First post nails it.
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How Nintendo Directs Represent a New Direction and Improvment of Gaming Journalism
- Thread starter Gummb
- Start date
First post nails it.
Then it's an informercial, not journalism.
If Nintendo Direct was the only outlet to Nintendo news, this would never happen.
DXB-KNIGHT
Member
The reactions from the gaming community implies otherwise.
Some people are either not ready the OP or have reading comprehension problems. Regardless, I'm shocked by the amount of posts that demonstrate users completely missing the point of the OP when they respond with "Nintendo Direct isn't journalism".
Anyway, I think the OP is excellent. Hats off to Gummb for observing something that I would have never noticed and starting an intelligent discussion (aside from the ignorant posts). As of late its become very clear that games are not represented as what they truly are by most media outlets and most big publishers. It's refreshing to have one of the big three creating its own video content that provides access to news and information to all audiences simultaneously. And yes, Iwata is going to be absolutely chipper about everything he announces on Nintendo Direct so, just like with everything else, we must watch with a critical eye. Honestly, you'd be a fool to turn off your brain and expect any of the sources of information (developers, publishers, media outlets) to be 100% truthful.
Nintendo Direct and Iwata Asks provide information in a simple and direct manner to the core audience. Yes, Sony has the PlayStation Blog and Microsoft has Major Nelson but they're just don't provide the information in the same manner. It's less direct; its coming from another company mouthpiece and much less interesting ones. Last I checked no one posts anything from those blogs on GAF unless its deals posted on the PS Blog or Major Nelson's site. Or the Xbox Live activity numbers. Thus showing the greater impact Nintendo Direct and Iwata Asks have.
Hell, sometimes I forget those other blogs even exist. Even on the Xbox dashboard you see few videos from the Xbox team and more advertisements. It's as if the Xbox team barely exists anymore.
Anyway, I think the OP is excellent. Hats off to Gummb for observing something that I would have never noticed and starting an intelligent discussion (aside from the ignorant posts). As of late its become very clear that games are not represented as what they truly are by most media outlets and most big publishers. It's refreshing to have one of the big three creating its own video content that provides access to news and information to all audiences simultaneously. And yes, Iwata is going to be absolutely chipper about everything he announces on Nintendo Direct so, just like with everything else, we must watch with a critical eye. Honestly, you'd be a fool to turn off your brain and expect any of the sources of information (developers, publishers, media outlets) to be 100% truthful.
Nintendo Direct and Iwata Asks provide information in a simple and direct manner to the core audience. Yes, Sony has the PlayStation Blog and Microsoft has Major Nelson but they're just don't provide the information in the same manner. It's less direct; its coming from another company mouthpiece and much less interesting ones. Last I checked no one posts anything from those blogs on GAF unless its deals posted on the PS Blog or Major Nelson's site. Or the Xbox Live activity numbers. Thus showing the greater impact Nintendo Direct and Iwata Asks have.
Hell, sometimes I forget those other blogs even exist. Even on the Xbox dashboard you see few videos from the Xbox team and more advertisements. It's as if the Xbox team barely exists anymore.
Yeah, were you absent on the 23rd? Did you actually see what the first page of the gaming forum looked like <10min after the ND ended?
ND can definitely be a big deal.
Well, it's not what i would consider journalism, but i don't think jounalism exists just to answer questions. It's more about broadcasting news.
I agree with you!
Nintendo does deliver at presenting products, but this is not an improvement of investigative or informing journalism.
I don't praise Playstation Blog either. Edit: Well, yeah I do but for the same reason I would praise Nintendo Direct.
You say this like "reactions from the gaming community" have a track record of meaningful insight.
Last i checked the "gaming community" is comprised largely of people using the anonymity of the internet to spew as much random, hyperbolic, half baked, immature crap as they can within a character count.
Now if by "gaming community" you meant all the "journalists" who have been writing articles about Nintendo Direct, well, lets consider what the argument in favor of Nintendo Direct within this thread says about those very "journalists". Namely the whole fact that they're predominantly marketing department controlled mouthpieces.
Nintendo has to go the Nintendo Direct route because the majority of gaming "journalists" are more readily bribed by the latest and greatest from 3rd parties, MS, and Sony than they are by Nintendo's own more casual friendly offerings.
Basically, Nintendo is creating their own Fox News after finding it hard to push their ideology within CNN, and a bunch of people in this thread are saying "yeah, fuck CNN! They've obviously got a lean, I'd much rather watch Fox News".
People who think Nintendo Direct is revolutionary are people who either 1. are directly impacted by Nintendo not feeding them new stories to tweet/blog/podcast about and 2. people who are very happy that Nintendo has given them yet another bubble to cocoon themselves within.
Backfoggen
Banned
It's a visual press release, nothing more.
It is a great idea. Especially in the western media where Nintendo has a negative connotation. It is released by Nintendo directly to who wants the info without the typical " journalism" site regurgitating what Nintendo is trying to show. The viewer can form their own opinion instead of a gaming "journalist" telling them what to think of the information whether that be negative/positive.
You just described all gaming "journalism".
If you want real journalism than read an Iwata asks.
_illmatic_
Member
I dunno how guys are comparing the ND to an infomercial, the only thing Nintendo is doing is directly letting YOU the gamer know what they are working on/doing. Instead of waiting for an event/invitation for one of your favorite sites to go and sit-down then getting a written "version" of what they said.
Hell, I was telling my friend of mine about the last ND and what they spoke about and he went to IGN to read about it and came back with "I'm disappointed that the new Zelda looks like WW and SS instead of like the tech demo." Took me two hours to convince him that IGN didn't see any screenshots its just an assumption on their part. Finally instead of arguing back and forth I just told him to watch the ND to see the only screens they show are from WW HD. I think its nice that we finally have a look inside the private Nintendo, directly from the CEO.
Hell, I was telling my friend of mine about the last ND and what they spoke about and he went to IGN to read about it and came back with "I'm disappointed that the new Zelda looks like WW and SS instead of like the tech demo." Took me two hours to convince him that IGN didn't see any screenshots its just an assumption on their part. Finally instead of arguing back and forth I just told him to watch the ND to see the only screens they show are from WW HD. I think its nice that we finally have a look inside the private Nintendo, directly from the CEO.
It's things like Iwata Asks and Nintendo Direct that make me wonder how Iwata has time to do all of this stuff while balancing his work managing Nintendo as well.
olimpia84
Member
This right here. Sony has way more material to show than Nintendo does between the PS3, PSN, PSmobile, Vita, etc. Why not throw some new footage from The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls etc. every now and then? Or give more details about games going under the radar like Puppeteer which looks effing amazing and needs to be 'out there'.
Arkage
Banned
This is spot on, though I'd take it one step further. It's not ditching CNN for Fox, it's ditching CNN for Republicans themselves like Boehner or the videos Obama puts out on a weekly basis. The political analogies are obvious. People who claim Nintendo is "revolutionizing" journalism would also be claiming campaign rallies or those Obama videos revolutionize political journalism. It doesn't. Journalism already accounts for PR drip-feeds direct from companies/organizations.
On a more related note it's akin to claiming the E3 shows by the big three are somehow revolutionary to journalism. ND is no different than a mini-E3 video thrown together. Journalism already accounts for these things. I don't know in what world PR cleared information directly from the company is anything new.
I doubt it takes Iwata himself that long. He probably doesn't write out all the questions in the Iwata asks, though his development background would certainly mean that he could. And in the Nintendo Directs, he probably just decides what to show, then reads a script over some clips that someone else knocked up.
Nintendo Direct is more or less the new Nintendo Power (at least when it first started).
It's owned by Nintendo and gives exclusive news. Many clamor to watch it (as many before the Internet days did the same for the magazine) And it's a fantastic PR tool.
But due to the Internet making magazines irrelevant, we lose a lot of what we had: fanservice (Sites have tons of fanservice articles every day about what fans have done), reviews (anyone can review a game now, even on Nintendo's own services), interviews (Iwata Asks covers it), and what I'll call fluff pieces (which are everywhere online anyways and used to increase content, so they were never really necessary).
We get everything else though: exclusive look at screens/art and now video. Exclusive details on a game. Exclusive game announcements and reveals. All from what Nintendo is working on and with.
It is however framed very differently, because Iwata hosts it. It'd be like if Nintendo Power had been written by Iwata and Miyamoto back in the day. Because we saw Nintendo Power not as a part of Nintendo, we never thought of it being used as a PR/Marketing tool when it really was. Nintendo Direct I see as a more open way in a new Internet world to do exactly what Nintendo Power did- but in a much more controlled way (i.e. being able to announce games without having to go into a ton of detail, and being able to announce them all at one point whenever you feel necessary).
It's owned by Nintendo and gives exclusive news. Many clamor to watch it (as many before the Internet days did the same for the magazine) And it's a fantastic PR tool.
But due to the Internet making magazines irrelevant, we lose a lot of what we had: fanservice (Sites have tons of fanservice articles every day about what fans have done), reviews (anyone can review a game now, even on Nintendo's own services), interviews (Iwata Asks covers it), and what I'll call fluff pieces (which are everywhere online anyways and used to increase content, so they were never really necessary).
We get everything else though: exclusive look at screens/art and now video. Exclusive details on a game. Exclusive game announcements and reveals. All from what Nintendo is working on and with.
It is however framed very differently, because Iwata hosts it. It'd be like if Nintendo Power had been written by Iwata and Miyamoto back in the day. Because we saw Nintendo Power not as a part of Nintendo, we never thought of it being used as a PR/Marketing tool when it really was. Nintendo Direct I see as a more open way in a new Internet world to do exactly what Nintendo Power did- but in a much more controlled way (i.e. being able to announce games without having to go into a ton of detail, and being able to announce them all at one point whenever you feel necessary).
evilromero
Member
As a diehard Nintendo fan, it's sad to see the giant wave of apologists trying to spin something overwhelmingly positive out of this. Nintendo needs a kick in the ass IMO and reacting like we're perfectly happy with the direction they are headed is not healthy. I want those magnificent IPs to grow and evolve, not remain frozen in time. Nintendo has the resources to push forward with their franchises without feeding us a trickle of niche games and collaborative efforts.
It's the first time for Nintendo to be this open, so kudos for them for not being so closed to public now. But Sony & Microsoft have had their blogs and Sony even had one of those weekly or bi-weekly (or monthly? can't remember) PSN shows where they detailed all the new games that were out (or coming soon). They've since abandoned those, but let's not get crazy here, this isn't something completely new and unheard of. It's just Nintendo doing it for the first time.
They all do this. Well, Microsoft maybe a little less, lately (?), but this is nothing new.
Uhh.. at least with PS Blog, they come straight from the developers of the games that are featured on the PS (that's WAY more interesting than seeing Iwata talk), who always STAY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS after a blog post about their game. I'd say that's even more direct and open than some pre-recorded "omg, everything is so wonderful, except our shit OS of our new console, sorry about that" vid from Nintendo.
Fox news applies Right wing spin to anything and everything it can. There isn't really much spin in Nintendo Directs. It's just "here's a game, we hope you like it". And i don't really get why you say that after saying that the major news outlets are bribed and Nintendo doesn't wish to get involved. Do you think that kind of behaviour is ok? Those companies are paying money so that you'll get lied to. They get that meney from you, buying games that they lied to you about.
I was intending to stay silent on the subject because really the gaming media circus managed to make sure I never wanted to deal with them ever again quite some time ago.
People talking about the gaming media as journalists get a laugh out of me when you realize that the best way to actually get info on Nintendo's strategy during the Wii era was a freaking blogger no one wants to talk about here!
I kid you not, the guy can't post anything without his style getting in the way of the info but by god at least he knows his Christensen and his BOS better than all the media that was running with its head cut off while failing to understand why Nintendo acted the way they did.
They only had to read the 2 fucking books Nintendo said they took their strategy!
No wonder you have jokers saying that some projects Nintendo is working on is vaporware when they can't be bothered to do their job in the 1rst place.
So yeah for all the other publishers you can go to the media circus and jump through hoops if you want, but that Nintendo chose to bypass the sycophant can never be a bad thing.
I don't need someone to tell me how to think on politics, movies and other various issues, I sure won't tolerate it when it comes to games.
That said the big difference between what Sony and Nintendo is doing is that for Sony I don't have access to their info just on the PS3/PSP.
I need to actively seek the info.
For Nintendo, the info is there waiting for me on their eShop (with sometimes notifications to boot).
Basically once the system is set up I don't need to go out of my way to get the info so I'd argue that it touches way more people than the PS blog (I seriously had no idea they were doing this till this topic, that shows the extent of the effort they put in telling people).
People talking about the gaming media as journalists get a laugh out of me when you realize that the best way to actually get info on Nintendo's strategy during the Wii era was a freaking blogger no one wants to talk about here!
I kid you not, the guy can't post anything without his style getting in the way of the info but by god at least he knows his Christensen and his BOS better than all the media that was running with its head cut off while failing to understand why Nintendo acted the way they did.
They only had to read the 2 fucking books Nintendo said they took their strategy!
No wonder you have jokers saying that some projects Nintendo is working on is vaporware when they can't be bothered to do their job in the 1rst place.
So yeah for all the other publishers you can go to the media circus and jump through hoops if you want, but that Nintendo chose to bypass the sycophant can never be a bad thing.
I don't need someone to tell me how to think on politics, movies and other various issues, I sure won't tolerate it when it comes to games.
That said the big difference between what Sony and Nintendo is doing is that for Sony I don't have access to their info just on the PS3/PSP.
I need to actively seek the info.
For Nintendo, the info is there waiting for me on their eShop (with sometimes notifications to boot).
Basically once the system is set up I don't need to go out of my way to get the info so I'd argue that it touches way more people than the PS blog (I seriously had no idea they were doing this till this topic, that shows the extent of the effort they put in telling people).
Gaming community? Like gaf? and other forums? those really small, niche amount of people?
You think that means anything?
Again, Nintendo Directs aren't like this. They just show some games and mention some features. That's it. The message is always "We hope you like it", rather than "OMG, it's awesome!". At least watch them before commenting.
KillerTravis
Banned
Yeah they are awesome, and it's cool to get announcements like that throughout the year, but people got to calm down about this representing a change for gaming journalism. It doesn't even affect them, they just cover the news and get more hits than a normal day.
Ghost_Protocol
Member
This Nintendo direct love fest has to stop. They showed footage of one interesting game. One. Everything else was known about already.
This is exactly why they don't even have to bother trying to match specs with Sony/Microsoft/PCs. They announce new iterations of the same stuff, show one or two new things, and everyone loses their minds.
This is exactly why they don't even have to bother trying to match specs with Sony/Microsoft/PCs. They announce new iterations of the same stuff, show one or two new things, and everyone loses their minds.
evilromero
Member
I have no idea what any of this has to do with Nintendo Direct?
I guess I sensed this thread as another attempt to rush to Nintendo's defense. To me, it's just PR. Nothing more.
Well we all knew there was going to be a wind waker remake? I don't think so. Neither that there was going to be a crossover of fire emblem with SMT. I can comprehend you if you are not interested by the announcements but they were good ones and no one expected it to be that good. If the developers/publishers with sagas that you like did something like this you wouldn't be complaining about this.
walking fiend
Member
The bitterness of some people in every Nintendo thread is palpable.
The least that ND does, is that we will have a media blowout on GAF, not based on usually biased articles released by the media hubs, but by info provided by the ND, which usually leads in less stupid fanboy/hater discussions.
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People who say that ND and Iwata Asks, or basically any PR that Iwata has a central role in it, is not journalism, I have to ask what media, beside few exceptions that few read, provides better insight and a critical view over what Nintendo is doing?
The least that ND does, is that we will have a media blowout on GAF, not based on usually biased articles released by the media hubs, but by info provided by the ND, which usually leads in less stupid fanboy/hater discussions.
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People who say that ND and Iwata Asks, or basically any PR that Iwata has a central role in it, is not journalism, I have to ask what media, beside few exceptions that few read, provides better insight and a critical view over what Nintendo is doing?
That's true. Good point.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
Nintendo Direct isn't journalism, it's glorified PR. But then again, so is games journalism itself for the most part, so it's no surprise some feel ND is making an impact there.
So instead of reading the thread, you just guessed you go on the offense?
It's an odd habit.
And I don't even think this thread is about Nintendo the company.
As much as it is about how the Nintendo Direct is forcing the press to cover news differently, which we've seen with this week's reactions.
CambriaRising
Member
The fanboy door swings both ways.
It forces them to cover it no differently than any other recorded press conference.
You should read your post again.
Fox News disseminates extreme right wing talking points. It doesn't spin anything. It is a megaphone for the extreme right. People acting like it's just spin doctoring is half the problem, as that is step one towards the false equivalency that it and MSNBC (which is spin doctoring) are doing the same thing. They aren't. MSNBC's president has never offered to run the campaign of a democratic candidate while still holding his job at MSNBC. Rodger Ailes did that just over a year ago.
Nintendo Direct isn't spinning anything either, instead it's a direct pipeline whereby Nintendo can show people only what they want to show them in the format and time they wish to show it. That's pretty damn similar.
Also, of course I don't agree with the current gaming "journalist" culture. They're predominantly inept, immature, self entitled, and unethical people who fail to see any of those characteristics or fail to see a problem with them. But then that is quickly becoming the norm for 1st world culture.
That doesn't mean the concept of real games journalism is flawed and that circumventing this PR approved "journalism" we get now with pure PR is an improvement. One is scamming your doctor for another month of oxycodone, the other is just straight booting heroin into your arm. The heroin addict is probably more honest with himself, but it sure as hell doesn't mean he doesn't have a drug problem or is more able to stop using.
walking fiend
Member
Why did you felt compelled to provide a reply without any useful info? Or should I say, providing an obvious remark, of course we have both fanboys and haters.
Unless you are stupid and stopped after reading the first line, my post provides a very clear question that you have avoided simply to derail the thread.
I think Nintendo Directs are simply part of a strategy Nintendo is trying to put together to create their own ecosystem where they rely on no one, where there fans can get pure, untainted views of information without snarky remarks. I think MiiVerse is the extension of that private ecosystem, giving their fans and developers of their games unfettered, unbiased access to eachother without going to places like well, here, IGN etc. They basically want to create their own world independent of the gaming press, forums, media. and I think it's a brilliant idea which I bet MS and Sony will follow suit with their new systems.
Like what though?
I mean how many other recorded press conferences do we get?
Even at events like E3, TGS, and the rest. They can center their coverage on hands on impressions and the likes.
Here's there's really not much to add. So they find ways to talk about it more broadly than any specific point of news.
Ether.
I might've exaggerated some, but they are still showing off even the shitties games as if they are worth anything. I mean, the latest Nintendo Direct is the first one (or at least one of the few) that had any kind of meaningful surprises (and we know this happened simply because Wii U hasn't gotten off to a good start, so they had to make something to get people more interested in it yet E3 is too far away), the rest have been quite boring and devoid of such things. They've basically had trailers that otherwise would just have been spread around to gaming sites. It's not even as if these Nintendo Directs reach a lot of people, most gamers will still get the new trailers through gaming sites posting/notifying about them.
ps. I've watched through pretty much every Nintendo Direct but the last one (ironically that turned out to be the only one worth watching) and they weren't worth my time (other than seeing a bit more about Kingdom Hearts 3D before its release, though I got a lot more information & media straight from Square Enix)
You do know that this statement is only true because Nintendo are violent obstructionists to anyone reporting on anything they do, right?
They're the least willing software developer in the world to let a journalist see work in progress software. They're the least willing developer to let anyone other than a select few speak with any journalist. They're the least willing developer to give even a minutia of insight into what they have planned until it's in the state they want it presented in, and sometimes even then they continue to obfuscate.
Hell, the Wii U has been out for a couple months now and there are still questions about the hardware in the freaking box that Nintendo hasn't answered and people speculate on.
Its easy to beat the competition at covering yourself when you don't let anyone else cover you.
I'd imagine his comment was a rather thinly veiled statement that you happened to walk right on through those saloon doors on your way to making that post.
walking fiend
Member
Of course, I am not saying that ND can replaces reviews of their games and products, or hands-on previews, that's entirely another matter. Of course games that they show beautiful trailers of, may turn out to be quite bad [though statistically, it's not like Nintendo makes many bad games]; but well, for whatever reason they have, they are like this when it comes to preview of their games and future plans.
But as far as news is concerned, or critical insight into their plans and future, I would say it is really difficult to find unbiased and informed journalism regarding them; and it's not like Iwata is a PR figure who spurts only bullshit; he is honest about Nintendo's shortcomings, their analysis of the market and their products direction.
Well, the joke is on him; it's no good if we just start calling each other fanboys; if someone thinks so but excludes him/herself, it should be done through actually leading the discussion to a more meaningful direction.
CambriaRising
Member
Now now, no need for name calling. Your post is clearly one sided. You accuse media outlets of releasing bias articles without any citation, and then say that it leads to less fanboy/hater (Which are not mutually exclusive) arguments:
Not even seeming to realize that the ultimate bias source is from the publisher itself.
Then you ask who provides a better source of insight or criticism in the media over what Nintendo is doing. Certainly not Nintendo, my friend.