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[FunkMiller]

So, watch this my fellow GafHeads (or don't. You can take my word for what she's saying):



Now, I don't want to direct this criticism directly as Ms Pearce necessarily(she seems like a decent person from what I can tell), because what she's doing here is endemic across all video game influencers on all platforms. But it is a great example of why the reporting on video games information is so godawful.

Alanah has been sent a picture indicating that the Series X could be £499 ($620). She does not state who it's from, or that she has made any effort to investigate and ascertain the veracity of the person who has sent her the image.

So why make a video about it?

Because for people like Alanah, sending out accurate or verified information is secondary to getting views and subscribers, because that's where her income stream lies. Nothing is more important than making sure lots of people view her YouTube videos, because that puts money in her bank account, and increases her platform and influence.

And there are hundreds of people just like her on social media, all doing the same thing.

Is it any wonder that we are assailed day in, day out with FUD, misinformation and outright bullshit?

Don't believe or trust anything you see and hear from people who solely rely on your interest and interaction to generate their income.

Simple.

 

[Thirty7ven]

The problem is that these YouTube personalities are walking ads looking for a promotion to the main building.

 

[TBiddy]

That's the second time today I've furiously nodded in agreement while reading a post of yours. What's happening?

But yeah, you're on point. The age of Youtube and the extreme amount of lengths they'll go to to get clicks is saddening. Just watch how many "insiders" and "scoops" from Youtube that gets posted here daily.

 

[Zoro7]

Wow chill dude. It ain’t that deep. The fact that you post this video just gets her more views.

 

[Guilty_AI]

K

 

[Torrent of Pork]

You're not wrong, the only problem is that this is how all journalism works today, not just gaming.

 

[Revolutionary]

"This video is awful so let's give her more views!"

 

[Fuz]

She's hot, toh.

 

[Valt7786]

Yeah but....she's hot.

 

[T-Cake]

Surely the best thing is to ignore her completely? You've just posted a video asking people to watch her. I will not.

 

[HE1NZ]

Seems like an innocent little video. Not sure why it got OP so fired up. Alanah is alright.

 

[FunkMiller]

Wow chill dude. It ain’t that deep. The fact that you post this video just gets her more views.

I know right? The irony is just off the charts!

....oh no. And now I've just promoted JackSepticEye!

Aaaaaaargghhh!

 

[Andodalf]

She’s not a reporter, and therefore isn’t beholden to any of the standards you said. She’s very clear in the video that she’s sceptical of the source and doesn’t believe it to be actually true.

In the description she literally says she made the video to explain why she thinks the report is wrong, but why people are reporting on it anyway. In other words, she knowns other people are going to report on it and wants to put her 2 cents in that it’s fake.

it’s fine to dislike these infotainment style YT channels, but there’s no need to get so worked up about one.

 

[BlueXImpulse]

Just finished fapping.

Now to actually listen to what she was saying.

 

[Hudo]

The problem is really that bloggers started to label themselves as journalists, not knowing what that actually means.

 

[mejin]

She is just trying to even the war.

 

[BaneIsPain]

Ain't gonna give her clicks.

 

[kraspkibble]

if £499 then i'm happy with that. that's in line with my predictions. PS5 will be £550-600.

 

[kuncol02]

if £499 then i'm happy with that. that's in line with my predictions. PS5 will be £550-600.

700-800 USD? Are you ok?

 

[Rolla]

You know what's weird... Youtubers who have that yellow Cyberpunk seem to only talk specs or unsubstantiated rumours. It's gotten to the point where if I click on a vid and see that damn chair I'm like

 

[buizel]

700-800 USD? Are you ok?

Thats not how it works.

For the past while, say they release the 360 for $100 in America first, they then release it at about £100 in the UK (which would be like $150/whatever)

So if we're getting the new xbox for £400, likelihood is itll be $400 as well, or $500 tops.

We get raped, double dunked and then back round again a third time here in the UK

 

[Dodkrake]

if £499 then i'm happy with that. that's in line with my predictions. PS5 will be £550-600.

If you think the PS5 will be more expensive than the Series X, you're in for a rude awakening.

 

[Mmnow]

You clicked, you shared. How many videos that have a degree of effort behind them have you done that with today? This week? This month?

There's plenty of great journalism out there, and not just in video games but in general. Problem is it's getting 1/50th of the views of something like this.

Which, by the way, is valid journalism. It's boring as hell, but "I had a message that could be a leak" is news, hence the clicks.

Journalists would verify an anonymous letter because they're usually libelous. Truth is the ultimate defense for libel. "I heard a possible price for the Xbox" isn't libellous, and how would you stand it up anyway? Leakers, insiders... Nobody who actually knows would confirm it on the record.

Videos like this are a product of the really weird marketing lockdown in the gaming industry, and of gaming fans' hunger for news. I wouldn't see it as dropping standards - I wouldn't give it that much credit. it's just a not very interesting piece of news.

The only fix is to stop people watching this and get them to start watching and reading harder to swallow/consume analysis and reporting elsewhere. Do you want to tell the 30,000 people who've watched this in four hours or shall I?

 

[MastaKiiLA]

Game journalists don't really exist. They're just enthusiasts but actual journalism involves real investigation, and multiple sources before releasing information. There's none of that.

When half the media is trying to get a job with the companies they cover, and the other half just want page clicks, you end up with an unreliable mess. We have the people who continue to provide the clicks to blame. I don't, except for RGT and DF. Both offer different services that I enjoy being news speculation. I go to them for analysis of verified info.

 

[Clarissa]

Just finished fapping.

Now to actually listen to what she was saying.

Did you cum well?

 

[FireFly]

She has no training, no experience, and no professional qualifications in journalistic reporting. Hence the fact she makes no attempt to verify what she's being told.

Alanah has a degree in mass communication, majoring in journalism and entertainment. She worked in a games retailer, so is in a position to verify when retailers get pricing, and the use of placeholders. We don't know what efforts she made to verify this particular source, so I don't see how we can fairly appraise that.

I think it's best to treat people as individuals and not some kind of collective hive mind.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Wow chill dude. It ain’t that deep. The fact that you post this video just gets her more views.

This is a fucking forum. A place to discuss things.

But OP may have a point there are YouTube channels that just care about the views. It's all it is about nowadays.

 

[MDSLKTR]

Wow chill dude. It ain’t that deep. The fact that you post this video just gets her more views.

Me and many other ain't clicking on that shit, no worries.

 

[GaviotaGrande]

Her videos are weak and uninteresting, I watched a few around the time Cyberpunk 2077 hands-on preview was going on and it was a waste of time.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

She lost me with that pansexual gay shit.

 

[Thing on a Spring]

If you're getting your news from YouTube creators, you're doing it wrong.

 

[quest]

If you're getting your news from YouTube creators, you're doing it wrong.

This can not be stated enough. I don't bother with YouTube much because it is a bunch of yahoos looking for hits and money trying to out do each other for views.

 

[cormack12]

I saw an article yesterday that said something like 'leaked Xbox Series X' price, then in the second line it said something like 'While we don't have a price for the Xbox Series X we can guess.....'. It's beyond stupid.

I respect the hustle to be honest. Someone has to get the money and these guys are pandering to the market. Having that dedication to continually shit out videos etc. too much of a lifestyle drain for me. Solid job, good holidays and my time is my own. Fuck streaming all that time and editing and being available. But if you're gonna do it and there's a market for it, then you deserve the dollar.

Internet just made everyone a tabloid newspaper.

 

[Arun1910]

I get your point, but she isn't the only one, so don't see the point in this thread to be honest.

Journalists, YouTube Gamers, Leakers.... they all talk shit for views, have done for years and will continue too, because everything's just a "rumour", and when you're high profile and spread a "rumour"...

People post it on Gaf and draw attention to that person and possibly drive views to that persons media page.

Gg.

 

[iJudged]

we are so close to the release of these consoles and we still don't have the prices?WTF is happening?!

 

[FunkMiller]

Alanah has a degree in mass communication, majoring in journalism and entertainment. She worked in a games retailer, so is in a position to verify when retailers get pricing, and the use of placeholders. We don't know what efforts she made to verify this particular source, so I don't see how we can fairly appraise that.

I think it's best to treat people as individuals and not some kind of collective hive mind.

Really? Can you point to a confirmed source for this? I’ll happily edit my OP if that’s the case.

 

[Relativ9]

The worst part is that if she had done any research (or the person who sent her this wasn't horrible at his job) they'd know that retailers frequently enter future releases into their database with placeholder prices way before prices are announced, and sometimes even before the product itself is announced. This is not because they have special information from publishers/companies, but because they make assumptions based on market trends, rumors, and leaks and want to begin planning future fiscal periods as well as taking per-orders.

 

[Sony]

None of these people are gaming journalists. They are gaming enthousiasts/bloggers that choose to videotape their toughts rather than post them on a message board.

 

[GymWolf]

I know right? The irony is just off the charts!

....oh no. And now I've just promoted JackSepticEye!

Aaaaaaargghhh!

I sincerely don't know who is the worst between you and him at this point...at least alanah is hot...

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

I remember she appeared to be doing PR for microsoft on twitter during their latest event. Reading her tweets extolling the virtues of CGI trailers was illuminating about her worthyness as a "journalist".

AFAIK she's on her own now and survives on e-begging and paid sponsorships so I wound't read anything else but "click-bait" from that video.

 

[TonyK]

Don't believe or trust anything you see and hear from people who solely rely on your interest and interaction to generate their income.

This. I apply this rule for any type of news, not only gaming.

 

[Max_Po]

All click baits to get subs...

 

[NeoLed]

Really? Can you point to a confirmed source for this? I’ll happily edit my OP if that’s the case.

It's in the video.....

 

[Max_Po]

I remember she appeared to be doing PR for microsoft on twitter during their latest event. Reading her tweets extolling the virtues of CGI trailers was illuminating about her worthyness as a "journalist".

AFAIK she's on her own now and survives on e-begging and paid sponsorships so I wound't read anything else but "click-bait" form that video.

Yes, she was aggressively defending Halo Infinite and apparently came up with fucking lame excuses like "her insider informed her that it was an old build".

Yikes, Halo Infinity ...

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Yes, she was aggressively defending Halo Infinity and apparently came up with fucking lame excuses like "her insider informed her that it was an old build".

Ah, yes the classic "it was on old build". We all know megacorporations making half a billion bets on videogames purposefully present their product at its worst for... uh... reasons.

 

[Bojanglez]

700-800 USD? Are you ok?

Remember UK prices include 20% VAT so a straight GBP->USD conversion wouldn't necessarily work.

 

[FireFly]

Really? Can you point to a confirmed source for this? I’ll happily edit my OP if that’s the case.

Well, to really verify you would probably need to make a formal request with her university, and contact EB games. But regarding what she says/puts on her CV:

"I studied a bachelor of mass communication majoring in journalism and entertainment. I don't think a degree is totally necessary for someone striving to get into my side of the games industry (being media focused rather than development focused), but studying both copyright law and marketing as part of my degree have both repeatedly helped me. "

Women in Gaming: Rooster Teeth’s Alanah Pearce on making the leap from Australian to US games media

The games industry plays host to a colourful cast of diverse individuals, from designers and presenters to directors and writers. The skills to pull off these roles, however, are complex and diffe...

www.pocketgamer.biz

She also has videos talking about her experience at EB games.

 

[Night.Ninja]

 

[Zoro7]

This is a fucking forum. A place to discuss things.

But OP may have a point there are YouTube channels that just care about the views. It's all it is about nowadays.

Are you having a bad day there friend?

 

[Hojaho]

The worst part is that if she had done any research (or the person who sent her this wasn't horrible at his job) they'd know that retailers frequently enter future releases into their database with placeholder prices way before prices are announced, and sometimes even before the product itself is announced. This is not because they have special information from publishers/companies, but because they make assumptions based on market trends, rumors, and leaks and want to begin planning future fiscal periods as well as taking per-orders.

That’s basically what she’s saying based on her experience in retail...