Editorial RPG Codex Editorial: Games Journalism Scandal

[Infinitron]

 

[Volourn]

Shit poorly writtena rticle is shit poorly writtena rticle.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it - the funny thing is, apart from a few cheap digs, I didn't think it was that vitriolic.

You have a tendency for too long sentences, makes it a bit hard to read.

No, I know, I know. It's a frequent bad habit.

I couldn't stop reading this once I got started. Bravo, sir. I see articles like this all the time in regards to government financial regulations, celebrity reporting and so on. But this is the best article I have ever read in regards to the same types of corruption in game journalism. Once again, fantastic effin job.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Shit poorly writtena rticle is shit poorly writtena rticle.

 

[Infinitron]

Shit poorly writtena rticle is shit poorly writtena rticle.

The consistency of your spelling errors shows us that you really do care.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Shit poorly writtena rticle is shit poorly writtena rticle.

Nice.

 

[Jaesun]

Also from the ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN PAGE thread from neoGAF, (yesterday IIRC) the Professional Gaming Journalist Editor™ for Kotaku alluded to possibly doing a write up about this incident (after many posters there basically were calling him out on his bullshit). But it would probably just be another stonewalling piece.

 

[Gurkog]

That wasn't a very easy read. I mean, it was well-researched and indepth, but the run-on sentences and weird formatting made it a bit of a headache. Just providing some constructive feedback here, it was a good piece anyway, salute to grotsnik and all that.

Seems like game journalists are mostly effectively stonewalling this to death, though to be fair a bunch of sites picked up the story (including, for example, PA Report). Lauren Wainwright is still not fired, apparently, which is just baffling to me. Even if it's just as a sacrificial lamb I don't see how you can have her keep writing reviews now, with a straight face.

Not sure what's with Rab and Walker suddenly trying to say it's all about PR. That's weaksauce. It's journalists, and it's also consumers, and it's PR. PR tries to manipulate and coerce. Consumers actually bash journalists who are honest and harsh. Journalists are stuck between a rock and a hard place and decide integrity is not as important as doing your hobby as your job. Everyone is losing there. It's just us guys on the niche who write for people interested in honest opinions and who don't care about publisher pressure that can have integrity about it. I'd never want to write for a mainstream media site, though, as a paid fulltime job. Seems like an awful, shitty job to me.

If the consumer expectations were to change, maybe journalists would be force to, and then PR would be. Right now we're just stuck in a vicious cycle though, and game journalists can afford to be arrogant and insular about this shit, and just ignore it until it goes away.

PS: oh, that Square Enix buddy grotsnik mentions in the story? She works for Bethesda now. So expect Wainwright to suddenly become super-enthused about Bethesda titles.

Oh crud, I posted about this article on the Bethesda Community thread. Perhaps they won't take offense to one of their employees being involved in negative press.

 

[Daemongar]

Thanks for the excellent article, which by links embedded led me to many other articles, painting a pretty vulgar picture. In a sense, the gaming industry has never been held to any standards, because after all, it's only games. I just don't think anything will come of this.

Games are fun and the reviews can be also. I don't mind reading a bit of fluff, and it's easy for some in the industry to not see a problem. I have a huge issue with folks lining their pockets by deceiving people. Ah, these "journalists" aren't doing anything more than reporting what they are told to report. Their ability to do that is what got them the job and keeps them employed.

They don't see a problem because they are doing the same as everyone else, and it's not going to change. There is no financial incentive to tell the truth. That's the part that really kills me....

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Great article
I'd add only one thing: Sure, gaming journalism is a horrible parody of any kind of "real" journalism, but there is also another problem - the consumers. The majority of today's gaming audience wants to be deceived, they want to swallow all that marketing bullshit, they want that 90+ metacritic scores for the newest installment of their favourite game franchise. And for some reason incomprehensible to any rational human being, those X-box kiddies and dorrito-addicted manchildren actually get offended if their favourite games recieve a score below the magical 90 point mark. These people do not behave like rational consumers who have their own best interest at heart. Instead, they display a level of emotional investment and attachment to commercial products that is propably unheart of in almost every other branch of business.

Putting it shortly, today's gaming audience gets exactly that kind of "journalism" they deserve and want, and nothing will change until the audience changes.

 

[Gurkog]

Thanks for the excellent article, which by links embedded led me to many other articles, painting a pretty vulgar picture. In a sense, the gaming industry has never been held to any standards, because after all, it's only games. I just don't think anything will come of this.

Games are fun and the reviews can be also. I don't mind reading a bit of fluff, and it's easy for some in the industry to not see a problem. I have a huge issue with folks lining their pockets by deceiving people. Ah, these "journalists" aren't doing anything more than reporting what they are told to report. Their ability to do that is what got them the job and keeps them employed.

They don't see a problem because they are doing the same as everyone else, and it's not going to change. There is no financial incentive to tell the truth. That's the part that really kills me....

That is the same line of reasoning that lead to the financial crash of 2008. They gradually deregulated banks after the initial anti-trust restrictions put in place after the Great Depression and wonder why the economy goes to shit. Fucking politicians can't learn anything.

 

[Brother None]

Oh crud, I posted about this article on the Bethesda Community thread. Perhaps they won't take offense to one of their employees being involved in negative press.

You can post Codex links on Bethesda forums? I thought you guys were blacklisted? Or did that change?

Shows how much mind I pay to the Bethesda forums. I haven't even visited them since they banned me, I think.

 

[Gurkog]

Oh crud, I posted about this article on the Bethesda Community thread. Perhaps they won't take offense to one of their employees being involved in negative press.

You can post Codex links on Bethesda forums? I thought you guys were blacklisted? Or did that change?

Shows how much mind I pay to the Bethesda forums. I haven't even visited them since they banned me, I think.

Direct links are censored still.

 

[undecaf]

Shows how much mind I pay to the Bethesda forums. I haven't even visited them since they banned me, I think.

Well, you aren't losing much.

 

[LivingOne]

Great article!
I admit I didn't even know about this latest scandal because I don't follow game press so thanks for making it so informative.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Oh crud, I posted about this article on the Bethesda Community thread

Linkity link?

 

[ironyuri]

Lots of lurkers crawling out of the woodwork. Drog detector required.

Jaesun

Thread needs to be scanned for possible Drog activity, interceptors must be dispatched and the DROG-COM teams made ready.

 

[Haba]

Why is the fan running in such an imbalanced manner? And what is that smell?

 

[Minttunator]

Thanks for a very good article, Grotsnik!

 

[The Bishop]

Fascinating read. Good job!

 

[felipepepe]

Masterfully written article, grotsnik.

RPG Codex, the site that makes developers journalists shiver.

 

[Gurkog]

Oh crud, I posted about this article on the Bethesda Community thread

Linkity link?

http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1419897-games-journalism-scandal/

The thread I started. Bunch of sheeple there...

 

[Jaesun]

http://penny-arcade.com/report/edit...-libel-law-and-the-gaming-press-why-this-stor

Some new info here.

 

[Gurkog]

The typical Bethesdrone response:

I looked at the Codex article but had a bit of a case of "tl;dr". A journalist being dishonest isn't exactly news though, unless I've missed something.

 

[shihonage]

The article could use some pictures between paragraphs. And yes, long sentences and non-idented quotes make it hard to read.