Jim Sterling Vs Cliffy B

Have you heard the latest scandal to rip through the video game industry? Cliffy B - head honcho at Epic Games - is a bit narked ‘cos Jim Sterling - reviews editor at Destructoid - gave Gears of War 3 eight-out-of-ten.

Okay I admit, I may have over-egged that opening sentence, but the steady stream of snarky tittle-tattle from both camps caught my attention. I found myself inexplicably drawn into the fray. Who would emerge victorious from this wholly underwhelming skirmish?

In an interview with VG247, Cliffy B revealed his feelings about the incoming review scores for Gears of War 3:

VG247: Were you pleased with the review scores this morning?

Cliff Bleszinski: Doing great, apart from a couple of haters.

VG247: And who are the haters?

Cliff: A certain gamer of the Euro.

VG247: And what was their problem with the game? I haven’t read the review.

Cliff: You know, I didn’t quite gather it. I don’t want to come across as defensive. How do I phrase this properly? When people rated Gear 2 higher than Gears 3, it kind of upset me because I know Gears 3 is a better game on every level.

Jim Sterling responded in his twitter feed:

‘His comments directly encourage the "anything under 9 isn't good enough" attitude that's shat all over the industry.’

Cliffy B then blocked Jim from his twitter feed, prompting this reaction from Jim:

‘So apparently @TheRealCliffyB blocked me from Twitter. Charming. #coward’

Now, while this may seem like a trivial bit of internet gossip I can’t help but agree with Jim when he says, ‘His attitude is a harmful one and deserved to be criticized…Clifford was unsatisfied by anything lower than unanimous praise and that's a horrendous attitude for a creative man to have…Never mind that the game's been getting rave reviews. He was so spoiled he focused first and foremost on his complaints…Attitudes need to change, above all else. Attitudes like his, where 8/10 isn't good enough, deserve lambasting.’

To be fair to Cliffy B, he never directly criticised Jim’s review, but his subsequent twitter block speaks volumes about his reaction to those reviews he deems ‘hateful’.

What do you guys think? Was Cliffy B’s reaction ‘bratty and entitled’? Is Jim right to lambast Cliffy B? Or is this silly kerfuffle simply the hollow sound of two egos clashing? I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts, so leave ‘em in the comment section below.

Pictures provided by Kira Walker and Gavin Mitchell