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[HE1NZ]

We need a revolt against ourselves.


Journalism is not shaping us, we are shaping it. Its not just gaming its every avenue.

People just love the drama and send clicks (Support) to bull shit that fuels more bullshit. Its a cycle and the public behaviors are the ones at fault.
If click bait "Gotchyas" did not work, they would not exist.

I believe media reflects back on humanity, its not pretty. They rally against things because "We the public" cheer them on.

This is not true at all. Most controversies are manufactured.

 

[Reality Czar]

There is something to be said about the toxic mentality of the mainstream gaming press. They have a habit of singling out a worker and then devoting all their time to taking them down. Look at these people going after the Harry Potter guy. He made Youtube videos that have the wrong opinion on mostly videogames and comic books. This is some kind of unpardonable sin to the Jason Schitters of the world, who constantly must stir up trouble while looking for ways to virtue signal. If you have the wrong opinion on video games, Jason, as a grown adult, wants you to be fired, and not able to work on video games. Somehow, this is an ok opinion, because we live in clown world. Jason is a fascist, pure and simple.

It is fascistic because it is pro-corpo and anti-worker. It is pro-state and anti-citizen. There needs to be some kind of Digital Bill of Rights that protects us lowly plebs from the self-appointed media whores at the top. When Jason targets a "toxic dev" he thinks he is David fighting Goliath, and yet, in reality, he is a corporate hitman sent by Bloomberg, himself a racist billionaire, who in manipulating the US gov't through both politics and his media empire, to destroy the job of some guy who is still working on a game that hasn't even come out! Literally interfering with a game as it is made.

Jason and his ilk are working for this oligarch and hunting down poor little devs like this Harry Potter guy. Cancelling all these people like Gina Carano. These aren't bad people. They did not even do or say anything controversial. Yet the media labels them "far right" because that is what you do when someone is inconvenient and you want to remove them from society. It is a form of dehumanization that these journos partake in. As Clarence Thomas once said, a high-tech lynching. We can't simply look at these journos as people that write articles, because they are not merely that. They are on Twitter, they are on Discord. They are cultivating adulation and a crowdsource ready mob on boards like ResetEra. "Just ignore them" is not an option, when they are eliminating your right to make a living.

This isn't just a problem with games journalism though, these Marxists have infiltrated every institution there is, everything from movies to sports has been twisted into a hollow postmodern excuse for these people to do self glorifying activism (while in reality helping mega corporations shut down free speech and dehumanize political dissenters). But I'm going to kind of end it here because this is almost getting too political for gaming.

TL;DR Consume other media, alt media, pre-internet media, support the people you like, speak up when journos act shitty.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

There is something to be said about the toxic mentality of the mainstream gaming press. They have a habit of singling out a worker and then devoting all their time to taking them down. Look at these people going after the Harry Potter guy. He made Youtube videos that have the wrong opinion on mostly videogames and comic books. This is some kind of unpardonable sin to the Jason Schitters of the world, who constantly must stir up trouble while looking for ways to virtue signal. If you have the wrong opinion on video games, Jason, as a grown adult, wants you to be fired, and not able to work on video games. Somehow, this is an ok opinion, because we live in clown world. Jason is a fascist, pure and simple.

It is fascistic because it is pro-corpo and anti-worker. It is pro-state and anti-citizen. There needs to be some kind of Digital Bill of Rights that protects us lowly plebs from the self-appointed media whores at the top. When Jason targets a "toxic dev" he thinks he is David fighting Goliath, and yet, in reality, he is a corporate hitman sent by Bloomberg, himself a racist billionaire, who in manipulating the US gov't through both politics and his media empire.

Jason and his ilk are working for this oligarch and hunting down poor little devs like this Harry Potter guy. Cancelling all these people like Gina Carano. These aren't bad people. They did not even do or say anything controversial. Yet the media labels them "far right" because that is what you do when someone is inconvenient and you want to remove them from society. It is a form of dehumanization that these journos partake in. As Clarence Thomas once said, a high-tech lynching. We can't simply look at these journos as people that write articles, because they are not merely that. They are on Twitter, they are on Discord. They are cultivating adulation and a crowdsource ready mob on boards like ResetEra. "Just ignore them" is not an option, when they are eliminating your right to make a living.

This isn't just a problem with games journalism though, these Marxists have infiltrated every institution there is, everything from movies to sports has been twisted into a hollow postmodern excuse for these people to do self glorifying activism (while in reality helping mega corporations shut down free speech and dehumanize political dissenters). But I'm going to kind of end it here because this is almost getting too political for gaming.

TL;DR Consume other media, alt media, pre-internet media, support the people you like, speak up when journos act shitty.

That's because social media and website writers crave attention, and their focus on being virtuous seems to get pats on the back. So the Twitter crowd commenting they are such great people makes them feel good, since being a shitty freelance writer doing video game reviews probably makes them $60. A bunch of lowly skilled people who think they are pulitzer prize candidates for playing video games and uploading a two page review.

On the other hand, have a good job and get surrounded by peers with more meaningful careers, and the last thing you care about is being woke reviewing Barbie's Horse Adventures.

 

[PleaseWaitStation4]

The industry has been listening to these activists' "guidance" and the result is the destruction of it. You think think the danger isn't immediate? Enjoy the U.S. run PlayStation, which means you may as well call it 3DO now. Management will be inept. If you care about your hobby, you need to act, but they already took out that Japanese influence that made PS so fun, so it's mostly too late. Get used to anal being the platinums *and not the good kind*.

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

As much as some on here don’t want to admit.. the ’activists‘ that pose as journalists have successfully changed the gaming landscape. Look at the changes they have brought about in games so far. Most games now rife with identity politics and crammed full of the latest woke Californian outrage fads. How many great gaming series have to die at the hands of this ‘progressive’ nonsense? I remember Dragon Age, I remember Mass Effect, I remember Battlefield, I remember Wolfenstein, I remember Far Cry, I remember Assassins Creed. It’s tragic but I could go on forever.

The problem is that they are becoming ever more puritanical, ever more dogmatic and ever more extreme in their beliefs. They promote games that push the right ideas. They have politicised the landscape by arbitrarily punishing games that don’t conform. This is reflected in the way certain games are reviewed which can translate directly into sales. This artificial manipulation may influence developers and publishers alike in the same woke direction. We have already seen this very thing. Companies pushing more and more of this agenda driven nonsense just to satisfy games journalists of a certain political persuasion. In return they illicit favourable reviews or at the least more forgiving. This then leads to bigger sales with gamers left exposed.

The reality differs though. When casual pushback can force a rethink or rebalance when progressivism goes too far. A great example of this is Battlefield V. In my mind one of the most egregious examples of all. Most fans of the series were in disbelief. A WW2 experience with censored swastikas, disabled women on the front lines and fluorescent war paint. I don’t know about anyone else but when I think of the German army in the 1940’s I don’t recall ever hearing about black women serving on the front lines. I didn’t think the Germans were into that sort of thing. To make matters worse the true story scenarios included within the game were rewritten to push a fictional progressive agenda. This is what doing nothing leads to. This is also an example of what doing something leads to. People voted with their wallets and the pushback was indeed heard. Let’s see if they are back on track in the next instalment.

Regardless, doing nothing will further poison the industry in the direction of a tiny minority and be the demise of many great game series. I would see that avoided if at all possible.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Younger audiences have moved on from paper mediums and longform writing media, to YouTube clips and Twitch streams. You don't hear kids clamoring to be games journalists anymore for career choices but instead they want to be entertainers and YouTubers. No one cares about Kotaku and Polygon and the few times people care is to clown them for doing or saying something dumb. The only reason games journalism isn't a dead career and isn't a dead industry is because of people our age and older, but it should be dead within 50 or so years.

 

[FStubbs]

NEOGAF is my gaming journalism.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I wouldn't even know that there were still people employed to write about games if it wasn't for posts on Gaf about it.

 

[Halo is Back]

Just ignore these clowns and don't give them clicks

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Who am I kidding , these people aren't relevant.

Seriously, how come they have any pull at all?

And the double standards are not by 'error', they are by design, most of them aren't completely stupid, but they are very manipulative and resentful. When they label left or right this is not a moral call, even tho their language seems to indicate otherwise, this is a tribal call, whoever has the mark of the beast (right = 666) on them can be chastised mercilessly, whether or not the original claim is true is of little importance.

 

[jaysius]

Gaming journalists are revolting enough as they are.

You know places like this are helping them by giving their bullshit a voice, the best thing to do is to ignore their clickbait "Oh SHIT it's almost deadline time let me pull this out of my ass" stories.

 

[Enjay]

No but gamng as a whole could use one.

 

[Dr. Claus]

What your suggesting is the same thing that brought down the "other" site, it meant well but people with agenda's wanted to use it for other purposes. To me the best way around this is to ignore them, people who try to yell louder than the other person usually get drowned out over time. Support the developer by buying their game, and supporting where ever they land. Dont give clicks to the journo's. If we buy the game because it's good and well made, the journo can't cancel a sale that already happened.



Change doesn't happen behind a computer screen and keyboard. It happens in person where reality is the key differentiator. Trying to have random ass people with no human connection outside of a avatar trying to rally together instead of standing literally next to each other for a common cause will accomplish nothing. And if anything should not be the way forward in getting things changed. God if this is what people think is how bills and laws will be passed in the future god help us.

Thats why USA is in the shit state its in currently, people think rallying at a convention or on a message board is progress.

Um, no progress is getting involved with your local government who then can make a case higher up the ladder. IF YOU are not involved in your local government why should anything change for you or people you represent? Just because you yell really loud on twitter and forums isn't making people notice or sympathize with your issue.

Social media is a tool to be used to get information out, not to change parliament, labor laws, settlement cases, sexual harassments ect. We have system for all of that, and if used correctly does work, maybe not fully all the time, but it does work when used.

I think you misunderstand me. I am suggesting that we should educate and push for people to ignore these types of folks at a societal level as at an individual level ,nothing changes. Find other avenues to provide discussions, insights, and more of the games we love to play without providing clicks to these folks. I don't mean any sort of governmental intervention or other such.

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

Can anyone explain what this gamer gate thing is all about? Want an unbiased explanation of the events/situation

 

[TaroYamada]

There's so many sites and YouTube channels anymore. Why bother hitting like IGN or whatever?

 

[Dr. Claus]

Can anyone explain what this gamer gate thing is all about? Want an unbiased explanation of the events/situation

A few years ago, strange headache wrote this post that I feel perfectly encapsulates the BS that surrounded GamerGate.

I don't consider myself a GamerGater, but I don't think they are the monsters that game journalists and other opinion-makers want us make-believe. It largely serves as the go to boogeyman for all the general failures of mainstream gaming journalism. In physics, every reaction has an opposite and equal reaction. GG was a reaction to the radical politicization of the gaming community that was driven by fanatical ideologues and puritans striving on division and outrage. Instead of engaging with the criticism in a constructive manner, the media outlets decided to sidestep the issue by simply declaring all gamers misogynists, hastily burying it all and banning all discussion. But the discussion did not go away, essentially creating a very polarized 'us vs. them' situation that only made it much worse.

1. Politics, politicization and propaganda

As Benjamin Constant once said, part of the individual needs to be independent from politics and collective power, "our freedom must consist of peaceful enjoyment and private independence". Many people consider gaming a hobby, a form of entertainment they enjoy in their private life, nothing more and nothing less. While it is fine to discuss political aspects of certain games and gaming culture, it is only understandable that people react strongly against any kind of politicization of their hobby as a whole.

There is a certain subset of games journalists and opinion-makers who demand that certain games must not only adhere to their political views, but also actively convey them (i.e. propaganda). When political views are creeping that deeply into something you enjoy privately as entertainment, people react. Politics is a highly divisive matter, and most hobbyists don't want that kind of rupture in their community. They want their common interest to be the one thing that unites them instead of riling everybody up against each other. Gaming as an interest is something that gives most gamers a sense of belonging, an interest they can share with other fellow gamers, no matter who they are. That's why they don't want their games to dictate their political beliefs and vice versa.

Coming from an outside perspective, the us vs. them mentality that's being cultivated in the gaming community is blatantly ridiculous. It's gotten to the point where if you don't agree with certain talking points, you are immediately labeled as 'far-right' or accused of being an 'SJW'. That's the american two-party system seeping into an overly politicized gaming community, leaving no wiggle room for the moderate people in between.

2. Gamers, sexism and social authoritarianism

GG is not 'alt-right', it happened as a push-back against leftist authoritarianism. In fact, many GamerGaters consider themselves liberal. Remember what happened, when Jack Thompson tried to infer that video games make people violent? Thompson is to the authoritarian right, what Anita and her politically charged ilk is to the authoritarian left. Co-opting a form of entertainment in order to spread the radical feminist message that "all games are sexist", inferring that games make you a misogynist. Suddenly she is revered by the gaming press like the second coming of Jesus and those critical of her were quickly labeled 'misogynistic basement-dwelling neck-beards', aka. gamers. Soon after, a flurry of 'gamers are dead' articles were published, mostly by journalists sharing the same political circles as Anita.

The problem was not that some people dared discuss the representation of women in video games. As with violence in video games, that's a good discussion to have. The problem was that her criticism was defective by nature and designed in such a way as to rile people up in order to gain notoriety. Much like Thompson, who worked his way backwards in order to prove that games cause violence, Anita critiqued games under the pre-established assumption that "everything is sexist". While Thompson was ridiculed, Anita was lauded simply because she had good ties to certain game journalists who swallowed her bait, hook, line and sinker. Valid criticism was quickly brushed aside as evidence that the gaming community was sexist, never-mind the fact that her point of view was quite radical and prone to hasty generalizations.

The problem was that her criticism was not constructive, but destructive. Unfortunately it was that kind of criticism that drove a wedge into the gaming community, bringing her fame and financial success. Her criticism was not designed to make the gaming community a more inclusive place, but to cultivate a fanatic fellowship willing to join her crusade for 'the grater good' by throwing money at her. Fast forward a couple of years later, and most people have grown sick and tired of her babbling and seen through her shtick. But the damage was done. Other people are trying to copy her methods or seek out other hobbies ripe for the taking.

3. GamerGate and the 'alt-right'

I'm a leftist, I value progressive and liberal ideals, but I've long stopped counting the times I've been called an 'alt-right Nazi bigot' every time I participated in a discussion like this. For those of you painting GamerGate with the same broad brush, have you considered how many people your narrow-mindedness has falsely attributed to the right? It's almost as if you need an enemy to defend your cause.

Let me tell you that I don't particularly like some of the more prominent GamerGate talking-heads, but those were the only ones willing to listen. What were people supposed to do, after being banned and ostracized by the political puritans and all the gaming journalists who simply refused to listen? I don't deny the sad fact, that some of them fell into the hands of the 'alt-right', but many of them still resisted the call of the pied piper, despite your contempt. Because gamers know better than to simply give up their values for somebody trying to capitalize on the current situation.

Years later, I see once striving multi-pluralistic gaming communities that were co-opted by these radical, political ideologues in nothing but shambles. It didn't take GAF very long to collapse under its own ideological weight and the sad state of affairs of the authoritarian left communities (like ResetERA and GamerGhazi) is proof in the pudding that any kind of political puritanism is far from the ideological utopia that people were hoping for.

I don't consider myself a GamerGater, but if I perceive someone being treated unfairly, I defend them, not matter if I agree or disagree with their opinions. The cause doesn't justify the means and I vehemently reject the assertion that "there are no bad tactics, only bad targets".

4. Harassment, victimization and criticism

Let me preface the following by stating the obvious, I do not condone harassment just like the vast majority of gamers and other people out there. The internet is a mind-boggingly vast place and the single user but a tiny speck in this immense network of interconnected people. Now imagine you're at the center of a vast internet controversy involving thousands upon thousands of people. Now if only 1% of all the people involved would be stupid dimwits, you would still receive hundreds of harassing messages. From your point of view it would seems as if the whole world would have turned against you. Now imagine that you would not only count violent messages as harassment, but also any kind of criticism and ridicule.

I don't deny that Anita and Co. received hateful messages, but to induce that all GamerGaters are violent misogynists is just plain wrong. Especially considering that the FBI closed its investigation into GamerGate stating that "no additional subjects or actionable leads were developed as the result of the investigation." The conclusion of the FBI report was evidently unsatisfactory to the political ideologues capitalizing on their victim status. While I do not wish to belittle any form of harassment, it is equally true that victimization not only garners sympathy, but indirectly validates your narrative by making an appeal to emotion. As a victim, you don't need to engage with valid criticism, which is a classical logical fallacy that most would describe nowadays as "facts over feelings". We are talking about a person who demands a 20.000$ speaking fee and started out as a frikkin' telemarketer for a guy touting the slogan "purpose... passion... profits".

5. Journalism, gamers and death

When you are young, it must be pretty cool to become a gaming journalist, essentially making a living out of your passion. But as you grow older, you seek meaning and slowly come to the realization that you spent 20 years writing about what is essentially a form of entertainment. When gaming becomes a burden you turn to a good cause, trying to make the world a better place, trying to educate other people. I don't think that game journalists are bad people, they've grown old and tired and fell for some kind of political snake-oil that gave their work purpose. Doesn't help that the written word is falling out of fashion, while a crop of fresh new reviewers are showing up on youtube.

Maybe it's just me, but over the course of the years, I've witnessed the writing of many game journalists become sour and bitter. The same people who used to hold up their gaming community and defended gamers, openly hate their customers nowadays. While I pity them, I must hold them responsible for the growing divide and mutual hostilities in the gaming community. They could have easily avoided GamerGate by simply listening to the pluralistic voices in their community, but no. By elevating themselves to arbiters of morality, they declared one part of the gaming community as good, while ostracizing the other part. I think many of them realize by now how much damage they have done to the community as a whole, but it's too late now, the only way forward is to stick your head into the sand and to double down.

I would have stood with you, I would have defended a worthwhile cause, but then you decided to paint my community with a broad brush, accusing me of all the evils under the sun, calling me a socially challenged basement dwelling neck-beard and worst of all, pronouncing me dead! Listen up you fools, my gamer friends and me are productive members of society, most of us have become caring parents, we have our heads on straight, we strive to be tolerant to people from all walks of life and everybody is welcomed to share our passion of gaming. We don't need some washed up gaming journalist to tell us the obvious, that discrimination/sexism/racism/harassment is bad. We don't need you to tell us what to think, who to vote for, what to like and how to behave. The gaming community is one of the most tolerant, liberal and accepting hobbyist community I've ever encountered and you do not get to drag us through the mud. Did you honestly expect the gaming community to bow down and take it to the chin after accusing and judging us all guilty?

6. "We don't want to take your games away"

There is a fine line between constructive criticism, fear-mongering and censorship. By now it should be evidently clear, that all those power-tripping political keyboard-warriors weaponize public pressure in order to make every developer bow to their narrow worldview. This has nothing to do with constructive criticism, but a culture war about the hegemony of your mind. Witcher 3, Yooka-Laylee, A Hat in Time, Kingdom Come, Subnautica... how many more incidents sparked by tribalism and public outrage do you need in order to recognize the authoritarian nature of their so-called 'criticism'?

They may use 'positive words' but their methods and goals are not much different from the religious, puritanical, conservative authoritarian right. Some of you are too young, but I still remember the times when AD&D was considered satanical and when Frank Zappa was accused of perverting the youth. Man, I love Zappa's music and it saddens me greatly that in our current climate, provoking content like that would be impossible without some crazy community or media outlet creating another shitstorm for clicks and notoriety.

7. Women, minorities and gaming

The moral crusaders of today tout themselves to represent all women and minorities, when in fact they are in no such position of authority at all. Those who disagree are simply ignored, like all those women speaking out in favor of Nolan Bushnell. Daniel Vavra, is a white supremacist, despite having suffered Nazi and communist occupation. All white people are privileged, all men are sexist, all minorities are oppressed, cultural appropriation is wrong... One of my gripes with all that nonsense is the purely americocentric view on the world. It's almost as if the American media discovered the existence of women and minorities in the last decade or so and most ideological activists are more preoccupied with recruiting these social groups for their own political reasons.

Has any of these moral crusaders ever taken the time to ask these people if they want to be politicized to such a degree? They gay people in my gaming community certainly do not wish to be reduced to their sexual orientation as their one single defining trait. The women in my community do not want to be reduced to their womanhood and the ethical minorities certainly do not wish to be reduced to the color of their skin. They want to be treated like everybody else, nothing more and nothing less. In the same vein, ComicGate is not about the rejection of diversity, it's about how women and minorities are reduced to a single trait in order to convey a political message.

The politicization of entertainment has gone too far. It's gotten to a point where a movie/game/book is automatically lauded for merely portraying a black/female/gay/whatever protagonist, and if you dare not like it, you're called a bigot. I grew up reading Hannah Arendt, watching Ripley shred aliens and listening to Tracy Chapman. If I end up not liking something, it's because I think it's shit, not because it features the flavor of the month minority.

8. Final words

The infamous words of Sam Biddle still ring in my ears "nerds should be constantly shamed and degraded into submission". As a somewhat nerdish gamer I'm used to being socially stigmatized, but let me remind you that women and minorities were always part of the community. Heck, back in the days, before gaming became mainstream, we would have been ecstatic if even more women were willing to share our passion. Back then, nobody gave a shit about your sexual orientation, the color of your skin or your gender, the only thing that mattered was your interest in the hobby.

Gaming allowed me to forge bonds with people from all walks of life and from all the different corners of the world. I love appropriating other cultures, engaging with their traditions, cooking exotic meals, listening to their music, sharing their views on the world, discussing their moral values. It made my own life richer and allowed me to take different perspectives on the world. Maybe, just maybe, it would be high time to celebrate that aspect of gaming and leave the moral crusaders trying to drive a wedge through the gaming community out in the dust, moping in their own little dark corner.

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

A few years ago, strange headache wrote this post that I feel perfectly encapsulates the BS that surrounded GamerGate.

That’s a going to be a lot of reading, thank you for sharing info

 

[SSfox]

Depend on if Chun Li is in MK movie.

 

[Cattlyst]

I don't even look at gaming websites anymore. If I want to know if a game is worth buying, I just watch a YouTube video or read steam reviews. Games journalism is no longer about games and is irrelevant to me.

 

[michaelius]

You guys are somewhat unlucky if you live in english speaking country.
It's still possible to find decent outlets but they are usually local and publish in other languages.

English speaking journalist seem to be wholy dominated by liberal left leaning people from America or UK.

 

[asustitan]

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned yet that RT is a state-sponsored Russian outlet. Their content is meant to provoke an emotional response in order to create division in the US. Kind of ironic when you are talking about bad journalism.

Well they were right about Syria with the false flag chemical attacks and the white helmet crisis actors.

Remember when U.S were trying to get UK into a bombing raid, luckily public opinion stopped the UK government from doing it.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

This thread made me realize that I miss classic game room.

That’s all.

 

[RPSleon]

I hope people who want the change become writers and become a games journalist to really start the change.

Also as a left leaning person, i am really becoming ashamed to admit it. These people are becoming dangerous. You cant force people to live the way you think is best for the world without a HUGE amount of oppression and tyranny.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Gamergate was a fucking joke to begin with so consumer revolts over stupid takes are meaningless. Never participate in culture wars. You'll regret it a few years later. Sophia Narwitz has her own agenda just like every other journalist. She has her own platform and nobody is silencing her. Games journalism is not a monolithic force out to kill gaming. I'm tired of this hyperbolic emotionally driven culture war that ends up making the gaming community look childish. Hogwarts Legacy isn't going to be 'cancelled'. Cyberpunk wasn't 'cancelled'. Gaming is doing fine. Gamers will not be targeted. Enough with this 'revolution' bullshit. it's a non-issue at best.

Gamers have been cancelled. Developers have been cancelled. Both have had prominent members take their own lives because of it.

A "non-issue"? Please, spare me the bullshit.

 

[Allandor]

Sophia Narwitz recently wrote an article and RT.com ...

I stopped believing their motives right there.
They might have a point, but like always with rt.com for the wrong reason. They actively spread FUD, so creating a thread like this on article of that site is ... well not the best way to find a solution.

 

[Dr. Claus]

I stopped believing their motives right there.
They might have a point, but like always with rt.com for the wrong reason. They actively spread FUD, so creating a thread like this on article of that site is ... well not the best way to find a solution.

Sophia has been suggesting this for literal years, long before she ever used RT.com

I would suggest you do more research before you mindlessly dismiss something like that.

 

[BbMajor7th]

It's become a very messy industry for sure and I'd lay most blame at the feet of the internet. Like most internet media outlets they're at the mercy of algorithms and have to focus on search-engine optimisation over actual content. It's why every sub-head in their articles is phrased as a question: 'is Genshin Impact free on consoles?' It's them fragrantly capturing exact search queries to increase their organic reach on Google, because better rankings there means more traffic and more ad impressions, which is basically their entire revenue model.

The other side is the cult of personality that social media platforms have created - it's a world of high-drama, suspicion and outrage that demands that everyone within every group pronounce the correct shibboleths to remain on the inside. I'm not part of it, not because I think I'm above but because I know I could easily be dragged into it too. Like smoking, it's better if you never start in the first place.

I don't think games journalists are in the least bad people. Many of them are hobbyists who started out fifteen or twenty years ago writing on the side about something they loved - what was then a niche interest - but now find themselves trapped inside this money-driven machine where Google dictates how they should write, social media dictates how they should think and the very industry they're paid to scrutinise buys the advertising space that feeds them.

Like so much of what we see today online, the core issues are systemic - routing out the individuals and punishing them might feel good (who doesn't like a little schadenfreude?) but it never leads to meaningful change. It happened with gamergate and it's evident in this article. It get the appeal, it's much easier to take down an individual than push for fundamental change to abstract systems, but it's the same as the 'give a man a fish' proverb - simple short term wins over meaningful long term change.

I don't pretend to know how it's done, but with writers, media personalities and creatives all being entirely at the thrall of their audiences, it could be that audience behaviour is a one meaningful change we can all drive.

 

[VN1X]

For starters stop giving (hate) clicks to the likes of Kotaku, Vice, Polygon, RPS, VG247, etc.

Every time you link to one of those sites on GAF a child in Africa has to beta test Amazon Game Studios projects. Please think of the children here as well.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

I go to individual YouTube channels for the stuff I actually care about, and get an industry overview from here for breaking news and a glance at the stuff I don't care about. It's been a long time since I've had any hope for "games journalism". I think that white privilege Kotaku(?) article was the last straw. Just because you used video games as an analogy doesn't make it relevant to the games industry at all. I'm not going to Kotaku for fucking political commentary.

 

[IncognitoPanda]

She makes good points and it's clear gaming journalists just want to be influencers. However, it's fucking rich posting this on RT, a Russian propoganda site. Smh

 

[Shodan09]

They're largely irrelevant now I think. There's independent channels on YouTube pulling more views than many articles put out by bigger sites.

I agree with every point posted in the op though, it's definitely a clique and something I and many, many others have no interest whatsoever in engaging with.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I stopped believing their motives right there.
They might have a point, but like always with rt.com for the wrong reason. They actively spread FUD, so creating a thread like this on article of that site is ... well not the best way to find a solution.

She has youtube video on it as well if you're to sensitive to go to rt.

 

[BlackTron]

Someone figured out that it was easier and less costly to get 1000 clicks over an outrage article than it is to get 100 clicks over a legitimate piece of gaming news or journalism.

Basically, they ruin peoples lives as sacrificial lambs to feed their monetary gain and agenda.

I can't remember the last time I read a gaming news article. Last year I think I read something on Kotaku but I intentionally used the cached version. It didn't take long to realize the title was misleading as to the actual point of the article and I bailed. Despite years of old gaming mags in my closet, gaming journalism pushed me out. I'm no longer a customer.

Just because I moved on though, doesn't mean it's not still a problem. Not because I need content to read, but because the people who ruined it are still doing so while trying to ruin people. As far as I'm concerned, a lot of these types are criminals and should be in jail, ESPECIALLY Zoe Quinn.

 

[AJUMP23]

I ignore the gaming media for the most part, but to see things like LKD is working for Bioware after false statements and accusations is depressing. Why do they reward people that lie and steal? The answer is that they reward people that have the same agenda as them. They are more concerned about their agenda than producing a good product.


Also the Last Night looks cool.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Silence the haters, get out of your Kotoku bubble and improve columns.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I'd like to think that video game fans that visit game related sites that post articles that revolve around such topics tend to skip over them. They/we all love video games. It's a passion we all clearly share. So, the majority want to hear about video games and video game related news, not particularly anything that revolves around societal or political related gaming news.

I wish these journalists would just move onto other blogs/sites that they clearly want to be apart of, that aren't associated with video games. Some may be interested in that mix, for whatever reason. But I think the majority just... want to talk about video games. Thank god.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

Because they are journalists in gaming ?
I stopped caring about these clowns and their "articles" LONG time ago.
Giving them importance give them power. This needs to stop.

We, gamers, decide with our hard earned money, NOT them.

 

[Anarchistry]

You have got to be fucking kidding me

I'm sure peoples displeasure with game journalism is just a kremlin plot

I'm just saying, it's kind of bankrupt to complain about "SJW influence" or whatever in gaming journalism when this particular piece is clearly meant to provoke an emotionally, angry response in the reader. Quite hypocritical.

 

[oagboghi2]

I'm just saying, it's kind of bankrupt to complain about "SJW influence" or whatever in gaming journalism when this particular piece is clearly meant to provoke an emotionally, angry response in the reader. Quite hypocritical.

What is hypocritical? That the writer wanted the reader of this article to feel an emotion? That’s kind of the point of the article.

 

[The Incarnation]

Remember reading some Sega UK magazine back in the 90's, think the review was about Cannon Fodder, and it pretty much starts out with two lads in a nightclub toilet off their heads on drugs, and both recalling watching some 'Join the Army, see the world' ad, and then it spirals off into their experiences in war, which one of the lads gets their legs blown off. After about a page or two it starts talking about the actual game. They were the days.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

If you don't like it and want it to go away, the commentary on their commentary must stop. Pretty much a boycott, which isn't too far fetched because steamers up ended the power structure already.

No looking at reviews, reposting articles and tweets. All posts shouls be community building (recommend fun games, discussion of game design in X, hot characters).

When you enjoy feeling upset and unnerved by the state of things, you feed the beast.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Revolt against what? Games journalism (as in dedicates sites and access media) is basically dead. Far more dead than when GamerGate first happened.

 

[Allandor]

Sophia has been suggesting this for literal years, long before she ever used RT.com

I would suggest you do more research before you mindlessly dismiss something like that.

I would suggest you should inform yourself about her motives behind that. If you work for such a FUD network your motives aren't that you want to make something better, you only work there to get as much attention as possible.


That is also the problem about spreading FUD all the time, even if you might have a point, no one believes you. And I really don't want to fact check all her arguments. This is way to time intensive with such sources. And in the end it is still, she might have some arguments but wrong motivation behind it.

 

[waxer]

If people stopped giving them clicks/money they would be gone already.

Saw another fantastically jealous article from big paper other day disgusted at influencers offering advertising for free accommodation or food. Reality is they need to show advertising through themselves is a better value proposition and the right demographic hit.

Even gaming journalism is stuck in this situation where they Havnt evolved with the times. Or in the case of loud mouths instead of building up a good reputation by adverting themselves they scream controversy to quickly hit the limelight.

Reality is you get out what you put in and it won't succeed long term

 

[Zato]

For gaming "journalists" and their positions ....... look at Era.

Same reactionary, outrage based fragility that see's success in the destruction of those that do not mirror them.

It is so close to the approved thought, party line is the only acceptable position of any totalitarian state.



These types do not understand that they are not changing minds, they are simply creating a new underclass.


I know that is a digression from reporting in games but as in all things it is a reflection of the society we live in.

 

[Kokoloko85]

When was the first revolt?

Maybe more people need to get in on reviewing and journalism to counter the crappy side. Im down to support a decent site. Colin Moriarty can’t be the only one

 

[Drew1440]

When activism take precedence over reviewing the actual product. Can't remember the last time I looked at a review with the exception of Steam or Amazon reviews. The worst part is this stuff has started to seep into most of the mainstream games.

 

[Reality Czar]

How come not a single games journalist broke the Cyberpunk story?

One of the biggest releases of a year and not a single journo looked into performance.

How many thousands of people out there writing about that game and not a single one thought to ask for last gen performance?

I mean, what good are they? What possible value do they bring to the hobby? They can’t even do light investigative journalism on the products they are covering. Not even when they have insider information do they use it to educate the consumer. For real they were entirely useless when it came to the biggest story of the year. When the game came out broken, where were these people? For real?

Not doing their jobs obviously...

 

[Torrent of Pork]

The only way you can do anything is to deprive them of your eyeballs.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The only way you can do anything is to deprive them of your eyeballs.

Exactly.

That's what social media and being on the internet does to people. Makes them all think they are celebs and politicians trying to push the needle into their way of thinking. Instead of sticking to the core content, it somehow morphs into politics, which not surprisingly skews to liberal stuff and media.

Ask a bunch of bridge builders to chat work and it'll be about construction, timing and costs. There's a focus on the core product. And that's basically it.

Ask a bunch of high school drops outs doing freelance video game reviews based on a bunch of programmers creating pixels and audio, and it's a mesh between reviewing the game and then intertwining it with left vs right politics.

The first 10 years of the net wasn't like this. But as soon as social media became more newsworthy than traditional corporations it's been a tug of war of be the millionth loudmouth with a Twitter account or in this case two page upload of a video game review.

Best thing to do is just avoid reading their content. Just go by forum users or skim an MC or OC score.