This shit makes me wish the game industry would fucking crash because these people would be the first ones off the Golden gate bridge.
It sucks, but that's how most media outlets are. Funded by ads, pressured by advertisers, and for gaming it's a buddy-buddy system of free swag, early copies for review, banner ads, and a circle jerk of chuminess.
And it gets worse if the media outlet has no revenue source except website ads, and relying on handouts from suppliers.
On the other hand, a company like Consumer Reports, reviews products with no ads, buys all it's own products for testing, and is a non-profit org, and I'm pretty sure they don't give a shit about maximizing twitter subs or YT likes.
Too bad, well never get any gaming site with the same ethics as CR.
Consumer Reports' flagship website and magazine publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory and survey research center. CR accepts no advertising, pays for all the products it tests, and as a nonprofit organization has no shareholders. It also publishes general and targeted product/service buying guides.