Support NeoGAF

[Victor Omega]

We were crying last two Gen about big gaming sites gaming journalist were allegedly making paid previews, hyping up games for publishers and making "good reviews" to game never beat or played.

YouTube gaming influencers at the time, guys like ANGRY JOE (he's the only one that comes to mind) were looked as the saving face of unbiased, "tell us what it is" gaming opinions.


Now gaming Influencers are flown out, logde and dine with CEOs and publish in droves (and if you have a big enough following get monetary intentive to get your attention) to promote games not even finished... Or worst still in Alpha testing.

Of course many see it as a form of income and liviehood and willing to promote games to their followers regardless of the state of the game itself.

Whereas big Gaming journalist like Digital foundry has kept our pocket full when a game is in a bad release or bug, gaming social media influencer lie about games the game they reacted to for a quick buck.

 

[Hendrick's]

Everyone who believes something different than me is biased.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

"we"?

 

[lh032]

dont "we" me.

 

[ByWatterson]

Media bias in the arena of commercial entertainment is about as important as in sports coverage.

Which is to say, not at all.

 

[AmuroChan]

Who is "we"? I don't accept anyone speaking for me and I certainly do not speak for anyone here.

 

[adamsapple]

Hint: They're all biased.

 

[SegaShack]

Gaming journalism sites / magazines are mostly irrelevant today. They were relevant back then so got media event access, now youtubers get media event access.

But that being said anytime someone gets media access there is going to be some bias IMO.

 

[Masterofchapter]

Youtubers like young yea are huge fan of Sony Nintendo cd project, in his eyes they don't do anything wrong

 

[three_muffins]

You are responsible to form your own opinion about games you a re interested in. Nobody can tell you if it is worth a buy for you.
Bias is jut another word for "opinion not my own that i dont agree with".

As a general rule: Everyone is biased, everyone will sell out for money if the price is right and however henious the act, humans will do it if it can be done and they think they can get away with it.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Gaming is something almost everyone holds a strong bias towards. It take a certain level of maturity (like myself) to view the medium as an objective observer.

 

[ZehDon]

Well, if you cherry pick your examples, you can make up any story you like.

By and large, Gaming Journalists push a narrative more than a well-explained opinion, with the games themselves being almost irrelevant to what they want to talk about.
By and large, YouTubers are just gaming enthusiasts who wrangled a way to make money playing games.

There are exceptions to both statements, some more notable than others. In the lower-YouTube sphere, you'll find idiots like Colt Eastwood vying for corporate sponsorship and denying reality. In Gaming Journalism, you'll find [404: No record found] still doing good work.

In my experience, find places for information and discourse who evidently check their bullshit at the door, and you'll be happier in this hobby.

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

Corporate marketers move towards trusted institutions. If people base their purchasing decisions on gaming media, they will attempt to influence them. If people then switch to YouTube for reliable reviews, marketers will move to corrupt those. Gaming websites, like NeoGAF, will naturally fall under their gaze as well. It’s not a case of this outlet or that outlet being inherently trustworthy or biased - wherever there is trust, there is value, and wherever there is value, corporate marketers will seek to exploit it.

 

[Ozzie666]

They can all be bought with fancy yellow chairs, kickbacks, early review copies and cold harsh cash. The word journalist is thrown around far too easily these days and don't get me started on influencers. Everyone thinks they are a Kardashian. This is all some CIA level bullshit that the masses keep falling for.

 

[bender]

Only trust robots named bender.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

They're equally shit now. Don't believe or trust anyone these days when it comes to video games or politricks.

 

[FoxMcChief]

There are biases everywhere. Not sure what you missed last few gens. They’re not hard to notice.

 

[small_law]

I never viewed YouTubers as journalists, and by that I mean to the extent the journalism is even a profession since anyone can do it. If a 14-year-old with a Walmart laptop can do exactly the same thing you do, it's not a profession.

YouTubers are entertainers. It's better that way.

 

[semiconscious]

bias is when they buy (your) ass...

 

[LegendOfKage]

Everyone has bias. That was never the thing. It's the elitist mentality of "people who don't think the way I do are bad people" that is why traditional gaming media is failing. People don't like to be preached to or insulted.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

In the early years of YT, everyone has a bias I guess but lets just say the biases got bigger when corporate money got waved in their faces. Marketing departments can have a lot of money to spend.

Our company does it too. I remember in the mid-2010s our marketing dept got on the train of influencer and blogger partnerships. They send us memos how the signed up YT people to promote the product. They'd get tons of free cases of product to use and show, all the graphic assets and whatnot they need from out graphic designers and at that time those sites were getting $5000.

Now it's got be exponentially higher fees.

 

[nowhat]

dont "we" me.

No we U?

 

[killatopak]

Just don’t watch previews then? Just watch people who reviewed them after the release date. To add more, it’s illegal as well for them not to mention if they are sponsored.

Then you go with numbers. Fans of the series/genre and non fans review.

If you preordered then reviews doesn’t mean anything to you anyway. You already made your decision.

 

[Red5]

Youtube game reviewers aren't journalists, unless they do actual investigations, research and interviews then they don't qualify even for games or entertainment journalism. They're critics at best, paid influencers at worst.

 

[Barakov]

Seems like they're both equally bad now.

 

[acm2000]

EVERYONE has some kind of bias no matter what they say, this is nothing new it's just human nature.

Only use previews/reviews as a rough guide to anything, only your own bias will decide on a game.

 

[German Hops]

This was bound to happen as YouTube became more popular and its creators gained more influence. Money talks.

This is why I stick with Gamefaqs reader reviews.

 

[shaddam]

Youtubers were never unbiased

 

[gaming_again]

You just have to eat the cost of buying stuff to figure out what you like.

 

[StueyDuck]

Lol what... while I like digital foundry, acting like they are representative of gaming journalism as a whole is disingenuous.

Loltaku still farts out mentally unstable articles daily.

Youtubers have just been accepted by "the cult" and that's why they've morphed into garbage Journos. Skillup I used to enjoy but now he hangs with the cult and does podcasts with them and big surprise his content has gone to shit

 

[Fredrik]

Youtubers and gaming media are biased because they get to do early previews and get sent review codes and promo material.
It’s not too hard to understand tbh.

But… Why are people here biased??

If you don’t have all platforms then a bias is obvious. But even multi platform owners can have a bias.

If you don’t get anything from anyone and if you have all consoles and a PC, then why should you form any bias or preference that isn’t about how the actual version is on each hardware?

THAT I don’t understand.

 

[Hudo]

None of them are based. That's for sure.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Maybe they're all biased.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Can't be too hard to understand and see why or how every media outlet, be it the journalists or influencers... can all be bought. As far as media outlets go, there are very few that are above it.

 

[klosos]

Well like a lot of people on here i am aging 30+ , i have been gaming long enough to know what i will like and what i wont. All i need is 10 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay to see if that game is for me or not.

So gaming Journalists and YouTubers have never had any bearing on my purchasing decisions, everybody is Bias it doesn't matter how anyone tries to spin it, the difference being Gaming Journalism 10+ years ago (first i remember was the Resident Evil 5 is Racist articles) got high on the own farts and decided to start sprinkling there morals and Political opinions into there reviews/Articles , which in turn turned them into 1980s Evangelical women with a crusade against anything they disapproved.

That's killed journalism and the same will happen to Youtubers as well if they go down the same route.

what you need is to find a few good independent youtubers and follow them - ACG gamer is one of the best for me

 

[{insert code here}]

You can still find good content on YouTube. Look for folks who have only a few thousand subscribers. Big enough so you know they're producing decent content but not so big that they're getting free stuff from all the mega corps.

 

[Loomy]

YouTube gaming influencers at the time, guys like ANGRY JOE (he's the only one that comes to mind) were looked as the saving face of unbiased, "tell us what it is" gaming opinions.

Eh, no. Not really. The guys entire online personality is crafted to get views/money. No difference between and a sports commentator dishing out hot takes for views/money.

Now gaming Influencers are flown out, logde and dine with CEOs and publish in droves (and if you have a big enough following get monetary intentive to get your attention) to promote games not even finished... Or worst still in Alpha testing.

This has always been a thing. Media people were taking advantage of this long before 'influencers' started doing the same.

Whereas big Gaming journalist like Digital foundry has kept our pocket full when a game is in a bad release or bug, gaming social media influencer lie about games the game they reacted to for a quick buck.

I can list the same number of big media companies lying and influencers lying. I can also list the same number of media companies telling it like it is, and influencers doing the same. I can also list them in a way that fits whatever argument I want to make in this case.

Nothing has changed. Gaming media used to be the only game in town and the only ones getting the perks of being flown out, wined and dined, etc. Youtube has democratized that space, and now independent/individuals are making a living doing the same thing.

 

[Neo_GAF]

dont "we" me.

fucking this.
the moment, i realized iam not together with "the internet" was 2010 and since then i dont want to be part of what you call "we" or "gamers".

 

[Wildebeest]

Influencers are such amazing people that something as small as being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to play a game for their audience couldn't possibly sway their opinions. Just to show their mental fortitude, they even beg their audience for cash while doing it. Little people who have to scrape by in the real world couldn't possibly understand the mindset of these Olympians of gaming.

 

[GymWolf]

Ignoring all of them is the answer.

 

[Fredrik]

i have been gaming long enough to know what i will like and what i wont. All i need is 10 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay to see if that game is for me or not.

That’s where I am too, been gaming for over 40 years and as far as I’m concerned one review is just one subjective opinion about a game from one person who might have less experience than myself in games and who might have a completely different taste in games.

I usually know by gameplay videos if a game is going to be above 7/10 for me, and that’s kind of my it’s-worth-trying level. Sometimes a seemingly 7/10 game can turn into a 9/10, sometimes a 9/10 can turn into a 7/10.

And a 10/10 is the unicorn type of game that only happens when everything about a game and it’s mechanics and general entertainment synchronize perfectly with my own taste in games.
Can still be a 7/10 for someone else.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Nothing's changed as far as I'm concerned. Gaming press is still trash and continues to be biased, unreliable, cringeworthy, and overall on the decline (thank god), while all my favorite youtubers continue to produce quality content and voicing their honest opinions that aren't restrained by advertiser's money or fear of losing good graces with the publishers.

Quit watching overhyped shills and retarded influencers that are pretty much on the same level as reality TV stars, and everything will be alright.

 

[Edder1]

Publishers just figured you can throw the same money at YouTubers as you do on gaming journalism, that's all there is to it really. Then there's also access to previews exclusive coverage, etc etc. Just look at how many YouTubers do sponsored segments/videos and have access to exclusive coverage and you'll get an idea why there's little to no difference between the two. There are still non biased YouTubers out there, something that is hard to say for videogame journalists.

 

[hyperbertha]

Op clearly means the bias that comes from being bought with shitloads of money and exclusive early coverage that compromises all integrity but morons are like eVeRyOnE iS bIAsEd. No shit Sherlocks.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Roles reversed? Lol no.

You're only seeing that they are almost all paid shills, even Digital Foundry.

 

[ShadowNate]

Influencers have been biased for quite a long time.
It was last gen or maybe previous to that, that there was a big stink about not disclosing paid promotions.
And on top of that, they are really freelancers, no one's gonna really "blame" them for shilling or grifting. Which is what most of the more popular ones seem to now be doing. One-note grifting. They figured their gimmick and run it to the ground.

 

[Unknown?]

YouTuber's used to be so based and objective.

 

[Three]

Bias is where the money is.

 

[Black_Stride]

Angry Joe.....unbiased?

 

[Virex]

We were crying last two Gen about big gaming sites gaming journalist were allegedly making paid previews, hyping up games for publishers and making "good reviews" to game never beat or played.

YouTube gaming influencers at the time, guys like ANGRY JOE (he's the only one that comes to mind) were looked as the saving face of unbiased, "tell us what it is" gaming opinions.


Now gaming Influencers are flown out, logde and dine with CEOs and publish in droves (and if you have a big enough following get monetary intentive to get your attention) to promote games not even finished... Or worst still in Alpha testing.

Of course many see it as a form of income and liviehood and willing to promote games to their followers regardless of the state of the game itself.

Whereas big Gaming journalist like Digital foundry has kept our pocket full when a game is in a bad release or bug, gaming social media influencer lie about games the game they reacted to for a quick buck.

Okay, but before we continue with this theard. I'd like to inform you about this thread's sponsor [Square Space, Nord, Clash Of Clans, etc].