Longtime silent champion/nitpicker of the British gaming press, The RAM Raider, has a post on their blog highlighting Eidos' latest alleged public relations faux pas, this time involving review scores and cover placement for the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Yes, this is the same Eidos behind the Kane & Lynch fiasco with GameSpot. Behind voting for their own games in a game of the year poll. Behind attempts to fix Tomb Raider review scores.
Sure, they're far from the only company to be accused of this sort of thing with magazines (businesses gotta make money, yo), but it seems they could be far and away the worst at covering their tracks.
According to The RAM Raider, the company's latest misstep the following absurd policy:
Several mags have their review code already, but have to sit on their reviews until a hateful embargo expires at the end of the month. But Eidos, ever the helpful fellows that they are, have been offering a way around this embargo. If you dedicate the cover of your mag to Arkham Asylum and guarantee a score of at least 90%, Eidos will allow you to run the review early.
TRR says that while "one editor has already valiantly told Eidos to fuck off", others have been less resolute. "This means", they say, "that if you see a mag turn up within the next few weeks (ding!) that features Arkham Asylum on its cover (ding!) and gives it at least 90% (ding ding ding!), you have a winner."
With the publishing arm of Eidos soon to be rebranded as part of the Square Enix empire, it's a shame that, if true, this is probably the last thing they're going to be remembered for.
We've contacted Eidos for comment, and will update if we hear back from them.
UPDATE: Eidos, for their part, outright deny the allegations telling Kotaku:
"With regards an article posted on RamRaider alleging that Eidos has fixed review scores for Batman: Arkham Asylum, we want to state that no discussions have been held about review scores with any magazines. In short there is simply not one shred of truth in this article, except for the title of the game." Jon Brooke, Head of UK Marketing, Eidos.
Eidos Seek 90% Score & Cover For Arkham Asylum In Exchange For Early Review [The RAM Raider]