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Why do game journalists have low standards regarding tech?

T

Thrakier

Member
It seems like there is a tendency in games journalism to not care about tech or, in many more cases, just don't have a knowledge about it besides "looks great", "looks ok" and "looks shit". I think that it's kinda weird for enthusiast press to be that blind sided on one eye. Sure, there are outlest like Digital Foundy and graphics are being discussed in most reviews, but it seems like they don't feel the need that games fullfill certain minimum standards.

For example, I never read in an article that scaling an image up to a higher resolution (say, 720p to 1080p) is much worse than 1080p native not only because 1080p transports more information, but because most displays can show it natively, meaning no scaling is involved. Even know with all the XB1 720p bombas, rarely you read "1080p is so much better because it's native, not because it's 2x as many pixels". Same goes for framerate issues, they tend to not care about it or even don't notice it besides it's such an integral part of gameplay quality. Just read all the TLOU reviews - that is just one example, there are many others. When it comes to tech, many journalist seem to be complete layman with only a dangerous half knowledge.

I find that particulary strange since enthusiasts press normally is into great detail about content as well as execution. Just imagine BD/DVD press, music press not talking about the quality of production or car press not caring about how the engine is build and if it's solid. Basically every enthusiast press knows and writes about even the tiniest details and they know, that a great experience exists because of great work in many areas, not only the core content itself. Is it because gaming press is just on a very low level of professionalism? What's going wrong there?
 
L

le.phat

Member
everyone can become a "games journalist" nowadys. Unlike music and film, there arn't any schools, scholarships or titles or any other official organ to seperate the hobbyist from the specialist. Thus, these self aducated people find an audience on youtube and preach what they think is true.
 
A

AkuMifune

Banned
I think a lot of them tend to think they speak for the broader game audience, whom they assume doesn't care about such things. But it's a fallacy of logic. Logical fallacy?

It's a dumb attitude either way.
 
T

The Omega Man

Member
They are usually broke, those jobs don't pay much, they live 2 or 3 game journos in the same apartment. They game in 720p TVs at home thus they say 720p games are not a big deal for them.
When a console manufacturer gives them free swag like a brand new console, it means a lot to them since they usually take everything from free from their offices since they can't really afford much and are used to not pay for their games. So whoever console manufacturer treats them the best they will plead unconditional allegiance to them for giving them that console that they couldn't have otherwise afford.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
Because most of them are casual gamers with casual gaming standards. They're not qualified to speak on many things gaming related because they simply do not know many things.

I feel like that's the 3rd thread like this I've had to say that in the past month.
 
J

jschreier

Member
The Omega Man said:
They are usually broke, those jobs don't pay much, they live 2 or 3 game journos in the same apartment. They game in 720p TVs at home thus they say 720p games are not a big deal for them.
When a console manufacturer gives them free swag like a brand new console, it means a lot to them since they usually take everything from free from their offices since they can't really afford much and are used to not pay for their games. So whoever console manufacturer treats them the best they will plead unconditional allegiance to them for giving them that console that they couldn't have otherwise afford.
Click to expand...

is this fanfiction or
 
paparazzo

paparazzo

Member
CeePhour said:
My first thought is that they are entertainment journalists... they're not critiquing the technology.
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Uh, how do you explain the plethora of differences in review scores of multiplatfom games on PS3 and 360 then? Part of their job is to evaluate performance so the consumer can make the best decision.
 
C

Coffee Dog

Banned
Because the majority of gamers are console gamers and they are used to technological compromise through necessity.

It's why we're seeing the resurgence of the "graphics don't matter, gameplay does!" schtick.
 
F

Fistwell

Member
Derrick01 said:
Because most of them are casual gamers with casual gaming standards. They're not qualified to speak on many things gaming related because they simply do not know many things.

I feel like that's the 3rd thread like this I've had to say that in the past month.
Click to expand...
Worth repeating though.

jschreier said:
is this fanfiction or
Click to expand...
No, I dont think he's a fan, but sweet (and humble) of you to assume so. It's simply what you and your peers sound like to some people.
 
G

Giever

Member
I don't know, do film critics usually spend effort analyzing the quality of the special effects used? Surely some movies are gonna have better ones than others, and there might be a passing mention of that, but it's not really central to the point of the review. It's about the experience, no?
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
It's true, a lot of people writing about games barely even understand the basics.

Now, not everyone cares about this information, but it should definitely be discussed for those that do. I know I used to skip ahead in old PC gaming reviews just to look at the performance section. It has always been interesting to me.

I don't know, do film critics usually spend effort analyzing the quality of the special effects used?
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Well, most Blu-ray reviews examine audio and video quality in addition to the film itself. They even go so far as to have a separate rating just for those aspects of each disc.
 
T

Thrakier

Member
canedaddy said:
Very few journalists in any field have deep knowledge about their subject matter.
Click to expand...

Not true, I'm a journalist myself (working in PR/Science though). Enthusiast press knows more than the manufcatures themselves. In games journalism, it often seems they just eat up what they get fed.
 
O

Oersted

Member
This is reaching now, most do care. Those who dont: Fanboys who are trying to get a job at the company, are on the paycheque, just really think it's acceptable with no conspiracy whatsoever, give benefit of doubt since they receive pre Release versions.
 
M

mishakoz

Member
Game reviews are ment to concentrate on the actual quality of the game, the resolution is less of a concern. They aren't avoiding mentioning it, it is only important to a small subset of people and therefore isn't worth mentioning most of the time.

I would hate if a review went into detail about the aliasing, or the shadows, or the textures, that isn't what I and the majority of people buy the game for, and if you do, I'd say you have a problem.

I rather hear about story, characters, mechanics , etc. Leave resolution out of it, because if a certain game is 720p it doesn't make it any less of a game, it just makes it less pretty.
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
Honestly anyone who downplays the difference in resolutions recently should always question devs as to why they opted for higher res in those instances instead of better effects
 
M

mclem

Member
Would you expect a mainstream film reporter to go into detail about lighting decisions?

I think there's a clear distinction between reviewing the game and the presentation of the game, and I'd absolutely prefer (non-specialist) reviewers to focus more on the former. Indeed, I'd argue that I've seen things go too much the other way.
 
G

Gsnap

Member
Because they're game journalists. Essentially, entertainment journalists. They're not tech journalists. Do we expect people who write about television shows to know which camera was used to film them?

True, tech is more closely tied to video games than other media, but that doesn't mean game journalists need to be experts on the tech side of things. It's more important that they understand the game side of things (and yeah, it's debatable whether many of them understand either side).
 
T

Thrakier

Member
Echoenigma said:
Because the majority of gamers are console gamers and they are used to technological compromise through necessity.

It's why we're seeing the resurgence of the "graphics don't matter, gameplay does!" schtick.
Click to expand...

But that schtick does not make sense. Both are integral parts of a gaming experience, they are NOT substitutes. A journalist should know that.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
mishakoz said:
I would hate if a review went into detail about the aliasing, or the shadows, or the textures, that isn't what I and the majority of people buy the game for, and if you do, I'd say you have a problem.

I rather hear about story, characters, mechanics , etc. Leave resolution out of it, because if a certain game is 720p it doesn't make it any less of a game, it just makes it less pretty.
Click to expand...
It's kind of the opposite for me. I don't rely on reviews to make up my mind on a particular game and I'd rather experience it for myself anyways. I do, however, value information that covers the technical performance as it can help me decide which version to purchase.
 
L

Lime

Member
Because some of them are incompetent, ignorant and unwilling to learn anything about the world we live in.

Like many other people.
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
they do or don't depending on what company you're talking about

graphics matter a ton when they are excluding Nintendo platforms or all handhelds from conversations, but they don't matter at all when you're comparing resolutions across MS and Sony platforms, and by the way who can even afford a $5000 PC?
 
V

Vizzeh

Banned
mishakoz said:
Game reviews are ment to concentrate on the actual quality of the game, the resolution is less of a concern. They aren't avoiding mentioning it, it is only important to a small subset of people and therefore isn't worth mentioning most of the time.

I would hate if a review went into detail about the aliasing, or the shadows, or the textures, that isn't what I and the majority of people buy the game for, and if you do, I'd say you have a problem.

I rather hear about story, characters, mechanics , etc. Leave resolution out of it, because if a certain game is 720p it doesn't make it any less of a game, it just makes it less pretty.
Click to expand...

How can we say it only matters to a small amount of people, to be fair how many of us have actually experienced 720p vs 1080p on consoles? not many at all, that judgement has to be left until after the PS4 comes out. Iv have seen a massive difference in quality in clarity on PC, movies, youtube etc. Lots of game journalists said they noticed a BIG difference at the BF4 events, and that was only 900p vs 720p (They mentioned resolution aswell as grunt)

We cant compare our knowledge on resolution based on 720pCOD and 600p last Gen
 
C

CeePhour

Banned
The Skater said:
Uh, how do you explain the plethora of differences in review scores of multiplatfom games on PS3 and 360 then? Part of their job is to evaluate performance so the consumer can make the best decision.
Click to expand...

Uh, other than bias? Because in the case of things like, say, Skyrim, where the experience is severely hampered by a technical shortcoming or flaw, that's a whole lot more in-your-face than a variance in 720p vs 1080p. I'm not saying there isn't a difference. I'm saying that if your panties are in a ruffle over 720p vs 900p then maybe you're reading the wrong articles.
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!=
 
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