Franky D Tank Member May 15, 2024 1,020 The whole thing surrounding Dean Takahashi made it impossible to find any of the jokes at his expense funny. In a perfect world, his long, continous failure to perform one task in the tutorial could be something to poke fun at. After all, I've gotten into a rut on games I've replayed so many times where a simple task I could do in my sleep took me multiple minutes (was playing Super Metroid and couldn't wall jump to save my life for multiple minutes, despite never having that problem through my previous dozens of playthroughs), and it can be funny to see such a failure go on for a comically long amount of time. Unfortunately for Dean, since he was part of a video game publication, his video was used as ammo to show that video game journalists are not real gamers, and it was just ridiculous from the get go. Now in 2025, I can be watching relatively new videos on Cuphead or difficult video games, and nothing kills my interest when the person in the video has to reference Dean in the tutorial level. There I'd the occasional joke where the person gets to that dash section of the tutorial and when getting past it, jokes how they got through the hardest part. While overplayed, it's harmless enough. The ones I have problems with is people doing that section or playing hard games and going "Well of course I was able to do that. I'm a gamer, not a game's journalist", or something to that effect. It's stuff like that which will make me instantly close the video. While it's not everywhere, it still manages to pop up from time to time. Anyone else here randomly come across something making reference/jokes about it? Am I just being overly sensitive to what is ultimately just a joke about something coming close to a decade old, or do you also get annoyed at it as well?  NaDannMaGoGo Member Oct 25, 2017 7,093 Franky D Tank said: While it's not everywhere, it still manages to pop up from time to time. Anyone else here randomly come across something making reference/jokes about it? Click to expand... Click to shrink... This thread is the first reminder of it in s very long time for me.  Fudgepuppy Member Oct 27, 2017 5,703 The whole "games journalists suck at video games" caused by this and the Doom 2016 video, just soured things so much for everyone. Fucking reactionary gamergaters.   Servbot24 The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 47,310 Mario gets high on mushrooms 🍄 😎 lmfaoooooo 🤣🤣🤣   Smokeymicpot Member Oct 25, 2017 4,367 Honestly forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder though.   Prison_mike Member Oct 26, 2017 1,644 I didn't even know what this what so I googled the video… yeah he's embarrassingly bad at the game and it's hard to watch.   StephenNotStrange Member Jan 16, 2019 759 It's so stupid because AFAIK, even though he is in game media publication, he is not even "game journalist" in the sense of playing and review video games. He hasn't played game in a long long long time. He is more of "business journalist" who talked about the video game business. So people using him as a gotcha for "game journalist is bad" is just stupid and ignorant. IIRC, Jeff Grubb said Dean was just near the place where Cuphead is being played by press, and since they didn't have anyone currently free so they asked Dean to do it for them.  Extra Sauce Member Oct 27, 2017 6,974 Dean Takahashi should have received more criticism for running defense for David Cage than he got for being not very good at video games.   construct Saw the truth behind the copied door Member Jun 5, 2020 10,991 𖦹 haven't thought about this in forever   OhhEldenRing Member Aug 14, 2024 2,658 StephenNotStrange said: It's so stupid because AFAIK, even though he is in game media publication, he is not even "game journalist" in the sense of playing and review video games. He hasn't played game in a long long long time. He is more of "business journalist" who talked about the video game business. . IIRC, Jeff Grubb said Dean was just near the place where Cuphead is being played by press, and since they didn't have anyone currently free so they asked Dean to do it for them. So people using him as a gotcha for "game journalist is bad" is just stupid and ignorant Click to expand... Click to shrink... Multiple Journalists Callout VentureBeat Article About Quantic Dream's Defense of Alleged Toxic Culture Article in question https://venturebeat.com/2020/02/27/how-quantic-dream-defended-itself-against-allegations-of-a-toxic-culture/ The article does a lot of things wrong, like taking quotes from a group interview session of employees that was arranged by their bosses, and essentially discounting... www.resetera.com As Jason said at the time Video game journalism has taken some great strides over the past few years, but there are still those who value access over truth. Which, fine, to each their own. But to use that access to obfuscate truth to protect powerful people is an embarrassment to the profession. Running an article to discredit other journalists' investigation of a toxic workplace based on 1) an email interview with the boss and 2) group interviews with employees arranged by the boss is one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen in the games press. Infuriating. I can't stop thinking about this. Everything about this article is an insult to journalism. It ends on a massive quote about how amazing David Cage thinks David Cage is. As an editor I wouldn't allow most of this quote to be published, let alone to be the story's final words Click to expand... Click to shrink... Cuphead isn't something to bash him over, but his ethics as a journalist certainly are.  hydro94530 Chicken Chaser Member Oct 27, 2017 8,102 Bay Area Hella forgot about this until now.   Jamesac68 Member Oct 27, 2017 3,168 Thing that always gets me when I'm playing something at a show like PAX East or where the developer can watch, is I frequently hear I'm good at whatever game I'm playing. (Not all of them, not by a long shot, but regularly enough to notice.) My thought is usually along the lines of "No, you told me what to do and I'm doing it." I think people in general just aren't that good at learning games, and usually go through the "Duh!" phase in private.   SixelAlexiS Member Oct 27, 2017 9,130 Italy I'm actually mad at you OP for writing CupHead in the title.   Hong Member Oct 30, 2017 849 I haven't seen this particular instance referenced recently tbh. I do dislike that people are making fun of gaming journalism as a whole due to instances like this, although I can't deny there have been some really, really embarrassing examples.   PallasKitten Member Jul 11, 2022 1,741 SixelAlexiS said: I'm actually mad at you OP for writing CupHead in the title. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Oh good it isn't just me then, lol. But yeah I honestly kinda forgot about this whole thing. I haven't actually seen it referenced in years, but mind you, I rarely watch gaming related videos other than the odd video review or trailer here and there.  Derbel McDillet ▲ Legend ▲ Member Nov 23, 2022 23,615 I haven't seen this referenced in a minute, people seem to mostly reference an outlet (usually the wrong one) more than the person. But also, you're saying this on a site that still makes "too much water" jokes.  Bear Member Oct 25, 2017 12,221 OP Streisand Effect-Ed himself.   Baphomet Member Dec 8, 2018 21,565 Lol OP just reminded me about it so I rewatched it again , still funny to me.   Jazzem Member Feb 2, 2018 2,981 Yeah, hate this stuff. Someone universally hating journalists in any field, including gaming, is always a red flag. Usually speaks to someone who bases their views on reactionary headlines Derbel McDillet said: But also, you're saying this on a site that still makes "too much water" jokes. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Ugh, I know right. When I see those, it just reminds me how the poor woman got so many death and rape threats :(  Universal Acclaim Member Oct 5, 2024 2,062 I think I'm missing context for why the context surrounding him makes it worse as the years go by   JuniperAndSage Member Dec 27, 2019 6,923 Seattle OhhEldenRing said: Cuphead isn't something to bash him over, but his ethics as a journalist certainly are. Click to expand... Click to shrink... 99.99% of the gamers badmouthing him, games journalists, or "ethics in games journalism", are not talking about the Cage stuff though.   CloseTalker Sister in the Craft Member Oct 25, 2017 37,962 Franky D Tank said: While it's not everywhere, Click to expand... Click to shrink... That's an understatement haha. This thread is the most front-facing that moment has been in years   atomsk Member Oct 28, 2017 1,736 while I vaguely remember the Cuphead video and surrounding conversation, it wasn't until this thread that I realized it was the same guy who wrote Opening the Xbox I still have that book somewhere  DespiteTheNora Member Jan 30, 2025 1,410 JuniperAndSage said: 99.99% of the gamers badmouthing him, games journalists, or "ethics in games journalism", are not talking about the Cage stuff though. Click to expand... Click to shrink... This is true for most of the "LOL IGN" "4/10 too much water IGN" crowd that sees the words game journalists and loses their gourd. This industry specifically, like many I'm sure, has different segments crap on each other.  Khanimus Avenger Oct 25, 2017 45,946 Greater Vancouver ...you're wildly overestimating how much this matters as a cultural talking point.   gdt Member Oct 26, 2017 10,567 I vaguely recall this....I think   Thrill_house Member Oct 27, 2017 11,830 Never heard of this until you brought it up OP, after watching the video though holy SHIT that was painful. Like the poor bastard never played mario or contra years ago. Did the guy get dragged that bad? I don't even remember it honestly.   Joe Shlabotnik Member Oct 27, 2017 6,229 Jamesac68 said: Thing that always gets me when I'm playing something at a show like PAX East or where the developer can watch, is I frequently hear I'm good at whatever game I'm playing. (Not all of them, not by a long shot, but regularly enough to notice.) My thought is usually along the lines of "No, you told me what to do and I'm doing it." I think people in general just aren't that good at learning games, and usually go through the "Duh!" phase in private. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I had a very brief dalliance with video games "journalism" (just previews and reviews) many many years ago and I got this a lot too, and could never tell whether people genuinely had trouble with basic stuff or the PR or devs were just buttering me up. (Mostly suspected the latter)  Duffking Member Oct 27, 2017 6,613 Are there any instances where people repeat the whole "oh yeah their reviewer sucked at the game and gave it a bad score" where people aren't deliberately lying? Like in every case I can think of like the Cuphead thing, Polygon's Doom thing, it's just untrue and the footage wasn't captured by the person who reviewed it, and the game also got a good score.  Toddhunter Member Feb 22, 2025 358 Thrill_house said: Never heard of this until you brought it up OP, after watching the video though holy SHIT that was painful. Like the poor bastard never played mario or contra years ago. Did the guy get dragged that bad? I don't even remember it honestly. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Not in a meaningful way. Cuphead was released in 2017. Game reviews had lost all meaning at least like 5 years before that (think Jeff Gerstman being fired from Gamespot and so on). So anybody paying attention to them at that point was likely even more of a joke.  Agni Kai Member Nov 2, 2017 9,875 People don't forget.   Jamesac68 Member Oct 27, 2017 3,168 Joe Shlabotnik said: I had a very brief dalliance with video games "journalism" (just previews and reviews) many many years ago and I got this a lot too, and could never tell whether people genuinely had trouble with basic stuff or the PR or devs were just buttering me up. (Mostly suspected the latter) Click to expand... Click to shrink... Joke's on them if it's just flattery- I automatically disbelieve any compliment like it's a big soft fluffy ball hiding death-spikes inside.  Dranakin Member Oct 27, 2017 2,801 Oh, I never heard of this until the description in OP.   Jane Member Oct 17, 2018 1,610 Duffking said: Are there any instances where people repeat the whole "oh yeah their reviewer sucked at the game and gave it a bad score" where people aren't deliberately lying? Like in every case I can think of like the Cuphead thing, Polygon's Doom thing, it's just untrue and the footage wasn't captured by the person who reviewed it, and the game also got a good score. Click to expand... Click to shrink... IGN's terrible Sonic Unleashed review has an infamous moment where the reviewer complains about the controls being "unresponsive" as the footage shows them seemingly jumping into a pit on purpose.   ScOULaris Member Oct 25, 2017 12,024 I dunno, OP. It kind of deserves all the mockery it has received. Like, have you seen the video? 😆 Would it be better if his actual name wasn't attached to it? Like if it was just footage captured anonymously by an unnamed journalist that people were poking fun at?  OP OP Franky D Tank Member May 15, 2024 1,020 Damn, looks like the joke is on me going by the bulk of responses here. At least in the fact that I've been unlucky in watching videos with references to Dan and many here haven't thought about the incident until just this thread popping up randomly. I know internet law dictates I double down in hopes of looking better, but I will take the L gracefully. Still think the overall reaction was bad and the rest of my feelings stand. Not surprised that there are actual, good reasons to go against Dan and the outlet he worked for, but as per usual, the people who claim to care about ethics ignore credible and actual ethical breaches. Also. SixelAlexiS said: I'm actually mad at you OP for writing CupHead in the title. Click to expand... Click to shrink... PallasKitten said: Oh good it isn't just me then, lol. But yeah I honestly kinda forgot about this whole thing. I haven't actually seen it referenced in years, but mind you, I rarely watch gaming related videos other than the odd video review or trailer here and there. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Genuine skill issue for me. On computer I already have issues with grammar, making this thread on mobile doomed me to make mistakes. Now are you mad enough to burn me at the stake on the internet as a warning to others?  Otakunofuji Member Oct 27, 2017 2,670 There are 2 things here. 1. Dean posting that terrible "preview". 2. Other d-bags on YouTube being cringey about it. #2 doesn't excuse or forgive #1. You don't need to defend him in order to complain about the rest. And, anyway, Justin Mcelroy not understanding how fishing worked in Nier and making an article AND video about it and refusing to review it is far more egregious because it actually damaged the perception of that game back in 2010. Everyone knew Dean was just bad at games in 2017 with Cuphead.  ArjanN Member Oct 25, 2017 11,436 This video by Shaun is the last time I've thought about it, and that is 7 years old: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-P9_oUV9Gw I'm sure the chuds are still beating this dead horse, but I haven't seen it brought up here in years.  Clay Member Oct 29, 2017 9,335 Franky D Tank said: Now are you mad enough to burn me at the stake on the internet as a warning to others? Click to expand... Click to shrink... What was that about taking the L gracefully? Stuff like this is so frustrating about movements like GamerGate. It is a funny video. And even if the guy reports more on business, and doesn't write reviews, it's still kind of ridiculous that someone who's been in the industry that long is THAT incapable of passing a simple tutorial. Obviously he doesn't deserve to be "burned at the stake." But I really don't see the harm in laughing at ridiculous videos like this one and the infamous Polygon Doom one. But when these movements start harassing people, or using it evidence of whatever corruption conspiracy they believe in, it looks questionable to poke fun at them, even if you don't share intentions with the shitty people. Anyway, I do think it's amusing that Dean is just really, really bad at games. IIRC there's been a few other similar incidents. I'm pretty sure he get partway through Mass Effect and complained online that it was ridiculously hard, and it turned out that he didn't realize you could level up.  tim1138 One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 6,778 I've legitimately never even heard of this before   Mesoian ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 28, 2017 31,443 I mean... No? Like I would give someone the side eye if they're still harping on it years later. I give it about as much thought as Griffin McElroy not being able to figure out fishing in Nier, which is almost none. It was not some flashpoint in gaming history.  SixelAlexiS Member Oct 27, 2017 9,130 Italy Franky D Tank said: Genuine skill issue for me. On computer I already have issues with grammar, making this thread on mobile doomed me to make mistakes. Now are you mad enough to burn me at the stake on the internet as a warning to others? Click to expand... Click to shrink... I will forever mock you as someone not good enough to be entitled in making thread titles.   AnimeJesus Member Oct 27, 2017 5,379 Vaguely remember this but didn't realize it was still a thing. Just seems like something you ignore and move on from.   OP OP Franky D Tank Member May 15, 2024 1,020 Clay said: What was that about taking the L gracefully? Stuff like this is so frustrating about movements like GamerGate. It is a funny video. And even if the guy reports more on business, and doesn't write reviews, it's still kind of ridiculous that someone who's been in the industry that long is THAT incapable of passing a simple tutorial. Obviously he doesn't deserve to be "burned at the stake." But I really don't see the harm in laughing at ridiculous videos like this one and the infamous Polygon Doom one. But when these movements start harassing people, or using it evidence of whatever corruption conspiracy they believe in, it looks questionable to poke fun at them, even if you don't share intentions with the shitty people. Anyway, I do think it's amusing that Dean is just really, really bad at games. IIRC there's been a few other similar incidents. I'm pretty sure he get partway through Mass Effect and complained online that it was ridiculously hard, and it turned out that he didn't realize you could level up. Click to expand... Click to shrink... With the bolded, I was trying (and unsuccessfully) to be tongue in cheek. As for the rest, you hit the nail on the head. In a vacuum, it's a video about someone being extremely bad and stuck in a simple spot for a comically long period of time. It should just be immortalized as a silly video of a really bad player at a video game. Unfortunately, outside context makes it harder to enjoy it that way, and when people reference it, the way it comes across is nebulous at best. SixelAlexiS said: I will forever mock you as someone not good enough to be entitled in making thread titles. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Fair enough, and it should be grounds for me to stop making threads. But that's not going to stop me from making them or even more importantly, making a fool of myself!  Transistor This isn't going to go the way you think Administrator Oct 25, 2017 41,386 Washington, D.C. This is legitimately the first time I've heard about it in years   Popoirandi Member Feb 25, 2024 769 Franky D Tank said: Am I just being overly sensitive to what is ultimately just a joke about something coming close to a decade old, or do you also get annoyed at it as well? Click to expand... Click to shrink... In my opinion yes. Kids at my school laughed at it when it happened, it was just funny. You're only making yourself stress over nothing if you always have to evaluate every funny event to see if it can be interpreted in a way that gives ammo to people you argue online with.   Morrigan Spear of the Metal Church Member Oct 24, 2017 36,914 I had forgotten about that, but thanks for reminding me OP, so I can laugh at him once more. Extra Sauce said: Dean Takahashi should have received more criticism for running defense for David Cage than he got for being not very good at video games. Click to expand... Click to shrink... But he can be mocked for both. (Also, he should also have received more criticism for giving softballs to Bobby Kotick too)  Gloam Member Oct 29, 2017 1,612 I'm sorry OP, I feel like you jumped ahead in the premise of the thread here. What's the "whole thing"? Is there some backstory behind the video that puts it in a new light?   Mobius and Pet Octopus Member Oct 25, 2017 16,530 First time I heard about it in years, but I don't mind being reminded how people tend the cross the line with their criticisms. Especially around... anything to push a weird contorted narrative.   Riot Member Oct 27, 2017 225 To me it's just the equivalent to a bad baseball first pitch. The ineptitude is funny, it's not inherently linked to some movement or ideology. That's not to say some people haven't or don't do that but you can't just lump everything into the same group.