Spong redeems itself (a bit)

I know I've been quite hard on Spong.com recently, but I do take notice when they do something right.



For instance, their coverage of incompatibility issues with the Japanese version of F-Zero GX. Aparently, Datel's Freeloader disc, which allows Japanese games to play on American and European systems, does not work correctly with the menus in the new futuristic racing game. This led some to speculate that Nintendo had put in some new protection scheme to thwart the import of its games. Almost surprisingly, Spong did not jump to this conclusion in its initial report: Freeloader No-Loader. Even better, they included some very important words at the bottom of the informative article, posted yesterday: "...we've asked Datel to confirm this. Expect full details if and when they reply."



It's amazing how much those little words will do for one's credibility.



Finally, to complete the hat trick, today Spong posted the full reply they got from Datel. In the lengthy note, Datel said they were working on the problem and revealed that they didn't think Nintendo was deliberately blocking the menus. Spong was quick to point out that Datel was speaking exclusively to them, which isn't that surprising, as no one else probably bothered to follow up on the story with a simple e-mail to the Freeloader makers. Thanks to this simple follow-up, Spong jumps ahead of most other outlets that covered the story.



It may seem a little inconsequential on a story as small as this, but getting as much information as possible is no doubt important to anyone interested in importing GameCube games. Through the simple act of following up with Datel, Spong makes the story more complete and worth more to its readers. Kudos, Spong. Keep up the decent work.