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It’s may just be the year of Bloody Gaming. This year, the accessory maker is releasing peripherals intent on bringing them into the spotlight like never before. We saw some of their new gear at CES and were impressed, but it was their new keyboards that most caught our eye. Today, we’re looking at the B975, Bloody’s new full-size RGB keyboard, complete with a new and improved optical switch that’s easily their best yet.
Comments
If something was paid for it will say sponsored in the title on this site.
We always say if it is sponsored and /or if the item was provided by the manufacturer for review.
Let me say this slowly: We. Do. Not. Get. Paid. For. Articles. Without. Labeling. Them. EVER.
Loathe as I am to say it because of the ease some throw it out there, your insinuations are "fake news".
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's likely where the offense taken comes from.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I wasn't talking about normal mechanical key switches. It was referring specifically to the last generation of Light Strike switches in the area of looseness.
By appearances, perhaps - though I kind of doubt it. What logitech are you referring to?
Our reviews are not paid for. Suzie and the rest of that bristle at questions like that because it is a very common throw-out to try to diminish what we do here when the commenter doesn't want to take the time (or doesn't have the ability to) make a reasoned argument.
When it comes to hardware, we receive review samples like every other outlet because it would be insane to budget for every item we wanted to try and share our thoughts on. No outlet is buying all their own hardware with very rare exceptions. Any item we are sent is disclosed at the end of the review, as it is in this one.
But, given that hardware isn't the main focus this site was built on, companies would be insane to pay us over a hardware dedicated site. Speaking from my experience and talking to other hardware writers, there isn't money changing hands for reviews unless it's a sponsored series, at least in any case I've heard of. Maybe it happens, but if it does, it won't happen here.
Fun fact: the place that's most likely to happen? YouTube and Twitch. Not "old guard" written media where we have ethics policies to abide by. Even then, I'm dubious, because most non-associated YouTubers are going to be happy to get something for free, which may in itself go a long way to swaying opinion. Why would you bribe a streamer when just giving them the thing is probably going to do it anyway? We've been doing this for long enough, where getting a sample isn't anything new. It's just how it's done, that's all. Contrary to what you hear a lot of in comments, the verified cases of money for positive coverage recently all been tied to YouTube.
Advertising and editorial are kept separate always. The only people even talking to companies when it comes to hardware reviews are typically Bill and I, and that's to arrange coverage and communicate links to the review, ask questions, that kind of thing. In other words, to do our job as editors.
Those are honest answers to what you say are honest questions, and I hope it gives some context to how things work.
I understand you're standing up for your writer but contrary to what you might think, not everyone who questions your advertising methods is someone who doesn't want to take the time or doesn't have the ability to make a reasoned argument. It does, however, give clear insight into your thoughts on your own readers. In case you weren't aware, it doesn't mention that the device has been paid for by the manufacturer until you read the full article, and even then it's at the end of it. My point wasn't that you were actually getting paid to write it, but that you were only writing about the ones that are sent to you.
Someone else posted that there are a lot of keyboards out there, so what are the ones you review based on? Because it seems like, from what you've said, that you review the ones people pay for and send you because "It's just how it's done, that's all." So while this may be old hat for you, not everyone trusts reviews that come from products given for free since it tends to bias the reviewers thoughts, reviewers being human and all. That's why in Steam reviews the label is placed at the top of the review. This is an honest response to what you say are honest answers, and I hope it gives you some context to how things work.
PS: It would be great if it wasn't necessary to edit html in order to respond to a post.
Keep in mind that in pretty much every case of a bad review, those games and peripherals were also given for free. In those instances you have to weigh the integrity of the writers more-so than peoples' love of getting free stuff.
Now it's completely possible to see a "sponsored" review, but those are completely different. Those play more like a commercial. But that being said, reviews of any kind should be taken with a grain of salt, as any review worth it's weight is written with more than just facts, but the writers perception of the product.
I don't know how many times I've seen responses on articles where the writer was deemed as "Biased" or "paid off" because they liked something that someone else (who mostly hasn't tried it) disliked it. It's just the nature of reviews, no matter where you see them, and some are valid criticisms, I just think a lot of people can't tell the difference between sites that disclose the information like MMORPG, and sites with less integrity.
We have been around for 15+ years and I personally can assure you that we have never taken money for a piece of content that we did not clearly label as sponsored. Even this we only started doing in the past few years.
- MMORPG.COM Staff -
The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
While true I could search for the reviews, unsurprisingly I come here primarily to scratch the surface of MMORPG news the same way I go to specialized outlets for reviews such as TheTruthAboutGuns.com.. This is no TheTruthAboutKeyboards.
I'm sorry to hear that since I've enjoyed your comments on many keyboard reviews. Hardware is a side line of content here - MMOs and RPGs are, of course, the main focus - but I'm proud of the work we do to provide extra content and value to our readers.
1) Bloody Gaming makes all their own products. There are 2 main companies that own their manufacturing lines - Bloody and Logitech. The rest of the brands mentioned DO NOT. For the guy saying he knows manufacturing, that's great, but we know the PC peripheral manufacturing secrets and that's what this thread is about.
2) Our team is compromised of members who have worked or consulted for all the various gaming brands mentioned in this thread. Bloody is the only one actively pushing Optical Switch technology over Mechanical (which has been around since the 80s. If you'd like to talk to us more about it, let us know).
3) Romer-G switches are not optical switches. They are physical switches with a different design. It's very similar to Topre switches and do not provide the same benefits. The circular design in the middle is JUST for LED shine which has zero beneficial performance to pro-gaming.
4) MMORPG was not paid NOR did we offer them any money for the keyboard. We asked their team to focus primarily on our innovation with Light Strike optical switch technology and other speed-focused benefits for gamers. When the game is on the line, whoever press their key fastest can end up winning. We've made that with light speed AND per-key stabilization for added precision.
5) If you buy a Light Strike keyboard and mention you this thread, I'll give you a 6 Year Warranty and personally e-mail you that guarantee. Just because you took the time to read this.
I personally asked MMORPG to review our keyboard because I've been a die-hard MMO player for over 8 years, running my own WoW guild, and we have team members who have played FF Online and Everquest.
We all use our own keyboards and designed them for all types of games. You might even want to look at our left-handed 945 on Amazon where we focus around using the left-handed numpad for MMO macros and modifier bindings.
We'll be here to talk and answer more questions..and more importantly to correct the inaccurate amounts of information being spread on here.
We made products for other brands and now we decided to do it ourselves, and do it better.
Not sure why we need to clarify so much, but we can and will in order to help everyone understand our motivations and intentions.
http://a4tech.com/about us.asp?m=l1
While correct about having a plant, logitech does not manufacture ANY of your beloved Romer-G series. They only in-house manufacture Mice for the G series line. You could look too Chicony, Lite-On, and around 3 other vendors which I will keep nameless that assemble the "housing" around an Omron Product (Romer-G Switch) . Logitech is Brand + Software when discussing their G - Series keyboards.