Hey, Gunker,
I think it'd be unfair of me to criticize your article someplace where you can't respond, so I thought I'd make an account on here and respond to your most recent post. I don't know a ton about RPGCodex or the policies here, and I haven't used this message board before, so apologies if I'm not working this properly.
I get your point. You don't think it's possible to get quality coverage out of a convention. You think that because of the nature of conventions, where a reporter's access is limited to PR-crafted demos and lame Q&A sessions, there's no way to pursue in-depth journalism at events like this, and that major gaming sites should stop putting up with them.
Incidentally, it's worth noting that Gamescom is primarily a show for fans, not reporters. It's closer to something like PAX or Comic Con - an event where publishers come to show their goods to the public at large. Journalists can't get as much out of a show like that, unless they're taking meetings behind closed doors - which many of them are.
You might notice, by the way, that Kotaku didn't send anyone to Gamescom this year. We thought it'd be a waste of time.
All that said...
There are a few things worth addressing, here. For one, sometimes a reporter's job is to relay information provided by PR people of corporations. That's a fact, in any field of journalism, whether it's a White House reporter sharing what the press secretary said on any given day, a Yankees beat reporter writing what the coach said at a press conference, or a games reporter writing about a hands-off presentation at E3. While you're right in that your average demo session or preview event is carefully built to give off one specific message, I don't think relaying that message is at odds with my job as a journalist, so long as I'm honest and candid about my feelings at that event.
Earlier I posted a link to my boss Stephen's write-up of our preview coverage. Here is a valuable excerpt:
It is our intent to present to you video game previews that resemble what we'd tell you about a game if you'd entered our chatroom or if you bought one of us a beer. We'd tell you what we *really* thought, because what we *really* thought is what you, the Kotaku reader, deserves.
That's the key, right? Telling you how we really feel. That's our mandate, and that's part of what makes me proud of our site and what we do.
But hey, I don't think previewing games is particularly interesting. If my job were solely to write previews, I'd be looking for a new career. I try to spend most of my time at conferences talking to interesting people, finding cool indie games I don't know about, and looking for stories that don't just echo what everyone else is doing.
Let me give you an example. A few months ago, Sid Meier came to NYC to show off his newest game, Ace Patrol. Instead of just spitting out a preview and calling it a day, I decided to take a different approach, and I spent some time talking to him about his life and history, then turned it into what I think is one of the best stories I've written to this date:
http://kotaku.com/the-father-of-civilization-584568276
Some reporters choose to spend their time echoing what everyone else does, sure. I spend a whole lot of time fuming when I see websites rewrite my articles with a tiny little "source" link on bottom. But in general, there's so much good stuff out there these days - whether it's Simon Parkin's work at Eurogamer and the New Yorker, or Polygon's in-depth features, or many many others - that I think game journalism in 2013 is better than it's ever been.
BTW, there was one line in particular from your original piece that bugged me a little bit, because it contributes to this very untrue idea that "all games journalism is just PR":
As it stands, it seems to be yet another part of the gaming PR industry designed not to rock the boat.
I think that, while we at Kotaku certainly have our flaws, you'd have a hard time saying we're not afraid to "rock the boat" when we run stories like this:
http://kotaku.com/leaked-e-mails-suggest-bethesda-misled-gamers-about-pre-1149092622
I've rambled enough. If there are any points I haven't addressed, or if any of you have any questions, post them and I'll do my best to respond.
