GTX 1080 Review Scandal + Sonic Blasts Mighty No. 9 + Taylor Swift vs. YouTube

The internet is making a much bigger deal out of the Asus and MSI GTX 1080 review issue than what it really is. Asus and MSI 1080 video cards come with both an overclock mode and a gamer mode and it is as easy to switch between the two as a push of a button. All the two companies did was instead of shipping the video cards to reviewers with gamer mode set as the default, like the consumer versions have, the default was switched to overclock mode. The review copies had nothing extra that the consumer versions do not have. I would rather know what OC mode is capable of rather than gamer mode since OC mode lets me know what the best I can expect out of the card is. The worst thing I can say the companies did is not notify the reviewers ahead of time that the video cards are already in OC mode, if only to prevent all the drama that is now going on. Most reviews I read did not even mention which mode they thought they were testing.

I agree with your statement completely... but the problem tends to be that they couple those actions with complaints and pointed fingers for why their profits are falling. While methods that provide easier access (like limited to no DRM), or access at all (for portions of the globe that often get ignored) have consistently shown evidence of increasing profits.

tldr; We're just annoyed that they're bitching about a problem they only make worse, and then blame everyone else.

Oh for sure, I'm not going to even try to argue the fact that a fair amount of the music industry has handled the Internet as a whole pretty poorly, just look at Metallica who's pretty much become a running joke for basically being, "get off my lawn," crotchety old men when it comes to this stuff. The thing that really gets me is even if we're just talking from a purely mercenary point of view, calling out and shaming the audience who's taking the time to seek out your product, even if it might not be the exact way you want them to is just a horrible business practice that isn't exactly going to sway them towards making a legal purchase next time. If artists can't find a way to evolve and find a new way to make money, I'm right there with you that the finger they need to be pointing is the thumb instead, the only thing I was really trying to say is it's just always struck me as odd when people don't understand that just because something is online it doesn't automatically fall under this magical, "Fair Use," concept which is often horribly misused and misunderstood.