Gaming Journalism Is Lame

Video Game news can be cool! Or boring! Or lame! Usually it’s pretty lame though! Today I’m gonna speedrun through some of my issues with the gaming news industry, and how gaming journalism isn’t quite as “gaming journalism” as it might seem.

From Xbox to PlayStation, EA to….PlayStation, there’s so many big businesses that seem to have their hands in all the cookie jars.

But not this one.

Not mine.

Unless they wanted to, I mean I’m not against the idea.

Phil Spencer probably still loves me.

I’ll also make fun of Disney a bit, because I feel like it.

[GarkKahn]

I remember when sports journalism was the laughing stock for journalists

Thanks gaming "journalism"

[rabadeuce]

The incentive structure is pretty simple and well laid out here:
1. Reviewers need to get their articles out as fast as possible. This usually means getting access to the product before the general public.
2. If a reviewer gets the access they need and churn out a negative review, the publisher/studio won't give them access in the future, hurting their ability to earn revenue.
3. Therefore, it is always in the best interest of the reviewer to give positive reviews.

In other words, you write positive reviews, you make money. You write negative reviews, you lose money. That's the system. You can disregard advertising dollars spent on banner and video ads, exclusive content, etc. With this alone, the "review" industry is nothing more than an extension of every studio/publisher's marketing arm.

[Bendilin]

I loved how EGM would, before their review section, give a little history on each reviewer that issue and then had three of them review each title for the month. That way, when the two guys who love 3D platformers says Tonic Trouble is amazing and the one guy who hates them says it sucks, it made sense why. It also instilled in me at a young age to actually know who's opinion I am reading, and "IGN GIVING IT A 10/10" means nothing.

[nootanwait]

I've always been surprised that gaming journalism is even an industry.

[mrshmuga]

It's baffling how some people deny that "access journalism" is an oxymoron, and the influence companies have.

[ectior]

I like how much use he’s getting out of his silly little snowman he modeled

[ScrumpyWingnuts]

I think that's what most people forget about the news industry in general, not just games and movies: They are in advertising business, and journalism is just a side product.

[gamesthatiplay]

The plot twist about Nintendo Power being owned by Nintendo, is the fact that they gave their own games harsher scores than other games compared to other outlets.

[NealBauer]

I was offered the Editor in Chief position at Next Generation in 2000. Upon meeting with the higher ups at Imagine/Future publishing, I got pulled into an executive's office who proceeded to tell me, "Anyone can write a good review about a good game. We need people who can write a good review about a bad game."

I didn't take the job and Next Generation Magazine didn't make it a year after that interview. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[goosewithagibus]

You know... I'm starting to think that having everything revolve around profit is a bit... not swell.

[NamelessGamer]

Aside from the last part this can basically apply to all forms of journalism

[overlord]

I think a large part of the problem, which is also present in regular journalism, is that the current generation of journalists mostly come from homogeneous backgrounds. They all went to the same schools, came from the same demographics, and if they transitioned from another industry prior to doing journo stuff they often come from the same places there too. This basically results in people whose job is dependent on being in-touch with the subject matter just being more in touch with each other than with the field they're reporting on more often than not instead.

Back in the day journalism was more informal (less dependence on accrediting, and degrees to get the job) and folks often came from the areas/fields they reported on. Eg. prior military often became war correspondents, folks with labor union connections reported on labor adjacent stuff, local activists got on the local paper to report on local issues they worked on, etc.

[benmcreynolds]

I miss the days when we would get demo discs with our gaming magazines. Growing up throughout the 90's & into the Y2k early 2000's was such a unique experience. I'm glad i got to grow up thru that era because nowadays it is so different & i never thought we were going to lose so many aspects that we used to have.. i just assumed things would evolve, improve but weirdly enough things have actively changed for the worse... So ya i miss the days of demo discs with our gaming magazines and so many other things from that era.

[HexenDarkside]

TL;DW: The entire industry is literally worthless from top to bottom.

[PostingCringeOnMain]

Ahh man, I miss magazines. Fr tho, they maybe only came out once a month but as a kid you bet your behind I'd be pouring over every screen shot, reading every word, pawing at every page in bed at night, or the back of my parents car or with friends during school lunch breaks. I swear the quality of journalism and reviews was so much higher because it cost so much more to produce and distribute and reputation actually mattered, accountability mattered and journalists were hired on the basis of their skills as writers and storytellers, not how many clickbait rageclicks they could generate on TXXTer or FaceMuck.

[DeadheadYates]

Nice try Husk, I know for a fact that we've never had to live without Funbooks or Tic-Tacs. I love a good work of fantasy imagining what life was like without them tho

[TheLastBrandon]

Also gaming journalist used to be passionate about gaming and would give honest opinions. Now they avoid reviewing bad games almost entirely and praise even the most broken AAA game simply because a popular studio is attached to it. Modern gaming journalists have zero integrity and zero passion.

[KingUnKaged]

On my Home Screen, this video appeared directly below an IGN post showing screen caps of random people on Twitter reacting in utter awe of the new episode of Loki... because "journalism"

[PuzzlingGoal]

What a perfect ending. We could explain all the different nuances of how both sides cheat their way into comfort and profit in ways that most peoples' solutions won't do anything for, but underneath it all we are trying to "regain" the integrity of people whose job has always been just telling us what to consume next.

[Lastbornschwab]

FYI. Postal service revenue is at an all time high, and physical media can compete in one important metric. Nostalgia. Theres still something to be said for having physical media, something tangible. Some may call this niche at this point, but it still holds some point of relevance.