want to hear what your opinions are about a game, and those opinions necessarily imply a bias.
I agree that your position as the CMO at Gamefound and doing paid promotions for some publishers does provide an incentive for you to promote products that may not be the best investment for your content consumers; however, I don't think you've kept it a secret that you work for Gamefound or about your paid promotions.
Further, while I do agree that it wouldn't be fair for you to expect the consumers of your content to have all the knowledge about your previous reviews and such, I do feel that I, as the consumer of your content, am responsible for doing my own homework about a product. I feel like your reviews and content should be only part of a broader investigation into whether or not the product I'm considering is worth it for me. I feel like you're doing your part; you are acknowledging that you are a potential stakeholder in the success or failure of the products you review. It's up to me to decide what to do with that information.
I feel like it's unfair to expect you to defend your opinion as unaffected by your stake in the outcomes of these campaigns, because it may not even be possible to separate these two.
Thanks for the solid consistent content.
I have a side-note question that I'm curious about. Why do you find it so important (to you) that games hold their value? And I know you do because I've been watching you for years but it's interesting to me how highly you regards this. Isn't one of the main purposes of crowdfunding to expose and help small publishers without means? And if so, those games will usually not hold their value long term unless they are a breakout success and rare. Would love to hear you ramble about this topic.
To answer myself partially, I assume you want people to make good investments which I understand and I think you should continue highlighting that. But why is it important to you personally so far as saying that it's one of the two reasons to be fan of CMON? Reselling without losing a lot of money is certainly a good reason to support a game but personally I wouldn't fanboy a company because of that.
Stick to you guns, Alex. Don´t stop being enthusiastic!
Of course you’re allowed to have your preferences and favorite games and companies! And please please please don’t try to hide them too much, that would be hiding your personality and that’s what keeps me invested in you and your channel. As you said yourself before, you can’t please everyone, so there will always be viewers questioning your integrity and biases, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t your longtime followers. I think most of your viewers would miss the plentiful CMON coverage and your enthousiast for their games. If you’re a fanboy, show it! Doing these things despite the perceived conflict of interest (with honest disclaimers) shows your integrity, hiding part of your true enthusiasm for appearances would actually make you less genuine.
Id disagree. It is our job to determine if a creator is bias. If buyers are only watching the same couple people for their opinions, that's on them. I have several creators I watch and even if they all seem to to have the same positive or negative opinions, I will specifically seek out opposing views. All of that is my job if IM looking for a game I want to play
I think there is a distinction between misleading vs an editorial line. Also, for example, in the news hardly there will be a source without some editorial line that can be take as a bias. Maybe the weather.
So, in something as subjective as board games, the people with channels will be passionate about them. From that start point, is people with weight on the matter.
I don't believe in the existence of a super-boardgamer that have an equal appreciation of all forms of games that can talk about different games without adding any different weight on them based on what he enjoys or at least knows.
That kind of neutrality doesn't exist in someone that knows what is talking about and has developed an opinion on the matter.
Maybe some formal analysis of the things with specs and comparison will be completely neutral as talking about the weather data is neutral. But even there I doubt so because just choosing what to talk about and what to ignore is a kind of editorial choice.
Cmon just makes good stuff. My favorite games in my collection are all from them. Cthulhu, bloodborne, heman, marvel zombies, marvel united. All great games. And when they always hit, it makes me always want to back them.
You give the disclaimer of your employment. You cover Kickstarter and Backerkit and do not speak badly of them.
Any sour grapes is the problem of the viewer in my opinion.
Do I honestly believe you are consciously trying to be unbiased? Yes. Do I believe you are still going to sub-consciously protect your employer when you can? Of course. But you have responsibly disclosed the information.
Love your stuff. Don't let it bother you.
I didn't back god of war because I simply didn't like it, I appreciate your reviews and they give me an idea of what I should take a closer look at but ultimately the decision to spend my money is on me not you. I all-in on Ankh and I ended up really not liking it, and was able to sell it for maybe a 10-20 dollar loss on 400+ dollar pledge. Not bad imo.
At least I can see Project Elite in the camera angle on this video 😁
Alex you put out great content that has value to me both as entertainment and as information about board games that I can't get elsewhere. It sucks, but I think you are correct that the onus is on you to get ahead of those *perceived* biases and produce content that SEEMS fair and consistent. I think the downside of this is clear for everyone involved: less content around some of the biggest campaigns. On the plus side, hopefully this frees up time for other content... that opportunity could be a great thing. Maybe you end up making videos you otherwise wouldn't. (Maybe not just trying to glass half full this thing). Either way, when that criticism comes (and it will no matter what you do), use the kid gloves in those responses if you can. Hope this is helpful, and appreciate that you worry about these things. Not everyone would, and that's part of what makes Alex, Alex - for better or worse. Take care!
Whilst I appreciate the apparent sincerity, I'm highly sceptical that content creators such as yourself are genuinely surprised that you are experiencing credibility issues since taking employment and paid content from publishers. It is impossible to serve 2 masters, particularly when their objectives clash. Credibility being a critic essentially boils down to the question of who do you serve? On whose behalf are you advocating. If the answer is anything more than "the audience/ consumer" then you cease to be a critic in the genuine sense of the term. I appreciate that there is a vacuum of genuine professional criticism in the board game space because there seemingly isn't enough money in it (which the presenter acknowledges). But we need to be honest with ourselves as audiences; there is a dearth of real criticism in our hobby. We need to support it when we see it, think of innovative ways to create it, and call it out when it's a promoter dressing themselves up as a critic.
The surprise isn't at the thought that there might be skepticism, the surprise is at the fact that despite my actions being consistent around cmon as a publisher, regardless of what platform they're on, when they were on Kickstarter I got no accusations, and when they switched to game found, there was suddenly a lot of finger pointing around how I'm giving them special treatment despite my behavior not changing.
I understand anyone being concerned around potential bias, my hope was that consistent actions on my part would show that those concerns were unfounded.
I believe that it's perfectly fine to have favorite games and companies as a person, even though you are a reviewer ! Please DO NOT temper anything, if you are excited then please act and say so. As long as you give a disclaimer at the start (like you mentioned in the vid) such as "Keep in mind that I work for Gamefound" or "this stream is sponsored" then everything is a-ok. Also, I believe you are seeing this from the wrong perspective. Some amount of responsibility falls to the viewer, it's not all on you. As long as you give a couple of disclaimers, then it's up to the viewer to decide, even if they decide that you are a shill, that is their responsibility. You prefaced this, you made your biases known and after you proceed to share your opinion. Your opinion WILL NOT and CANNOT be acceptable or even liked by everyone ! This just isn't possible. So instead of trying to please everyone and failing, my opinion is that you try to stay true to your values and whoever wants to stay stays, whoever doesn't like that leaves. Simple as.
It’s unfortunate you feel that you have to justify yourself in a topic that revolves around your opinion. I know I don’t understand this new generational feeling nonsense, but your opinion is what we are viewing. There will always be more people in the future interested as there are currently straying away for whatever reason. Stay true to yourself and know that whatever you decide, the direction you choose will dictate the lane you stick to in order to maintain follower-ship. Make it a good one. (No conciliation) I know I’ll be watching. Thank you for the content.
Let me be honest. I have watched this channel for a while and backed CMON for years. I am confused as to what you are referring to and find this as though the specific (not generic) issue is being talked around but not stated directly. Is this just an overall "CMON has some weird, FOMO marketing" approaches or did something happen? This is confusing. It feels like something occurred, but no one is talking about it.
I stopped backing there campaigns years ago as it became apparent they were creating "store fronts" to sell more 'expansions' or 'DLC' in the future. I am done with their ploy and only looking for complete experiences.
Please let me know.
I want the excitement!