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Jeff Green becomes PopCap director of editorial and social media
Former EA.com editor in chief and longtime game journalist Jeff Green is now an employee of virtual drug pusher PopCap Games, reports Armchair Empire. He'll be heading up editorial and social media at the company, though it appears his employer's leash won't be held quite so tightly this time around. "Don't worry kids, I have a long, generous leash at the new gig for ongoing podcasting, mag article writing, etc." Green said of his new position via Twitter. He also announced the return of his podcast "Out of the Game," with N'Gai Croal, Shawn Elliott and Luke Smith; as well as a new monthly column he'll be penning for EGM. In an official statement, Green spoke highly of the Plants vs. Zombies developer. "PopCap never stumbles, and with PvZ you can see that they're just getting better and bolder. When I was talking to people about whether to take the job or not, one thing came up consistently: No one doesn't like PopCap. They, and their games, are beloved in the industry." As longtime fans of Green ourselves, we wish him the best of luck in his new position.
Jeff Green penning Blizzard 20th anniversary book
We've been filling zerg-shaped balloons all year in preparation for Blizzard Entertainment's 20th anniversary in 2011. Former EA.com editor-in-chief (and former EIC of Games for Windows magazine) Jeff Green, however, has been writing a book for the company. Announced via his personal blog this past weekend, Green says he's been "contracted to write a book for Blizzard on their upcoming 20th Anniversary." While our faith in Mr. Green is unshakable, we can't help but wonder if the book will see 15 years of rewrites before being released. It is, after all, a Blizzard product. We kid, we kid!
EA's Jeff Green chimes in on California game law Supreme Court case
[Image Source] If you were looking for a concise explanation of why you should care about the upcoming Supreme Court review of California's oft-defeated measure to outlaw the sale of "excessively" violent games to minors, look no further than the blog of EA's Jeff Green. Then again, you've probably heard his argument before: Films have the MPAA, and games have the ESRB. Why does Gov. Schwarzenegger think the first can be self-regulated, while the second must be restricted by state law? Green worries that, should the law be reenacted, it could have "a chilling effect on the gaming industry as a whole," forcing developers to constantly second-guess the content that goes into their games. He encourages everyone who wants to voice their opinion on the bill to speak up on this ECA-penned petition.
PAX East: Podcasting (f)or PR
If you're interested at all in starting up a podcast or want to know more about what goes into creating one, the PAX East panel hosted by Gamers With Jobs' Julian Murdoch and attended by podcasting professionals Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Insomniac Games' James Stevenson, Irrational Games' Ken Levine and Shawn Elliott, and EA's Jeff Green is a pretty enlightening listen We were anxious to hear what the group had to say on the subject of using podcasts for promotion -- and we recorded it because, well, you might be interested too! For the full, unedited (and very NSFW) audio, click on the play button below. Highlights include outlining the value in podcasting, being on the front lines of PR when something bad goes down and answering questions on how to get a podcast off the ground and cultivating an audience. Feel free to give a listen below.
GFW's Jeff Green leaves 1UP for Sims team
Jeff Green is the kind of game journalist we want to be when we grow up: Seasoned, funny and imbued with the perfect blend of skepticism and passion, even after 17 years on the job. Now, the former CGW and GFW editor and (just as importantly) GFW Radio/Brodeo cornerstone is leaving Ziff-Davis to join The Sims development team.We have too much respect for Green to use this as an opportunity to note all the high-profile names that have jumped the Ziff-Davis ship recently. We'll only say that we'll miss you Jeff, and we wish you all the best.[Thanks, Jonah]
1UP zings Neverwinter Nights 2 (again)
It looks like the final chapter has been written in the ongoing saga of 1UP's Neverwinter Nights 2 review controversy. An updated review is now available at the Ziff Davis-owned gaming portal, and the new score is a 6/10 (upgraded from 5/10). Only this time, the review was written by Games for Windows editor Jeff Green, who just last week explained the decision to pull writer Matt Peckham's original review.Green echoes Peckham's sentiments about D&D-based roleplaying adventures -- "success is largely determined by the understanding of a rule set that only a genius or a 13-year-old could fully comprehend" -- but he takes great care not to bash the genre with the same reckless abandon that tainted Peckham's analysis. Instead, more emphasis is placed on NWN2's performance issues, problematic camera, and faulty A.I. -- all valid criticisms. Still, you have to wonder if this is the score Green would've given Obsidian's RPG before the events of two weeks ago, or if he was somehow influenced by the score Peckham gave the game. Like the editor said last week, "there was no way to 'win' here." See also: Metareview - Neverwinter Nights 2
Editor explains retracted NWN2 review
Games For Windows magazine editor Jeff Green has posted a lengthy explanation on why Matt Peckham's now infamous review of Neverwinter Nights 2 was pulled from 1UP last week. Green's commentary offers some detailed insight into the new editorial process that will unify 1UP.com and GFW product reviews -- a system that seemingly left all parties involved with their backs up against the wall. In this excerpt, Green discusses his gut reaction after reading Peckham's review:"...when I read it, I was unhappy. I felt that right from the start, it read more like a bashing of the genre rather than a review of this specific game. I could see valid criticisms of NWN2 in the text, but I felt that the overall tone made it seem that [Matt] was just so sick of turn-based D&D RPGs that the game never had a chance on its own. I felt, if I was a reader, my first question would be: 'Why the heck did they let him review it then?' I felt that what he was saying in general was perfectly valid -- but just not for this piece."In summary, the GFW editor reaffirms 1UP's commitment to gamers, which is what drove the decision to remove the NWN2 review. Nothing like a little controversy to help kick off a publication relaunch, but in choosing to share the lessons learned by his organization, Green's retelling of these unfortunate events can benefit other trade publications.
