I have re-posted this from the COD/Infinity Ward thread regarding resolutions, leaks and all things secretive.
Please, lend me your ears for a minute GAF. What the fuck is going on in our hobby's landscape.
Seriously, at this point I couldn't give a toss about PS4 or XB1, COD or Battlefield, Kinect or No-Kinect etc. So please leave these arguments at the door. What I do care about is the treatment we're receiving as dedicated (dare I say hardcore) consumers - where we can't seem to obtain a shred of legitimately sourced information that isn't totally spun or filtered to the point of meaningless.
Obviously the Infinity Ward/COD-resolution thread was the kicker for me, but it has been an ever present issue that shows no signs of slowing. The whole XB1 release (and recent twitter ramblings of 'someone dropping the ball') has got me feeling two things.
1. Curiosity: What exactly is going on. Why is there an embargo, why is everyone so secretive, and what do Microsoft/Sony/whoever have planned to try and combat the inevitable backlash/negativity if it is at all as serious as some of the posts/rumours have suggested.
2. Angry: This whole situation is a glaring spotlight on the sorry state of journalism in this industry. The minute these rumours popped up - there should have been journalists from multiple sites working to uncover the truth and reveal or at least outline the issues/cause behind all of it. Instead we get non-answers, ambiguity and 'wait for it' shit from dick-less 'journalists'. This whole situation is frustrating because I have never felt more like we're being treated like a fucking 'consumer' to a bunch of marketers.
Microsoft shouldn't have anything to hide weeks before launch. Developers shouldn't be afraid or ambiguous on the state of their game weeks before launch. Gaming sites, blogs and journalists should not be afraid, incapable or otherwise compelled to keep quiet on anything that directly affects the end user. We are the fucking customers, paying good money to purchase products. We should be well informed and treated as intelligent humans who can make our own decisions based on the merit of a products value proposition and competitive distinction,
I get marketing (it's my career in fact!). I know that McDonald's should be allowed to spin positives where ever possible. Dress up the burgers to keep them looking delicious on the menu's, create special offers, competitions and new products to keep me interested. And certainly try to gloss over the fact that 95% of the menu is woeful in terms of dietary requirements. At the same time, I can check or ask about essentially every element of the product's, down to where they source shit through the supply chain if need be. I am well informed. I can choose to make a poor decision, and spend $10 on an unhealthy, addictive food.. but at least the information was available to me. And guess what, if I wasn't - there would be investigation/journalism and media coverage that would cause a shitstorm unlike any other - because you can't simply choose to hide important information.
I am not simply a marketer's wet dream - that is, a mid-20's, high disposable income, luxury-item purchasing, entertainment/tech enthusiast. I should be able to expect that a site like IGN, or Kotaku (or any of the other numerous sites) will be covering everything that pops up. Instead we have to rely on ex-editors, CBOAT and insiders to even RAISE an issue. Then it takes days of social media and outrage before we get a fucking PR-manicured non-answer from someone like Penello who wouldn't be able to say a negative word about the company even if we he wanted to. Where the fuck are the journalists in all of this? At press events reviewing games in controlled conditions, slapped with gag orders until pre-planned dates and restrictions on what they can reveal - knowing full well they could potentially miss out on the next COD event (read: clicks) if they speak before spoken to.
Honest to God, if it wasn't for CBOAT (and maybe even famousmortimer) I'd be fucking done with this industry right now.
Thoughts GAF?
tl;dr - journalism is dead.