The Current "State" of Video Game Journalism

[Parrothead]

Our Editor's rant on the current state of video game journalism. I thought it was a pretty good piece and thought I would share it here. What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree?

 

- Mike

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2...er-bribery.ars

 

I want you to read that. I want you to read every single word of it, and when you're done, I want you to come back to this page ready to listen.

 

Ready?

I want to preface this by saying that not only is this one of those editorials that isn't going to win me any friends, I may very well run the risk of losing some of the friends I have. But I feel compelled to contribute my commentary.

 

The state of gaming journalism, and the people that are representative of it, could be considered bankrupt right now. I don't say this lightly, or without conviction mind you. Really it should become obvious to anyone that isn't a mental space cadet, that most coverage of games is very archaic in nature, and has immense issues of transparency. And to speak on the quality of most gaming coverage is something of an embarrassment unto itself. I feel like a buffoon whenever I seriously consider G4TV a legitimate source of anything other than fodder for blogs, and the incessant comments sections that come with them. But sadly, and despite argument on the internet stating otherwise, G4TV is the most watched source of news for games, and sadly still, despite what people on the internet think, TV is the most significant media sharing medium in existence. The sooner you can acknowledge that, and move on with the rest of this the better, because it raises an immediate concern in and of itself. G4 is a mess, it's mostly reruns of COPS, and Ninja Warrior. And the rare bit of coverage that is featured on the channels, is immediately trumped by the immediacy, and the dedicated insanity of up-to-the minute happenings within the industry by blogs like Kotaku, and Destructoid. This rift should make it abundantly clear that games insofar as the maintstream media is concerned are still a joke and considered complex playthings at best, with only the major outlets responsible for games coverage covered in so much blood, that they should be arrested on the spot for murdering the very industry they purport to love.

 

On the subject of bribery. I've seen it, dealt with it, am privy to it, but never guilty of it. It exists within this industry on such a monumental level that to try to bring any sensible and meaning discussion on the subject is a cavalcade unto itself. I also find it funny that Ars Technica takes the time to single out Jim Sterling, a man who has google news alerts set to his own name. Jim Sterling is atypical of all things wrong with gaming coverage as it exists in it's current form. He is a man who can be bought, bullied, and sold, and does so through a veil of hot air, and blasphemously transparent conviction.

 

"I am fully aware that by posting this, I am essentially opening up any positive review ofDarksiders(released this week) to accusations of pay-offs and bias. However, I don't really care, because I just received a GIANT MASSIVE DARKSIDERS SWORD!" - Jim Sterling

 

Investigate that bit of text, does it look like it was written by someone who takes their responsibility in reporting seriously? Or does it rather look like a unrestrained outburst from a hyperactive 15 year old? If you know anything about me, then you know it's no secret that Jim and I have had some silly fights, and called each other some marvelous names, but inside of my own profession I don't think I've ever displayed a true lack of credibility, and then outright defended it in the same sentence. I know Jim will more than likely read this, and if and when he does I want him to consider the ultimate impact of making the rest of us look similarly stupid by proxy. While it may be unfair to say that he is the ultimate detritus responsible for the dwindling credibility of journalistic integrity as it pertains to games, it is impossible to ignore the negative contribution that inevitably comes with those momentary lapses of judgment regardless of who's responsible. And beyond that, I've never been terribly fond of his opinions, or conclusions as it pertains to games, as I have always felt like Jim Sterling and the rest of the crew at Destructoid sold their last bit of integrity away when the amazingly talented Anthony Burch (wisely) left for greener pastures.

 

I brought up the issue of complacency before when I talked briefly about the lack of sexual content in games, and I bring it up again. Why do we settle for this? When did a place like Kotaku, whose only meaningful contribution to journalism has been rehashing press releases, and posting pictures of scantily clad cosplayers get to hold the mantle of being known as a go to, for reliable, objective reporting? Go to Kotaku.com right now, go through the last week of posts. If you can go through a single week of that completely over saturated garbage without coming across something that can be labeled patently useless, then I commend you, but the fact remains that the site is absolutely inundated with information that could be considered as nothing more than fluff. I want to take the easy road out, and simply say that these people don't take their jobs seriously, and think that the rest of the industry is similarly a joke, but I fear that the reality is much more multifaceted and complex than that. I fear that in an effort to constantly compete with each other for scoops, and the slightest tidbits of information these sites have managed to ultimately cheapen the impact of any news whatsoever, and turn themselves into persistently updated advertising billboards subject to the whims of publishers. I understand the desire to get stories out, and to generate “scoops” but the reality of the current situation is a parody of that principle at best. (At the gaming press) You have managed to make any fart within a publishers office “news” and let crazy important things like the massive publisher layoffs of the past year fly by without even the second notion of dedicated coverage. And the less I say about your seeming unanimous decision to cover women in gaming as nothing more than mere objects the better. It seems that the only conclusion that my peers want to leave me with, is that they are still incapable of behaving in a manner befitting of an adult with any semblance of responsibility to their audiences, and worse than that, they have the moral accountability of a US Senator.

 

For anyone that takes issue with this, note that GameGavel.com is on a number of those very same press lists, and we are privy to a wide range of news, and happenings within our dark universe, but we make the daily editorial decision to not fall victim to those trappings. In essence, we don't just post crap for the sake of fluffing up content. While this may not be the most beneficial decision from the perspective of the playing into the perception of what a gaming journalist should be, I feel like it's equally important for anyone who works for GameGavel in any capacity for any period of time to not only adopt that mindset, but to make it a mantra for as long as they call this site home. It's a collective statement to all those that continue with a business as usual mentality that their days are numbered, and that a change of the guard has been initiated. People are sick of being inundated with information all the goddamn time, especially if it's nothing more than fodder for a hype machine, I mean it's almost as if the editors of some of these blogs are incapable of thinking beyond an instant gratification standpoint, and refuse to look at what they can contribute to the profession itself.

 

The one rule any reporter worth his salt remembers is this: “If your mother says 'I love you', ask for her sources.” It seems that has become a suggestion at best. The unfortunate thing for those who refuse to adjust their opinions, and their credibility based on the previous statement, is that they are selling out their own industry by virtue of simply refusing to do their job adequately. Worse than that, they are detracting so much credibility away from what they do, and why they do it, that pretty soon the public trust of those people is going to fly out the window, and their opinions will become next to useless. So I can safely say that because of our own refusal to fall in line with everyone else, and copy every other popular game based blog's format, that when the smoke clears, and the rest of you in the gaming press at large are out of jobs, don't be surprised if one day GameGavel.com is putting up offers to buy G4. Because making you all obsolete, is business as usual for us.

 

 

Steve Sawyer

GameGavel.com

Editor in Chief

SteveS@GameGavel.com

[tetrode kink]

Wow, nice rant! In an age when journalists with integrity are a dying breed, it's nice to know there are still a few trying to keep the flame alive.

 

Also, I didn't realize GameGavel.com had grown to more than just a video game auction site, that it actually has editorial staff. Guess I'll have to check it out!

[cimerians]

That's an interesting article. I read a lot of Jim's blogs. I agree with what he says usually around 80-90% of the time. Actually I wish more people writing reviews and news articles were more opiniated and frank like he is, damn what everyone else thinks. It's also quite funny (if you like that type of humor), you cant take it seriously sometimes. He does enjoy misleading people (as a gag) on purpose for his own evil enjoyment. Its just what he likes to do and I think it amuses him. A little comedy is fine in my mind and I don't think fine prints ("this blog entry is just a gag") and apologies are needed. If people are dumb enough to believe stuff which is meant as a gag its not his problem (and I admit sometimes its hard to know if he is serious or not).

 

It's definitely not a form of traditional journalism but I for one, understand his style and know when to take things he says with a grain of salt. Its no big deal.

 

As long as there is some honesty, I will read.

 

This quote:

"I am fully aware that by posting this, I am essentially opening up any positive review ofDarksiders(released this week) to accusations of pay-offs and bias. However, I don't really care, because I just received a GIANT MASSIVE DARKSIDERS SWORD!" - Jim Sterling

 

Is more of a gag. You have to understand this type of humor.

 

Anyway, there's tons of garbage out there which makes me sick to read but Jim Sterling at least to me is credible in his opinions. So I guess I partially agree. Yes, there's garbage out there and it hurts gaming journalism but Sterling (at least for me) isn't one of them.

[MitchSchaft]

Hear hear! We stand behind you.

[hex65000]

Ars Technica Link was broken for me...

 

fixed Ars Technica link

 

Hex.

[ Read the 'adventures of...' article and thinks sometimes he's in the wrong line of work... Nah.]

[CGQuarterly]

Isn't Jim Sterling typical, not atypical, of all things wrong with games journalism?

[cimerians]

 

[HuckleCat]

First off, nice rant, and I pretty much agree.

 

My problem with game "journalism" is the use of the word journalism to begin with. None of you are "professional" journalists. The internet, and the rise of the "blog" has forever destroyed journalism. All of you guys, moral or not, are just gamers that put forth the effort to post your opinions on a regular basis on your own site.

 

There is no such thing as a professional game journalist. I also laugh when one of you dopes call yourself any sort of editor, when no sort of editing seems to be happening. (This goes for all gaming sites.)

 

I do feel where you are coming from, though. Your rant on Kotaku is spot on, but what do you expect? In the past they have had "articles" ranging from asking readers what tattoo one of the site bloggers should get, to old "poop jokes" shared with siblings about Pac-Man and what bathroom habits he has. Kotaku is nothing more than a collection of misfit gamers that have inflated egos because they're finally getting attention for once in their life. They also happen to be insanely irresponsible. For example- and they are not the only site to have done this - they get free junk from Nintendo, then turn around and tell their users how to pirate Wii and DS games, all while hiding behind the whole "backup purposes" bullshit. Nice way to bite the hands that help you.

 

The half-dressed cosplayers and "hot babes" that pretend to like gaming are just thrown in on every game site to pander to an audience of male shut-ins who have never kissed a girl.

 

As far as sites getting paid to laurel praise - I think they all do. The way I see it, the more advertising a site has plastered all over it, the more likely it is that they can be bought. The only person who is an exception is Yahtzee of No Punctuation - he gets paid to hate everything. The best way to see if a game is good is to ignore all of you guys and just try a demo.

 

In short, I agree with you, but I also see you as part of the problem, no matter how honest you claim to be.

[Video]

At least you still have your balls. Go dude go!

[BydoEmpire]

I wouldn't put "State" in sarcasm quotes, I'd put "Journalism."

[Parrothead]

So my post about journalism last week seemed to have hit a nerve with gamers. So much so, that I felt I needed to write a quick follow up to my own editorial. Last week I touched on a lot of issues within the gaming journalism universe, but because of my love of keeping things brief, I didn't really deal with any one thing as deeply as I may have needed to. So what follows is my pithy attempt to explain myself a bit more clearly, and to try and bring some reason to the insanity I have created.

 

But basically this one is a “it's all your fault America” sort of thing.

 

One of the most entertaining responses to my own editorial that I read was something along the lines of (and I am paraphrasing to an untold extent here) “well that's just how journalism is, even in TV, newspapers, everything” The problem that I have with that, is that it stinks of complacency. Either on your part as a viewer or an active participant in a system that's admittedly broken, or on the part of the people responsible for presenting you with that information. Have we really have reached an all time high in cynicism, to the point where nothing can be taken seriously, and no outlet of presenting any kind of information can be regarded as having any definable ounce of credibility? And if so, why is that alright by you, or them? Complacency kills, it's the death knell for anything in life, with video games, and the people that cover them being no exception to that rule. The less that you demand out of the people that you support, the less those people have to be concerned with accountability. Though it may be naive to think this way, I would like to believe that the news I take in everyday is brought to me by people that actually give a damn about their job.

 

Secondly the seemingly popular consensus is that no form of journalism exists as it pertains to games, and that those who claim to be actual investigative reporters, or editors within that bubble are almost immediately guilty by association. If you think that games are a joke, and you think that the coverage of games is a joke, then you can do one of two things. You can either change, or get out of my way. As someone who has an opportunity to actually do something to impact the industry from within, I can't sit idly by and just be another lazy observer to a situation that demands action. And as an addendum to that statement, if you take issue with any of the ways that I take that action, or present my opinions then I invite you to join GameGavel.com and become an active participant yourself. Help me shape the direction of the future, don't just piss and moan about it. And as an immediate knee jerk response to those saying that I'm either contributing to the problem, or doing little to correct it, I will challenge you to your own statements in a year when I have let my guys change the landscape of how this business is run.

 

The third comments all seemed to stem from the issues of transparency that I brought up, and the fact that I picked on Destructoid, and Kotaku. Let me be perfectly clear about something right now. I don't care about most opinions of review scores. If you have ever read anything I've written about a game, I avoid using scores. They are an arbitrary thing that does nothing but create controversy based on the public perception of how a game should be reviewed. I also want to point out that most reviews are pretty stupid, and don't even come close to hitting any issues of consequence. I don't want to say that I'm already superior to everyone else that has ever written a game review, but the way I write them is definitely evolving to accommodate my own crazy ideas about how it should be done. But even with all of my own steps in place there will always be someone that thinks I'm a moron, and I'm alright with that because at the end of the day, I'm a moron with a platform that I've earned through hard work, and dedication to voice my moronic opinions. You are making the choice to take what I say as advice, or dismiss it as the ravings of a lunatic. But what would be unfair to you, is if my opinion was anything but just my opinion. If my opinion was laced with influence, or if my opinion was somehow funded by a third party with their own agenda. It's not. While I encourage my writers to avoid spiraling into fits of anger when they review bad games, I have never, and will never encourage a writer to write a gleaming review of a piss poor game, simply because the publisher or developer was super, super nice to us.

 

As far as kickbacks, and swag goes. I like free stuff, but free stuff is abundant at any corporately funded event in any business, and that's the way it has been since I can remember being able to remember. But I think every journalist going into any type of reporting, be it, film, TV, web, etc is aware of that, and if they are worth their weight in donuts, will have developed an impregnable objective armor impervious to all forms of bribery. And at the risk of repeating myself here, if they haven't done that much, they should find a new profession. I can tell you right now, that if my objectivity it would be a price much higher than a few free games, t-shirts, game merchandise, and consoles. It would honestly take the kind of money that would set me and my family up for the rest of my life without and obligation to work for it, and I don't think that's happening anytime ever, for something as trivial as my jackass opinion on a game. And honestly folks, if you can be bought off with something as goofy as a prop from a game, then I don't know what to do for you as a human being. First, there are so many better things to be bought off with, and second, seriously?

 

As far as picking on people is concerned. I used Destructoid and Kotaku as illustrations because I felt like it. There was no modus operandi in place, they were just on my mind, but in the interest of fairness, I think almost every site that covers games is guilty of some degree of the crap I've mentioned. The fact of the matter is that most sites now that publish “news” have become more like moving billboards, constantly updated with the latest, greatest product that you should be consuming. In the case of some of the sites out there, they salt and pepper that with zany pictures of cosplayers, and other nonsense that only reinforces public perceptions of gamers. It's such an intellectual wasteland, that it truly amazes me that, amongst all that chaos, there is room for any serious discussions to take place. It's the difference between a newspaper, and a supermarket tabloid. Sure there's some information in there that could be interpreted as useful, but how much raw sewage did you have to swim through to digest something palatable?

 

If you are one of these people that read that last paragraph and said “so what?” then I want you to know that you are selling out your own demographic to the wolves. You are telling most news sites, and by extension America at large, that you aren't interested in serious discussions as they pertain to games, and that all gamers are socially awkward dweebs that have never so much as touched a naked woman outside of a pixelated environment. By not demanding that these sites provide more hard hitting content, and less fluff, you are creating a juxtaposition between substance and nonsense, and the end result is the lackluster state of things today, where only the reader or the viewer suffers. Besides, I can't imagine that anyone who would want to go toe to toe with Roger Ebert, or any other established legitimate critic, and wax philosophically about why games should be considered art, would seriously defend any of that garbage.

 

I've already said enough that I'm dying to hear the responses, so do me a huge favor. If you are reading this on a site other than GameGavel.com please post some comments on the original article at GameGavel.com and tell me how wrong I am.

 

Original Blog Link: http://www.gamegavel.com/forum/entry.php?b=216

 

Or try to at least.

 

 

Steve Sawyer

Editor in Chief

SteveS@GameGavel.com

[Keatah]

So my post about journalism last week seemed to have hit a nerve with gamers. So much so, that I felt I needed to write a quick follow up to my own editorial. Last week I touched on a lot of issues within the gaming journalism universe, but because of my love of keeping things brief, I didn't really deal with any one thing as deeply as I may have needed to. So what follows is my pithy attempt to explain myself a bit more clearly, and to try and bring some reason to the insanity I have created.

 

But basically this one is a “it's all your fault America” sort of thing.

 

One of the most entertaining responses to my own editorial that I read was something along the lines of (and I am paraphrasing to an untold extent here) “well that's just how journalism is, even in TV, newspapers, everything” The problem that I have with that, is that it stinks of complacency. Either on your part as a viewer or an active participant in a system that's admittedly broken, or on the part of the people responsible for presenting you with that information. Have we really have reached an all time high in cynicism, to the point where nothing can be taken seriously, and no outlet of presenting any kind of information can be regarded as having any definable ounce of credibility? And if so, why is that alright by you, or them? Complacency kills, it's the death knell for anything in life, with video games, and the people that cover them being no exception to that rule. The less that you demand out of the people that you support, the less those people have to be concerned with accountability. Though it may be naive to think this way, I would like to believe that the news I take in everyday is brought to me by people that actually give a damn about their job.

 

Secondly the seemingly popular consensus is that no form of journalism exists as it pertains to games, and that those who claim to be actual investigative reporters, or editors within that bubble are almost immediately guilty by association. If you think that games are a joke, and you think that the coverage of games is a joke, then you can do one of two things. You can either change, or get out of my way. As someone who has an opportunity to actually do something to impact the industry from within, I can't sit idly by and just be another lazy observer to a situation that demands action. And as an addendum to that statement, if you take issue with any of the ways that I take that action, or present my opinions then I invite you to join GameGavel.com and become an active participant yourself. Help me shape the direction of the future, don't just piss and moan about it. And as an immediate knee jerk response to those saying that I'm either contributing to the problem, or doing little to correct it, I will challenge you to your own statements in a year when I have let my guys change the landscape of how this business is run.

 

The third comments all seemed to stem from the issues of transparency that I brought up, and the fact that I picked on Destructoid, and Kotaku. Let me be perfectly clear about something right now. I don't care about most opinions of review scores. If you have ever read anything I've written about a game, I avoid using scores. They are an arbitrary thing that does nothing but create controversy based on the public perception of how a game should be reviewed. I also want to point out that most reviews are pretty stupid, and don't even come close to hitting any issues of consequence. I don't want to say that I'm already superior to everyone else that has ever written a game review, but the way I write them is definitely evolving to accommodate my own crazy ideas about how it should be done. But even with all of my own steps in place there will always be someone that thinks I'm a moron, and I'm alright with that because at the end of the day, I'm a moron with a platform that I've earned through hard work, and dedication to voice my moronic opinions. You are making the choice to take what I say as advice, or dismiss it as the ravings of a lunatic. But what would be unfair to you, is if my opinion was anything but just my opinion. If my opinion was laced with influence, or if my opinion was somehow funded by a third party with their own agenda. It's not. While I encourage my writers to avoid spiraling into fits of anger when they review bad games, I have never, and will never encourage a writer to write a gleaming review of a piss poor game, simply because the publisher or developer was super, super nice to us.

 

As far as kickbacks, and swag goes. I like free stuff, but free stuff is abundant at any corporately funded event in any business, and that's the way it has been since I can remember being able to remember. But I think every journalist going into any type of reporting, be it, film, TV, web, etc is aware of that, and if they are worth their weight in donuts, will have developed an impregnable objective armor impervious to all forms of bribery. And at the risk of repeating myself here, if they haven't done that much, they should find a new profession. I can tell you right now, that if my objectivity it would be a price much higher than a few free games, t-shirts, game merchandise, and consoles. It would honestly take the kind of money that would set me and my family up for the rest of my life without and obligation to work for it, and I don't think that's happening anytime ever, for something as trivial as my jackass opinion on a game. And honestly folks, if you can be bought off with something as goofy as a prop from a game, then I don't know what to do for you as a human being. First, there are so many better things to be bought off with, and second, seriously?

 

As far as picking on people is concerned. I used Destructoid and Kotaku as illustrations because I felt like it. There was no modus operandi in place, they were just on my mind, but in the interest of fairness, I think almost every site that covers games is guilty of some degree of the crap I've mentioned. The fact of the matter is that most sites now that publish “news” have become more like moving billboards, constantly updated with the latest, greatest product that you should be consuming. In the case of some of the sites out there, they salt and pepper that with zany pictures of cosplayers, and other nonsense that only reinforces public perceptions of gamers. It's such an intellectual wasteland, that it truly amazes me that, amongst all that chaos, there is room for any serious discussions to take place. It's the difference between a newspaper, and a supermarket tabloid. Sure there's some information in there that could be interpreted as useful, but how much raw sewage did you have to swim through to digest something palatable?

 

If you are one of these people that read that last paragraph and said “so what?” then I want you to know that you are selling out your own demographic to the wolves. You are telling most news sites, and by extension America at large, that you aren't interested in serious discussions as they pertain to games, and that all gamers are socially awkward dweebs that have never so much as touched a naked woman outside of a pixelated environment. By not demanding that these sites provide more hard hitting content, and less fluff, you are creating a juxtaposition between substance and nonsense, and the end result is the lackluster state of things today, where only the reader or the viewer suffers. Besides, I can't imagine that anyone who would want to go toe to toe with Roger Ebert, or any other established legitimate critic, and wax philosophically about why games should be considered art, would seriously defend any of that garbage.

 

I've already said enough that I'm dying to hear the responses, so do me a huge favor. If you are reading this on a site other than GameGavel.com please post some comments on the original article at GameGavel.com and tell me how wrong I am.

 

Original Blog Link: http://www.gamegavel.com/forum/entry.php?b=216

 

Or try to at least.

 

 

Steve Sawyer

Editor in Chief

SteveS@GameGavel.com

[Keatah]

yawn... I stopped reading gaming magazines and blogs because they really are all the same. I used to subscribe to some, and read them feverishly cover-to-cover. Then I started to only read them in the bathroom; that's when I didn't renew the subscriptions!

[HuckleCat]

Video game "journalism" is not the only realm of fake news not being taken seriously. It's the entire internet. What sort of education and college background do you have where you can call yourself an editor of any sort? All game "journalists" feel they need only to play games to be qualified for the job. Since we're all gamers, only the ones who are dumb enough to feel the need to be told what to like will assume credibility on your part. The rest of us just want to know what's coming, when, and what it looks like.

 

As for your "deal with it or get out of my way" attitude, well, these are some pretty big words coming from a nobody on an auction site. You had to re-post your diatribe on other sites that people actually read in order to be seen. In a year you'll change the landscape? That's funny, tell us another one.

 

 

Look, it's great that you want to change things, but next time you want to stand on a soapbox - get a bigger box.

[ApolloBoy]

As for your "deal with it or get out of my way" attitude, well, these are some pretty big words coming from a nobody on an auction site. You had to re-post your diatribe on other sites that people actually read in order to be seen. In a year you'll change the landscape? That's funny, tell us another one.

Geez, this thread is starting to turn real hostile real quick.

 

Anyway, I don't read modern gaming blogs or magazines so none of this really concerns me. Only when the modern game industry crashes will I take notice to such publications/sites.

[Keatah]

As for your "deal with it or get out of my way" attitude, well, these are some pretty big words coming from a nobody on an auction site. You had to re-post your diatribe on other sites that people actually read in order to be seen. In a year you'll change the landscape? That's funny, tell us another one.

Geez, this thread is starting to turn real hostile real quick.

 

Anyway, I don't read modern gaming blogs or magazines so none of this really concerns me. Only when the modern game industry crashes will I take notice to such publications/sites.

 

To me, the modern gaming industry is nothing more than a passing curiosity.

[SoulBlazer]

As for your "deal with it or get out of my way" attitude, well, these are some pretty big words coming from a nobody on an auction site. You had to re-post your diatribe on other sites that people actually read in order to be seen. In a year you'll change the landscape? That's funny, tell us another one.

Geez, this thread is starting to turn real hostile real quick.

 

Anyway, I don't read modern gaming blogs or magazines so none of this really concerns me. Only when the modern game industry crashes will I take notice to such publications/sites.

 

To me, the modern gaming industry is nothing more than a passing curiosity.

 

So why are you hanging out in the modern gaming area, then?

[S1500]

One problem I see is the heavy dilution of video game websites. No, I don't mean this site. This site has 100% merit for classic video gaming. I'm talking about all the "me too" video gaming websites. A dime gets you THREE dozen sites: 1up, joystiq, kotaku, gamespot, etc. Guess what?

 

It's all the same content

 

Way too many times I see no original content, but instead, as you said, rehashing of press releases. OOh, a DLC came out for some game! Why is this news, and why does 1up, via koatku, via the publisher's press release need to tell me? What is the "journalism" game site bring to the table? A crappy comments section that has 15 year olds duking it out for a battle of wits?

 

Let's see something original. One nicely forgotten site is thevideogamecritic.net, who has no advertising I can find, and probably no kickback of hookers & blow from any remaining video game developers. Probably because they review very old games where the publishers are long gone. But I digress.

 

Modern gaming "news" sites are no better than a customized RSS feed for whatever frickin' DS game came out this week, or what's going to be on virtual console next week. Slap a screenshot, a quickly copied paragraph, and suddenly you are a journalist.

 

If your gaming site has a "ps3 xbox ds wii" navigation bar on it, you fail.

[Keatah]

As for your "deal with it or get out of my way" attitude, well, these are some pretty big words coming from a nobody on an auction site. You had to re-post your diatribe on other sites that people actually read in order to be seen. In a year you'll change the landscape? That's funny, tell us another one.

Geez, this thread is starting to turn real hostile real quick.

 

Anyway, I don't read modern gaming blogs or magazines so none of this really concerns me. Only when the modern game industry crashes will I take notice to such publications/sites.

 

To me, the modern gaming industry is nothing more than a passing curiosity.

 

So why are you hanging out in the modern gaming area, then?

 

I'm not! I take a look from time to time and am not impressed. I keep hoping it will get better, but with the mentality of the folks in control of it; I don't think it ever will. We need another crash. That is also not likely either..